I am writing to you from my new studio apartment in Seattle, where half of my belongings remain in boxes, while the other half are piled up around me haphazardly, waiting to be placed in their designated spot on shelves and windowsills. There are two things, though, that have been unpacked and in their places since the day I moved in a few weeks ago, after spending nearly 18 months on the road, and those two things are: my guitar and my computer.
These are the two things that have made it possible, over the past eight years, for me to make Gardening, Not Architecture a reality. They are the reasons I've made the songs and been able to get the songs out to the world, and they're the reasons I've met so many incredible people on the road and online through my music. They're the reasons I've been lucky enough to have had so many brilliant minds get involved with this project and add their own touches to the garden. Lately I've been thinking a lot about these people, and about how I've never had the chance to publicly thank them for helping me get to this point. So before I take another step, it's time to thank those people who have helped me take all the steps I've taken so far.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
From the bottom of my heart to the top, thank you to Beau Sorenson; Eddie Breckenridge; Krist Krueger; Hunter Burgan; Michael Lee; Bryan Sheffield; Evan Glodell; Eddy Numbskull; Steve Harm; Brian Coughlin; Stephen Chilton; Chris Laughter; Justin Sullivan; German Rivera; Chris Walla; Kevin Lyman; my brother and brain-sharer John Paul Roney; my life coach slash unofficial manager from 2008-2010 Dean Suko; my lawyers and advisors Chris Castle and Rob Wells; my booking agent slash therapist Adam Kreeft; and the one person whose help, advice, guidance, know-how, and patience I could never have done any of this without: Wyatt Glodell. This list of names is precious to me and I carry it with me everywhere I go.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Today, G,NA begins a new phase and a list of new names. Today I come out of six months of musical hibernation and personal growth. AND! It's also the day that I'm going to ask you, dear reader, to lend a helping hand in perhaps the biggest undertaking I've ever attempted with G,NA.
First, allow me to introduce the newest name on the list.
When I finished the EIY Tour earlier this month in Nashville, and got on a plane to fly to Seattle, I didn't know what was going to happen -- except that I was going to sign a lease that night and return to my part-time job on Capitol Hill two days later. In the time since the last G,NA show in December, I have gone through a few big life changes, and more than one kind of broken heart. Arriving in Seattle on June 5th, I had absolutely no idea how or when or where I would record the next album -- if I'd even be able to record one at all.
As a joke, a couple weeks prior to that plane ride, I had posted my dream live band line-up for G,NA on Twitter, and one of those musicians was Steve Choi from Rx Bandits. I met Steve when Eddy Numbskull booked me in the opening spot at two of their shows in 2009. If you haven't seen Rx Bandits live, you'd better hurry up and get a ticket because they're on their "farewell" tour right now, and it's one of the best live shows you'll experience. They are a band that has risen to success with a lot of hard work, blood sweat and tears, and most of all: by being incredible musicians. Steve is one of those prodigious multi-instrumentalists who also happens to know the business side of music like the back of his hand. Over the past couple years, Steve has contributed his wisdom not only to me personally, but also to my other project, www.earnityourself.com. I was excited when I found out that Steve was moving into the role of producing bands outside his role(s) in Rx Bandits, but it never occurred to me that we might one day be able to work together.
After a couple weeks of being in Seattle and soaking in the reality of all the changes that have occurred in the past several months, I decided I had nothing to lose, and I called Steve Choi and asked if he would be interested in taking on G,NA as his next recording project. Much to my surprise, he was excited about the idea, and it turned out that he had an opening in his schedule right at the time I was hoping to start recording! When I got off the phone, I immediately felt something click into place. I had done it: I had pushed through this wall of fear that has popped up in my life so many times in the past and stopped me from moving beyond a certain point. The wall that is: being afraid to ask.
I never thought any of this would happen, but here we are, and it's official: This fall, I'll be going into the studio in Southern California with Steve Choi to record the second full-length Gardening, Not Architecture album!
I'm incredibly grateful and honored and excited to have this chance -- but it's not going to happen unless I can make the final push through that wall of fear and ask the entire world for help.
And this is where YOU come in. No, I'm not about to ask you for money... not yet anyway! *wink*
As you all know, if you've been here for a while: I'm not rich. I cashed in my industry jobs in LA in 2009, and spent my life savings over the past 18 months, in order to return to making music and running www.earnityourself.com as my two main, defining roles. You've all supported me through tour after tour, with your online donations, or by buying my music/merchandise, coming to shows, letting me sleep on your couch, and feeding me. You've all read my long and rambling posts from the road, and you've stayed in touch with me even while I've been off the road. You are my friends and extended family, and I mean it. I really mean it in the truest sense of the words.
