AQUABEAR LEGION CELEBRATES 15 YEARS WITH TWO COMPILATIONS!
Aquabear has been around since 2004, so to celebrate our 15th anniversary we are producing two new compilations! One is on vinyl and features new Ohio music (Volume 7) and one is a curated cassette compilation of classic Ohio music (Mother of Presidents). We want you to help put these awesome collections out there. Please consider pre-ordering and supporting your local Aquabear.
AQUABEAR LEGION VOLUME 7
Volume 7 in our Ohio compilation series will be pressed to vinyl by Musicol in Columbus and feature music from Actual Form, Ampline, Buffalo Killers, Counterfeit Madison, DANA, Hiram-Maxim, Lung, Smizmar, and Van Dale. This will be a run of 300 records, 50 of which will be some sort of super special vinyl color. Art for the compilation will be by Athens' own Chris Biester.
MOTHER OF PRESIDENTS
An Aquabear Legion Archival Release. We have decided to curate our first archival compilation and release it on cassette! Aquabear has only been in the Ohio music game since 2004, while many fine folks have been at this for a long time. This tape will feature songs from legendary Ohio acts from all around the state, covering years from 1974 to 2004. Music from: 84 Nash, Appalachian Death Ride, Geraldine, Grafton, Great Plains, Jenny Mae, Log, Mike Elliott, Mirrors, Orchestraville, Ron House, Swearing at Motorists, Thee Shams, and more still to be announced.
ABOUT AQUABEAR LEGION
Aquabear Legion is a website and music collective based in Athens, Ohio. Since 2004, Aquabear has worked with over 250 bands and dozens of visual artists and filmmakers. And in that time produced 13 releases including compilations of Ohio music both physical and for free on aquabearlegion.com. We put out our first vinyl compilation in 2015 (Volume 5), and followed up with another in 2017 (Volume 6).
To help raise money for our new release we are offering not only the first copies of the new Volume 7 vinyl compilation with art from Athens' own Chris Biester, and the first copies of our Mother of Presidents cassette compilation, but also Aquabear t-shirts, hoodies, colored vinyl, and countless random Aquabear items we might send along. We sincerely appreciate your support of this project.
Our projects are funded to cover that project. With your support we can make it happen.
WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?
That is a great question and we love transparency, here is a rough breakdown below. Our $5,500 goal is the number that could cover making 300 copies of the vinyl compilation and 200 copies of the cassette, fully packaged with artwork and shipped out to all of you wonderful people and record stores across the state. It also helps Aquabear Legion continue to sustain itself with some new merchandise for this project! This amount also covers marketing, shipping, general Aquabear expenses, supplies, and crowdfunding fees we incur.
In addition we have also included our annual costs for Aquabear Legion for two years in this fundraiser (around $500) this includes $$ for our web hosting, p.o. box, bank account business fees, and maybe even a few other necessities if there is any left over. We want to start putting out more things, having the safety of net of some basic expenses that we need to exist would be a huge help.
COSTS
*all costs are estimated and subject to change
Records (300): $1500
Record Jackets (300): $500
Inserts for Record: $300
Cassette Production: $500
Mastering: $250
Download Codes: $200
Shipping: $500
Sleeves/Other Costs: $100
Marketing: $300
Crowdsourcing Platform Fees: $500
Art production: $200
Licensing + Other Distribution Costs: $150
Aquabear Legion Business Expenses: $500
That's around $5500 dollars
WHAT YOU GET
Two awesome albums of Ohio music that you are helping to put out, plus special rewards at higher levels like hoodies, other Aquabear releases, Aquabear t-shirts, and colored vinyl.
THE IMPACT
We are excited to release this amazing music on record, cassette, download, and streaming, and send them all around Ohio and the world.
RISKS AND CHALLENGES
This will be our third vinyl release in this format, second cassette and our fourth crowdsourcing/pre-order campaign since 2011. In 2017 we released Aquabear Legion Volume 6, and in 2015 we released Aquabear Legion Volume 5, both after successful Indiegogo pre-order campaigns, so we are aware of the general challenges in releasing a compilation on vinyl. Aquabear Legion has been working with musicians in Ohio since 2004 and Volume 7 will mark our 13th release, and out Archival Ohio cassette will be our 14th release.
We have already set up a plan to work with Ohio based businesses for the entire process and production of these projects. This is a model we have worked to adhere to for the past 15 years. Artwork will be produced locally here in Athens County and made by hand. Records will be pressed at Musicol Recording Company in Columbus, jackets printed at Gotta Groove Records in Cleveland, and cassettes produced by A to Z Audio in Cleveland.
If there are any delays, mishaps, or anything else Aquabear will make sure to address any issues that will arise and contact any and all backers to keep them updated. We view all supporters and backers of this project as direct contributors. And promise to put out a rad record, tape, and some more cool stuff if you support it.
OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP
Even if you can't give, you can still help! Send this page to your family and friends, maybe there is someone you know who collects records or loves music? This is a huge project so every little bit helps. Share right from this page or visit aquabearlegion.com for more information!
Need more info or have a question? Check out the FAQ or e-mail us at contact@aquabearlegion.com!