Hello dear Kickstarter friends!!

The album is being mixed as I type! Like, ten feet away from me!!! It sounds so, so good... better than I had even dreamed. Because now it's REAL and nothing sounds sweeter than a dream fleshed out with organ and backing vocals!

It's amazing to think back to sitting in my gnarly apartment, making the initial project video and feeling such a mix of emotions - worrying about money, worrying about having to ask people about money, worrying about being a jerk for asking people for money... mostly worrying that these songs would never come to be as they are NOW!! That was the one that got me to ask. And boy, am I glad I did. You guys have given me the greatest gift I've ever known (truly - it's my bday too!) and I can't wait to share it with you!

Check out a cool video by Spencer Lasky (Lasky Films) - way cooler than the gnarly apartment video - introducing the album: www.laurameyer.net

Here's also an mp3 of the first single, "Motel Room Blues #1," which you'll be receiving along with your other goodies over the next couple weeks as the album gets mastered and printed into gorgeous 8-panel digipacks with lyrics and artwork. In the meantime I’m setting off on a US tour and I’d love to thank you in person!

Oct 2 Harvest Fest, Westport, CT
Oct 3 TRIP Santa Monica, CA
Oct 5 Soda Bar, San Diego, CA
Oct 7 Steynberg Gallery, San Luis Obispo, CA
Oct 8 Asana, Santa Cruz, CA
Oct 9 Cozmic Cafe, Placerville, CA
Oct 10 Niles Plaza, Fremont, CA
Oct 13 Carmen de la Calle, San Antonio, TX *
Oct 14 KEOS 89.1, Bryan, TX *
Oct 14 Stafford on Main, Bryan, TX *
Oct 15 Dean’s Credit, Houston, TX *
Oct 18 Opening Bell, Dallas, TX *
Oct 20 Fox 7 Good Day Austin, Austin, TX *
Oct 20 Carmens de la Calle, San Antonio, TX *
Oct 21 Andy’s Bar, Denton, TX *
Oct 22 Mokah Lounge, Dallas, TX *
Oct 23 Bill's Records, Dallas, TX *
Oct 23 Hotel Fredonia, Nacogdoches, TX *
Oct 24 Flipnotics, Austin, TX *
Oct 28 Broad Street Cafe, Durham, NC
Oct 29 Sentient Bean, Savannah, GA
Oct 30 Java Monkey, Decatur, GA
Nov 1 Eddie’s Attic, Decatur, GA
Nov 2 The Basement, Nashville, TN
Nov 3 Loudhouse Coffee, Greenbriar, TN
Nov 5 WUGA Live it’s Friday, Athens, GA
Nov 5 Flicker Theatre & Bar, Athens, GA
Nov 6 Athens Farmers' Market, Athens, GA
Nov 6 Acoustic Coffeehouse, Johnson City, TN **
Nov 7 Karma, Greenville, SC **
Nov 8 WDVX Knoxville, TN **
Nov 8 Mo Daddy's, Asheville, NC **
Nov 9 Wonderroot, Atlanta, GA**
Nov 10 Terrapin Brewery, Athens, GA **
Nov 11 Firestorm Books, Asheville, TN **
Nov 12 Bottega, Wilmington, NC **
Nov 13 Smokey Joe's Cafe, Charlotte, NC **
Nov 14 The Purple Fiddle, Thomas, WV
Nov 20 Griggstown Pavillion, Princeton, NJ
Nov 21 Rockwood Music Hall, New York, NY

* with Aly Tadros
** with Gwyneth & Monko

Oh one last thing – the album is called Been Here Before, not Back in New York. A year went by, along with 30,000 miles divided between many cities other than NYC. I wrote a bunch of new songs and they didn't feel so site-specific. Unless of course the site is a dark musty motel room with dog food under the bed and a broken smoke detector beeping away and a rusty faucet that won't stop dripping. It's pretty universal... a search for god, for food, for shelter, for sanity. If you mumble Been Here Before it kind of sounds like Back in New York… but better ;)

Thanks again for participating in this dream! Much love to all of you!