I'm at a dead end, financially. I have run out of savings, and all I have right now is a part-time job that doesn't even cover my expenses each month. I got rid of my car, cell phone, and health insurance. The only bills I have right now are: rent, utilities, internet, and credit card debt. I also have to feed my dog, and I eat about 1.5 meals a day, but that's it. I don't go out, I don't have any expensive habits -- heck, I even cancelled my Netflix! I'm down to the bare minimum, without having to live on people's couches or in a house full of strangers where it's incredibly hard to be creative and write music.
*Addendum 6/3 - I am editing this to add an extremely important note: I do not feel sorry for myself. I think when people in my situation go online and post about their financial woes to the world, they expect some kind of pity, as if they did not choose to be in the situation they're in. Not me! I don't feel sorry for myself at all. I make the conscious decision to return to be a "starving artist" in order to be able to do what I love to do and live my life the way I want to live it in the philosophical sense. Yes, I'm struggling, but that just makes it that much more rewarding when I'm able to do something like record an album, play a show, or go on tour. And it makes something like a Kickstarter campaign that much more meaningful: I'm not someone who is already living off of music with a record deal or two under my belt; I work part-time jobs to pay the rent and get by. The only way I can record music that doesn't sound like crap is to save money, play shows and sell merch, and do fundraisers. But I do not feel sorry for myself, and I don't want you to feel sorry for me either. :)
In order to make the second album happen, financially, I've decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign on July 8th, and I'm going to ask for my ideal budget, to cover every penny from recording costs to dog-sitting to ordering limited edition vinyl for donors (what?!). I've got everything pretty much laid-out and ready to go, except for one thing: THE VIDEO.
Although not required, a video can make or break a Kickstarter campaign. If you've checked out any of the successful campaigns on there, most of the time it's the ones with unique, funny, inspiring, or creative videos that go above and beyond reaching their financial goals -- not that the project isn't also the reason, but a good video does wonders for introducing your campaign to the world. The problem is: making a video is the one thing I am completely incapable of doing for this campaign. I've never been able to sit in front of my computer and talk into the camera without fumbling over my words, which is why I've never done it, probably at the cost of missing out on a bunch of potential new fans. I can do interviews all day long, but I'm terribly awkward and shy when it's me filming myself. I'm even bad at taking photos of myself. I've managed to avoid the necessity for self-filming and self-photographing with the help of my amazing photographer and director friends, but I'm far away from those people right now, and I literally can't afford not to have a video. It could make or break my Kickstarter campaign, which the album is hinging on, which the future of G,NA is hinging on. So...
♥ I need you to help me make a video!♥
In the next six days (before next Thursday, July 7th), I need everyone to take up to one minute (that's all I need, seriously, at the most -- it can even be 10 seconds) to record a video explaining what G,NA means to you, and why you think people should donate to the fundraiser for the second album. I'll record the intro and outro clips (which is about as long as I can talk to myself on camera before I start to sound like a malfunctioning robot), but the entire bulk of the video will be a montage of clips submitted by people who want to see this project go on and want to hear a second G,NA album! You can do anything: interview your friends, family, dog; write a jingle or a rap song; tell the story of how you discovered G,NA; do a dance to a G,NA song; tell the story of the first G,NA show you saw; get a group of friends and spell something out on your shirts; do a ten-second cover of your favorite G,NA song, tell me what you'd like the next album to sound like; or simply make a sign and hold it up in front of the camera. Anything at all! Just keep it short and record it on a digital camera if you can! (Avoid PhotoBooth, cell phones, and Flip cams if possible. This will make editing all the different videos together easier and faster. If you don't have a digital camera, and can't borrow one, just use whatever you have and I will make it work!)
When you're finished, email me and I'll add you to my Dropbox folder so you can upload it directly. On Thursday next week, my friend in LA is going to edit all of these clips together for me and email me the final video, which will be the featured video on the Kickstarter campaign, which I'm kicking off one week from today, on July 8th!
AS A THANK YOU: Everyone who sends a video that we end up using in the campaign will get a handmade tee shirt from me that says something about your participation, like "I Kickstarted G,NA in 2011." And anyone who sends in a video, whether or not we use it, will go on the Official Sponsors list on the G,NA website, forever.
Of course, once the campaign is launched, I'll need your help spreading the word about it to everyone in the entire world! But for now, I NEED A VIDEO! And I need you to make it happen!
If you have any questions, email me or post a comment, or find me on Facebook or Twitter. My goal is to get 20 usable videos by next Thursday. Think we can do that?
I'm so excited for the potential of all of this. G,NA just continues to grow and morph and develop and change, and I never know what's going to happen next. It's taken on a life of its own, and it is only still alive because of all of you.
It's going to be an interesting rest of the year!
Love,
Sarah
0 comments:
Post a Comment