Kickstarter

Hi - We're Tommy, Robbie, and Jonny Mizzone of the Sleepy Man Banjo Boys. We're really excited about the release of our second album this September -The Farthest Horizon

Why are we using Kickstarter? We love American Bluegrass music and we've been bringing it to a whole new audience through online social media and TV appearances .  We want to continue to build on our momentum and believe this album can be more successful than our first but that requires wider distribution and more promotion.  We also like the idea of just being kids, (wiffle ball in the back yard).  We've gotten a lot of calls from labels and managers looking to help us out, but signing would change everything and we would prefer to go at our own pace right now. Your support through Kickstarter gives us a chance to produce and promote our album on a larger scale and remain fully independent!  (Don't worry, we're working really hard on the album!)

OUR STORY

When we were younger, our parents encouraged us to pick up an instrument and follow our passion and in this age of pop-stars and rock-stars a crazy thing happened.  It was the magical banjo music of a man born in 1924 that inspired us.

Many think our parents must be musicians or are at least bluegrass aficionados.  Well... our dad can play Louie Louie on the guitar (power chords only) but that's about it, and we introduced bluegrass to our family after coming across some tunes in an old fiddling book and eventually discovering some of the great old-time players on YouTube.  Now we're all hooked. :-)

We're best known for our YouTube bedroom practice videos - our YouTube channel recently surpassed 10 million views.

ONE OF OUR BEDROOM PRACTICE VIDEOS

Last september we released our debut album - 'America's Music' and to-date have independently sold over 7500 copies introducing this acoustic string music to a whole new audience.  We personally packaged and shipped every CD we sold right from our home.  With your help, we want to produce an amazing album and establish distribution partnerships - exposing our music to a larger audience and giving fans more purchasing options both through national storefront retailers and online retailers!

In February 2012, 'America's Music' debuted at #8 on Billboard's Bluegrass Album Chart, spending 11 weeks among the top selling bluegrass/folk albums in the country.

IN THE PRESS - FEBRUARY 2012 

We've been blessed with opportunities to play on national TV: The David Letterman Show, The Mike Huckabee Show, NBC's Today Show, and we are one of the youngest groups to play the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN.  We were invited twice to the Ellen DeGeneres show but had scheduling conflicts. (True story)

SOME PROJECT DETAILS:

• We're writing a bunch of new songs that we hope you'll love
• We're including a few bluegrass classics that you already love
• We're doing a 6-panel digipak cover design
• The digipak will include a sleeve and insert to recognize our Kickstarter supporters (see rewards)
• You don't have to be a bluegrass fan to enjoy!

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR BAND - SLEEPY MAN BANJO BOYS:

FACEBOOK

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

OFFICIAL YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Thanks for supporting our project!