Kickstarter

Childsplay is recording a new CD, As the Crow Flies, and producing a new concert DVD of the same music. We are asking YOU to be part of making it happen!

The music of Childsplay is a rich tapestry of traditional music in its many styles and the vibrant creativity of band-members’ compositions and arrangements. Through 26 years of performing, we have succeeded in creating a musical environment of creative expression, cooperation and community. In a world of technology, commercial stimulation and overload, the music of Childsplay draws listeners to the sacred world of human connection and shared joy from which we are constantly distracted.

I have been a violinmaker for over 35 years. In 1985, while working for a shop in Philadelphia, I started selling instruments that I had made. Because I was a fiddler, I sold many instruments to fiddle players. One day, I received an invitation from a friend to perform with a band of other fiddlers in Washington, D.C. “By the way,” said my friend, “the name of the band is Childsplay, since everyone will be playing one of your instruments.” Thus the group was born.

Most of the members of Childsplay are all-stars in their professional music lives, touring with their own bands, or even performing with the Boston Symphony. Yet year after year, band-members take time away from their own performing schedules to re-enter the community of Childsplay. Why? The members of the band speak to the rejuvenation and musical growth that come from collaborating with other high level musicians who are grounded in different musical traditions, stepping out of familiar traditions into new ones. The trust and musical respect that has grown out of being in this long-standing creative process together has forged deep bonds of connection between the group, as well as with our audiences.

Our goal now is first, to produce this major project, and second, to expand our audience nationally. The new project will be essential in securing concert tours farther afield. In addition to recording and filming in January, we will be showcasing our talents to the presenters of APAP (American Performing Arts Presenters), at their annual conference in NYC. We have also signed on with the Ed Keane Agency to line up concert tours around the country. And with a little luck and help from people like you, we hope to take our new film to PBS, and our new CD to audiences through National Public Radio.

Here is the kicker: it will cost over $30,000 to make the new album and film, but by raising our stated goal, we know that we will have the support to bring this project to fruition. If you haven’t ever been through a recording project of this magnitude, here is where your money will go: studio and equipment rental, salaries for the band, producers and recording engineers and then the design and production of the actual CD itself. With a band this big, everything is done on a large scale; for example mixing and mastering the audio tracks of 20 musicians is time-consuming and expensive. Then throw in everything related to the production of the film, from filming the live concert to post-production costs and you get a sense of why we are generating this kickstarter campaign.

Our production team is superb. Our lead sound engineer is the renowned Bill Winn who has worked with Herbie Hanock, Whitney Houston and Joni Mitchell. My co-producer for the CD is the one and only Irish fiddling great Liz Carroll. And the lead filmmaker for our film project is Whit Wales who brings years of experience from behind the camera.

Childsplay is a non-profit organization, which means that all our revenue is generated from concert ticket, CD and DVD sales. Kickstarter seems like a natural fit for us, in that it speaks to the community sensibility that has grown around Childsplay over the years. We have created some fun and intriguing rewards that we hope you take advantage of … and remember, if we don’t reach our fundraising goal then we get nothing. Please join with us on this exciting, new stage as we endeavor to propel our music to a national audience!