Hello! I’m James Hearne. I grew up in Fairport, NY, went to college in Ithaca, spent a dozen years in Philadelphia, and now I’m in the Hudson Valley. Maybe you’ve seen me at a solo show. You might remember my work from The Way Home or The Sobriquets, or maybe Confusion About Weather, or The ALMS, or GG Schwae (probably not those last few).
The move to the Hudson Valley has been an artistic rebirth, and a necessary kick in the career-path jeans. My new home is a fertile ground for creativity and a solid place from which to relaunch, but like any small business, one needs up-front capital to get started. I long for the days when record labels sought out & developed unknown talent (and, okay, usually exploited it), but alas, those days have passed.
I’m not very good at a lot of things, but I write good songs, and I play them pretty well. I have a number of them kicking around right now, and I’ve put together a crack team to work with, and we're on the precipice of making a record.
This project will be produced by Rob Stein, who in addition to being a seasoned Americana producer, is perhaps the best folk/country lead guitarist/pedal steel player I’ve ever met in person. The mighty Kevin Simon will be playing keys for this project, and I tell you true that I’ve never worked with a better player. David Andersen is both engineering and playing bass, two jobs at which he excels. The most likely drummer for this project, Eric Parker, has been a session player since before I was born. The lovely Eleanor Kleiner and Elie Brangbour of The Whispering Tree will be singing harmonies with me. This record is going to be amazing.
I’m trying to raise $5,000. That will cover studio time, pay all the musicians, and leave enough to press a limited amount of CDs. The further above the $5k baseline we go, the more I can put towards promoting the record.
I’m still stubborn (deluded?) enough to believe that my talents can be valuable, that I have songs to share that can make people’s lives better, that it’s possible I can find a way to do the thing that I love for a living. I harbor no illusions about being rich and famous, though I’ll settle for comfortable and notorious.
You can help me make that dream become reality. You can help make a record exist that wouldn’t otherwise. Your support makes this possible, and worthwhile. I thank you in advance for considering my music worthy of your hard-earned money.
Never doubt the importance of your support of the arts, and of the artists.
Please check out the available perks, consider pledging support for my record, and (even if you can’t afford to pledge) share the fundraiser with your friends! Help me make the next step of my dream come to life!
Hearts and stars and moons and clovers and diamonds and horseshoes,
James
