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Update #9: Signed, sealed, and (almost) delivered!
The records are in! And they look really great, I must say. We'll be shipping them this weekend. Thanks for your patience, and we hope you enjoy the record as much as we enjoyed waiting for it. More than that, actually. Much more.
--The RAA
Update #8: Oh yes, it's another update...
Hello lovely supporters,
For those of you who don't follow us on Twitter (@ruralalberta), here's the latest update on the Kickstarter project. Apologies for the radio silence over here.
I am embarrassed that I'm posting yet another update on this project that doesn't include the phrase "The records are being shipped TODAY!!!"...but, here we are. We're in a bit of a holding pattern waiting for our vinyl to come to us after being pressed. We are expecting them soon, and we really, really hope to get all these packages shipped ASAP. Apologies for this incredibly long and frustrating delay. I'm as annoyed as you are, maybe even more so, for real. Please forgive us, and believe me when I say that the band put a LOT of time and energy into trying to make this package as beautiful (visually and sonically) as we could, and we're very happy with the final product and are excited for you to receive it. We hope you like it, and we think it won't be too much longer. The second it ships, I'll be here to let you know.
--AMY (& the RAA) xo
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takethat on April 12, 2010
When everything is ready to send can you ask for our addressed again? I've moved since the last time I sent one along.
Thanks!
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Update #7: Holiday wishes (and okay, a little groveling)
Hey everyone,
Greetings from Portland, Oregon! Okay, so we're almost finally, finally home for the year. Being on the road has unfortunately hampered our ability to complete the final details on our 7" in the timely manner we would have hoped for. Please accept our apologies for the delay. That being said, the songs are done and ready to go, so it's just a matter of pressing the lovely vinyl and getting it out to you guys.
T-shirt orders will be taken when we are back in Canada, right before Christmas. We're going to aim to have the record pressed in January, and send it out right after that.
Thank you again for your support and patience- this is a project close to our hearts and we're excited for you all to get it ASAP.
Happy holidays,
The RAA
Update #6: Update: it's coming! Really!
Hey everybody,
Apologies for the lack of recent updates...we're still in serious 'tour mode'. I am in fact writing this update from the lovely green room at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City!
Anyway, we just wanted to report to you that we have FINISHED RECORDING the two songs for the 7"! Once we get home (next week) we will be mixing the record, and once that's done we'll be sending out sizing requests for those of you who ordered t-shirts. Then we'll press the record, mail it out, and voila! ETA of stuff to your door: December 2009. Thanks again for your support and patience. Talk soon!
--AMY (and the RAA) xoxo
Update #5: The 7" Artwork contest winner!
Thanks again to everyone who entered our cover art contest...we received many amazing entries, and it wasn't easy to select just one.
Congratulations to our winner, Roxanne Ignatius! Her winning entry will be the official cover art for our Kickstarter 7".
A note: we've received messages from people who want to order a copy of the 7" but were too late for the Kickstarter deadline. We're working on a way to make them available to you- our project called for a run of 300 to be pressed, so we should have some extra. We might make them available on our website. We'll keep you posted!
Cheers,
The RAA
Update #4: Project successful! Artwork deadline extended! More updates!
Hello Kickstarters,
Sorry for the lack of recent updates as our Kickstarter project winds up- we've been on the road all summer, but we're definitely excited to bring you the 7" soon. Thanks again for supporting us- we are thrilled that our project has been 100% funded!
We've received a few messages from people who wanted to enter the 7" artwork contest but found out too late about the project...so we have decided to EXTEND the deadline until the end of this month, August 31at. We'll be heading to the studio soon to record the "new" versions of Frank, AB and The Deadroads.
We have also gotten a few messages from people who still want to support this project (though the deadline has officially passed)- we're going to try and figure out a way to make sure that everyone who wants a Kickstarter 7" is able to receive one!
Thanks again for all your help- keep those artwork entries coming!
