Ask and you shall receive… but you have to ask.

So I have good news and good news. The good news is, fly woman genius sounds fantastic! and is well on its way to being a real live released EP.

The other good news is, now YOU get to be a part of it! Here I am, “stuck” in the middle with a… budgetary imbalance… And while recording and production were fabulous, it has become clear that additional capital is needed to cover the post-production process: mastering, releasing & distributing, songwriter royalties, my graphic designer for the cover art… and, of course, the release party!

fly woman genius is now a featured project on Kickstarter, a new way to fund and follow creative projects. All pledges are secure through Amazon Payments — and all projects are funded on an ALL OR NOTHING basis. I either get all $1500, or nothing! Check it out here (or click through the widget at right) to see reward levels — at least one includes my famous homemade blondies — and to pledge. The minimum reward is an advance copy of the EP for $10 — and the minimum pledge is only $1. Every little bit helps!

I’ll be honest, asking for money has never been easy for me. (I can still remember being terrified as a child to call relatives and ask if they wanted to order Girl Scout Cookies.) Generally I’m better at doing so under another guise — support for charitable causes, like when I raised nearly $2500 for the 2001 AIDS Ride from Minneapolis to Chicago; or asking for tax-deductible donations to start Choral Chameleon, the chamber choir I helped found in 2008. But asking friends, Romans, countrymen for money so that I can make my own dream come true — well, that’s something this humble Midwestern girl hasn’t quite gotten used to.

But I believe in this project, these songs, this time; and I know there are a lot of music lovers out there. I know I’ve had a lot of support already and I am so grateful for the backers that have gotten me to this point (Abner, I’m talking to you). I also know that “ask and ye shall receive” is literally true — but you do have to ask.

There is no music without an ear to hear it — I can’t do it without you! I’m already almost 20% of the way there. Can you help?

I’ve added a page with info about all the fabulous songwriters who are contributing to fly woman genius… Tony Asaro, Bill Barclay, Carner & Gregor, Matt & Matte, Vince Peterson, and Mike Pettry.

check it out, here! (or navigate your way above… Watch and Listen –> Album)

Actors often wonder how often we should be keeping in touch with people in the industry – casting directors, agents (if we are unsigned), those we would like to work with someday. Do we send updates all the time, just to keep our names in front of them? The best answer I’ve heard to this question – and the most sensible, really – is to be in touch when you have something to say.

I’m not one to give up or run away from a challenge. But I do try to re-assess situations as I live through them and see the new lay of the land. And while I love sharing my process and my musings and my points of view on the artistic life, there are days when (gasp) even I don’t have something brilliant to say. The last thing the internet needs is more arbitrary content.

So, I’m not going anywhere. I’m still singing my face off and auditioning and reading and pulling this album together, and there’s a lot of exciting stuff ahead in that regard… I just can’t tell you about it yet!

You’ll be hearing from me, when I have something to say.

P.S. Got something you’d like to hear (more [or less] of)? Leave a comment!

to all that has gone before, for making me who I am today.

And yes, that includes you, heartbreak and dark times.

xoxo,
katie*

The challenge is this: I will blog every weekday until fly woman genius is recorded. If that goes well, I’ll keep it up until it is released. And after that… well, who knows what the world will look like?

For awhile I’ve been stuck in this catch-22: I haven’t set a recording date for the album because I don’t have all the answers yet, but I just keep running in circles with the questions because who knows when I’ll actually record? There’s so much more research, planning and thinking about the album to be done before I actually do it.

Or is there?

Einstein said that The problems that face us cannot be solved at the same level of consciousness that created them. What we need is a shift in consciousness. I still have a lot of questions: Where will the money come from? Will all the songs be done in time? Will I be vocally ready to record the sound I want? What if I don’t know what the eff I’m doing? But I’m willing to bet the solutions aren’t going to present themselves by sitting and wondering.

The email has been sent, and the dates are being set. And everything else will fall in line.

“So many changes going on these days!” a friend of mine complained over dinner back in March. “I blame Obama.”

He was talking about breakups, but the same could certainly apply to katiezaffrann.com (and – not coincidentally – katie zaffrann) of late. It’s a work in progress — bear with me!