Late Night Alumni (http://www.latenightalumni.com/) are currently raising money to go on tour via Kickstarter with an enormously successful campaign that has already raised over 200% of their initial funding goal. This is money pledged by backers that may not even have the opportunity to see the band live because they live in rural areas that are unlikely to have touring acts. Pledgers are backing the band based solely on their love for the band and the prizes received for support ($35 t-shirt or a $6,000 private show, for example).
It’s awesome that Late Night Alumni have so many dedicated fans, but how can this be improved? Would even more fans be more likely to support the band if the fans had a say in the tour destinations of the bands? Probably. If passionate fans could purchase advance tickets to the shows in their cities of choice or pledge more for meet & greet opportunities with the band, it may encourage passionate fans to promote the events to their local friends even more than they currently are.
That is the goal of GigFunder: Allow fans to pledge for concerts in their own cities, where they are guaranteed a ticket to the show that they have supported.
To sign up for an invite to the GigFunder launch, visit the homepage at www.gigfunder.com
Gotye (feat. Kimbra) - Somebody that I Used to Know
Brilliant Elliott Smith cover by Gotye. His album, Making Mirrors, dropped today and it’s awesome. Highly suggested.
GigFunder is now taking sign-ups to be on the beta-invite list! Sign up at http://gigfunder.com to get your invite so you can get your favorite band to your city!
Announcing my new startup, GigFunder! If you are in a band or a big music fan, this site will probably be pretty awesome for you. Follow us to keep up-to-date on our launch!
There is a brief explanation of the site on the GigFunder blog.
You can follow us on Twitter: @Gigfunder
River City Extension - Letter to Lainie
If you haven’t heard about them yet, get into them now before they blow up. This band is going to do great. They put on AMAZING live shows. There is no questioning the passion this band has for its music or fans.
I saw them at Lincoln Hall in Chicago and at SXSW this year. Both times, they blew me away. In fact, Spin rated them in the top 10 live acts from SXSW this year.
Also check out the song “South for the Winter”. It’s got a great buildup.
Blink-182 - Up All Night
The long-anticipated new Blink-182 song was dropped today. There is a ton of obvious AVA influence here, but it’s still catchy enough to be Blink. I’ve always appreciated Blink-182 more for their senses of humor than for their music. It would be nice to see some new good joke songs on the new album, but I’m not holding my breath. Regardless, it’s great to see Mark, Tom and Travis making some new tunes together.
Analog Rebellion - A Particularly Long Elevator Shaft
After leaving his label (Island) as PlayRadioPlay!, Dan started a new project called Analog Rebellion. His sound has matured. This is the catchiest song off of his first full-length, Ancient Electrons. This song is about the pressures he felt to create under the label. You have to respect his DIY attitude with regard to the industry.
Pale Young Gentlemen - Saturday Night
I mentioned this band the other day. This song came out on their self-titled in 2007 and I desperately want to hear more from this band. Since the release of their second album in 2008, they moved from Madison to Minneapolis (good move, I think), but still haven’t put out anything new. I cannot wait until they do though. Both albums this band has are pure eargasms.
Bombadil - Honeymoon
I found out about these guys when they played at the Sidewalk Cafe in New York in July 2006. They’ve come a long way since then. They’ve toured extensively and released a couple full-lengths albums, which are both great.
Susie Asado - Lose, Loser, Lost
Soulful song about laziness. Just about how I’m feeling today.
