Hey folks,

After many months of toil the CD is finally here!

We are thrilled with the outcome of this project and we can't wait to share it with you.

All donors will be receiving an email from me (through Kickstarter) asking for pertinent info so that we can get you your rewards ASAP!

Thanks for your faithful patience and belief in our music.

xo,

z, m, & f

After many double espressos, lot's of take-out from Flatbush Latin Grill, and more than a few misguided delivery orders of sushi on 100º days, I am pleased to say that we have a final mix on The Magic Number!

Everything sounds great. I've never been more pleased with a recording project of mine. I can't wait for you all to hear it.

Stay tuned for an advance track posting on the Producer's Forum in the next few weeks.

Thanks again for your support. We could not have done this without you.

Huzzah!

Zach & Scott

Almost....:)

Just finished the final studio session a few hours ago. I'll have some rough mixes/samples for people to hear on the Magic Number Producer's Forum in the next week or so.

xo,

z

Hey folks!

We're going in tomorrow and recording until Saturday. Here's what we have on deck...

We did it!

Thanks to you we reached our Kickstarter fund-raising goal before the deadline and now we have the funds to make our new CD, The Magic Number.

Most of you probably know that our title comes from a Schoolhouse Rock! song called "3 Is A Magic Number" (trio, 3, ingenious). What you may or may not know is that the primary performer, composer, and arranger of Schoolhouse Rock! was Bob Dorough. Never saw Schoolhouse Rock!? Well, maybe you heard a Miles Davis record called Sorcerer? Bob sang his tune "Nothing Like You" on that record. Or maybe you heard the Miles Davis/Gil Evans holiday recording "Blue X-Mas?" That's Bob too.

In any case, an amazing coincidence has transpired:
Bob Dorough is playing tonight in a little joint in the West Village for NO COVER and I'll be sitting in with him and his trio.

So, if you would like to tip a glass with me to celebrate our Kickstarter success AND hear a living legend of American music (and the actual author of "3 Is A Magic Number") in a tiny underground NYC club then come out and hang!

BOB DOROUGH entertains for 2 sets
Steve Berger, guitar; Pat O’Leary, bass;
guest appearance by Zach Brock, violin

Wednesday, March 31st
7pm and 8:30pm, (doors open at 6)
@ THE SPEAKEASY AT BBQ
21-23 West 8th St. (located between 5th and 6th Ave.)
212-674-4450

BBQ is an old building and in its basement is a cool cabaret-style room that used to be a speakeasy.

Also, Bob Dorough is in the midst of filming a documentary entitled 'DEVIL MAY CARE' (www.devilmaycarethemovie.com) about his vagabond jazz career, produced by Beth Bogart and Steve Berger and directed by Erin Harper. We need bodies to try out The Speakeasy at BBQ, which will be opening as a music room this summer, and to be part of the documentary-in-the-making.

In the meantime, Hisai, the entrepreneur-in-residence, produces fine food and proper drink for her guests and clientele.

The good news is -- There is *NO cover charge,* although we do encourage you to eat, drink, and be merry with Bob Dorough and friends!

Getting the concept together for a recording can feel like being in limbo.

My personal enjoyment begins when I can start working towards the physical realization of the music and get OUT of my head. I guess that would be tomorrow.

Wanna know what the program is? Well then, log into the Micro Producers forum and you will find the answer.

Some hints?

4 brand-new compositions from me, a standard, a piece by one of my teachers (also considered a modern standard), an anthem from one of my greatest heroes, and an original arrangement of a Saturday-morning classic.

Thank you all for your generous support! We're getting there.

Download the "Promo Pack" and share it with your family/friends/financiers:

http://zachbrock.com/THEMAGICNUMBERPROMOPACK.zip

It contains MP3s of our EP, the video, the press release, the postcard, promo photos, and an MP3 of me talking about Kickstarter. Do with it as you will.

A great suggestion that Fred had was to let people know that donating $15-25 is the same a "pre-ordering" the CD itself.

Thanks all and Good Night.

z

Amazing.

I'll make this missive brief since I'm waking up at 6AM to put together some new music for our rehearsal tomorrow afternoon (stay tuned for some musical updates).

