Who is Bric-a-Brac?

Many moons ago, John Connors and Mike Armstrong met and quickly discovered their mutual love of obscure records and songs, many of which they discovered on records purchased at thrift stores. Active in the local music scene at the time, John and Mike thought it would be fun to form a band and play these songs live, so that others might also enjoy what they found so compelling. Bric-a-Brac was formed and had their first gig at the legendary Chicago club Lounge Ax. 20 years on, the band is still going strong and ready to release a brand new record filled with 11 weird and wonderful tunes. Songs with sounds and styles ranging from jumpy numbers about odd romantic attractions to tragic sea ballads.

How you can help & what you will get

The album is "in the can" - recorded, mixed & mastered. To get it released, we we need money for the following items:

• Because these songs are not our own (culled from thrift store records) we need to secure licensing to release them to the public. Half of the money raised will go to initial licensing costs.
• We will press as many CDs as we can, the aim is to do 200 initially, and add more as needed.
• The rest of the money will go to distribution, shipping & promotional costs.
• All backers will get a copy of the record as a Digital Download, CD, or both - depending on what level they choose.
• Higher-level backers will get a super de-luxe package in the mail with CD, Digital Download Card, and one piece of high-quality "bric-a-brac" to add to their collection.
• Bric-a-Brac t-shirts will also be available at certain levels.
• If we do not reach our goal, the funds we raise will go toward licensing. If and when we are able to raise the rest, we will release the record.

How your help makes an impact

There is a vast quantity of great songs out there that nobody will ever hear. Some of these songs will be forever trapped in obscurity, bound to the third track on the second side of an oddball record, or on the b-side of a 78 rpm single:

• We believe these songs deserve to be heard, shared, enjoyed and preserved for future generations. This is no small task!
• We have rescued many songs from obscurity, some of which made it onto our two previous albums 16 Luxury Units, and Three Weeks from Yesterday (our tribute to Rod McKuen). We play the rest at our live shows and with your help, we can add these 11 gems to the catalog!
• Besides our regular internet streams, some of these songs have even made it onto TV and radio - ("What's My Name" played on This American Life). With your help, just imagine where else we can get these songs played and heard by others!
• We empathize with the songwriters who put their sweat and soul into these songs. We try to do right by them and play homage to them the best way we can.

This project is incredibly important to us, and we love these songs as if they were our very own. If we don't get this record out, these songs run the risk of remaining in obscurity forever.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you cannot contribute at this time, please forward this campaign on to those that may be able to. We appreciate any and all help we can get.