PledgeMusic is 115% Funded! Also, New Video: Recording Vocals!

Hey everyone! Last week, with an army of family, friends and fans backing me, I surpassed my goal for my PledgeMusic campaign.  I just got chills as I typed that last sentence.  I am so moved and so deeply grateful to have a piece of all of you on this new album and to have also helped fund the Rooftop Concert Series this year.

I owe some very special thanks to these people for their help and support in the success of this campaign:

Courtney Kendrick and The Rooftop Concert Series
Sam Schultz of Sammy's Cafe
Stephanie Nielson
Ariel Hyatt
Wesley Johnson
Lyndsay Johnson
Jeff Yeats
Jared Platt
Jefra Starr Linn
Krista Maurer
Rachel Schutz (Darlybird)
Canela Limoine

And of course, the staff at PledgeMusic.

Many of you helped me Tweet, Facebook, Instagram and do giveaways to help spread the word.  I don't even think I could begin to fit all of the names into this post.  Please know how thankful I am to you.

So, what's next?  Today, I am shooting the photos for my album artwork.  In three days, I leave for New York to finish the mixing and mastering of the album.  Then the album will be manufactured in July and ready to hit stores by September 10th.  I'll continue to post videos of the album creation process.  Check out the new one above of recording vocals in the studio on a brand new song called, "Little Red Bike!" 

Why I Love Vintage!

Let's be honest: I don't keep up with the latest fashions.  But, I DO keep up with the fashions of yesteryear.  Why?  Because I'm drawn to them like a bear to a beehive.  The perks: Vintage clothing is usually very inexpensive, one-of-a-kind, non-skanky and chalk-full of unique patterns, textures, colors and personality!  

I made you (or rather, Jeff Yeats made you) a rad video about why I love vintage, filmed inside of a slick vintage clothing store in Nashville, TN called "The Hip Zipper." 

Also, I'm going to give you the  4-1-1 on where I've bought some of my favorite outfits and how much they cost.  I've used these beauties for photo shoots and music videos.  Check it out:

 

 Square Dance Shirt: $15 at "Decades," Salt Lake City, UT

Tutu: $30 at "Decades," Salt Lake City, UT

Picture Frame: $1.50 at Deseret Industries, Provo, UT

Photo by Jefra Starr Linn

 

Prom Dress: $120 at "Swift Vintage," Burbank, CA

Photo by Wendy Whitaker of Blue Lily Photography

 

 Polyester Red Dress: $7 at "Nevin's Thrift Store," Mt. Pleasant, UT

Photo by Wendy Whitaker of Blue Lily Photography

Navy Velour & Lace Dress: $7 at "Nevin's Thrift Store," Mt. pleasant, UT

Photo by Wendy Whitaker of Blue Lily Photo

Retro Circus Dress: $35 at "Hubba Hubba," Burbank, CA

Photo by Justin Hackworth

P.S. I am offering a private, all-day shopping excursion with me through my PledgeMusic Campaign.  I only have a few spots left.  Offer ends on June 4th, so hurry and sign up! I'd love to take you shopping! Sign up at www.pledgemusic.com/mindygledhill.

Strings!

I want to take you on a tour through the studio during what we call a "string session," (the part of the recording process where we record the strings!).  We used an amazing group of string players in Nashville, called "The Love Sponge."  These guys have played on recordings for many greats, including Ben Folds, The Fray, Jennifer Lopez, Johnny Mathis, Jason Mraz, and Ron Sexsmith, to name just a few.  Let's just say I had to pinch myself a few times.  Many thanks to my producer, Cason Cooley, string arranger, Ben Shive, The Lovesponge and Jeff Yeats for making this video.  Enjoy!

New Video and Contest!

 

This is an exciting week! I have a goal to be 50% funded by the end of the week on my PledgeMusic Campaign.  I am currently at 36%.  Hooray!  We're getting close!  If you pledge to my new album online by Saturday, May 5th, you will receive a FREE PASS to a private concert with me, hosted by Sammy's Cafe. 

Also, A CONTEST!  If you re-post one of my Instagram buttons on IG (below) and use the hashtag, #pledgemindy, you will be entered to win  a lunch date with me, you,  and a friend at Sammy's Cafe in Provo or Salt Lake City, UT, plus $100 in credit at Sammy's cafe!  I can't think of anything better than scarfing an entire plate of sweet potato fries with you by my side.

Nope. That's not all! 30% of all pledges to my new album will go toward funding this year's Rooftop Concert Series.  This is all one big love fest of giving through music and community.  Read about an exciting new announcement about the Rooftop Concert Series on CJane's blog today! Your clue word is "broadcast."
 
