gordon withers

Thank you.

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:07:31 GMT

The Kickstarter project is fully-funded!

Thanks to those of you who pledged/pre-ordered, vinyl and CDs are a go for my new album! I can't properly express my gratitude in words - just know that I am extremely humbled and thrilled. It is truly an honor to be putting out an album that is effectively produced by the fan base. Call it whatever you want - crowdsourcing, Music 2.0, fundraising - the album is now basically yours. Gotta Groove Records is already setting up the presses for the vinyl production as you read this! (CDs, which take less time, will start being produced in a couple of weeks)

It looks like the album will come out mid-November, with a release party tentatively planned for 11/22 at the Galaxy Hut in Arlington, VA. More details soon!

Thank you again!! If you or someone you know had been planning on pre-ordering, but haven't done it yet, you can still do so before noon on Wednesday. Once the Kickstarter project ends, I won't be taking orders again until November.

PS. If you'd like to hear a version of the WTOP interview that ran last Friday and Saturday, go here and scroll to the bottom of the post.

Kickstarter and the new music economy

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:08:08 GMT

[I posted this on Monday night over at my Facebook Fan Page, but I wanted to make sure this gets the proper blog treatment]

I recently decided to crowd-source the funding for the production of my new album, instead of waiting a year or more to save money or try to find a label to put it out. By then I'd already be on to the next album, and the label climate at that point will probably be even worse than it is now.

I think Amanda Palmer (Dresden Dolls) said it best recently:

"artists used to rely on middlemen to collect their money on their behalf, thereby rendering themselves innocent of cash-handling in the public eye.

artists will now be coming straight to you (yes YOU, you who want their music, their films, their books) for their paychecks.
please welcome them. please help them. please do not make them feel badly about asking you directly for money.
dead serious: this is the way shit is going to work from now on and it will work best if we all embrace it and don’t fight it."

I couldn't agree more. The internet, especially with the new breed of artists' fundraising sites such as Kickstarter, has made it easier than ever to bypass the traditional musician-label structure. I put out a figure - in this case $2,500 - to print 100 LP's and 300-500 CD's, plus mastering/packaging costs - and I test to see if there is a demand for it. With Kickstarter, if I don't raise the $2.5K, no money changes hands and everybody walks away, but I still learn something - either the demand wasn't there, or I didn't market it correctly, or I didn't give it enough time.

However!! I am convinced that the demand *is* there, based on the incredible response I've seen so far. From what I see, people are embracing this new artist-fan paradigm. I haven't received a single complaint (so far) of spamming or being too pushy with asking for money. That's really incredible. And what is more incredible is the number of people who have gone for the "special reward" pledge levels on my Kickstarter page. Six people have pledged $50 to receive the album plus a cello-ized song of their choice! Two people have even pledged over $100. (That's 8 custom cello arrangements for those who are counting - guess I'd better get crackin'!)

Frankly, I love this new way of doing things. Ten years ago, when I was playing with Betwixt, I would have been psyched to be picked up by a label. But even then, we realized that it would just be a "fun ride", probably lasting 1-2 albums and a few years before we'd inevitably go the way of 99.999% of other indie-bands on labels. These days, that "ride" no longer exists at all. Major labels are committing seppuku faster than you can say "blaeargh", and the independent labels have all been clobbered by the recession. What's left? Well, exactly what you're seeing now. DIY sites like BandCamp and Kickstarter are the new normal. Everyone's doing it on their own, and everyone is extending the tip jar your way. By all means, go ahead and download all you want, go crazy with the torrents - but don't shy away from the tip jar when us musicians pass it around. If you can't pay at the moment, then don't, but don't forget us when you eventually can.

So!! In conclusion. I've decided to make my entire new album stream-able at http://gordonwithers.bandcamp.com from Tuesday noon through next Wednesday. I hope you enjoy it. If you have the means to pre-order it at Kickstarter, that would be incredibly helpful and much-appreciated. And what would help the MOST is if you could pass on the Kickstarter link (http://bit.ly/gwalbum) to your music-loving friends. I've got 8 days to raise the remaining $1,200. I know it can be done. I believe in this album, and I'm heartened by everyone who has pledged so far.

Thanks so much for reading this, and rock on.

The 25% Threshold (Originally posted at Kickstarter)

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:18:38 GMT

[I originally posted this at my Kickstarter Album Fundraising project page] Pre-order your copy of my new album now!

Good evening,

My good friend Nick D and I both launched Kickstarter fundraising projects at about the same time - his is to publish an awesome book he is writing on interaction design, and of course mine is for producing the vinyl & cd versions of my new album. Nick posted tonight about an interesting statistic with Kickstarter projects - those that reach the 25%-funded threshold have a 94% success rate.

