Kickstarter

Hello everyone,
It's been too long since my last update, but I was waiting to have some additional news to pass along. And now that it's getting closer I can start to bring everyone up to speed.

I'm excited that I'm going to get some additional help releasing the album from indie label LOWER 40 RECORDS from Atlanta, GA. ( http://lower40records.com/ ) The label is run by my longtime friend Kerry Gibson, and I couldn't be happier to get to work together with them on this project. They will be mainly helping with distribution, publicity and radio promotions.

They are looking at an official release date of May. However, we're about to start production on first run of cds in next week or so. And at that time I can (finally) get copies to you all, who've been so generous and kind.

Also, below is an interview that aired on NPR here in Nashville last week some of you might enjoy listening to.

All the best,

Stephen

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WPLN News

Sunday, February 20, 2011

WPLN News arrowView All
Fans Get Generous, Records Get Made
Thursday, February 17th, 2011, by Jewly Hight

Listen Now:

Audio

More: Read Transcript Text | MP3 Direct Link

Below is the link to audio:
http://wpln.org/...

Being Vulnerable

Holcomb and the Neighbors weren’t the only ones to hit their mark. Stephen Simmons raised five grand for his new album, The Big Show—enough for a singer-songwriter who’s used to recording solo to be able to hire a full studio band.

“Trouble be gone and trouble be damned
I’m just down tonight, I ain’t ashamed of my self
I just want a love that’ll last awhile
And enough good times to prove how I felt
Somebody tell me if I’m crazy or not
C’mon world, is this all you got? ”
Stephen Simmons – “C’mon World”

On Kickstarter, Simmons let the fans he’s earned through years of playing small clubs in the U.S. and abroad hear demos of songs destined for the album. He says his intention wasn’t “to let them have a say in what songs were gonna be cut, or how they were gonna be cut.” He just “wanted them to understand what kind of record I was making.”

Simmons attracks enough cash for a bigger sound

Simmons attracks enough cash for a bigger sound

From those demos, they learned that he wouldn’t be singing about religion or politics this time—what he had on his mind was the not-always-glamorous life of the independent musician.

“I’m singin’ each night for my supper
Folks ask me how I’m doing, and they can’t tell
So I stretch the truth ‘til it sounds just right
But my stomach tells me things ain’t goin’ too well”
Stephen Simmons – “Empty Belly Blues No. 32”

The lyrics say it all. But for Simmons, the more nerve-wracking revelations were those he made outside the songs when he asked for support. Singer-songwriters, he says, “are always vulnerable on some level, like, you’re exposing yourself artistically. But I think to open yourself up and kind of throw yourself out there in ways that don’t really have to do with the art…felt a little more terrifying than making a crazy record.”

If it sounds like Simmons is talking about a relationship here, that’s because he is. With fan-funding, artists find out how connected they really are with people who are outside the business but into the music.