Hello world! My name is Jasper Schilling, and I'm an aspiring audio engineer here in the beautiful city of Boston, Massachusetts.

I've always loved music since a young age; I used to go to blues festivals with my dad when I was 5, and started playing saxophone when I was 8. In high school I played in a high level jazz band and played in nationwide competitions. Half a year ago, my producer friend Charlie showed me beat/songmaking through Fruity Loops Studio, and since then every free chance I get I'm making music. Through music I have found a true form of relaxation and therapy, and I want to make people's lives truly better through my music.

This Indiegogo campaign is the final step toward gaining the skills I need to pursue that dream career -- and with your help, I know I can make this a reality.

This campaign is raising funds for my apprenticeship at Plaid Dog Recording, where I would be learning from and working with Mike Davidson, a Boston-based producer, and engineer with 15+ years of experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians.

One of the things I'm most excited about is just how hands-on this program would be, and that's the quickest, best way to learn this trade. So many schools make students wait for years to touch any equipment or make their own recordings, and Plaid Dog cuts right to the chase. My apprenticeship would include the following components to help me enter the working world as an audio professional:

1. One-on-one training workshops: Plaid Dog's training program consists of 20 3-hour comprehensive lessons taught in a one-on-one workshop, which keeps this personal, tailored to me, and hands-on. This is where I get to work with Mike and his knowledgeable engineering staff and really hone my skills on a variety of important topics.

2. Assisting on real recording sessions: I might be most excited about this part! Perhaps the coolest thing about this apprenticeship is that Plaid Dog puts me to work straight away when I start the program -- and, I GET PAID for my time assisting on sessions, which means from day 1, I get to put "Plaid Dog Assistant" on my resume. How cool is that? This is exactly what I need to start my career.

3. Hands-on recording labs: This is where I get hands-on opportunities with Plaid Dog's awesome gear, and get to work with actual bands to practice my recording skills. I can't stress how huge this is -- with audio, things don't really click until you can apply this stuff with your own hands in a real setting.

And what will you get for your generosity and support? So many awesome things!

I'm so appreciative and grateful for any support you can lend to this campaign. In exchange for your generosity, I've put together a really exciting group of gifts that are available exclusively through your participation in this campaign.

Check out some examples below and a full list to the right!

It's hard to express how much this program would change my life.

I've always wanted to bring my music to life and share it with as many people as possible. Making hit songs by myself and with other artists has been the dream, and now I feel like I have the confidence and work ethic to really make it happen. I can give back to the music world what it's done for me.

Music is intrinsically an act of community. I have had a musical bonding experience with all of my closest friends. I love networking with musicians and learning as much as I can from every one of them.  That connection that music creates leads to new experiences, and I hope this project will bring that full circle and sustain new collaborations to come.

This will be the biggest undertaking I've made to advance my music career. I'm so happy in life at the moment, looking forward to turning my attention to making music my day-to-day life, bringing all of my varied experience together into something sustainable that my friends and family can be a part of.

If you're ready to contribute, just click the pink "Back It" button at the top right of this page! Every little bit counts, and I'm so grateful for all your support.

If you've got family or friends in your network that would be interested in supporting this, please help get the word out and make some noise! There are social media share buttons on this page, and please tell your friends how grateful I am for this support.

Thank you so much for checking out my campaign page. I can't wait to take this big step towards a bright future.