About this project
Welcome to the Jamboree!
For the past year we've been recording our debut album in various basements and venues around Portland, OR. It's been an entirely home-grown venture, and we've taken our time to produce a really great record -- hiring guest musicians, creating string arrangements, and filling out the songs with an intricate folk pop sound.
Now that we're almost finished, we hope you'll help us raise the funds we need to cover the cost of releasing it. This includes:
1) mixing and mastering the album
2) CD duplication
3) promoting the album once it's released
4) subsidizing a CD release tour this summer
A little background on the project -- we started rehearsing songs for this record back in the fall of 2009. That winter, we began recording drum tracks at The Woods here in Portland. The venue, which used to be an old funeral chapel, has amazing acoustics, and the management was kind enough to let us use their space during the day when no shows were going on. I knew drummer Pete Van Dyck from one of my favorite bands back in Massachusetts (The Amity Front), and he laid down the foundational rhythm tracks for us to build upon.
The bulk of 2010 was spent meticulously tracking with David Fuller, who plays accordion for us and also happens to be one of the best recording engineers in town. With his portable recording setup, we bounced around to various basements and live rooms in Portland, choosing our location by what sound we were trying to get on a particular track.
Once the basic tracks were laid down, we started bringing in guest musicians like Jake Jolliff (Joy Kills Sorrow) on mandolin, Bryan Free on organ, Nate Purcelley (Deepest Darkest) on trumpet, and Christy Kuiken (Pacific Crest Wind Symphony) on vibraphone.
We also fortunate enough to work with the amazing Wendy Goodwin (of Effesenden Music), who wrote lush string arrangements for a few of the songs and played violin on the record. Cellist Kendra Carpenter filled out the rest of our string parts, resulting in a beautiful orchestral sound scape.
This is by far the most exciting project I've ever been a part of, and we can't wait for you to hear what we've created!
Please consider helping us fund this release, and thanks for supporting independent music!
Much love,
-Adam Sweeney & the Jamboree
FAQ
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on May 4, 2011.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
A free download of a single song from the forthcoming "Adam Sweeney & the Jamboree" record
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
Free download of our limited edition 5-song E.P. "Wildest Rose"
Pledge $20 or more Pledge $20 or more
Free downloads of both the forthcoming "Adam Sweeney & the Jamboree" record and our 5-song "Wildest Rose" E.P.
Pledge $30 or more Pledge $30 or more
A CD of the forthcoming "Adam Sweeney & the Jamboree" record, signed and mailed to you. Plus a free download of our 5-song "Wildest Rose" E.P.
Pledge $45 or more Pledge $45 or more
A CD of the forthcoming "Adam Sweeney & the Jamboree" record + a limited edition CD of our 5-song "Wildest Rose" E.P. -- both signed and mailed to you.
Pledge $60 or more Pledge $60 or more
A CD of the forthcoming "Adam Sweeney & the Jamboree" record + a limited edition CD of our 5-song "Wildest Rose" E.P. + an 8 x 10 band photo -- all signed and mailed to you.
Pledge $75 or more Pledge $75 or more
Signed copies of both the "Adam Sweeney & the Jamboree" CD + the "Wildest Rose" E.P. + signed band photo + our "Sometimes Love Sneaks Up On You" T-Shirt (see www.adamsweeney.net for an example) -- all mailed to you.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
All the previously mentioned rewards (both signed CDs, T-shirt, signed band photo), PLUS a free download of a COLLECTION OF DEMOS from the album. This includes acoustic versions of all the songs, plus some alternate full-band versions of others, and even one or two embarrassing electric demos played to a cheesy drum machine. Truly a behind-the-scenes look at where these songs started!
Pledge $200 or more Pledge $200 or more
All the previously mentioned rewards (both signed CDs, T-shirt, signed band photo, demo collection download) PLUS an exclusive download of "Adam Sweeney Live at the Triple Door", a live recording from a November 2010 performance opening for Dar Williams in Seattle, WA.
Pledge $350 or more Pledge $350 or more
All the previously mentioned rewards (both signed CDs, T-shirt, signed band photo, demo collection download, live album download) PLUS signed copies of Adam's 2 previous solo CDs "Technicolor Halo" (2007) and "Places & Names" (2004)
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
All the previously mentioned rewards (both signed CDs, T-shirt, signed band photo, demo collection download, live album download, Adam's 2 solo CDs) PLUS a page of original artwork from either our "Wildest Rose" E.P. or our T-Shirt design projects (limited # available)
Pledge $750 or more Pledge $750 or more
All the previously mentioned rewards (both signed CDs, T-shirt, signed band photo, demo collection download, live album download, Adams 2 solo CDs, original band artwork) PLUS a *very* limited edition CD of Adam and Zach's old band from high school, Acacia Grove (1999). We were pretty darn good for a nerdy high school christian rock band, if I do say so myself. Be one of, like, 20 people to have ever heard this record!
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
All the previously mentioned rewards (both signed CDs, T-shirt, signed band photo, demo collection download, live album download, Adams 2 solo CDs, original band artwork, Acacia Grove CD) PLUS a free concert at your house (or other location of your choosing) put on by Adam and possibly the full band depending on your location.
Project By
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The music of Adam Sweeney & the Jamboree is like “The Sound of Silence” after the band kicks in: all jangle and harmony, poppy yet literary, brooding and celebratory all at the same time. They have one foot planted firmly in the folk revivalist tradition, while the other seems to have landed somewhere a bit more edgy, a bit more indie, a bit more electric.
Sweeney’s songs are one part Dylan, one part Simon. Half the time they are poetic vignettes and character-driven narratives in the vein of Josh Ritter or Nebraska-era Springsteen, while the other half is obliquely imagistic and steeped in metaphor, with lyrics akin to those of Jeff Tweedy or Michael Stipe.
But it’s his backing band, The Jamboree, that lifts the music out of the folk singer-songwriter realm and plants it squarely on a rock foundation – with intricate lead guitar work by Jeremie Murfin; Katie Sawicki on banjo and backing vocals; multi-instrumentalist David Fuller on accordion, percussion and atmospheric electrics; and Zachary Pace on bass guitar.
