Abbey Bowed Recording
Donation protected
Hi friends!
I'm recording an album, and I need your help!
Abbey Bowed is an album of string quartet music.
It is a re-envisioning of the Beatles album Abbey Road.
Check out a sample of the opening track, Come Together!
About 5 years ago, I was in the shower (not for the last time), when suddenly the phrase Abbey Bowed appeared in my mind, a vision that wooed me with its punnery and married me with its promise of musical awesomeness. Since that day, I have been working on recreating Abbey Road into the sound world of a string quartet.
These new arrangements I have now assembled of the entire album are the fruit of that work - over 120 pages of string quartet music. Inspired by the craftsmanship of classical quartets by Beethoven, Brahms, and others, the scores, while faithful in many ways to the incredible original songs, feature many additions and changes as well. These modifications capitalize on the strengths of string instruments and make up for the lack of drums, lyrics, etc.
My artistic goals:
- To give a loving tribute, on the 50th anniversary of its creation, to music of great power, beauty, and soul
- To share my love of this music and my love for string instruments with the world and give people a thoughtful and inspiring aesthetic experience
- To give equal weight to all four musicians of the quartet, as a symbol of the importance of all our voices being heard
I am now in the process of finally recording this music as an album. Joining me in this undertaking are my very devoted quartetmates:
Charith Premawardhana, violin
Becca Wilcox, viola
Nora Barton, cello
The engineer is none other than the outstanding Nick Broste.
We are recording in Chicago at Decade Music Studios.
The album will be released in May!
Check out a sample of the second track, Something!
Well, as you probably know, recording an album is an expensive process! Here's a breakdown of my budget:
Studio rental (4.5 days): $1,150
Recording engineer (4.5 days): $1,400
Mixing: $400
Mastering: $300
Artist fees: $4,500 (I'd love to be able to pay the other members of my quartet for their incredible commitment of time and energy to bringing this project to fruition)
CDs: $500
LPs: $1,400
Licensing fees (these are copyrighted songs, of course): $2,200
Artwork and photography (for the album): $500
Total: $12,500
Whew! Now, this project has been a labor of love of mine for years. I am putting in as much of my personal savings as I can spare. I am not doing this for the money and am not looking to make any money from it, I just want to get it recorded so I can share it with you!
Here are some donation rewards to further entice you:
$1 or more: My undying love and eternal appreciation and respect for supporting this project and music in general
$15 or more: Free CD! (and/or a digital download if that's all you fancy)
$25 or more: Free vinyl LP! (and CD and digital download)
$50 or more: Signed copies of the LP and/or CD (and an unsigned but totally legit and not pirated digital download)
$100 or more: Your name will appear in the liner notes for the album as one of our strongest supporters! Plus you get all of the previous rewards!!
$500 or more: I will personally make and record an arrangement of a song of your choice. You don't get a free CD though. Just kidding.
$1000 or more: My quartet will come to your place of residence, order you some food, and play you a private concert. If you want a CD I guess you can have one too.
$5000 or more: Seriously? Marry me.
With my entire being, thank you so so much for your support! I can guarantee that this recording will be one of the best rock string quartet albums you've ever heard! If you love the Beatles, you will love this album. If you hate the Beatles, you might still like this album. If you have never heard of the Beatles, it really doesn't matter because I think what we are making is beautiful and cool and I spent 5 years working on it for Ringo's sake.
Follow us on Facebook! And please share with all the Beatles fans in your life!
I love you all.
Thank you to John, Paul, George, and Ringo and all the musicians of the world for the immeasurable gifts you give us.
I'm recording an album, and I need your help!
Abbey Bowed is an album of string quartet music.
It is a re-envisioning of the Beatles album Abbey Road.
Check out a sample of the opening track, Come Together!
About 5 years ago, I was in the shower (not for the last time), when suddenly the phrase Abbey Bowed appeared in my mind, a vision that wooed me with its punnery and married me with its promise of musical awesomeness. Since that day, I have been working on recreating Abbey Road into the sound world of a string quartet.
These new arrangements I have now assembled of the entire album are the fruit of that work - over 120 pages of string quartet music. Inspired by the craftsmanship of classical quartets by Beethoven, Brahms, and others, the scores, while faithful in many ways to the incredible original songs, feature many additions and changes as well. These modifications capitalize on the strengths of string instruments and make up for the lack of drums, lyrics, etc.
My artistic goals:
- To give a loving tribute, on the 50th anniversary of its creation, to music of great power, beauty, and soul
- To share my love of this music and my love for string instruments with the world and give people a thoughtful and inspiring aesthetic experience
- To give equal weight to all four musicians of the quartet, as a symbol of the importance of all our voices being heard
I am now in the process of finally recording this music as an album. Joining me in this undertaking are my very devoted quartetmates:
Charith Premawardhana, violin
Becca Wilcox, viola
Nora Barton, cello
The engineer is none other than the outstanding Nick Broste.
We are recording in Chicago at Decade Music Studios.
The album will be released in May!
Check out a sample of the second track, Something!
Well, as you probably know, recording an album is an expensive process! Here's a breakdown of my budget:
Studio rental (4.5 days): $1,150
Recording engineer (4.5 days): $1,400
Mixing: $400
Mastering: $300
Artist fees: $4,500 (I'd love to be able to pay the other members of my quartet for their incredible commitment of time and energy to bringing this project to fruition)
CDs: $500
LPs: $1,400
Licensing fees (these are copyrighted songs, of course): $2,200
Artwork and photography (for the album): $500
Total: $12,500
Whew! Now, this project has been a labor of love of mine for years. I am putting in as much of my personal savings as I can spare. I am not doing this for the money and am not looking to make any money from it, I just want to get it recorded so I can share it with you!
Here are some donation rewards to further entice you:
$1 or more: My undying love and eternal appreciation and respect for supporting this project and music in general
$15 or more: Free CD! (and/or a digital download if that's all you fancy)
$25 or more: Free vinyl LP! (and CD and digital download)
$50 or more: Signed copies of the LP and/or CD (and an unsigned but totally legit and not pirated digital download)
$100 or more: Your name will appear in the liner notes for the album as one of our strongest supporters! Plus you get all of the previous rewards!!
$500 or more: I will personally make and record an arrangement of a song of your choice. You don't get a free CD though. Just kidding.
$1000 or more: My quartet will come to your place of residence, order you some food, and play you a private concert. If you want a CD I guess you can have one too.
$5000 or more: Seriously? Marry me.
With my entire being, thank you so so much for your support! I can guarantee that this recording will be one of the best rock string quartet albums you've ever heard! If you love the Beatles, you will love this album. If you hate the Beatles, you might still like this album. If you have never heard of the Beatles, it really doesn't matter because I think what we are making is beautiful and cool and I spent 5 years working on it for Ringo's sake.
Follow us on Facebook! And please share with all the Beatles fans in your life!
I love you all.
Thank you to John, Paul, George, and Ringo and all the musicians of the world for the immeasurable gifts you give us.
Organizer
Sam Sharp
Organizer
Chicago, IL
