Hello Friends,

It's Christmas night and I hope that you and your family have enjoyed the holiday season so far no matter what you celebrate! Things are going pretty incredibly post-tour and releases. I wanted to write quickly and update you on the status of the Kickstarter Rewards and to let you know about my FIRST ever full band tour.

As of now, you should have received free downloads of Seaside Sessions, Spring Song Vol. 1, and Some Small Way. The physical product for Some Small Way and IIOI/KOJI have JUST come in. Due to some production issues (with both releases), there was a delay in getting the records to distributors and then to me.

Unfortunately, it left me no time between rehearsals and family celebrations (and a nasty sinus infection) to ship these before Christmas. Now that I'll be leaving for tour tonight, I'll be bringing all the Kickstarter t-shirts and records with a list of who gets what. You may pick up (to save the environment) your Kickstarter rewards at the shows listed below. The rest of the packages will go out in the New Year!

Thank you SO SO much for the amazing support and your patience. I hope that I've been able to make you proud. Please get in touch with any changes of address as the packages will be shipping in the next two weeks. And see you soon!

Love & light,
KOJI

ps. I hope you don't mind the changes in the formats for the rewards. The cassette has morphed into a CD and the 7" turned into a 12" full length. These changes, I think you will agree, are for the better! Here's the dates...

12/26/10 – HOWELL OPERA HOUSE – HOWELL, MI
Details: http://www.fusionshows.com /
123 W. Grand River, Howell, MI 48843
$8 adv / $10 day of show – all ages – doors open at 530pm
with The Felix Culpa, Stay Ahead of the Weather, Castevet, Apathetic Critic, Shivers*1/2 off early bird presales sold out in 3 hours!*

12/27/10 – MUSICA – AKRON, OH
Details: http://www.akronmusica.com/
51 East Market St., Akron, OH 44308
$9 adv / $10 day of show – all ages – doors open at 630pm
with The Felix Culpa, StayAtHeart, more

12/28/10 – MIDTOWN SCHOLAR – HARRISBURG, PA
Details/tickets: http://colormake.bigcartel.com/
1302 North Third Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102
price TBA – all ages – time TBA
with Balance and Composure, Stay Ahead of the Weather, Castevet

12/29/10 – BULL RUN UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS – MANASSAS, VA
Details/tickets: http://colormake.bigcartel.com/
9350 Main St., Manassas, VA 20110
price TBA – all ages – time TBA
with TBA

12/30/10 – BRIEF RELIEF 2010 – BRANDYWINE VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH – WILMINGTON, DE
Details/tickets: http://colormake.bigcartel.com/
7 Mt. Lebanon Rd., Wilmington, DE 19803
$7.00 – all ages – doors open at 7pm
with TBA*benefit show to raise awareness for homelessness in the surrounding areas*

These are images from a screening I did with Invisible Children's Mid Atlantic Roadies in Virginia Beach, VA. We screened the film "Go" (featuring Amanda Mitchell, pictured below) for over 1,600 students and raised thousands of dollars and so much enthusiasm and awareness about Invisible Children's work in northern Uganda. We've been so fortunate to meet the most amazing artists and activists on our journey so far. It's been completely inspiring to see people coming together around good causes and good art. There are more images and stories on the way!

It's about to begin! And by that, I mean ALL OF IT! There's just a few days until I leave for a long run of shows that will take me through a good part of this country. We're confirming more shows, more community projets, studio dates, video/photo shoots, and collaborative efforts with artists and activists from all over. This would not be possible without your support. Please check back as I will be blogging right here on Kickstarter about my progress over the next few months.

Here are the dates for the first leg of my Spring 2010 Tour...

SPRING TOUR SCHEDULE!

