I try to run these blog posts on Mondays, and I'm writing this one on Sunday evening, 19th April.  I'll start by thanking - from the bottom of my messed up heart - all of the kind folks who have supported this project so far.  

At the moment, we have $446 pledged out of the goal amount of $3400.  Perhaps you are wondering how I arrived at that number... well, here's the breakdown:

• $2000 to press vinyl.  (Note that I arrived at this number after shopping around and getting quotes from several companies that press vinyl.)
• $100 materials required to ship albums.  This is basically the boxes and packing material so the records don't break when I mail them.
• $500 estimated shipping cost.  Each time an album goes in the mail, there is a cost.  The farther it goes, the more the cost.
• $180 State of Ohio and Greene County tax.  Yes, as a business, I have to pay tax on all sales.  Pre-orders count as sales.
• $130 Kickstarter fees.  They take a cut, which is how they stay in business.
• $130 processing fees.  The folks that handle the fund transfer take a cut, which is how they stay in business.
• $360 promotion.  I had planned to split this between having a music video done and sending promo copies of the album to indie radio and music journalists.

All of that adds up to $3400.  Note that this amount is only for vinyl.  I'm going to have CDs made and will distribute digitally, and am paying for that myself.

So, the deadline for raising the funds is this Friday, 24th April, at the auspicious hour of 07:12.  Frankly, it doesn't look likely that we'll make the goal.  This is the risk you take when you try to crowdfund during a pandemic.  If the goal is not reached, I won't be pressing Anxious Inventions & Fictions to vinyl, short of some sort of art grant.  That makes me a little sad, as I would love to see Megan Fiely's beautiful artwork on a vinyl album cover, and I'd also love to hold my own music in my hands on wax.  Buy hey, the market is speaking, it is what it is.

If you were on the fence about supporting this project, what can I do to move you off the fence?  (This is, of course, assuming you are still gainfully employed.  These days, I understand that many people are not.)  Would hearing the first single from the album help?  Ok, you'll all end up hearing that one anyway eventually, yes.  Well, did you know I wrote a song called "Wapakoneta" (yes, like city) that isn't on the album?  It has an Americana feel... I tried to write a Jason Isbell song... and yes, I know that's not the sandbox I usually play in.  I'm going to make that song an exclusive bonus for anyone who backs this project.  Have anyone in your life who collects vinyl?  You know, Anxious Inventions & Fictions would make a great gift for them  Also, this would be a way to support a local independent business (namely You Could Be My Aramis Music, LLC), and also, support the arts.

I invite to you kindly take one last look at the rewards I am offering for pledges to this campaign.  Also, think about all that time that we'll probably all be stuck in quarantine again this fall/winter, and of how nice it would be to have another black circle to spin.

Again, for the folks who have already backed this project, I know who you all are by name, and I cannot thank you enough.  Thank you.  I won't forget.

February 17th, 2019.  That was the first day of tracking for my second solo full-length album.  A quick aside... it's awfully strange to call it a "solo" album, as I certainly couldn't have gotten it done without a great deal of help.  Patrick Himes, the engineer/producer.  Brian Hoeflich, professional drummer extraordinaire.  The other guitarists, vocalists, pianists, violinists, etc who are on the album: Eli Alban, Dustin Booher, Blair Breitreiter, Thad Brittain, Chris Corn, Ken Hall, Kent Montgomery, David Payne, Nathan Peters, Tim Pritchard, TINO, Tod Weidner, Heather York.  That's an awful lot of help for a "solo" album.

(I digress again.  This doesn't count the folks who helped out on songs that didn't make the album, but that I still plan on releasing.  I'll be thanking them all by name in the future, you can take it to the proverbial bank.)

Where was I?  Oh yes.  February 17th,2019.  Notice how in that first paragraph, I wrote the words "gotten it done"?  Yes, February 5, 2020 was the last mixing session.  The album is tracked.  The album is mixed.  A release date is in the future.  It is without a doubt my best work to date.  Wanna know what it's called?