Laura

When the clock struck 12 last night my computer didn't turn into a pumpkin. My dream turned into a reality! Incredible!!! Thank you so much for your contributions. I'm beyond thrilled to be able to make this album and it wouldn't be happening without your generosity.

Now that the project has been successfully funded (!) I've received your email addresses and I'll be contacting each of you over the next few days about your respective rewards. Here is the complete list of backers, including those who contributed through PayPal:

Nicki Ley
Tom Ashcraft
Dave Kelly
Paula Meyer
Daniel Kenenski
Heather Fay
Matt Jones
Ben Cooley Hall
Chris Yurchuck
Ann Gillard
Alexander
Gladys Keeke
Dr. Timothy Green-Tole
Bumhe Han
Cecil
Mark Nelson
Yoni Hanfling
Tim Davies
Ashley Williams
Carrie Ferguson
Anne Davies
Mo Paolini
Brendan McLaughlin
Tom Golden
Emily Dickinson
Paula Abdul
Tish
Dave King
Evan du Pont
Patrick Dunn
Heather McArdle
Robert McGee
Peter Scheffler
Gwen Fuertes
Warren Klofkorn
Soo Yuen Tan
Jessi Robertson
Claire Andia
Erin Cain
Lanny Harrison
Diana Stahl
Elizabeth Mullin
Michael Mulvihill
Victoria Calcagni
Joan Kelly
Michael Burke
Giovanna Urist
Tom Green
Scott Marucci
Starkie Schenk
Charles Smith
Mary Pauels
Elizabeth Hendee
John Jordan
Anca Jordan
Zizi & John LaCava
Sue Crowe
Vanessa Voltolina
John Houx
Steve Schlemmer
April Dickson
Heather Hightower
Chris Shellenbach
Christopher Caulfield
Wells D Hively
Dwight Meyer
Matt Norman
Jaime Paige
David Evans
Jackie White
Bradley Cosgrove
Nancy Woolf
Mark P
Kathy Buchan
Kelly Meyer
Tracy Klem
Amy Lessler
Elijah LeClair
Kewagi
Sonja Sweeney
Linda Rath
Matt Lenny
Cathryn Swan
Russell Silber
Barbara Heller
Russell Stover
Hilmar Meyer-Bosse

Hello, my dears,

I'm visiting family in St. Augustine, FL this weekend. At the beach yesterday I made a little video to go along with a song I recorded last week called "The Ocean."

Right now my heart swells as I read your sweet comments and emails of encouragement. I extended fundraising to PayPal this week and in addition to the new backers here on Kickstarter I'd like to add:

Robert McGee
Peter Scheffler
Gwen Fuertes
Warren Klofkorn
Soo Yuen Tan
Jessi Robertson
Claire Andia
Erin Cain
Lanny Harrison
Diana Stahl

Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy this.

In love and gratitude,

Laura

Hey guys!

Hope you're staying cool and having a nice weekend! I wanted to check in and say hello (I do think of you often, you know) and to let you know how the songs are coming. Also - I built a new website! I'm thrilled with how it turned out, as I now have one place to store all my music, photos, blogs, etc. and I can easily keep you updated from the road. There's even a "members only" section where you can download mp3s for free by logging in with your email! I'm planning to add new material to this section this week. It's still at the same address: www.laurameyer.net

On Tuesday I cranked out 20 new songs in the studio! It was a fantastic roll, as I've never felt so free while recording. I think it was a combination of excitement for the new material, sweltering heat, and standing up. While I always stand at shows, in the studio I usually sit because, if you've seen me live, you know I tend to move around quite a bit and this can mess up the microphones. Especially because I tend to rock out with my eyes closed and smash my face against them. A simple adjustment, but wow! What a difference.

