Pedaling my keyboard 1,500 miles, working with youth to put on shows — and documenting the fruits of our labor!
*Update! All rewards are now +1 postcard. $1 gets you a song and a postcard!*
The Basics
- I'll be riding AT LEAST 1,500 miles with my 70-lb. keyboard.
- I'll be working with Gay-Straight Alliances everywhere I go.
- We'll be putting on awesome shows.
- High school students will be my band (a paying gig).
- We'll be documenting it and sharing it with you!
- Also, I'm making some new recordings for a special tour release!
In Greater Detail
My name is Stephan Nance, and I'm a singer-songwriter specializing in awkwardly charming vegan straight-edge queer alternative piano folk rock music.
In November 2012, I will be embarking on a bicycle music tour that will take me to various cities in Oregon (including Ashland, Salem, Redmond, and Portland). And in early spring 2013, the tour will continue, starting in Eugene, Oregon and heading down the coast and over to Tucson, Arizona.
And yes — I'm bringing my 70-lb. keyboard with me.
With your help, I'll be able to secure that hefty instrument to a suitable bicycle: the Surly Big Dummy, modified for the extra-wide (and long) load.
My dear friend Rebecca DeMoss — who created my album's amazing artwork — will be joining me on this journey. Together we'll be pedaling 1,500 miles, working with Gay-Straight Alliances and other groups supported by the Safe Schools Coalition, and local chapters of Safe Routes to School, to organize live music performances and group bike rides with kiddos.
I will be connecting beforehand with talented youth to assemble a full band for as many shows as possible. Your help will ensure that these shows can happen, and that they'll be a blast for everyone!
Throughout it all, we'll be documenting the fruits of our labor with frequent updates to a tour webumentary featuring photos, videos, blog entries, and other creative content. We want to bring you along with us! But that will require some technology upgrades. (We're not very gadget-savvy.)
Help empower us so we can empower youth!
To ensure that your money is put to the best use possible, I've been securing sponsorships. Raw Revolution is providing organic live vegan food bars both to fuel our ride and to offer as samples at shows; Hurraw! Balm is supplying raw vegan lip balm for both use and sampling as well; Nutcase Helmets has outfitted me and Rebecca with sweet helmets and armed us with stickers, wristbands, and pins to hand out to kids; Artisana Organic Foods has stocked us up with single-serving Cacao Bliss packets to keep us well nourished; and we expect more sponsors will join this awesome list!
Rewards
All backers will receive a postcard from me and Rebecca! Rewards that include postcards will now include one bonus postcard!
Here are live performances of "Hit & Run" and "Cuddlefish" with my band, as they will be in the new recordings!
Here is an example of Rebecca's folding artwork!
Here I am in the Sleep Strike webcast concert, wearing some fingerless mittens (I know all mittens are fingerless, but I don't know how else to describe them) I knitted! A pair of mittens like these ones, knitted by me, are a $150 reward option!
Here is a squirrel-themed example of a vegan pie we can make you! It's apple-blackberry. Not... vegan squirrel. *shudder*
Tentative Tour Stops (incomplete list!)
Want us to come to your school or group? Let us know! Write to: stenance [at] gmail [dot] com
- Eugene, OR
- Florence, OR
- Coos Bay, OR
- Bandon, OR
- Crescent City, CA
- Eureka, CA
- Arcata, CA
- Mendocino, CA
- Gualala, CA
- Santa Rosa, CA
- Sebastopol, CA
- Tomales, CA
- San Rafael, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- Berkeley, CA
- Oakland, CA
- San Mateo, CA
- Ventura, CA
- Santa Cruz, CA
- Monterey, CA
- San Luis Obispo, CA
- Santa Barbara, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Long Beach, CA
- San Diego, CA
- Seeley, CA
- Palo Verde, CA
- Blythe, CA
- Hope, AZ
- Surprise, AZ
- Phoenix, AZ
- Casa Grande, AZ
- Tucson, AZ
Risks and challenges Learn about accountability on Kickstarter
To ensure that your money is put to the best use possible, I am securing sponsorships. Raw Revolution is providing organic live vegan food bars both to fuel our ride and to offer as samples at shows; Hurraw! Balm is supplying raw vegan lip balm for both use and sampling as well; Nutcase Helmets has outfitted me and Rebecca with sweet helmets and armed us with stickers, wristbands, and pins to hand out to kids; Artisana Organic Foods has stocked us up with single-serving Cacao Bliss packets to keep us well nourished; and we expect more sponsors will join this awesome list!
You may be thinking, "If they have sponsors, why do they need me to help kickstart this project?"
The answer is that I don't want to have to use the funds on food. This Kickstarter project is not meant to feed us, or even to make us comfortable.
It is meant to be an incredible challenge. It is about confronting vulnerability and finding creative ways to support one another and ourselves. It is about building community through the arts.
We'll have to ride a great distance; we'll have to ride in some inclement weather; we'll have to work hard every day to make the shows the best they can be and to keep creating interesting content for everyone following our journey.
