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Scene Noir: The Absynth Quintet raises money for their 3rd album
Monica Topping
Tri-City Weekly/Radio Radio Radio
The bane of every band or musician’s existence is fundraising — fundraising to tour and fundraising to record. Every penny that has to be saved for either of those ventures takes away from the band members’ rent, so when a band needs to raise money for one thing or another, it pays to come up with some original ideas.
Local gypsy jazz band The Absynth Quintet is preparing to go into the studio to record the follow-up to their last album, “Indigo Shoes, and they’re going about the fundraising in a little different way — through an online pledge drive, which runs through the end of this month.
“It was really hard for us to ask for money,” says Ryan Roberts, the band’s guitar player, “so we didn't want this to be charity, rather a way of pre-booking (or) pre-ordering skills and services that the band provides at a fair value.”
If you’ve seen pledge drives on KEET-TV or heard them on KHSU-FM, Absynth is following the same basic principle — for a certain amount of money pledged (say, $5), you get a thank you gift in return (like a digital download of the album, upon its release). The greater the amount pledged — $150 or $600, for example — the bigger the “thank you” gift — Absynth drummer Tofu Mike Schwartz setting up and engineering sound for your next party, or a dinner for you and three of your friends, cooked by the Absynth guys (self-proclaimed “avid culinary geeks”). The biggest package, for a $2000 pledge, is a one-of-a-kind electric-acoustic banjo, custom-made by Absynth’s banjo player, Ian Davidson.
“The music industry, on one hand, has taken a huge dive, but I feel that is only the larger big box acts,” says Roberts. “It has opened up the possibilities for smaller acts to find a fan base, release product and now fund projects at a fraction of what a record company can do it for.
“For us, we don’t fit the mold (and) no sane business is going to give us money to go record what we want to do when they have no idea how to define or market it,” he continues. “But our fans don’t care about that. They already get it and like what we do and don’t need to have it be defined in a drop-down menu for them to support and share it with others.”
One of the caveats to the Kickstarter fundraising process for The Absynth Quintet is that if they fail to meet their $2,000 goal by February 1st, they don’t get any of the money pledged. In early January, the site had logged 18 pledges, for a total of nearly $800 — $1,200 to go in the next few weeks. The link to Absynth’s fundraising page can be found through their Web site at www.absynthquintet.com .
Aside from preparing to record a new album, The Absynth Quintet is playing a local show at Humboldt Brews on Thursday, Feb. 18, with The Sundown Poachers, before they head north to the Wintergrass Festival in Bellevue, Wash.
Listen to The Absynth Quintet's "The Rev. Sam" here, through the end of the month.
Monica Topping is the Slug Festivities Guide lady and weekend mid-day DJ on 94.1 KSLG-FM, and even though she has no idea how to play the banjo, she wishes she could pledge $2,000 to The Absynth Quintet’s project, so she could get a custom-made one from the band.
(Photo: Bird Jowaisas, Rudy Luera and Ryan Roberts of The Absynth Quintet at the Red Fox Tavern, in December 2008. Photo by Monica Topping.)
10 comments:
- At 1/15/2010 4:30 PM Anonymous said...
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Wow, unbeleiveable! That would be nice to have other people pay for your recording. What do the pledgers get out of it? The band will make the money on cd sales. Will they pay back the donations? Or are they too great of a band for that? We pay for that recording and cd shit ourselves in all the bands I've played in. This fundraiser they're doing is lame and makes them look like spongers.
- At 1/15/2010 4:37 PM Monica... That One Girl said...
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While I try not to reply to anyone that's too chickensh** to own their comments with their name... What I like about this concept is that basically, they're giving their funders a sort of ownership in the record, for one, and two, it's just creative.
BTW- Did you actually look at the Kickstarter website before commenting? If so, you could actually see what different pledge levels get in return. It's not just a donation... it's kind of like prepaying for your product, is all. - At 1/16/2010 8:38 PM Anonymous said...
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I read it, but don't see why they don't just sell that banjo and use the money for their recording if it's so valuable. Where's the DIY ethic? I've also seen their band advertising on craigslist for donations to buy a tour van, or something along those lines. Uh, isn't that sorta lame in your opinion? Or is it creative? I bet at least half of them are pot growers, so wtf? A sort of ownership to what? Are the donors going to share in the profits? I fucking doubt it. Don't be naieve. Like I said before, most bands with a strong work ethic will do it themselves, not rely on other people to fund their dreams. You know this. THUMBS DOWN to the AQ for this bullshit.
- At 1/16/2010 10:47 PM Monica... That One Girl said...
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When did resourcefulness stop being DIY? So they've found a way to make the money needed for their recording, while still using gig money (what gigs they play, while preparing to record) to do things like pay their bills.
Again, it's not like they're asking Grandma and Grandpa for a handout. In trade for making a donation to the cause, you get a little something in return. It's just a new a different way of doing things.
As far as I'm concerned, Absynth Quintet is ahead of the game... so many other bands are struggling to dig up the money ($30 or $50 at a time, from gigs) to make their first recording, and many of those bands probably aren't lucky enough to have the other combined talents that these guys are offering in trade for a little help financing their venture.
And yes, ownership. The kind of pride that comes with seeing the finished product and knowing you helped them make it happen.
BTW-Thank you for this discussion. It's refreshing to remember that not everyone will agree with the opportunities that the internet has to offer. - At 1/16/2010 10:49 PM Monica... That One Girl said...
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Also, I'd love to know what makes you think "at least half of them are pot growers." Humboldt stereotype?
- At 1/18/2010 9:02 PM Anonymous said...
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Duh! You're saying that you think they aren't pot growers?
Regardless, they must have jobs, right? Some sort of income, right? I mean shit, how many of them are there in that band? 5? That seems like plenty of potential $$ from anyone that has the initiative to DIY. So why not use that to fund their music, like the rest of us do? Sure, it takes time, if you're not rich. Devising new ways to fund your ideas is very similar to what is known as a scam. LAME - At 1/18/2010 9:07 PM Anonymous said...
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Here's another point on the matter. I know that this band makes good money playing gigs because the acoustic wussy bands get paid the most along with cover bands. I was told by one local bluegrass band that they often make as much as $1200 per local gig. So wtf? They can't afford to make a cd with that kind of band income? They suck for pulling this scam. The hippies who support them are too clueless to know what the reality is. Anyway, looks like this scam is going to fail. Perhaps they will push back the date to accommodate their goal?
- At 1/18/2010 9:09 PM Monica... That One Girl said...
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Anon- This discussion clearly isn't getting anywhere. Bottom line, this is the 21st century, and as technology progresses, businesses (which bands essentially are) will progress with it, constantly finding new ways to raise funds for their various ventures.
Instead of being so dead-set against it, why don't you look into how new online tools might make your life easier. Face it, if these resources would have existed when you were younger, bands would have been using them. - At 1/18/2010 9:12 PM Monica... That One Girl said...
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BTW- I love this band and I'm not a clueless hippy. Find a new brush to paint these broad strokes with.
- At 1/24/2010 1:43 PM beachcomber said...
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Here's the deal...ANON...I figure I'm going to buy their CD anyway. Why not pay for it up front, giving them the funds to actually sell more. I'm not really out any more than I would have been if I waited until the CDs were pressed..printed...ripped...whatever they do to put music on the little piece of plastic. And if someone with more money wants to kick down a grand...what the hell do you care?! When I checked other links on Kickstarter, I see people trying to get books published, movies made...why not get on the ground floor if you think it's a good idea. Obviously, Absynth has enough fans to back this effort, right?
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