03.05 - Bull Run Unitarian, Manassas, VA
03.06 - Club Relevant, Virginia Beach, VA
03.07 - The Artful Dodger, Harrisonburg, VA (Cancelled)
03.09 - Homemade Genius, Greenwood, SC (Cancelled)
03.11 - Stetson University, Orlando, FL
03.12 - Reno's, Miami, FL
03.13 - Sacred Grounds, Tampa, FL
03.14 - Harvest of Hope Festival
03.15 - The Sentient Bean, Savannah, GA
03.16 - House Show, Birmingham, AL
03.17 - The Greenhouse, Rome, GA
03.18 - The Warehouse, East Ridge, TN**
03.19 - The Estate, Nashville, TN**
03.20 - Rocketown, Nashville, TN
03.21 - Skull Alley, Louisville, KY
03.22 - Victorian's Midnight Cafe, Columbus, OH
03.23 - University of Dayton, Dayton, OH
03.24 - Earth House Collective, Indianapolis, IN
03.25 - Cafe Ventana, St. Louis, MO
03.27 - 180 Room, Muskegon, MI
03.28 - Mixtapes, East Moline, IL*
03.29 - The Bean, East Peoria, IL*
03.30 - House Cafe, DeKalb, IL*
03.31 - Project Lodge, Madison, WI*
04.01 - Drasik Studios, Chicago, IL*
04.02 - Strangelight by Summer Camp, Chicago, IL*
04.03 - Ugly Mugs, South Bend, IN^
04.06 - Howell Opera House, Howell, MI#
04.07 - The Strutt, Kalamazoo, MI#^
04.08 - The Snuggly Mug, Bay City, MI
04.09 - The Factory, Rochester, MI
04.10 - Tony's Bar, Newark, OH
04.12 - Istanbul, Pittsburgh, PA
04.13 - Avenue 209, Lock Haven, PA
04.14 - Eldolyn Terrace, Altoona, PA
04.15 - American University, Washington, DC
04.16 - Krasner's Basement, Frederick, MD
04.17 - Limestone Presbyterian, Wilmington, DE

*w/ Into It. Over It.
** w/ A.N. Palamara
# w/ Kevin Devine
^ w/ Ender

Happy Monday People,

I just had to write and say that we've reached 100 backers and this just shortly after raising $5,500 for Partners in Health's efforts to aid our brothers and sisters in Haiti! I'm so completely overwhelmed with gratitude for your support (yes, you, backers from all across this country) and that of my hometown, Harrisburg, PA. It's really special for me to see my community come together around this cause. It's playing these kinds of shows, creating these experiences that drive me as an artist and will continue to guide me in my work. Whether it's a benefit concert in Harrisburg across the street from the place where my parents brought me home as a newborn or finding myself in Ninove, Belgium or Muskegon, MI to Washington, DC to Hot Springs, AR... the energy, the spirit, creativity, and love that lives in those rooms and in those moments never cease to inspire and warm me. We have got 11 days left to go the distance with our Kickstarter project. Let's finish strong!

Your friend,
Koji

ps. To our friend Evan who had posed to me in the comments section, "Two questions: how are you going to reduce your carbon footprint and what organization are you going to "help"?" -- You can learn more about Partners in Health at http://www.pih.org or http://www.standwithhaiti.org. The answers to your questions will be told in time, but that's a good start. There's a whole lot of walking to do.

This show is going to be a great concert for several reasons. First, it's my last home townshow before the first leg of my Spring 2010 tour. It's my hometown birthday show, so there should be something baked with candles in it. Third, it's the release show for the first of 5 releases this year. That release is entitled Seaside Sessions. Fourth, this is Kevin's final appearance in the US before heading to Europe for a solo tour and then Australia with his friends Brand New. Fifth and finally, it's KEVIN DEVINE performing. He's been a true inspiration to me as an artist and social figure. We're so fortunate to have him here in the midstate. All in all, I cannot wait for this event. It's gonna be one for the ages. THE AGES.

Tickets are available at www.clrmk.com.

Please visit www.pih.org to see where the proceeds will go!