Ryan's LP Memorial
Donation protected
It has been nearly three years since Ryan's passing.
As many of you know, there was never an official memorial or funeral service honoring him. Ryan expressed to his close friends and family many times throughout his short life that he never wanted to have a formal funeral after his death. It just wasn't something that he felt was important. Because of this, and due to the sudden and tragic circumstances of his passing, those of us closest to him were fighting just to keep it together and take care of each other instead of wasting precious energy on something Ryan himself never wanted.
It has occurred to us, becoming more evident over the past several months, that there are still a great deal of his friends and family that never had that chance to pay respects nor show love and support to the Hansson family. After much discussion with Ryan's family, we have decided to launch this Kickstarter project to not only give people the chance to have a more formal way of expressing their love of Ryan to his family, but to also give everyone a little piece of Ryan to have, hold and cherish. The idea is to press a curated collection of Ryan's song recordings on to a vinyl LP, to be given out exclusively to supporters of this campaign. This release will be fully and professionally packaged, featuring photos of Ryan, remastered recordings of Ryan's original songs, liner notes, and the names of all the contributors. The very first copy pressed will be framed to be given to Ryan's parents.
As many of you already know, Ryan was a very social person (especially online and through social media) and has friends all over the country. Chances are that if there were a formal ceremony, many of you would not be able to attend. That is why we think that this will be the perfect way to memorialize the life of such a one-of-a-kind character. We want to give people near and far the chance to just how much Ryan meant to them and to get something really special in return. Ryan would have wanted to be remembered by his music, so let's make this happen!
The initial project is to press 300 Vinyl LP's that includes a cover sleeve with full-color artwork and photographs. Patron's names will be listed on the back of the cover sleeve. If we reach an amount that is higher than our basic goal, we will have the ability to make more elaborate packaging. The main goal of this project is to curate a collection of Ryan's music, and that is where the majority of the money will go to. However, if it seems evident that we will be able to create packaging that includes more than just front and back covers, we will make that announcement via email to all patrons to let you know what's in store for the project!
Any additional funds leftover after the LP's are pressed and the cover/artwork is finished will go to AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention). Hilda Hansson (Ryan's mother) is involved with this organization and we believe this is a good place for any extra funds to end up. I know many people made donations to them in lieu of funeral memorial flowers/etc., but we will make an additional donation in Ryan's name if the funding allows.
The names of all those who donate will have their names printed on the packaging of the LP.
As many of you know, there was never an official memorial or funeral service honoring him. Ryan expressed to his close friends and family many times throughout his short life that he never wanted to have a formal funeral after his death. It just wasn't something that he felt was important. Because of this, and due to the sudden and tragic circumstances of his passing, those of us closest to him were fighting just to keep it together and take care of each other instead of wasting precious energy on something Ryan himself never wanted.
It has occurred to us, becoming more evident over the past several months, that there are still a great deal of his friends and family that never had that chance to pay respects nor show love and support to the Hansson family. After much discussion with Ryan's family, we have decided to launch this Kickstarter project to not only give people the chance to have a more formal way of expressing their love of Ryan to his family, but to also give everyone a little piece of Ryan to have, hold and cherish. The idea is to press a curated collection of Ryan's song recordings on to a vinyl LP, to be given out exclusively to supporters of this campaign. This release will be fully and professionally packaged, featuring photos of Ryan, remastered recordings of Ryan's original songs, liner notes, and the names of all the contributors. The very first copy pressed will be framed to be given to Ryan's parents.
As many of you already know, Ryan was a very social person (especially online and through social media) and has friends all over the country. Chances are that if there were a formal ceremony, many of you would not be able to attend. That is why we think that this will be the perfect way to memorialize the life of such a one-of-a-kind character. We want to give people near and far the chance to just how much Ryan meant to them and to get something really special in return. Ryan would have wanted to be remembered by his music, so let's make this happen!
The initial project is to press 300 Vinyl LP's that includes a cover sleeve with full-color artwork and photographs. Patron's names will be listed on the back of the cover sleeve. If we reach an amount that is higher than our basic goal, we will have the ability to make more elaborate packaging. The main goal of this project is to curate a collection of Ryan's music, and that is where the majority of the money will go to. However, if it seems evident that we will be able to create packaging that includes more than just front and back covers, we will make that announcement via email to all patrons to let you know what's in store for the project!
Any additional funds leftover after the LP's are pressed and the cover/artwork is finished will go to AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention). Hilda Hansson (Ryan's mother) is involved with this organization and we believe this is a good place for any extra funds to end up. I know many people made donations to them in lieu of funeral memorial flowers/etc., but we will make an additional donation in Ryan's name if the funding allows.
The names of all those who donate will have their names printed on the packaging of the LP.
Organizer
Kevin O'neal Fitzsimmons
Organizer
Austin, TX