[Incidentally, if you work in design, product development, or technology, you will need NickD's book when it is finished - go make sure it gets published now! I don't get a kickback, by the way.]

If you're interested, the folks at Kickstarter posted a long blog about why they think the 25% threshold exists. It's a good read if you have time. But the point is - tonight I noticed that both Nick's project and mine are tantalizingly close to that 25%-funded mark - right now I'm just over 20%.

I want to thank those of you who have pre-ordered the album so far, or just donated for the cause. It is my firm belief that in 2009, a musician or band needs to do more than just release an album on CD and mp3. The disposability of both formats goes against what the album format - that vaunted Long-Player, always represented. I believe that people are craving the real experience, with real thought, care, and love put into the entire package - great music, great artwork, and special offerings. But even if you only ordered the CD, you'll still get as nice of a package as we can manage with that format. Cover artist Dave Gonzalez just sent over the final cover art yesterday, and it is amazing. If this fundraising fails, that cover art may never see the surface of an LP sleeve, let alone a smaller CD cover - it will only exist on that Bandcamp page and as a thumbnail in a little corner in your iTunes. And then there's the music - thanks especially to my brother Stephen's drumming and J Robbins's amazing production job, I am absolutely convinced that this album deserves LP and CD treatment. I would have never undertaken a pre-ordering fundraiser project if I thought otherwise.

So, about that 25% threshold. The way this project will surpass it - and eventually succeed - is through your help. Share it with your friends. Convince them that they need to order an all-cello recording of their significant other's favorite song for Christmas/Hanukkah/their birthday/next Flag Day. When else will you ever have the chance to hear cello versions of Mission of Burma, Chavez, and Burning Airlines on vinyl (not to mention the originals)? This may also be the only time ever that you can get an original piece of Dave's for so little money. Grab the sharing widget on the project's homepage, or just click one of the sharing links. Sign up for my email list and tell others to as well.

Thanks again and let's make this happen for real!

Best,

Gordon Withers

PS. I may have some exciting radio-interview news later this week. I'll update again as soon as it happens!

NEW ALBUM IMMINENT!!!!11!!1

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 02:34:10 GMT

Dear LiveJournal,

I just launched a project at kickstarter.com to help pay for my new album to be mastered & printed. Essentially, you can now pre-order my new album. Do it now! Choose one of the special options (custom cello song, original art) as a really amazing gift for someone you love.

The funding goal (October 14) is really aggressive, to ensure that the album can come out before the holidays. Please pass this on & repost & tweet & facebook-share & friendster (?!?!?!) if you can.

1/2 price downloads - jawbox on cello

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:49:07 GMT

In honor of Jawbox reissuing a remastered version of For Your Own Special Sweetheart later this year, I've dropped the price for Jawbox On Cello from $10 to $5, from now through Thursday. All proceeds benefit the Cal Robbins Care Fund. You can pay more if you wish.

Get it here: http://gordonwithers.bandcamp.com/album/jawbox-on-cello-a-benefit-for-cal-robbins

Plop Sonar Dampy (and other potential album titles gleaned from spam emails)

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:41:52 GMT

Dear loyal fans and Russian spambots,

Recording for my new album is done. Mixing is almost done too. Mastering will be done in August or September. From there, the album will come out whenever I can afford it. I'm contemplating taking pre-orders in order to finance the vinyl run and a limited publicity campaign. Thoughts? Maybe I can get 500,000 Twitter followers in the next 2 months, invent a random hashtag acronym, and make a killing selling t-shirts of it. In lieu of that, I'll just continue winning the unstated quest to be the most obscure J Robbins-produced project ever.

In the meantime, here is a sneak preview. swith_drawn plays all drums/percussion, and J did one hell of a production job. One of these mixes is less than 24 hours old! Bandcamp makes it easy, so enjoy while you can. These won't be up for long.

If you feel like spreading the cellove, click the "Share" link...

Alien microphone

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:00:10 GMT

Alien microphone
Originally uploaded by trisloth

This mic is going to open up and eat me
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mixing!

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:53:51 GMT

Mixing!
Originally uploaded by trisloth

The zigzag lines mean it rocks more
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

New album update!

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:40:17 GMT

Two weeks ago swith_drawn came up and we went into the studio. There is no good way to fully describe how awesome this was.