I have experience riding long distances: in 2007, I participated in the AIDS/LifeCycle, riding 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Later that year I rode up the Oregon coast. For the past couple years my guiding principle has been to ride every day no matter what. You can get an idea of the mix of weather this has involved from this photo-a-day video I put together and set to my song "Spring": http://youtu.be/281dEFtKpJ0
I have experience putting on shows: for my album release earlier this summer, I organized a free family-friendly release show / party here in Eugene. My band and I were powered entirely by a fleet of 5 electricity-generating bicycles provided by Pedal Power Music and kept in motion by audience volunteers. The event was sponsored by the City of Eugene Transportation Planning office, as well as Coconut Bliss (who donated vegan ice cream) and Viva Vegetarian Grill (who donated vegan sandwiches). Some press on the event: http://www.registerguard.com/web/entertainment/28402368-41/nance-song-losers-stephan-songs.html.csp
Rebecca and I have experience creating music and art and sharing it online. (See my website, etc.)
We have the experience to make the ride, shows, and webumentary a reality, and we are planning and working on all of it already. What we need is: a safe, sturdy, reliable setup for bike touring with cargo; the resources to secure venues, sound equipment, etc., when necessary, and to compensate musicians and other folks for their services; efficient, travel-size technologies to create, edit, and upload content from the road. Oh, and neat tour-themed merch.
Bottom line: we can do it, and we're already working on all of it. But it can't happen without your support.
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
70
Backers
$4,001
pledged of $10,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Unsuccessful This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on October 16, 2012.
Funding period
Sep 18, 2012 -
Oct 16, 2012
(28 days)
- 2 created · 10 backed
- Stephan Nance 757 friends
- Website: stephannance.com
Pledge $1 or more
6 backers
Download of my song "Hit & Run" — a BRAND NEW RECORDING featuring my band!
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $2 or more
6 backers
Download of BRAND NEW RECORDINGS of "Hit & Run" and "Cuddlefish" — both featuring my magnificent band!
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $10 or more
8 backers
Download of BRAND NEW RECORDINGS of "Hit & Run" and "Cuddlefish" featuring my spectacular band, as well as new recordings of "The Spider Song" and "Guts"!
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $25 or more
12 backers
A postcard from Stephan and Rebecca from the road, a signed physical copy of my album — PLUS everything mentioned above! (Already have the album? Give this copy to a friend!)
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $30 or more
0 backers
TWO postcards from Stephan and Rebecca from the road — PLUS everything mentioned above!
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $50 or more
14 backers
A tour-themed T-shirt, PLUS everything mentioned above!
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $60 or more
1 backer
THREE postcards from the road, an exclusive PHOTO from the road, PLUS everything mentioned above!
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $75 or more
1 backer
FOUR postcards from the road, TWO exclusive PHOTOS from the road, PLUS everything mentioned above!
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $100 or more
2 backers Limited (13 of 15 left)
YOUR NAME written on any piano key (yes, you can choose) on the special art banner that will be displayed on my keyboard case for the whole tour! PLUS everything mentioned above!
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $125 or more
0 backers Limited (5 of 5 left)
A pair of fingerless MITTENS knitted by me (in the color of your choice), PLUS everything mentioned above! I will knit the mittens ASAP so you'll have them for the winter.
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $150 or more
3 backers Limited (12 of 15 left)
Tour-themed CYCLING JERSEY, PLUS everything mentioned above (signed copy of album included)!
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $200 or more
2 backers Limited (13 of 15 left)
A phone/Skype call from the road! PLUS your name written on any piano key on the art banner on my keyboard case, all downloads mentioned above, a signed physical copy of the album, 4 postcards from Stephan and Rebecca from the road, and a tour T-shirt!
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012Pledge $250 or more
1 backer Limited (14 of 15 left)
Tour-themed CYCLING JERSEY, PLUS phone/Skype call from the road, your name written on any piano key on the art banner on my keyboard case, all downloads mentioned above, a signed physical copy of the album, 4 postcards from Stephan and Rebecca from the road, and a tour T-shirt!
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $300 or more
0 backers Limited (10 of 10 left)
A personalized video-recorded performance of any one of my songs (your choice!), PLUS everything mentioned above!
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $500 or more
0 backers Limited (10 of 10 left)
A unique folding artwork by Rebecca DeMoss, PLUS everything mentioned above!
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $750 or more
0 backers Limited (10 of 10 left)
LIVING ROOM CONCERT (along the tour route) *AND* a vegan pie of your choosing, baked by me and Rebecca in your very own kitchen (because where else would we do it)! PLUS everything mentioned above! (Don't live on the tour route? Stephan can do a Skype concert, and he and Rebecca will send you a batch of vegan cookies!)
Estimated delivery: Dec 2012Pledge $1,500 or more
0 backers Limited (5 of 5 left)
Living room concert ANYWHERE in the United States! PLUS everything mentioned above!
Estimated delivery: Jan 2013
