(a letter sent May 7th, 2012)
Hello friends!
For those of you who know about both Hazel-Rah and Kickstarter and just want to jump right in, here is the link to the page: Hazel-Rah Kickstarter page.
The rewards are awesome! Maybe one of you will be the first one to make a contribution?
If you need to know more about Hazel-Rah or Kickstarter, read below:
After five years of waiting for the right time to do this, I feel that my band Hazel-Rah is finally ready to record a full-length album. The signs that confirmed this being true are these: Countless people have been asking me, “When are you going to do a full-length album?!” and telling me, “You need to do a full-length album!!!!”
The situation is simple. I don’t want to make a record unless people want to listen to it! No need for a “vanity release”, the music in my head is good enough !!!! I am blessed to have the support of two record labels who are willing to press and promote this release, but as the current paradigm stands, these record labels, and in fact very very few indie labels have any budget to contribute to recording costs, which continue to be significant, especially if a band is looking to record a quality, if not timeless release.
I am hoping that the enthusiasm about Hazel-Rah that I have been hearing exists all over the world means that there are people who would be willing to make a financial contribution, large or small, to this cause. I have set up a page via the Kickstarter website that will allow you to do that.
It is not my intention to be annoying about this campaign. My hope is that those who are enthusiastic about this music will spread the word and get it out to as many people as possible in this relatively short amount of time. Please spread around on Facebook, Twitter; feel free to forward this email on to friends and family, post, Tweet, and re-Tweet!!!! The campaign will end on June 6th. My 32nd birthday is June 7th. No pressure .
If you already know what Kickstarter is all about, here’s the link, and happy giving! Hazel-Rah Kickstarter page
If you don’t know what Kickstarter is all about, here is a brief and informative explanation:
The premise of the fund-raising service through Kickstarter is this…I have 30 days to raise a minimum amount of money to fund a specific project, in this case, a full-length record. I have set the minimum to $7000. If at least $7000 is raised, I receive the funding. If $7000 is not raised, I receive nothing from the campaign, and all pledged supporters get their pledges returned to them.
There are all sorts of awesome rewards available to supporters on all levels of financial contribution (from $10 to $1000).
This is a popular service that has been used by many, many artists of many different stripes, and it has proven to be very successful. I had the privilege of being part of a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2010 for the recording and pressing of Tartar Lamb II’s full-length album. It was a blast, and we got a great record out of it. Many many of my friends have also had successful campaigns with this, too.
Here is the link to make a financial contribution: Hazel-Rah Kickstarter page
Thanks so much for your support!
Much love,
Tim Byrnes