[ From Butch Ross ] Kickstarter Campaign to launched to fund the new record.

[News, info and tourdates for Butch Ross]

Yes, it's true. I'm working on a new record. I've been working on one for a
good long while now. So long, that some of you didn't believe it existed.

:-)


But it's actually two records, or more accurately, one record, one EP*, and
a 7" single.

Recording this record has been quite a challenge for me. Time and money
have been constant and pernicious issues. And I've also had serious issues
with my voice over the last few years, and have been working with a vocal
coach to fix that. Finally, this is the first record in a LONG time that is
mostly songs that I've written. And while I feel strongly about these songs
and am proud of them, there is always that nagging sense of "but what if
they don't like it?". But like I say on 'Longway From Settling Down', "I'm
here 'cuz I got a song to sing."

Here's how Kickstarter works:

Kickstarter is a “crowdfunding” site. That’s a hipster way of saying “I’ll
gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” You pledge money to me that
will go to funding the record, and in turn I will send you downloads, CDs,
t-shirts, vinyl records or whatever, once our goal is reached. You can give
as little as one dollar and there’s no limit to how much you can
contribute. However, there are specific rewards are given for specific
levels of giving. Remember how I pre-sold “A Long Way From Shady Grove”
before it was released? Well, this works like that, except that Kickstarter
handles the payments through Amazon and that makes it safe and secure to
pledge online.

But here’s the catch:

Kickstarter is all-or-nothing. If I don’t make my goal of $4600, NO ONE is
charged. So it becomes a bit of a race, and if I don’t make my goal in 30
days (well, 29 now) I’m going to have to find some way to get this album to
you…and “Gone” will be, well, gone.

I really like Kickstarter’s all-or-nothing policy. It forces me to rely on
you guys to make it happen, and it means that we are literally in this
together. Of course, this is true EVERY DAY, it’s just that a Kickstarter
campaign puts it into high relief.

The good news is that as of this writing, I’m over 25% there!

Here's what I'm hoping to create:

PEOPLE, PLACES, THINGS: This is a CD of 11 songs, most of which I've
written, that tell a story. Sometimes the story is personal, sometimes it's
not (and which is which is not as obvious as you might think) but all tell
the story of people or places or things, hence the title. I've treated this
album very much as a collection of short stories. (here's one of them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KtdmHs_x8ck). I call
it an album because it is one; a collection of songs that sonically and
thematically relate.

GONE: This was originally my "808 and Heartbreak," meaning an album that
was related to two specific concepts. In this case, loops and loss. These
songs were all contenders for the record when I did the webcast back in
February of 2012 (which, if you missed it, you can still see here:
http://vimeo.com/37430256). The eight or nine songs I played here, got
whittled down to the five or six that will end up on the album. Still,
they're all based around loops, vaguely revolve around the idea of being
"gone," and most importantly, hang together sonically.

“Gone” is only available as part of this Kickstarter campaign. You will not
be able to get it at shows or anywhere else.

THE 7" SINGLE: This is an elegant solution to a very inelegant problem. I
have, for years, REALLY wanted to make a vinyl record. But vinyl is VERY
expensive, and the demand potentially very small. But it felt important to
me to have it. I'm not that old, or that old school, but after all these
years vinyl still feels more real than a CD, or worse, a download. At the
same time I had been grappling with a tune that I really liked (“All I Need
Is You”) that didn't really fit the overall vibe of "People, Places,
Things." So when someone suggested to me that I could release a 7" single
that came with a download of the whole album, an elegant solution was
formed. That's how the single will be sold at shows, but through the
Kickstarter campaign you will also get physical copies of "PPT" and "Gone,"
a t-shirt, and a bunch of other stuff. (check it out here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/503728969/help-me-fund-my-new-cd-people-places-things
)

Okay, this is getting a little long-winded, so I’ll stop here. Please go
check out the video at the above link. It’s about 5 minutes long and will
explain all the perks of pledging as well as a good look at the album art
and the music that will be on the CD, the EP, and the 7”.

As the campaign progresses I’ll be sending you updates. You’ll be hearing
from me a little more than usual, but I promise to keep it brief,
interesting, and relevant to you.

Thank you for reading this far.

C-ya out there.

--Br

www.butchross.com

*I don't know how this happened, but no one seems to remember what an "EP"
is, it's stands for "extended play" record, and was a reference to ten inch
vinyl records that were sometimes released. An EP is usually 4 to 6 songs,
but sometimes as many as 8. It's way too much music to fit on a 7" single,
but if you tried to sell it as an LP you'd make a bunch of people mad.