About this project
UPDATE.
Wow! Today (April 9th) the project made its goal with 2 weeks to go. Thank you 30 wonderful, warm and generous backers! For those of you new to the project, I hope you'll read on and learn about what we're doing and the music we're making. I still need support through kickstarter.com to make this CD project even more memorable. Thank you for coming to the site.
INTRODUCTION.
I, John Highkin -- aka, Johnny High-Hat -- once ran a circus: San Diego's Fern Street Circus. I've played music as a sideman for over 30 years. Lately, I've been out playing solo: just me with a mandolin, tenor banjo, guitar, upright bass and musical saw -- and stilts. Now, with a grant from my local arts agency in Salina, KS, I'm able to start recording my first-ever long-playing CD (see "Needs" section below). It'll have magnificent and mostly little know songs -- vintage country, swing, standards played with a Western Swing feel. I'm going to be working closely with a wonderful producer and player - Steve Jirak - and getting under the skin of some great songs.
THE CD ITSELF.
I love the way LPs and 78 albums look and feel. So, I want the CD to suggest the times of the songs I'm singing through the graphic look. Graphic designer Pam Harris is creating a graphic look inspired by Hatch Show Print in Nashville, TN (they're the 100+ year old print house responsible for the great posters used by Grand Ole Opry stars for decades). Watch as the look takes shape.
We want the CD to be in an alternative form to the jewel box: a folded dye-cut printing with a spine (so the name of the album can be seen in people's CD collections) and sleeve for credits and information. It'll look really wonderful -- and won't use any plastic.
THE NEEDS.
The grant from the Horizons Grants Program in Salina is great! But it's not enough to accomplish the whole project. It's allowed me to buy equipment to finish off my home recording studio and to hire the producer/guitarist, Steve Jirak, engineer/software advisor, Bruce Lacy, and some additional musicians.
But I need funds to pay for the following: CD Mastering and manufacturing; a small p.a. system which will sound great but be very portable (a Bose probably); graphic design and printing and rights for the use of the songs. Altogether the cost of all of this exceeds the amount of the Horizons grant and my initial fund raising goal. Any additional donations beyond the fund raising goal are very much appreciated. Donors always honored!
THE FUTURE.
This CD and the materials generated with it will help me get work so I can come to a town near you. This is a critical part of my plan for making music a more important part of how I make my living. And it's also an opportunity for all involved to better know about recording at home.
TESTIMONIALS.
“WOW, what a FUN show tonight at the library. Thank you. Thank you!!!!”
Lisa Petty, Salina Public Library
Salina, KS
"When I asked you to bring your stilts to Coronado [Elementary School], I didn’t realize how much more you had to offer than a just demonstration of how to walk on stilts. You gave the students a great introduction to each of the four instruments (mandolin, tenor banjo, bass and guitar). Most of the students listed the bass or the banjo as their favorites. It’s pretty incredible to see you playing the bass when you’re up so high on the stilts!
"The students warmed up to you right away as you used your hat tricks to make them laugh. They thought you were really funny."
Nyla Romeiser, 2nd grade teacher
Salina, KS
"I have worked with John on several occasions, including rehearsals, performances and studio recording. John is a true joy to work with - a true team player. He shares ideas, takes criticism and still has fun. In performances, John has excellent stage presence and consistent application of the details worked out in rehearsal. John is always engaged.
Dean Kranzler, drummer
Salina, KS
"Highkin's...an excellent musician and entertainer with a a notable background in a variety of entertainment media, from bluegrass and Texas swing music to circus music and performance...
"He was a great asset... [to] my band, as a singer, as a talented mandolinist, as an emcee, and perhaps most importantly, as a great source of older material from past musical generations."
Richard Burkett, leader, Gone Tomorrow (bluegrass band)
San Diego, CA
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
36
Backers
$2,531
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on April 23, 2010.
Pledge $1 or more
Exclusive updates on the CD and the recording process. Will be via e-mail, song, postcard or some other unusual form.
Pledge $10 or more
Your name on my MySpace music page and future web site and an advance download of three (3) tracks from the album. Plus the above.
Pledge $25 or more
A digital download of the CD and graphics - and all of the above.
Pledge $50 or more
Your name listed on the CD liner notes and a pre-order for a physical, signed copy of the CD. Plus the above.
Pledge $100 or more
A beautifully designed t-shirt and a personal compilation of my favorite Western Swing tunes from the 1930s to the present day. Plus all of the above stuff.
Pledge $250 or more
A signed show print poster and a new copy of a CD with 25 great songs by Milton Brown and His Musical Brownies (on Jazz Legacy Records) -- the inventor of Western Swing music in the 1930s. Also the above cool stuff.
Pledge $500 or more
Clever mention of your name in a song on my CD. Plus all of the above.
Pledge $1,000 or more
I'll record the song of your choice in a Western Swing style and then perform it on YouTube, dedicated to you! Plus, of course, all of the above stuff.
Pledge $2,500 or more
A live concert in your home, for your friends, in your town. It'll be great to meet you! (Plus all of the above.)
Project By
Connected as John Highkin (537 friends)
A musician and circus director for over 30 years, John is feverishly exploring Texas Swing music in all its early forms. John played bluegrass mandolin and bass in the 1970s in Los Angeles and Nashville, worked in theater in the 1980s (studying at Bertolt Brecht's Berliner Ensemble in East Berlin in 1987) and had a long run as co-founder and artistic director of San Diego's Fern Street Circus. He created and produced circus shows and events from 1991 to 2003, commissioning original music and playing in the band from 1998 to 2003.
He and his wife Cindy Zimmerman, an artist and educator, moved to Salina, Kansas in 2004 (for John's now former job with the city's arts department).
After all these years of being a sideman, John Highkin has stepped out as a solo musical performer. His circus past shows through in his choice of unusual songs – swing and vintage tunes, standards and oddities – and his combining playing mandolin, tenor banjo and upright bass while on stilts. It creates a show, a story, and a memorable time.