I'll sign off by offering you this beautifully filmed video to bring you up to speed on what's happening in the studio here in Nashville as I make my new album. Made by the talented, Jeff Yeats.
www.pledgemusic.com/mindygledhill
 

 

 

 

A Converted Heart

Photo by Wesley Johnson

When I was small enough to hide in cupboards and squirm through the nooks and crannies of the old blue house of my childhood, I would find refuge from my existence as one of nine children in a closet underneath the spiral staircase.  Climbing the rickety shelves of the closet in bare feet, I would always find a cassette tape recorder with a rectangular shaped lo-fi microphone attached to it.  There was a special cradle for the microphone on the recorder and I loved to repeatedly pull the microphone out and then click it back into it's proper place.  But even more than that, I relished flipping on the "power" switch and singing directly into it while pressing my mouth to the grill.  The buzz created by the distortion tickled my lips while an electrified sense of joy ran through my body from sun-kissed head to dingy little toes.

Fast forward twenty-some-odd-years and not much has changed.  When I step into the iso-booth in the studio, I feel the quietude and safety that is my childhood closet under the spiral staircase.  It is me and the microphone.  The vibration.  The electrified joy from head to toe.  My heart nearly leaps from my mouth in the form of sound waves. The waves cause the microphone's diaphragm to vibrate. The microphone captures and transmits my vibrations into an electrical signal. The signal travels a path through a cable to a computer sound card where it is converted from analog into digital code which is then sent to the computer's recording software.  The digital signal is decoded and then sent back to the device's sound card which converts it back to an analog signal, read by your speaker system and emitted as sound waves that are processed by your very own ears.  

Note that this electrical signal started it's journey in my heart.  It IS my heart, traveling through my mouth, changing from one form of energy into another until it reaches you.  Understood in code, then decoded, and recoded. It is my spirit speaking to your spirit. Mine is a converted heart.

Album Recording, Part 4!

I love recording music!  Enjoy a little summary of what I've recorded and meet my guitarist, Joe Corcoran! I'm embarking upon a two week break from the studio right now, but I'll be here in Nashville with my boys climbing trees, chasing fireflies, and eating fried okra.  You can follow the adventures here, on Facebook, Twitter, Vine and especially, Instagram! I love Instagram. (@mindygledhill). 

To pre-order the new album, visit www.pledgemusic.com/mindygledhill.

Thanks for following along!

What Is Crowdfunding?

Last Friday, I did the most vulnerable thing of my entire music career to date: I launched a PledgeMusic campaign.  What is that? you ask.  PledgeMusic is a platform for crowdfunding, much like Kickstarter, but specified for musicians. And what is crowdfunding? you ask. Crowdfunding is where you involve the people who support you in the creation of your product—in my case, my new album.  It's actually a brilliant way to pre-sell your music, but even more than that, offer your listeners some truly unique ways to be involved.  For example, in exchange for my fans' contributions, I will send them my album a week before it releases, I will call them and sing them to sleep, take them to lunch, teach them how to write songs via Skype or in person, take them shopping for a day, invite them to sing a duet with me on stage, and so much more. These are things that I normally wouldn't have available for purchase. It's also an incredible way to create momentum and awareness surrounding a new album release.  Additionally, I've made it so that 30% of my campaign will go toward funding the Rooftop Concert Series to support my local music scene. 

Any time you put yourself out there, there will be naysayers.  Trust me.  I live in a world of putting myself out there.  One person commented:

In my opinion if Mindy wanted to record another album she should have had the money upfront, not beg from her fans for it.

For those of you who may be confused about what this campaign is all about, allow me to spell it out a little more clearly and be vulnerable, yet one more time.  I have paid for the recording of my album, up front, with my own money that I have set aside for three years.  (Although, I do not see anything wrong with bands raising money to pay for an album up front if they don't have it). I am an independent artist. This means that I fund my entire career. I pay for the recording, I pay for CD duplication, album design, web design, my band members' pay checks, travel costs for touring, music videos, and the list goes on and on. The contributions of my fans will go towards all of the extra expenses beyond the album recording, that it takes to thrive as a musician.  In a beautifully symbiotic way, my fans will allow me to have a wider reach by making more videos, touring more and meeting them face to face through this very campaign.  Don't think for a minute that I'm not deeply grateful for this or that I'm not working my tail off to create new music to share with all of you.  I'm really proud of this music and I stand by it unapologetically.  I can't wait to see how it brings us together. Thank you so much for allowing me into your lives through music.

Pledge HERE.

Watch this amazing TED talk by independent artist, Amanda Palmer, who raised 1.2 million dollars for her music through crowdfunding: