Kickstarter

NoDa Records is a revolutionary music label based out of and focused on the North Davidson (“NoDa”) neighborhood of Charlotte, NC. We are a crazy little community full of musicians and artists of all types. The concept of the label is simple: we focus on our core group of bands, train them, and create a family of musicians that help in every aspect of production and promotion along the way. So far, all of this has probably been done before, but check this out: Our primary promotional tool, as well as a major source of income, will be a collection of films and television shows about our bands and our neighborhood. The first of these will be our breakthrough documentary: "NoDa," immediately rolling into the launch of the "NoDa Records" reality show. The bands will also be running a neighborhood AM radio station that will feature neighborhood music and personalities, both locally as well as nationwide through internet radio. Another primary focus of the label will be music licensing for film, TV, advertising and video games as we build a comprehensive music library spanning every genre. Bands on the label will make money from music sales, documentaries, TV, DVDs, licensing, t-shirts, other merchandise, radio, YouTube, touring and anything else we can think of along the way. We'll also be working together to create educational content for JuiceBox, our music and video series designed to be fun for children and adults too! On top of all this, each of our core family of bands will receive a five percent stake in the label. So what this means is that if they put in the time to help record another band, shoot their video, promote the album and help them achieve success, then they get to share in the success...THAT'S HUGE! If the bands can come together and turn this into the next big thing, not only will they attain exponential notoriety, but we can put NoDa and Charlotte on the map in the music scene.

NoDa is this little pocket of creativity nestled in northeastern Charlotte. Named after its main street, North Davidson St., and centered around the intersection of E 36th St., this multi-block art district community is brimming with eclectic people, businesses and events. It’s home to several great music venues, art galleries, bars, breweries, tattoo shops, a band rehearsal studio, a coffeehouse, a yogurt shop, a t-shirt gallery, gourmet cupcakes (with bacon!) and so much other cool stuff we could go on and on! It's no wonder that the community is made up of hippies and hipsters, musicians and artists, bankers and families, and people from every walk of life. Yet, we're all a community, and everyone knows your name. We are more than a community, we are a family. With this many characters running around, and the fact that there is ALWAYS something to do, the antics of our neighborhood get wildly entertaining.

Here are some links to videos we've shot around NoDa:  

All Arts Market @ Neighborhood Theatre  

Rodney Lanier Memorial and New Orleans Syle Procession

NoDaWeen Freaky 5k Costume Marathon                         

PupCrawl @ The Chop Shop                                               http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTIf1xrfqIw

PBR Tattoo Party @ Fu's Custom Tattoo                           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsWdCMMO3Yc

DeegCo/Pandemic Grand Opening                                     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VY1oJ3Hqls

Open Mic @ Blind Pig                                                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtIS7D1Givc

 Oyster Roast @ Growler's Pourhouse                                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA411sSHCqo                                                                                                

If you would like to see more videos of the neighborhood please check out our YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/djdjdj242

And check out more of what NoDa is all about with our neighborhood’s art, music, event and nightlife websites: 

http://noda.org/  

http://nodanites.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/nodaclt

DeegCo is a music and video production company, and production training center owned and operated by DJ Rankin a half a block from the center of NoDa. We have a huge recording room plus production rooms filled with instruments, gear and all sorts of cool stuff. We offer affordable services to bands with little money. Now we want to invest in the bands that we believe in, and help them grow to be all that they can be. Currently we are an open to the public facility focused only on the day to day operation of the studio, trying to make ends meet. With this plan we will no longer accept walk in business, and will become a closed door production studio, focused entirely on our bands and our neighborhood. The studio has already become a hub for musicians to meet and collaborate; this new venture will afford them not only the time to create a massive amount of incredible content, but also an outlet to get it seen and heard.

Bums Lie combines the bass driven and syncopated elements of Caribbean music with the themes and forms of American rock and roll. The addition of powerful harmonies, horns and dueling guitar solos make for a creole of lively and danceable music.

"Uptown" by Bums Lie

The Wormholes are a three piece experimental, rock/alternative group. They blend the old-school rock sound with intricate guitar rhythms, well-crafted leads and solos, and soothing vocal harmonies; with a blend of new rock created by smooth bass lines, power driven drum patterns, and guitar effects. The Wormholes are also known for their visually pleasing live performances and high energy shows

"Why" by The Wormholes

Asleep in the Weeds is a ten-piece band that meanders from deep-pocket grooves, to intricate Zappa-esque sections woven from each of the members' musical addition to this small orchestra. Horns, strings, flutes and more create thick walls of sound that listeners can't help but get lost in. This band will take you on an epic musical journey each and every song!