We had to turn off the air conditioning and fans during the recording (again, the microphones) so there was a lot of motivation to capture the vibe of the songs in one take. Which we basically did! You might be wondering, who are "we"? That would be Steve Rossiter, who recorded Four Corners and the Roadwork EP, and me. Until we reach our fundraising goal I won't be able to record with the band, but I wanted to have a new recording to take with me on the road. So I played half the songs on acoustic and half electric to mix things up. On Tuesday we're going to mix everything and I'm really anxious to hear it! He's a wonderful engineer and I think we caught some nice moments. I'll definitely post a new song here by the end of the week.

Last but not least - fall tour! I'm still filling in a few gaps here and there, but here's the bulk of it. Please share these dates with friends and family, as I'm always looking to make new friends on the road :)

Sat, August 29, 2009 7:00 pm Toquet Hall, Westport, CT
Sat, September 19, 2009 7:30 pm Googie's @ The Living Room, New York, NY
Fri, September 25, 2009 9:00 pm Wilbert's, Cleveland, OH
Sat, September 26, 2009 8:00 pm Elbo Room, Chicago, IL
Mon, September 28, 2009 8:00 pm Uncommon Ground, Chicago, IL
Thu, October 1, 2009 7:00 pm Crescent Moon Coffee, Lincoln, NE
Fri, October 2, 2009 7:00 pm Ritual Cafe, Des Moines, IA
Sat, October 3, 2009 9:00 pm PS Collective, Omaha, NE
Sun, October 4, 2009 Time TBA, Replay Lounge, Lawrence, KS
Thu, October 8, 2009 7:00 pm Record Bar, Kansas City, MO
Fri, October 9, 2009 8:00 pm Picasso's, St Charles, MO
Sat, October 10, 2009 8:00 pm Sleepy Creek Vineyard, Fairmount, IL
Sun, October 11, 2009 1:00 pm Lazy Daze, Indianapolis, IN
Mon, October 12, 2009 8:00 pm The Dame, Lexington, KY
Tue, October 13, 2009 8:00 pm Cafe Coco, Nashville, TN
Wed, October 14, 2009 12:00 pm WDVX Blue Plate Special, Knoxville, TN
Thu, October 15, 2009 11:00 am WCYB-News 5, Bristol, VA
Thu, October 15, 2009 8:00 pm Acoustic Coffeehouse, Johnson City, TN
Fri, October 16, 2009 4:00 pm WUGA Live It's Friday, Athens, GA
Sun, October 18, 2009 8:00 pm East Point Corner Tavern, East Point, GA
Mon, October 19, 2009 8:00 pm Eddie's Attic, Decatur, GA
Tue, October 20, 2009 8:00 pm Java Monkey, Decatur, GA
Wed, October 21, 2009 8:00 pm Smith's Olde Bar, Atlanta, GA
Fri, October 23, 2009 8:00 pm TBA, Charlotte, NC
Sat, October 24, 2009 7:00 pm Sentient Bean, Savannah, GA
Tue, October 27, 2009 8:00 pm Juggling Gypsy, Wilmington, NC
Thu, October 29, 2009 8:00 pm Tipsy Teapot, Greenville, NC
Fri, October 30, 2009 8:00 pm TBA, Carrboro, NC
Wed, November 4, 2009 8:00 pm TBA, Philadelphia, PA
Thu, November 12, 2009 8:00 pm TBA, Montpelier, VT
Fri, November 13, 2009 8:00 pm Starving Artist Collective, Keene, NH

Thank you for your support! Have a great week.

Laura

Hey guys!

Thanks to your pledges we've already raised enough money for a full day of recording! YEA! I am especially excited because I spent the day rehearsing with the band and the songs sound better than I could have anticipated... this is going to be a fun summer.

Coming soon - a video update! Plus some full-band shows... mmm, yes. But right now I need to go practice - we're back at it tomorrow morning!

THANK YOU!

Laura