Anxious Inventions & Fictions

That's a lyric from one of the songs.  Would you like to hear it on vinyl?  I would surely LOVE to press it to vinyl.

It turns out that you, yes you, can help to get this album pressed to vinyl.  I am launching a Kickstarter campaign to offset the expense of pressing vinyl.  It essentially functions as a pre-order... if you are interested in hearing my new album on vinyl, by all means, select a campaign reward that includes your very own copy of Anxious Inventions & Fictions.  There are a few different rewards that include the physical record.  For one of the rewards, I'll list your name in the liner notes expressing my deep gratitude for all the world to see.  I have five disposable cameras (remember those?) full of exclusive behind-the-scenes photos of the recording process... I haven't even seen these photos... those are possible rewards as well.

What if you don't have a turntable, but still want to help?  Well, one of the rewards is for a digital download of the album.  What if you just want to wait until the album is on Spotify or Pandora or Apple Music or YouTube?  Well, if you would like to support the effort of getting the album pressed to vinyl for other folks out of the kindness of your heart, there is a donation level for that.  Every little bit helps, you know.

Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing crowdfunding platform.  If we reach the funding goal, then I'll be able to get Anxious Inventions & Fictions pressed to vinyl.  If we do not reach the funding goal, nobody will be charged for any of the pre-orders, and the album will not be pressed to vinyl.  

If you didn't already click on the link above to go to the Kickstarter campaign, why not click it here to visit my pre-launch page?  The campaign goes live on Wednesday, March 25.  Please share with all of your music-loving friends.  Let's press some records!!!

Are you worried I am going to ask you for money?  Well don’t worry, I am definitely not going to do that today.  However, crowdfunding has become a very useful resource for creative types, and that being the case, I’ve been thinking about making Kickstarter a part of the process for the as-yet-unnamed second album.  Below are three disjointed thoughts about this, in no particular order. 

Vinyl.  Vinyl is cool again.  Music sounds great on vinyl.  I know people who say that music sounds warmer on vinyl.  (I don’t hear it, but maybe that’s because my turntable isn’t of a high enough quality.)  Vinyl is so awesome that Pearl Jam wrote a song about it. Alexa, play “Spin the Black Circle”.  Here’s the problem.  Vinyl is expensive.  From what I understand the mastering process for vinyl is different than it is for other media.  Further, producing vinyl is a time-consuming process that requires a very unique set of machinery, and that makes it expensive.  Simply put, there is no way I can afford to release this album on vinyl… but I really want to. The only way I could do that would be if folks pre-ordered enough vinyl copies of the album to offset the production costs. 

Begging.  It feels like begging. I mean, when you’re an “indie” artist, you kind of want to be as independent as you can. DIY, right?  Crowdfunding is not so much DIY… it’s more like DI with a little help from my friends and as many complete strangers as possible.  It feels like begging. Of course, one would offer rewards in exchange for a pledge to back the project, which makes it more like pre-ordering.  Of course. It feels like begging. 

Fear.  You know, if you use Kickstarter and you don’t reach your financial goal, you don’t get paid.  Zip. Zero. Nada. Rien. Now, there are reasons why that is a good thing… let’s say I offer vinyl as a reward, and I don’t meet my financial goal for the project… well, if we aren’t doing an “all or nothing” model, I would be obligated to fulfill those vinyl pre-orders when I really can’t afford to do so.  However, to quote a movie about music in a slightly out-of-context way, “some money would be nice”.  Not reaching the goal, well, that would feel like a crushing failure, and not in a good way.  (Looking at you Ken Andrews.) That’s scary. Fear. 

Maybe.  Probably.  These are words to describe my feelings about Kickstarter.  At this moment though, I don’t have to decide. Tracking for the album has already begun, and I’ll keep plugging away at it.  After all, before any kind of crowdfunding starts, one should have demonstrated that work is already in progress and a product is going to result, yes?  I am definitely not asking anyone for money today… but in a few months, well, let’s see.