"Spring" by Asleep in the Weeds   

           

With the massive amount of talent in NoDa we have had a difficult time deciding on the fourth band, but we will be announcing our final decision soon! We'll be asking you guys for your opinions along the way so check back regularly and get involved in helping us figure out who makes the cut!

The documentary of this whole crazy project is what our Kickstarter campaign is all about. We want to show the world our wild and wonderful little neighborhood, and the explosive talent and creativity that thrives within these few blocks where we all live, work and play. Our first video release, and our introduction to the world, will be a full-length documentary titled "NoDa." The film will be centered around the community of our neighborhood, the music, the art, the eclectic businesses and everything that makes this our favorite place to be. Although the documentary will spotlight more than ten neighborhood bands and all of our music venues, our focus will be on the four core bands, how they interact with the neighborhood and the grueling six month production process. We will enter the film into several festivals to gain exposure and start building our cult following.

Imagine yourself following one of the band members through their day of recording in the studio, then following them up the street to the tattoo shop. As our band member leaves the shop the camera stays behind: now you're experiencing NoDa through the tattoo artist's eyes. You get to see a totally different side of our neighborhood than you've seen while following the bands. Eventually the camera starts following another NoDa character, then another, until it eventually finds its way back to one of our band members. Just like that you're back on track at the studio. You've come full circle while exploring the web of relationships that make up our quirky community. The band members will also be outfitted with their own cameras so we get to see everyone's unique experiences and sometimes even all of them at the same time. Think about a six-car caravan on its way to a music festival campground: they split up and got lost on long mountain roads only to be reunited just five minutes before they took the stage (true story)! When the action gets deep the film might just transition into some of DJ's signature quick-edit, music video style of production. Get psyched for an exhilarating visual experience as you get to truly discover the sights and sounds of our neighborhood. There is really no place like it on earth!

Our initial Mega Project will span the next six months, and we'll be filming a documentary of the process and our neighborhood the entire time. In addition to the primary production equipment in the studio, each band will be outfitted with a video camera to keep with them to help us see it all through their eyes.

Since we are a production training facility, and everyone will be helping with production, we'll be running our bands through a crash course in audio engineering, ProTools (recording software), electronic music production and video production. Every member of the band must be comfortable running the camera that they will be using to document their journey. At least one member of each band will have to get good at editing, so that the band can constantly be uploading all sorts of videos for fans as they anticipate studio releases. In addition to production training, we'll run workshops in Photoshop and graphic design, social media marketing and music business, and just being surrounded by amazing musicians will lead to everyone sharing knowledge in music theory along the way. Everyone will also get to share in the learning experience as we develop the radio station from the ground up.

Each band will get 120 hours of recording time with DJ, but since everyone will have learned how to operate the studio, there will probably be a non-stop recording session for several months. Each band will record at least one full length album, but several bands will probably create more in that amount of time. Bands will also be responsible for learning an album full of popular music covers, but totally making them awesome in their own unique way. We'll record this whole album live and shoot single shot steadicam videos of each song and get them on YouTube, THIS IS HOW YOU BLOW UP IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY TODAY! Each band will also get a remix done by DJ of one of their songs, helping to expose their music to potential fans outside of their normal demographic. 

Once the music is done we'll shoot three fully produced music videos for each band, plus we'll be filming live shows and festivals along the way. With everyone able to film and having access to cameras, there will be tons of awesome video produced from within the family. 

Here are some links to some music videos we've produced for other bands:

Blanco Diablo "Monsters"

Stamper "Merlin"      

Little Black Rainclouds "Disarray"                                       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouVh-lcpPAI
Stephen Gordon Group "River"                                                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-g3bLeN2Bw
                                                  

NoDa Radio will be a low power AM radio station broadcast initially within a 2 mile radius of the neighborhood and available to fans nationwide online. We will eventually expand into a full power AM station. We will broadcast primarily neighborhood music, including music recorded at NoDa Records, as well as in other studios. We'll be broadcasting complete live shows from our many venues, giving those who couldn't make it out a chance to catch up and get exposed to new music. Bands who will be playing shows in the neighborhood will also be invited into the studio to promote with interviews and in-studio performances, and all of this will be supplemented with video on NoDa Radio's website. Since we're teaching them production and ProTools, our bands will be able to produce music, shows and promos for the station. Talk shows will feature neighborhood personalities, and we'll be broadcasting from the main production room with a giant window facing 36th St, so fans will be able to stop by and see what's going on in the studio, and if they hear a live performance they like from home they can walk down and check it out!

