Tricity's All Girl Swing Band Album

My name is Tricity Vogue. I'm a ukulele strumming cabaret singer and songwriter, and I'm raising money to take my All Girl Swing Band  into the recording studio in May.


WHO WE ARE

I've been the proud bandleader of Tricity Vogue's All Girl Swing Band since 2011, and we've gone from strength to strength with our cheeky take on vintage swing, playing the Royal Festival Hall's Clore Ballroom, selling out the Royal Albert Hall (cough... Elgar Room), and returning to Devon's iconic Burgh Island Hotel for several festive seasons.



Our line-up has grown to a 9-piece: drums, double bass, piano, guitar, three horns, ukulele, and a tap dancer. And masses of vocal harmonies. Although we often go out as a smaller ensemble, on those special occasions when we get the whole band together, it's pure gold, as anyone who's been to see us at Wilton's Music Hall will know.

But there aren't many places we can take our full size band... yet. To go further afield, to festivals and concert venues across the country and beyond, we need to be able to show more people than our loyal Wilton's Music Hall audience what a great night out we can give them. That's why we're recording an album in the studio, where we can sound our absolute best.


INSPIRATION

The band is named after Ivy Benson's All Girl Swing Band, the BBC's Resident Dance Band during World War Two. Ivy Benson was a Leeds lass, like me, and she was a band leader from the 1930s until the 1980s. When I met some of her band members at a blue plaque unveiling in Leeds, their stories inspired me to form my own all-female band.


Back in the day, Ivy's band was virtually the only place a woman could earn a living as a musician, and you had to leave after you got married. The playing field has levelled up a fair bit since then, but we're still a long way from the time when an all-female line up is no more unusual than an all-male line up on stage. In the meantime, I'm proud to be able to bring together some of London's finest female musicians in one ensemble:

Michele Drees on drums
Amy Baldwin on double bass
Emily O'Hara on guitar
Sarah Bodalbhai on piano
Becca Toft on trumpet
Emma Bassett on trombone
Yasmin Ogilvie on saxophone
Tricity Vogue on vocals, ukulele and kazoo
and
Josephine Shaker in tap shoes


And don't be fooled by our tongue-in-cheek band name. This band is all woman.


BUDGET

Here's how our costs break down for this project:

Band rehearsal fees @ £70 per day or £35 half day x 7    £490
Recording studio hire – 2 days @ £400 per day 10 hours    £800
Half day studio hire for overdubs (horns,vox, tap)    £150
Band full day recording fees @ £150 per day (Day 1x 4, Day 2 x7)    £1,650
Band half day recording fees @ £75 x 4    £300
Sound engineer @ £150 per day x 3    £450

Total: £3,840

This budget only covers our time in the recording studio. I'm going to apply to the Arts Council for additional funding for what happens afterwards: sound editing, mastering, music licence, CD production, filming and editing our music videos at Wilton's Music Hall. Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, the majority of the costs on this budget are to pay the musicians fairly for their time. They'll be putting in 10 hour days in the recording studio, and giving up other paid work to be there. And as a band leader it's important to me to show respect to the talented musicians I work with, and start as I mean to go on.

"To keep a band together you simply need a gimmick. The gimmick I use is to pay them money."
Duke Ellington



TIMETABLE

We recorded in the studio with the full band on Sunday 20 and Monday 21 May, and we’ll be going back into the studio in June to record the lead vocals, close harmony backing vocals, and tap solo. Nick Trepka will produce the album – he and I have been recording music together since my first album, The Blue Lady Sings, in 2010.

Editing, mastering and CD production will be completed in time for our Album Launch Party at Wilton's Music Hall on Wednesday 18 July .

We'll shoot publicity stills and a music video to go with our newly-finished tracks at Wilton's Music Hall on the day of our album launch, with photographer extraordinaire James Millar. The videos will be edited by our multi-talented trumpeter Becca Toft (who also edited the video for this crowdfunding campaign).

The album will be released on digital platforms including iTunes and Spotify as well as old school CD. You'll be able to pick up your copy at the Album Launch Party, or we can post it to you.



BACKER REWARDS

There are lots of ways we'd like to say 'thank you' for your donation to our album fund. Pre-order the album, book show tickets, and more:

Donate £10 and receive a digital download of the album.

Donate £20 and receive a signed CD + digital download.

Donate £40 and receive a signed kazoo + signed CD + digital download.

Donate £50 and receive a handwritten calligraphy thank you note + signed kazoo + signed CD + digital download.

Donate £100 and receive 2 VIP front table seats for Tricity Vogue's All Girl Swing Band Album Launch at Wilton's Music Hall + handwritten calligraphy thank you note + signed kazoo + signed CD + digital download.

Donate £150 and receive your own VIP front table (4 seats) for Tricity Vogue's All Girl Swing Band Album Launch at Wilton's Music Hall + handwritten calligraphy thank you note + signed kazoo + signed CD + digital download.

Donate £200 and receive a personal song dedication by video + handwritten calligraphy thank you note + signed kazoo + signed CD + digital download.

Donate £300 and receive 2 ukulele lessons + handwritten calligraphy thank you note + signed kazoo + signed CD + digital download.

Donate £500 and receive a live solo Tricity Vogue gig in your home + handwritten calligraphy thank you note + signed kazoo + signed CD + digital download.

Donate £1,000 and receive a live trio band gig in your home + handwritten calligraphy thank you note + signed kazoo + signed CD + digital download.



Thank you for helping me and all the women musicians in my band to get our music out there into the world.

Love

Tricity

xx