Kickstarter

I've UPDATED the video my step-daughter Taylor (14) made last fall when we were laying basic tracks at Prairie Sun Studios in Cotati, CA.  The soundtrack is a rough mix of the basic tracks for the song "Do You Wanna Go?".

MY STORY - I'VE ALWAYS BEEN A LUCID DREAMER....

Friends, Family, Neighbors, Music Lovers Everywhere -

I, Michael Krauss, am in the midst of realizing a lifelong dream. I have been performing original music for the last ten years at clubs, pubs, coffee houses, house parties and charity events throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

All of this has been a side project while I've been busy raising a daughter (Lila, now 17), being a partner (Rebecca and me, 4 years strong), a step-dad (Taylor, 15 and Sam 11) and working full time as a computer technician.  During this time I have been growing and improving as a songwriter. One year ago, I set out to record an album. Little did I know what I was getting myself into!

Nine months later, the basic recording tracks (drums, bass, piano, guitar) sit lonely and unfulfilled, banished to the prison of the engineer's hard drive.  Many weekends of 'blood sweat and tears' (not the 60s group, but the actual fluids themselves) have been expended getting the grunt work done.  Meanwhile my good paying Tech jobs have flown east (India) or evaporated all together, salaries have dropped, cost of living has climbed, and personal funds have been drained.  Basically, I ran out of money, with just the last leg of the project left to complete.

I've been whistling down the backstreets of my busted dream, shuffling through the shadows of disappointment, feeling frustrated and unsure of what to do next.  That's when a friend suggested I fund-raise for the cash needed to achieve immortality.  He recommended a site designed just to help do just that.  The site is called KICKSTARTER. Here's how it works:

First, I set up a project on the site and pitch it to them for approval.  (I did, and they did).  The site tells the story of who I am, what I am doing and why, and how much I need for my project. 

Next, I launch the project and announce it to the (virtual) world.   I pitch it to the masses - via e-mail, social sites (the dreadful Facebook), harassing phone calls, insulting flyers, twisted arms, anything - directing people to the site where they can make a contribution.

Last, good people like you (and some others who are obviously inferior) visit my Kickstarter page.  They PLEDGE an amount of money to the project, from a dribble of pennies to the depth of their Pension Funds (if they still exist).   Note that you don't PAY anything, you PLEDGE an amount.  Once the pledge period is up - in 60 days - then your transaction goes through - if, and only if, I reach my target goal. Let me repeat that - you only pay IF I make my fundraising target.  If I don't gather enough pledges and come up short, you pay nothing.  You lose nothing.   That's how the KICKSTARTER thing works.

TONIGHT, MARCH 12th, 2012 - I AM LAUNCHING MY PROJECT on KICKSTARTER!!! MY TARGET IS TO RAISE $3,000.  That's the amount I've calculated I will need to finish recording 6 original songs - to finish tracking the vocals and other instruments, to pay for the engineer and the studio time, to pay for mixing and mastering the recording, to pay for the artwork and the pressing of 1,000 CDs. I've done the math.  If I can get 120 people to pledge an average of $25 each, over the next two months, I will reach my target.  I'll have the funds to make the recording of my songs a reality.  And with luck, you'll all have a copy of my CD to play at full volume and annoy your loved ones by the Holidays.  Also, each pledge of $20 or more gets you a signed, sealed and delivered copy of my CD when its done!

But don't let the fun stop there!  Please pass this info along, bug other people, use bribery, guilt, deceit, or any other politically incorrect (actually those are all very tried and true political techniques!) method to spread the word, tell others about what I'm doing and strongly suggest, or just honestly inquire, if they might be willing to participate.

REMEMBER, WE HAVE UNTIL MAY 11th to RAISE $3,000....or else no money's collected, no microphones are abused in transporting my gruff voice onto whatever-techy-thing-it-is-that-has-replaced-vinyl.  The earth tremors like a cheap Elvis impersonator.  The birds stop migrating, the planets all go retrograde, every sitcom is canceled, popcorn defies physics and refuses to pop.  All this in 60 days...unless.  UNLESS YOU HELP ME MAKE MY RECORD!!!!

OK, thanks for listening to my "pitch".  (More of a curveball than a slider, I think).  Many Blessings on your journey!  -   Michael Krauss