Good evening,

My good friend Nick D and I both launched Kickstarter fundraising projects at about the same time - his is to publish an awesome book he is writing on interaction design, and of course mine is for producing the vinyl & cd versions of my new album. Nick posted tonight about an interesting statistic with Kickstarter projects - those that reach the 25%-funded threshold have a 94% success rate.

[Incidentally, if you work in design, product development, or technology, you will need NickD's book when it is finished - go make sure it gets published now! I don't get a kickback, by the way.]

If you're interested, the folks at Kickstarter posted a long blog about why they think the 25% threshold exists. It's a good read if you have time. But the point is - tonight I noticed that both Nick's project and mine are tantalizingly close to that 25%-funded mark - right now I'm just over 20%.

I want to thank those of you who have pre-ordered the album so far, or just donated for the cause. It is my firm belief that in 2009, a musician or band needs to do more than just release an album on CD and mp3. The disposability of both formats goes against what the album format - that vaunted Long-Player, always represented. I believe that people are craving the real experience, with real thought, care, and love put into the entire package - great music, great artwork, and special offerings. But even if you only ordered the CD, you'll still get as nice of a package as we can manage with that format. Cover artist Dave Gonzalez just sent over the final cover art yesterday, and it is amazing. If this fundraising fails, that cover art may never see the surface of an LP sleeve, let alone a smaller CD cover - it will only exist on that Bandcamp page and as a thumbnail in a little corner in your iTunes. And then there's the music - thanks especially to my brother Stephen's drumming and J Robbins's amazing production job, I am absolutely convinced that this album deserves LP and CD treatment. I would have never undertaken a pre-ordering fundraiser project if I thought otherwise.

So, about that 25% threshold. The way this project will surpass it - and eventually succeed - is through your help. Share it with your friends. Convince them that they need to order an all-cello recording of their significant other's favorite song for Christmas/Hanukkah/their birthday/next Flag Day. When else will you ever have the chance to hear cello versions of Mission of Burma, Chavez, and Burning Airlines on vinyl (not to mention the originals)? This may also be the only time ever that you can get an original piece of Dave's for so little money. Grab the sharing widget on the project's homepage, or just click one of the sharing links. Sign up for my email list and tell others to as well.

Thanks again and let's make this happen for real!

Best,

Gordon Withers

PS. I may have some exciting radio-interview news later this week. I'll update again as soon as it happens!