Love,
The RAA
Update #3: This just in! Submit your artwork for the Kickstarter-funded RAA 7" cover!
Hi everyone,
Now that we're back from our tour, we're ready to go in and start recording the tracks for our 7". We're very excited, and again, thanks for your support in helping to fund this project.
While on the road, we got to talking about the Kickstarter project and its next steps. We kept coming back to two separate but related conversations:
a) We want to create another level of involvement with our project supporters and those following the progress of the 7"
b) We want the 7" to be really, really amazing and special- a visually (and aurally, hopefully) stunning collector's item that our supporters will be impressed with
So we've come up with a pretty simple idea that we hope you'll be excited about- we are requesting YOUR submissions for cover art for the Kickstarter 7"! Now you can support the creation of this project not just financially, but creatively as well. If design isn't your forte, help us get the word out by telling your artist friends about our project. Word-of-mouth has been a key part of this project's success!
We will choose one submitted design as the final cover art for our project. The artist who submits the chosen design will receive artist's credit on the liner notes of the record, a signed copy of the 7", and $250.00.
We'll be posting some of our favourite submissions here on our Kickstarter Project Update page as well.
Here are some guidelines for the cover art project:
1) MUST be in black and white
2) Can be photography or illustration or a painting...whatever medium works best for you
3) Must adhere to the following specs: 7.25" horizontal x 7.5" vertical
Entries must be received by August 1st, 2009.
Send all entries to contact.theraa@gmail.com SUBJECT: Kickstarter
Thank you again. We're looking forward to seeing your entries!
Cheers,
The RAA
Update #2: Private concert sold out- Exclusive 7" still available!
Hey everybody,
We're on tour right now (played a fun show in Winnipeg last night, then it's off to Calgary) but we just wanted to check in with a quick update.
First off, we've hit our $5000 goal!! This is in large part due to a donation of $3000 which means we're playing a private concert in Austin, Texas in the fall. Much more info on that to come.
However, we've still got plenty of 7" spots to reserve if you'd still like to donate $15.00 (or more) to the project. Remember, each $15.00 donation gets you one of 300 exclusive copies of the record (shipping included). We've been talking about it a lot on tour and are excited to get started on recording once we return home next month.
Thanks again for all the support, and please spread the word to anybody you think would like to get a copy of the record.
Cheers,
The RAA
Update #1: Whoa...
Checking in after the weekend only to find we're already over a third of the way to our goal...! Unbelievable. Thanks so much to everyone who has supported us so far.
Thanks also to those who are spreading the word, like Fred Wilson at avc.com, radioexile.com, Frank at Chromewaves.net, and many others. We're really excited to see so many people take an interest in this project and the idea behind doing something like this.
One more thing we wanted to make clear real quick is that shipping IS included on all these donation numbers, so no need to worry about that. We'll be following up to get all that info (t-shirt sizes too) when/if the project is 100% funded.
Thanks again!
The RAA
104
Backers
$6,700
pledged of $5,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on August 1, 2009.
Pledge $15 or more
Exclusive, numbered copy of RAA 7"
Pledge $30 or more
Exclusive, hand-signed (by all 3 members of the RAA) and numbered copy of RAA 7"
Pledge $50 or more
Hand-signed RAA 7" and an RAA American Apparel t-shirt
Pledge $3,000 or more
All of the above, AND the RAA will come play an exclusive show for you anywhere in North America
Project By
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The Rural Alberta Advantage was born out of singer/songwriter Nils Edenloff's exodus from the province that inspired the band's name and many of the songs from their enthralling debut album, Hometowns.
