Music

All Aboard the MTA! Next stop: your mind

• Adventure
• Weird
• Funny

Many thanks to all who have already donated! We're nearing the goal!

Here's a quick interview which describes the project better perhaps:

http://blog.rockethub.com/brooklynite-don-paris-schlotman-talks-music-c

And a link to the sketches of some of the material - these are all demos not the final recordings:

http://donparisschlotman.bandcamp.com/album/mta-sketches

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Dear friends, fans, and family,

As some of you know, I am working on a new album and I would like to offer you a special opportunity to contribute to keeping independent music alive. In exchange for a few moments of your time and some money you get the satisfaction of supporting the arts as well as tangible rewards.

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We all know the current state of the recording industry as it scrambles to figure out how to make money with the internet and downloading. Sadly, their methods of making money tend to involve ripping off the actual musicians in endless battles for recouped money, legal hassles, and often questionable promotion.  As many of you know, I am proud to be an independent DIY artist and have given away a lot of music over the years because love is what drives me to create, not money.

That said, I am writing to ask you for your support in producing my new album, Mother Transit Authority.  This album is a reflection on life and the result of playing with an amazing loose-knit collective of musicians here in NYC every week. It’s a return to basics as well as some more experimental songs which reflect the things which inspire me every day. It’s the result of me hitting the sidewalks, listening to some amazing music, staying up too late to work on songs and getting up early for a day job.

Why am I asking for support? I would love to be able to hire some of the musicians I’ve been working with to play on the album, to help defray the production, print, & promotion/distribution costs, as well as potentially being able to do a small tour or two if this goes well. This is not a request for charity nor is it strictly an investment so much as it is a collaborative effort where you get to help independent music stay independent.

The traditional routes have been failing of late so it’s time to try something new: Rocket Hub’s crowdfunding. This is not corporate funding but artists helping artists, and fans playing an active role in helping those artists release the music for you to dance to, to sing in the shower, to sing along with on those long summer road trips, or to do whatever else you like to do while listening to music. I’m trying to keep this family-friendly, but you know what I mean.

So what’s in this for you? At the lower levels, it’s a chance to get a signed advance copy of the album and some of my famous biscotti that I spent years perfecting while at Pane Italian Bakery to share with your family and friends. At the higher levels you get a personal concert, a hand-crafted box set of all of my albums, a song written for you, and/or original artwork.

You will also have my undying gratitude for being helpful and supportive over the years of course, but you already have that. Music is about so much more than the musician; the audience is as integral to the whole thing as the artist is if not more so.

RocketHub is risk-free. If I don't Fuel my project goal by my 45-day deadline all of your money goes right back to you. Thank you for everything, and please feel free to pass this along to anyone who you may think would be interested. This promotion ends right after my birthday, so while it would be crass of me to suggest this, I will anyway: for those of you who live far away and find yourself wondering what I want for my birthday, this is it.  I know the holiday season is tough financially, so any amount helps, and again it’s no risk to you.

Thank you and lots of love,

Don