Once we've completed our massive 6 month project, we'll immediately begin production on our 1st reality series, "NoDa Records," following the bands in the studio, on the radio, hanging out in NoDa and around the country on tour. There will be plenty of music, but we'll be focused on the hijinks and drama that these bands full of characters are sure to get into. People from many demographics will latch on to the show, first and foremost will be the fans of the bands. Since they will get to know the bands behind the scenes they will feel a personal connection with their favorite idols, and having varied genres represented means we will attract fans from all walks of life. People will also latch onto the show for all of the crazy stuff that made us fall in love with NoDa. Imagine the antics of our neighborhood's two tattoo shops, plenty of bars and breweries, a crazy cupcake shop, a bar for dogs, a 24 hour bakery and so much other zany stuff. Art will also be a huge part of the show and NoDa has some art for sure, and plenty of starving artists.

JuiceBox is a side project of our core bands that produces music and video content for kids. We'll be producing a 30 minute children’s program and DVD collection based around music that is not only educational, but that parents will love to listen to as well. Our debut video was "Veggie Power" and already has kids in the Charlotte school system dancing, counting and eating their broccoli. Ten percent of all JuiceBox proceeds will go to help children's charity organizations. Check out this link to "Veggie Power": 

And here's a clip of our live performance at Cotswold Elementary for over 725 kids who flipped out when we took the stage and sung along with every word.

We'll supply each band with a complete line of merchandise: CDs, DVDs, three T-shirt designs, all sorts of stickers, posters and tons of other cool items specific to each band's fanbase. Everything will be sold online, through the band, on tour and in Pandemic Printworks (NoDa's t-shirt shop and a close affiliate of the label). We'll also be investing heavily in promoting our bands: we'll print flyers and posters and build street teams to get the word out locally. We'll compile a nationwide radio, TV and internet campaign of ads and interviews to promote the project, the bands and upcoming shows. Our bands have already started mastering grassroots and internet promotion, but they are each great at different aspects of it, so we will build a promotion machine as everyone teams up and sticks to their strengths. With our numbers and connections combined together we will be able to gain a much farther reach for everyone. We're running everyone through a basic internet promo/facebook class so that everyone can upload pics, videos and comments as they connect with fans.

We will be actively seeking sponsorships from instrument, equipment and software manufacturers, as well as anyone who wants to give us free food. Generally to get a sponsorship, you produce a video of the artist using the particular brand equipment inter-cut with an interview of the artist talking about the product. Sounds right up our alley! In the first month of the project, we will be cranking as many of these out as we can, trying to outfit our bands and the studio with new equipment, and we'll be doing it all in video production class with the bands.

Of course our bands' music will be featured in our films and television programming, which will earn the bands royalties, but we will also be licensing music for productions other than our own. The diverse collection of music from our core bands, side projects of these bands and other bands on the label gives us an extensive library of material. Music directors will be able to find everything they need in one location. We’ll also be composing music beds and instrumentals specifically for licensing. We will act as licensing reps directly with music directors and producers, as well as through established licensing agencies.

After the grueling six month process, we’re packing it up and taking this whole thing on the road! The NFRS is exactly what it sounds like: all of our bands will tour together, not only the core four but additional neighborhood bands, artists, dancers, and other performers. This concert will have rock, hip-hop and everything in between plus anything else awesome in NoDa that we can bring along. A reality show of the whole thing will capture the madness on stage as well as off, and with this diverse of a crew the action should get pretty good.

We'll be renting a house in our neighborhood for our bands: a place for them to rest and play outside of the crazy studio environment that we're putting together. Band members will be able to stay anytime as long as they help to maintain the house. We'll fill the house with bunk beds, couches, instruments and a studio room for capturing late night inspirations. Some will end up living at the house, those who don't live close will be able to crash after a late night in the studio and everyone else will probably be hanging out quite a bit. The dynamics of the house will bring the bands closer as they truly get to know each other, but will also cause an added element of tension as toes get stepped on, adding a whole new element to our video productions. Each band already has a practice spot at our neighborhood's rehearsal studio as well, so everyone will have plenty of places to create music and our cameras will be there to capture it all.

NoDa is Charlotte's art district: we have every type of art imaginable and it's everywhere you look. There’s a giant mural featuring hundreds of the neighborhood's citizens, and a different featured artist in every bar, coffeehouse, yogurt shop, tattoo parlor and music venue along the strip. Every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month we have a neighborhood gallery crawl where artists set up booths along the main strip of North Davidson St. and the neighborhood is flooded with live outdoor music at several venues, food trucks and tons of really cool, chill and creative people. We'll be spotlighting and collaborating with many of NoDa's artists, but we've already got two in our inner circle helping us get this thing going. Our art and photography department is made up of Beth Jackson and Jon Norris, two of the craziest, coolest, most talented people we know.

