In short, I need your help to record my next album. This record has been a long time coming--it's been 12 years since my last one. My 2004 debut got some regional airplay in New York. My 2006 follow-up actually ended up on npr.org's "best of" list that year. And my last album, Love & Alcohol, came out in 2009. It got broader airplay, and I licensed versions of the tunes to MTV for a couple of their shows. But then...
Somehow, between kids, a PhD program, work, a divorce, and a host of other elements, I somehow kept delaying the recording and release of this "next" one. As a result I have a backlog of nearly 30 recordable songs, and it's time to put them into the air.
The pandemic has brought into focus two competing truths: one is a renewed commitment to continue putting original art and music into the world....and the other is that discretionary funds for such things are much harder to come by. So I need to pursue the "crowd-funding route" to help ensure this "next" album makes it to completion.
I am lucky enough to be asked to be one of the first artists--maybe the first--to record in an absolutely stellar new studio here in San Diego called Satellite Studios. It's a spectacular sounding room that will be the boutique arm of Studio West (another incredible studio here in town). I have a dream producer/engineer in Jeff Berkley, who is also the partner and anchor tenant in the new space. I have a band of mind-bogglingly good musicians who are going on faith that we can find the underwriting we need to make their involvement in this fairly large project, worthwhile. And I have never been more excited about a set of songs as I am about the tunes I have ready to record for this.
I just need your help to make this happen. The margins that musicians work within, are not amenable to large outlays of cash, and at the same time, that outlay goes to others whose margins are similarly narrow, and similarly in need of the compensation. So I am asking for your assistance.
We are recording in December. Will you drop a couple of bucks in this virtual tip jar for us? Anything you can spare will go directly to the musicians and the studio. (I am not taking any funds from these donations for myself.) And would you forward this campaign to others who will as well? I know the goal seems substantial, but I've actually set a cap below our actual anticipated expenses. Thirty songs is a tall order, but with a little bit of underwriting, we can undertake something really special.
Thank you in advance. I am excited to get these songs into your ears!