Stranger in the Promised Land
This is the 3rd album project I'll be crowd-funding. Unfortunately, the Kickstarter didn't meet the required goal this time, but I've gone ahead into the studio to record Stranger in the Promised Land, a guitar- and harmonica-driven album of original Americana songs about broken windows, worn-out boots, circus trains, and starry eyes.
You can hear a sample of some of the tracks here .
This is the planned tracklist:
1. Barstool Confession (turned into a rollicking country number)
2. Hey, Colorado
3. Dust Bowl Ballad
4. Crack in the Living Room Window
5. Here's to the Bloom of the Flowers
6. Gate City Blues
7. Ain't Gonna Die in a Cage
8. I've Been Running (But I Won't Be Running Always)--a gospelly, never-before released tune!
9. Rock the Chair While the Baby Cries--featuring Daisy Allen, recorded as a duet for the first time!
10. City of Stone (featuring Laura Ingram)
11. Stars are Jealous of Your Eyes
A bunch of friends from York and Thirsk added to it as we recorded at Young Thugs Studio on York's South Bank--Simone Focarrelli on electric guitar, Ben Crosthwaite of the Hyde Family Jam on accordion, Cat Redfern on violin, Farai Kuudzadombo on drums, Michael Tavener on dobro, and bassist Steve Collington.
In the rewards, I'm also including the artwork of a good friend of mine that I met in Sibiu, Romania; Silvia Paizan has agreed to illustrate a book of lyrics and chords, as well as make a few posters with lyrics from the songs.
(Also, UK friends, note the prices are in USD, which means you'll be getting a discount if you contribute here as opposed to buying after for £10!)
We're doing the final mixes this week and putting together the album artwork--it should be ready to order from DiscWizard by mid-March, if we can get it funded:
Here's the plan:
Budget: £1100 or $1400
£700 ($925) for 4 days of recording and mixing
£400 ($475) for printing 200 copies of Stranger in the Promised Land.
Anything extra will go to travel expenses, postage, and publicity for the album.
Thanks a bunch for all your support along the way, and I can't wait to share this project with you!
