OF Music Professional Management
OF Music hired Lyndy Gitter as its exclusive Song Plugger in 1997. She first took on the task of creating a computer database of the company's considerable catalog--and refers to this entire database when pitching songs for artists, rather than concentrating on the newest songs written. This had more often been the case when Fagan and Tom had been doing a great deal of their own plugging--along with independent plugger, Michael Hight. Having Lyndy on the staff has resulted in the exploitation of a larger part of the catalog--to say nothing of saving precious time for Fagan to concentrate on his writing.
Fagan doesn't have to worry that Lyndy will
miss opportunities. Not only has she been a life-long collector of music
of all kinds, but as a twelve-year friend of Tom and Fagan's, has become
one of their biggest fans. Because she was a collector--and a friend--Fagan
began years ago making tapes for her of nearly every session he recorded
in Nashville. "This blew me away!" Lyndy says. " Here was
Fagan writing number one songs, and he took time to copy his demos for me,
because it meant so much to me to have them for my collection. Little did
he know how great this would turn out... He was just being the sweetheart
he is, but later they were able to hire me--someone who really knows his
music." Once, in fact, she ran into one of Fagan's earlier co-writers, and said she knew virtually every song
in the catalog. A game of "Stump Lyndy" ensued--which she won,
hands down--singing to him significant sections of every song they'd ever
co-written.
"I know this catalog like the proverbial back-of-my-hand," Lyndy says, "and it's not because I make any huge effort to memorize it. I'm just crazy for Rich's songs. I hear a new one, and soon it's playing in my head--endlessly looped. I was born to promote this guy."
Promoting writers is nothing new to Lyndy. Along with husband John, she founded the Song Spree Songwriting Competition in 1994 (at that time using her maiden name, Lynda Bostwick) . The competition is closed now, but won favor with many fine writers, owing to the honest work in their behalf. "As writers ourselves," she says, "we set up a company that treated writers exactly as we wished to be treated." Fagan was so impressed by her dedication to these principles, that he became one of the contest's early judges.
"Once again, his consideration paid off," Lyndy says. It was in the very first Song Spree Competition that she "found" Chris Clark, then a twenty-one-year-old college student, and clearly an incomparable writer. After Chris received the highest scores possible, Lyndy contacted him for more of his material, then took it all to OF Music even before the contest ended. As a result, Chris was signed to OF Music in 1996, the only other writer besides Fagan respresented by the company.
Fagan has co-written with other Song Spree winners too, and enlisted the
support of other hit writers, such as Robb Royer and Micheal Smotherman.
All are members of the Y'allgonquin Round Table
(as Lyndy named it), a weekly gathering for OF Music friends and co-writers.
So Lyndy's relationship with OF Music is best summarized as one of great
mutual admiration.
Background
Before Song Spree and Song Plugging, Lyndy taught
writing courses for many years at the University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
Some years ago, she won national awards for her fiction and poetry, including
the prestigious AWP Intro Award. She then turned to songwriting, co-writing
with Fagan and many others. In 1988 Spree Productions released "A Funny
Shade Of Blue," a collection of humor and blues songs she wrote, sang
and co-produced with Fagan at Nashville's County Q Studio. (For you trivia
buffs, that's Fagan singing back-up vox on Lyndy's album.) She's also co-written
a musical, That Kid, which has been produced six times in
Milwaukee, has done a good bit of business tax accounting (go figure),
and raised three kids--all musicians and/or artists: Raelyn plays harp at
fine dining establishments, corporate functions, bands and symphonies in
the San Jose area. Jason, aka J-BO, is the drummer for Beyond
the VOID, an exciting funk-rock band. Ben,
who owns and operates Sound Image Graphics, is an award-winning sculptor,
designs high-class CD cover art, and created all the artwork for this site.
Email
Lyndy: lyndy@OFmusic.com