"What Victor & Penny did in creating their own musical style, building a band and a small business around it is what Kansas City is all about. Victor & Penny’s approach exemplifies the vibrant KC arts community and the entrepreneurial spirit powering our local economy."
-- KC Mayor Sly James (SOTC Address March 31, 2015)
THE ELECTRICAL IMPULSE
We're Jeff Freling and Erin McGrane, aka "Victor & Penny" and we've embarked on a new phase of our musical careers, taking a huge step forward both creatively and in our business with our new album, "Electricity". We're going to take our Kansas City brand of prohibition-era jazz and our city’s “can-do” spirit to a national and international stage, and we'd love for you to get involved!
Although we're well over halfway to our goal, as independent artists not represented by a record company or an agency we're going to need help to get to the finish line. We're ready to complete this album of our Kansas City-inspired signature sound and bring it to a global audience, and we're asking for your assistance in launching Victor & Penny's "Electricity" worldwide.
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OUR STORY
Five years ago, Erin's Dad gave her his prized 1951 Hofner ukulele. Soon after, we started a humble music project together for fun based on our mutual love of songs from the early jazz era with that distinct Kansas City feel. Wow! Things took off fast; we had no idea that we would receive the positive response that we did. Eventually, we quit our other jobs (Jeff was a musician with Blue Man Group in Chicago and Erin was a cabaret musician and a film, TV and radio actress) and began touring the country with Erin's fiery ukulele and Jeff's red-hot guitar.
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In 2011, we recorded our first CD as Victor & Penny, "Antique Pop," establishing our signature sound. Since then, we've toured the U.S. with over 850 live performances while releasing three albums featuring our modern take on early jazz and folk. We've also continued to hone our style in our hometown of Kansas City, MO with notable appearances at the Kauffman Center, Nelson-Atkins Museum, Union Station and the National WWI Museum earning the honor of, " Best Folk Ensemble 2015" from the PITCH magazine. Our latest album,"Electricity," is a big new step for us. Although it's our 4th album release, it's our first recording comprised of our own original compositions. Individually, we're both experienced songwriters, but composing songs together for Victor & Penny has ushered in a new phase for us as creative artists and brought a fresh sense of forward motion.
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WHERE DO YOU COME IN?
You can make a very big difference by joining our campaign and helping us to the finish line. Through public appearances, merchandise sales, fan support, a private donor, loans and other resources we’ve already covered 68% of the costs. Our target to complete the funding is $10,000 and we’re working on a tight 30-day turn-around (December 24). You'd like us to show our math? Sure! Our project goals and budget are outlined below (tables! festive pie charts!). We’ve greatly appreciated the support of our fans and friends in more ways than we can say, and hope we can continue to count on your generosity and encouragement. Thanks in advance for your consideration.
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OUR PROJECT We spent August 2015 in Nashville, TN at Sputnik Studio with Grammy-winning producer Mitch Dane recording “Electricity.” Besides the original tunes, this record also features expanded instrumentation over our previous albums–and it's the first time we’ve been truly ready to take our music to an international audience. Although we've both composed music for other projects, we feel these new V&P tunes are some of the best that we've written and we couldn't be happier with the way the recording sounds. Here are the nuts and bolts:
- We’re working with a team from Nashville – a consultant, a promoter and a publicist - to promote “Electricity” to national and international radio for the first time, expanding our audience and laying the groundwork for an international tour and radio charting.
- We’re sticking with our roots! We took local KC musicians with us to Nashville to record “Electricity”, and a Kansas City designer and photographer are creating the CD imagery and re-branding our website and all promotional materials to reflect this exciting new stage.
- We’re producing a larger number of CDs than ever before to accommodate the international promotion
WHAT IT COSTS
As independent artists not represented by a record company, we’ve self-funded most of the costs through a variety of resources. But we need help to reach our goal. We are currently
68% funded. Any amount raised over our goal of $10,000 will go toward our stretch goal of $15,000 to help defray overseas touring costs. For those number-minded people who enjoy spreadsheets and colorful pie charts as much as Erin does, read on!
Beware: numbers ahead...
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Total Cost
|
Already Funded
|
Outstanding
|
Producer + Studio Fees for Recording
|
15,000
|
15,000
|
0
|
Travel + Lodging for KC Artists for Recording
|
3,150
|
3,150
|
0
|
Artists Fees for Recording
|
1,750
|
1,750
|
0
|
Studio Fees for Mastering Recording
|
525
|
525
|
0
|
Manufacturing + Duplication of CD
|
3,500
|
0
|
3,500
|
Design + Photography for CD Cover
|
1,500
|
1,500
|
0
|
Website + EPK Redesign
|
1,750
|
1,000
|
750
|
Euro + Folk Radio Promotion
|
3,000
|
0
|
3,000
|
Americana Radio Promotion
|
3,000
|
0
|
3,000
|
PROJECTED BUDGET
|
33,175
|
22,925
|
10,250
|
|
|
|
|
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WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
We're glad you asked! We’re offering some really fun rewards and incentives designed especially for you. Take a look at our perks...
RISKS & CHALLENGES
This is our biggest and most ambitious project to date, both creatively and financially. We're in new territory with the radio promotion and European tour plans, and at every turn there seem to be new (and expensive) lessons. That big budget feels daunting and raising money and asking for help is never easy. But we know that bringing a new album of original music to radio is the next step in our careers, and we've done our homework: we've enlisted the help of experts, we've assembled the right team, we've taken our time and followed our project plan. Now we're near completion and we need the crucial final funding to finish on time for our 2016 promotion schedule. Being artist-entrepreneurs is a hard but rewarding job and we've put our all resources into this project. We feel confident that we've made something wonderful and we can't wait to see where it takes us!
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OTHER WAYS TO HELP
We'd love for you to follow along this year and see where "Electricity" takes us. Spreading the word by sharing this project with your friends and network is a huge help. Following us on social media and posting words of encouragement means more to us than you know, plus helping us connect with like-minded folks across the US (and now the world) is a great way to join in the fun! Win-Win.
Come with us...