While we were on Capitol Hill July 26, the debt limit crisis was in full force. There was not a lot of glee to be found in Congress, but apparently "Glee" fans were in no short supply.

After morning lobbying meetings, our group of record producers arrived in the room for our panel discussion. It was standing-room-only, filled with policy staff and members of Congress from across the political and geographic spectrum. On the panel were Adam Anders, music producer for the TV show "Glee"; Scott Hendricks, Nashville-based producer who had the No. 1 album on the charts that week (Blake Shelton's Red River Blue); Matt Serletic (Santana, Rob Thomas, Matchbox Twenty), Johnny K (Disturbed, Plain White T's), David Kahne (the Bangles, Paul McCartney), and Ray Benson (Asleep At The Wheel).

The panelists not only explained the record producing process — they demonstrated it by playing demo or rough versions of hit songs and comparing those versions to the final produced tracks. Anders closed out the panel by showing a clip from "Glee" (Gwyneth Paltrow and the cast performing a mashup he produced of "Singin' In The Rain" and Rihanna's "Umbrella"). The straight-laced policy wonks in the crowd were practically bouncing out of their seats.

As much as I appreciated the great reception at the panel, I was most happy with the reception we received in our lobbying meetings with legislators. From Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Howard Berman to Republicans Howard Coble and Marsha Blackburn (among others), each member of Congress was interested in learning about the producer's role and asking how they could help.

Yes, it was of week of discord on Capitol Hill, but for our group, the day was as harmonious as a Dalton Academy Warblers concert.