TAXI Songwriter's Convention 2010

I'm back from LA, and still sorting through the incredible experiences from this weekend at the TAXI Annual Road Rally, which is a convention for independent songwriters. The most amazing part happened on Saturday afternoon in the ballroom with 600-800 songwriters in the audience. It was the major label song pitch in the ballroom. This was the heavy hitters panel. There were 5 big name producers/publishers, including Doug Johnson the V.P. of A & R for Curb Records, representing Tim McGraw and Martina McBride. So, the way this session works is that they randomly select CDs to play for these panelists, who then critique the songs. About 8 songs into it, my lottery moment happened. The announcer pulls my CD out, reads my name and then plays the song I'd selected for this country music pitch: On His Knees. I chose that song because the structure and quality of the songwriting most fits their box, but I new they would either love it or hate it because of the message about prayer.
Most songs were played for the first verse and chorus, but the moderator just kept letting it play through verse two, second chorus, bridge, and back to the last chorus. I was more nervous than I think I've ever been. The moment of truth: Doug Johnson was the one to give the critique - He began by saying - "Is this a good song? Yes, but it doesn't have the universal appeal that we are looking for." They deliberated about this point for a minute and then he said, "Some of you may be wondering what the difference is between this song and 'Jesus take the Wheel' by Carrie Underwood, but [in reference to Carrie's song] we've all felt like that at times. It's something everyone can relate to." I'm going crazy at this point because he just put my song in the same sentence as JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL!! So basically they didn't like the message which is not surprising because none of these people know Jesus. But other than that, they had nothing negative to say about the song. For me it was a victory. What most struck me about this moment was that hundreds of people got to hear this song about the power of prayer, and after the session was over many people came up to me and told me how the song moved them and made them want to be a better dad or made them think of a mom who brought them to church when they were a kid. It was a God moment, and I pray that He will continue to use this song to bring Him glory!