Beth Jackson is an important part of the art community here in NoDa. She serves on the neighborhood associations art committee, NoDarioty. Beth helps to make sure that NoDa stays cool. Not only is she a great artist, she is also a remarkable photographer, in fact every photo on this page was taken by her. You can check out some more of her stuff at bethjackson.smugmug.com

Jon Norris is the wild card of the NoDa art scene, and the NoDa scene altogether. Many of the neighborhood's best stories involve Jon and his off-the-wallness, all while his art blows you away. Crazy psychedelic layers or sacred geometry, his stuff is so deep you can stare into it for days, and still not quite figure it all out. Jon painted both murals at the studio, the DJ scene in the orange room in the Kickstarter video and the big 30 foot one up in the warehouse. Make sure to watch out for this guy, he'll probably end up beingyour favorite. Just check out this little video we shot for him a few years ago:

Donate a reward at any level and we’ll give you a shout out on twitter! Just follow us @NoDaRecords and make sure you give us your handle when you donate and we’ll give you props for supporting our project!

All marketing packages also come with a weekly shout out on NoDa radio for the first three months when we go live!

Any reward package over $500 also comes with a digital download of the NoDa documentary (available March, 2013). 

It’s never too early to start thinking about that perfect Christmas gift! We’ll make sure any rewards we have promised by November get to you in time for the holiday season.  

We know that some of you may want a combination of our rewards, so that’s why we’ve created the combo packs. The delivery dates are listed for March 2013, but if all the rewards you select have a November 2012 delivery date, you will receive the rewards by that date.

Once the rewards are ready we'll email you our custom order form so you can select your shirt size, band, or any other details related to your order.

September
Production classes 3 days a week
Documentary filming begins
Strict practice schedule
Radio station training
Bands begin uploading videos and connecting with fans
Bands produce sponsorship videos-class projects
Gear and facility upgrades
JuiceBox concept, brainstorming and story boards 

October
Recording begins, 40 hours in 4 days for each band
Bands start producing and gathering content for the radio
Juicebox scriptwriting and songwriting
Bands continue uploading videos and connecting with fans
Music video concepts and brainstorming 

November
Recording continues, 40 hours in 4 days for each band
Bands continue amassing radio content and learning how to run the station
Juicebox rehearsals , songs complete
Music videos begin filming 

December
Recording concludes, 40 hours in 4 days for each band
NoDa radio goes live
Juicebox begins filming
Music videos continue filming and begin editing
Merch sales begin 

January
All 12 music videos finish filming and editing
Documentary editing begins
Juicebox completes filming and begins editing 

February
Documentary editing complete
Documentary audio post production
Juicebox editing complete
Juicebox audio post production

With all of this going on there is sure to be chaos and tension, but if we can work together and believe in this project it has the potential to become a global phenomenon. Once the initial production process is complete we will kick into high gear with promotion, but even while we are still in production we will be constantly building and connecting with our fanbase. With the uniqueness and awesomeness of this project we will attract the attention of TV, radio and internet personalities before we've even begun, and we'll be keeping everyone updated with a constant barrage of video uploads. If we can build enough anticipation for the studio releases they have the potential to be immediate hits, launching the bands' careers into the fast lane. There are so many aspects to this that it will be a challenge to pull it off, but that's what makes it so awesome. As long as at least one aspect of this project is successful, everyone involved will be prepared to move in whichever direction their career takes them, and if we can get it all to work out right the possibilities are endless. 

We set the goal for this Kickstarter low at $50,000, that's the bare minimum to get started with what we already have, but we'll need a lot more if we're going to be able to do all of the stuff that we want to. To give you an idea of what we'll be spending the money on here are some of the things we need to get right away: entertainment lawyer, bookkeeper, computers, hard drives, video cameras, memory cards, NoDa Music House, Radio Equipment, Tour Van to share between bands, a big tour bus for the NoDa Family Road Show, props, sets and costumes for JuiceBox, a million other things and of course a ton of worldwide promotion. 

If you can't get the combination of rewards you want just contact us and we'll make sure you get everything you want. We also know some of you will want to get on board for investing in NoDa Records, so we have portions of the label and individual projects available to talk about, just get in touch before this thing starts taking off. 

Thank you for taking the time to discover our quirky little community, and we invite you to join the fun and become a part of the NoDa family!

www.nodarecords.com

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https://twitter.com/NoDaRecords

http://nodarecords.tumblr.com/

http://www.reverbnation.com/label/nodarecords