[ From Butch Ross ] Spring Ohio Tour (and Indiana), plus info on how to get the NEW CD!!!

[Butch Ross]

Upcoming Shows:

Wed. May 1, 2013 – 7pm. Free (eat something)
JK O'Donnell's
121 Wayne St. Fort Wayne, IN
www.jkodonnells.com
They like me, I like them; what else can I say? Oh yeah, GREAT FOOD!

Thurs. May 2, 2013 – 7pm  $20 per person
Prussia Valley Dulcimers Acoustic Music Shop
122 Main St. Waverly, OH
Workshop: Beatles tunes for Dulcimer
as I am only teaching one dulcimer workshop at COFF, this'll be another
opportunity to learn some stuff.

Thurs. May 2, 2013 – 8:15 or so $8 (free to workshop attendees)
Prussia Valley Dulcimers Acoustic Music Shop
122 Main St. Waverly, OH
Mini-concert

Friday, May, 3rd Potluck and Jam @ Grandview Park – Free
We do this every year; contact Doug Snapp for more information (dmsnapp at
wowway.com or phone at 313-6424).

Friday, May 3 - 5 2013 - all day $10 to $30 depending.
Battelle-Darby Creek Metro Park - Central Ohio Folk Festival
I’ve lost count of how many years I’ve been doing this, but it’s a great
festival, teaching a Uke workshop this year too!

Saturday, May 4, 2013 – 8pm (tip jar)
Taffy's of Eaton
123 east main street Eaton, OH
My first time at this very cool and completely improbable venue just
outside of Dayton, Ohio, you Cinci and Dayton folks TOTALLY need to check
this place out.

Sunday, May 5, 2013 – 6pm - $3
Leo's Coffeehouse
@Zion United Church of Christ
2301 Indian Mound Ave.
Norwood, OH 45212

And a workshop at 5:30
Rock Rhythm Primer: Learn the basics of rhythm from the early days of
Rock-n-Roll, some rhythms will be harder than others, but you'll be
surprised by which is which.

Phew! That’s a busy long weekend. And I haven’t mentioned the school
program I’ve managed to squeeze in the middle (thanks Laura!)

I am procrastinator to beat the band, especially when it comes to the
day-to-day minutia of my business (like writing this email). But I don’t
get to do what I do, if you don’t know about it, so eventually it gets
done. I suppose that the procrastination comes from (as Bing Futch has
suggested) knowing the time commitment involved. I think he's right, I am a
slow writer. This email is long, (not Moby Dick, but still) and took the
better part of three hours to finish.

That’s not, however, why it’s taken FOUR YEARS to complete my most recent
CD (I had wanted it to be out in 2011). It’s taken so long because, as I’m
fond of saying “things take the time that they take”. Add to that, life,
vocal issues and the fact that this is a major work that I’ve undertaken
and you start to get a vague understanding of why it’s taken so long. But I
am far enough along in the process that I can start to talk about the new
CD (and take pre-orders).

It’s going to be called “People, Places, Things” and it will showcase my
songwriting—something that I’ve not been able to do on the last two CDs.
“Moonshiner’s Atlas” was a document of my learning to play my instrument,
while “Shady Grove” was an exhibit of my dulcimer explorations. But this
one—for better or worse—is my voice. These songs are both new and very old,
and the whole project runs a thru line from my first CD (the out-of-print
“Selected Works of Friction”) to earlier this afternoon. The songs are
sweet, sad and funny (like life) and while my dulcimer chops are still
amply showcased, it takes a back seat to the story being told.

Along the way I’ve rounded up some friends to help me out: vocalists,
guitarists, piano, cello, drums, violin and viola all make an appearance;
great friends and greater musicians who generously donated their time and
talent to make this thing a reality. It’s been a huge undertaking and is by
far the most ambitious work I’ve done thus far.

And it’s not just a CD, there’s a whole other EP to go with it. I’ve
decided to separate out some of the loop-based tunes I do into a collection
I’m calling “Gone.” If you got to see the web cast I did in February 2012,
you saw a lot of that material. This EP is NOT FOR SALE, but you can get it
by either pre-ordering the CD (there will be sign up sheets available at
the gigs) or by contributing to my Kickstarter campaign.

What is Kickstarter you ask? Well not to be too dramatic, but it’s how we
make music for a living now. Kickstarter refers to itself, as “Kickstarter
is a funding platform for creative projects. Everything from films, games,
and music to art, design, and technology. Kickstarter is full of ambitious,
innovative, and imaginative projects that are brought to life through the
direct support of others.” But I call it a bet. A bet that you people,
who—though your gracious support have allowed me to have a career for the
last four years—will show as much faith in me as I have in myself. Does
that seem a little dramatic? Well it is. But I have gotten as far as I have
because of…and solely because of…your support. Kickstarter is a bet on that
premise; if I don’t make my goal (probably in the neighborhood of
$4,500.00) you don’t pay a penny. It’s all or nothing, and frankly, I’m
fine with that.

There are different levels of giving, with different perks at each level.
These include: exclusive T-shirts, a pdf of lyrics and track notes, Vinyl
(that’s right I’m making a RECORD), online access to works in progress, and
THE CASSETTE: a usb jump drive housed in an old cassette case with which
you will receive every record I’ve put out (including “Friction” and the
two {and eventually three} Christmas CDs) as well as EVERY CD I WILL EVER
RECORD FOR AS LONG AS I CHOOSE TO DO THIS (which in all probability will be
until I die). Plus house concerts and whatever else I can dream up. Also,
even at the lowest levels of support you will be able to download the CD on
the day it’s finished; no waiting on me to mail it to you.

I do all of this because it’s how records get made these days. If we’re
being honest, it’s how records have always been made, at least at this
level. This just cuts out the middleman.

The Kickstarter campaign will kick off next week, and the details will be
available on my Facebook page(s) as well as this here mailing list.

Thank you for reading this far.

Those shows again.

Wed. May 1, 2013 – 7pm Free (eat something)
JK O'Donnell's
121 Wayne St. Fort Wayne, IN
www.jkodonnells.com

Thurs. May 2, 2013 – 7pm  $20 per person
Prussia Valley Dulcimers Acoustic Music Shop
122 Main St. Waverly, OH
Workshop: Beatles tunes for Dulcimer

Thurs. May 2, 2013 – 8:15 or so $8 (free to workshop attendees)
Prussia Valley Dulcimers Acoustic Music Shop
122 Main St. Waverly, OH
Mini-concert

Friday, May, 3rd Potluck and Jam @ Grandview Park – Free
Contact Doug Snapp for more information (dmsnapp at wowway.com or phone at
313-6424).

Friday, May 3 - 5 2013 - all day $10 to $30 depending.
Central Ohio Folk Festival
Battelle-Darby Creek Metro Park
Galloway, OH

Saturday, May 4, 2013 – 8pm (tip jar)
Taffy's of Eaton
123 east main street Eaton, OH

Sunday, May 5, 2013 – 6pm - $3
Leo's Coffeehouse
@Zion United Church of Christ
2301 Indian Mound Ave.
Norwood, OH 45212

And a workshop at 5:30: Rock Rhythm Primer

C-ya out there.

-Br
www.butchross.com