A few minutes after that last message I sent our project received new donations that have gotten our funding level up to 55%!

Does anybody out there need me to mail them some CDs or email some MP3s to play for their friends, family, co-workers, etc?

Also, does anybody have a recommendation about which mobile internet service I should engage (AT&T, T-Mobile, Boingo) throughout the upcoming tour so I can continue to fan the flames of the fundraiser?

Nighty-night,

z

Hey everybody,

I am excited to inform you that as of last night our project past the halfway mark!

We are 51% funded with 21 day to go.

Over the past few months I have watched other Kickstarter projects with much more ambitious fundraising goals come from behind and succeed within hours of their deadline. I feel like we're in a good position (Tour de France flashbacks) and we owe it all to YOU.

One slight (and I emphasize "slight") concern of mine is that I am going out on tour next Wednesday (to Singapore where our show is sold out!) and I am not back home in front of this computer until March 29: three days before the deadline. I am dusting off my old laptop and I will be doing all that I can every day until then to spread the word about our project, BUT I CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOUR HELP.

You have all done so much to help us already and I am loathe to ask for more, but I have to.

One very quick and easy way that you can help is to email folks you know who might be interested in becoming involved, post the widget and links to Facebook, your blog or website, etc. You can do all of this directly from the project page itself (right below the video).

If you feel that you could increase the contribution you have already made, remember that you can always do so right up until the last day by going to the link at the bottom right-hand side of the project page that says "Manage My Pledge" and following the instructions to adjust the amount.

Finally, I want to remind everybody that the participatory element of our project DOES NOT END UNTIL THE RECORDING IS FINISHED. Although our deadline is March 31st for the fundraising portion, the "Micro Producing" element will just be heating up!

Thank you all for making this a possibility!

Best regards,

z

We just past the $3000 mark!!!

Will you help me send this and post this to everyone you know? http://kck.st/bHEzE9

Let's get halfway by the end of the week:)

z

P.S. New demos coming shortly. I was going to be tracking this AM but there is a 5-truck film shoot (LOUD generators) and 3 tree-cutting/mulching trucks outside my window. Gotta love the city life. Where is a basement when you really need one?

I’m here to show love!

Here (click click) is a song that I just made available to my mailing list. Are you on my mailing list? If not, you can join quickly and painlessly by clicking here.

The song was written by Jon Deitemyer and it is called “Sleepover.” We recorded this trio with Jon on drums and Matt Wigton on bass. This is a bootleg from Rockwood Music Hall back in 2007. I hope you like it.

BTW, I'm making more things like this available to folks who have pledged at the $25+ level in our secret little producing forum. If you feel left out just remember that you can change your pledge amount at any time by clicking on the "Manage My Pledge" link located somewhere on our projects page (real smooth, eh).

I’m going to be on WRFL “Radio Free Lexington” 88.1FM tomorrow (Friday, February 19) at 3PM EST talking with DJ James Brown (seriously) on the DJ Ride Non-Threatening Music Hour. I’ll be playing cuts off of the trio demo and talking about the Kickstarter project. You can download an iTunes link to stream the audio here...

Is there a local radio station, TV station, newspaper, magazine, blog, or cooking show in your town that might be interested in having me talk about our project and the state of independent jazz music? We need to get the word out NOW!!! I have written up a nice little press release that you can download here. You can really help us by sending this to all media for which you can get an email address, fax number, phone number, or mailing address. I will reimburse postage (seriously)!

Directly underneath the picture/video on our Kickstarter page is a light-blue box that says "SHARE THIS PROJECT WITH YOUR FRIENDS." Clicking on any of the sharing options available there such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or via email or embed, could result in a donation. Now how much easier could it get?

As of 12PM on Feb. 18, you have raised 32% (or $2549) of our "$8000 by March 31st" fundraising goal. This is exciting. Now is the time to start chopping this up into smaller goals.

Can you help me raise 50% ($4000) of our total goal by February 28?

That gives us 10 days. We are $1451 away from reaching that and we can get there if we are able to raise $145 a day. That shouldn’t be too hard, right?

Thanks!

z