Edenloff grappled with homesickness after his move from Edmonton, Alberta to Toronto, Ontario in 2003. To cope with his loneliness and isolation in the 'big city', the shy songwriter penned a series of odes to his former home, celebrating the country's wild rose, the purple skies and the "deathbridge in Lethbridge." On the urging of his fellow ex-pat musician friends, Edenloff took his songs to a struggling weekly Open Mic night in early 2005 to perform them for an audience. In a matter of weeks, he was handed the job (paid in beer and 2-for-1 pasta specials) of hosting the night alongside drummer Paul Banwatt. The two quickly formed a musical bond, with Edenloff's plaintive folk songs backed by Banwatt's raucous, razor-sharp percussion. As the Open Mic night faltered, the two found themselves playing hours' worth of songs per night, and developed a solid "set list" for their weekly routine.
The twosome's arrangement became permanent as a series of other local musicians joined and left the project (by now dubbed "The Rural Alberta Advantage", courtesy of a provincial slogan co-opted by Edenloff's brother). The pub that had been home to their Open Mic night closed down (their final night featured a classic barroom brawl involving overzealous motorcycle gang members/would-be karaoke stars), but the Rural Alberta Advantage continued to perform, now playing shows in and around Toronto. A demo was recorded in late 2005, featuring Edenloff, Banwatt, Amy Cole, Ken Farrell and Anissa Hart (Ohbijou). By the completion of the demo, the RAA settled into its current, three-piece formation, with Cole becoming a permanent member of the band.
In 2006, the Rural Alberta Advantage recorded a five-song, self-titled EP. Shortly thereafter, the group was invited to play a show with local indie rock superstars Henri Faberge and The Adorables at their weekly residency at Kensington Market hotspot The Embassy. As official an initiation into the indie rock community in Toronto as there could be, The RAA played the show to great acclaim from the Adorables' faithful. Thanks to their exciting live performances and gritty, honest songs, a loyal following for the RAA began to grow. The band continued to play in Toronto and throughout eastern Canada, steadily increasing their fanbase with a performance on MTV Canada and a slot at the Pop Montreal festival in 2007.
As well as playing live, the band spent much of 2007 in the studio, recording their debut full-length record, Hometowns with producer Roger Leavens (DD/MM/YYYY, Woodhands). When plans to distribute Hometowns as the inaugural release of a new Toronto-based record label fell through, The RAA began selling copies of Hometowns themselves at shows in early 2008..
Hometowns began catching the ears of bloggers across the country on pure word-of-mouth. Herohill.com proclaimed the RAA "the best unsigned band in Canada", and I Heart Music.net deemed Hometowns "a near-perfect album". The band's reputation for stellar live shows garnered them a sellout crowd at the 2008 North By Northeast festival, and the band played similarly successful showcases at the 2008 iterations of the Halifax Pop Explosion and Pop Montreal.
The band's big break came in November 2008, when major digital music retailer eMusic.com selected the Rural Alberta Advantage, from a fan recommendation, as an eMusic Selects artist. This honour gave the band publicity and exposure to 500,000 music fans and subscribers worldwide. Repeating, and surpassing, the successes of past Selects artists Crystal Stilts and High Places, the RAA sold thousands of copies of their record in mere weeks, an astounding feat for an unsigned act. Hometowns became the highest-selling Selects act in history and a critical darling overnight, appearing on dozens of "Best of 2008" lists in newspapers, blogs, and radio podcasts across North America and Europe.
The inspiring DIY success story of the Rural Alberta Advantage has continued to gain momentum and attract fans and followers, with a breakthrough performance at the 2009 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas getting the ultimate seal of approval from Pitchfork ("This band could be huge") and a nod as a "buzz band" from the Associated Press. More glowing press reviews and sold-out club dates in major cities throughout the United States have followed, and the trio of kids from Canada now find themselves signed to Saddle Creek. Hometowns will be released properly for the first time on Saddle Creek in Summer 2009, and more tour dates throughout the USA and Canada are planned.
Any chance of extras being sold on your website or elsewhere? I didn't hear about the Kickstarter project until after the deadline and would love to have one!
I never was asked about my T-shirt size. Will you be asking for T-shirt sizes before shipping the $50 packages?
Correction - I found the box on the top of the page and submitted my info. I can't wait to get the package.