In 1998, an 82-pound stage door fell on my head and knocked me unconscious at a record release party in New York City. I woke up on a couch at Brownies on Ave A to a soft voice saying: “Hi, I’m Princess Superstar. You got knocked out by the door — it comes with the territory.” I thought I was dreaming. The ice on my head was probably her drink. It was not a dream. The door was real. So was the titanium plate I ended up with in my neck, and the years of physical, cognitive, and vestibular therapy that followed. At the time I was living in NYC as the supervising coordinator for the launch of a new network called Games and Sports, doing voiceovers for MTV and taking classes at NYU. One badly hinged door later, my life looked considerably different. Here’s where it gets strange — in a good way, for once. I wrote a song about Ave A because I lived on that street. Also about the city, about what it costs to chase something creative and then I got literally knocked flat on my way to it. I called it “Ave A Me/Ave Aimee.” Fast forward to recently. I found Princess Superstar on Instagram. Princess Superstar’s song “PERFECT” hits 250 million streams and gets featured in the movie Saltburn. She’s having the kind of cultural moment that makes you realize some artists just get there eventually, on their own terms. I reached out on Instagram to congratulate her. I shared the song. The one named after the street which became so surreal because of the door. She is in to producing me. That’s not a pitch. That’s not a “maybe someday.” That is a confirmed, waiting-on-funding creative collaboration with a producer who currently has 250 million reasons to be taken seriously — and who once iced my head with what I’m still pretty sure was her cocktail. I need $1,600 to make this session happen.

Here’s exactly where every dollar goes:

$1100 - Production of Music mixed and mastered. An actual track. Not a bathroom voice memo.

$500 — Studio time to record my vocals. Since we are on different coasts.

I’m not asking you to fund a vague dream or a “journey.” I’m asking you to fund one specific session with one specific artist for a specific, documented amount of money.

The door did its part in 1998. I’d appreciate it if you’d do yours now.

If you can’t donate — share this. Music lovers tell other music lovers. That’s the whole system.