Stephen and I haven't played together much in ten years. We fooled around with some of my old guitar songs this past Christmas, but this was The Real Thing. I booked time with J Robbins at his Magpie Cage Baltimore studio. I wrote cello-based originals for the first time ever! We selected a few covers to do as well. There were only three days to rehearse, but we managed to pull it together. We even bought a djembe, after a trek with good friend Peter Maybarduk to a local traditional music store:

Stephen only stayed for the first two days of recording, but we managed to track all the drums in that time. Over the following two days I went back and tracked cello parts for a bunch of the songs.

J contributed a bunch of great ideas, including playing piano here on one of the covers.

These recordings are the best-sounding thing I've ever done. It was so awesome to play with my brother, and I am so excited to put this album out. Of course it's amazing to be recording with one of my musical heroes, and to have him be psyched to do it. I'll be heading back to Baltimore later this week to finish all the tracks - then it's time for mixing. The whole thing should be done sometime in July, but I probably won't be able to put it out until fall.

More soon!

Ponytail!

Fri, 01 May 2009 02:43:42 GMT

A week ago I was at DC9, awaiting the amazing Ponytail's set - an incredible, creative, unique band whose members I am honored to call friends. I don't know what it was about that night - I'd seen them play twice before - but somehow that night everything was perfect. The crowd was absolutely frenetic - when they came on, everyone just exploded in a burst of joyous energy. Nearly the entire audience became a mosh pit! I hadn't been in one in literally ten years, at least. People were just so mind-blowingly happy - it was one of the greatest shows I've ever seen, period.

GO SEE THESE GUYS IF YOU CAN. Tour dates here: http://www.myspace.com/ponytailtunes

Recording with The Bomb at Magpie Cage

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:50:54 GMT

Recording with The Bomb at Magpie Cage
Originally uploaded by trisloth

Last night I had a blast recording with Chicago's The Bomb (feat. Jeff Pezzati of Naked Raygun). I added cello to Jeff's excellent song "Make Me Whole". I had transcribed the parts Jeff wrote for trumpet, and flute, and other instruments, but due to budget and logistical constraints the "orchestra" ended up just being cello and J. Robbins on mellotron. But it ended up sounding great and I'm super-excited to get a (vynil!!!) copy of this record when it's done.

Jeff Dean and Jeff Pezzati (pictured) were wonderful and gracious people, and J. Robbins was of course his usual awesome self. Jeff P. kept cracking us up with old-school hardcore impressions of songs like "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" ("ThelegendlivesonfromtheChippewaondownOfthebiglaketheycallGitcheGumeemuthafukka!!!!!!!"). It reminded me of how much fun recording and playing music with cool people can be. Hopefully I'll be back at J's Magpie Cage recording my next album this June. More to come on that later...

musicks

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 04:14:57 GMT

wrote a fifth original cello song tonight. i'm happy that i'm able to do this. i've never written cello-only original songs before this year. also, it will be good not to have the second album be all covers again.

the other highlight of the day was receiving remastered copies of swervedriver's first two albums in the mail! holy crap they sound so good.

also practiced tonight for a recording session with Clutch this weekend. this may be the strangest fit yet in terms of a recording session... i have no idea how it's going to go. hopefully well!

also

Rcrd Lbl feature

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:59:40 GMT

I am featured in today's "Demo Days" post on my favorite music blog, Rcrd Lbl:

http://rcrdlbl.com/2009/02/18/demo_days_02_18_2009

And being featured, I now get my own Rcrd Lbl page! -

http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Gordon_Withers/music

Next steps:
1. Play more cello
2. World domination.
3. ??????
4. PROFIT

alex nelson - songs posted

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 02:31:33 GMT

this week, my good friend alex nelson posted 11 songs from his forthcoming album, 10 of which i play cello on:

http://www.reverbnation.com/alexnelson

for those keeping score at home, alex is the incredibly awesome soul who recorded my Jawbox on Cello album back in 2007. we played a couple shows together before i moved up to virginia later that year. alex's album was my first "remote" recording session - we traded files back and forth, and the studio i went to here had different recording software - so there were lots of chances for disasters, but it actually turned out great. we swapped demos back and forth for 2 weeks, but the actual recording was some of the fastest i've ever attempted - 10 songs in 6 hours. and half of them have two cello tracks.

this weekend, i'll be recording with the moon folks!

we all inherit the moon

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:25:03 GMT

I'm featured on a new song by the wonderful California-based instrumental band We All Inherit The Moon. Go to their Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/weallinheritthemoon) to hear it - it's the fifth song in their music player ("and ever part III"). The song will be out on a Japanese CD release sometime this spring, which will also be available on their MySpace. After that, I'll be recording with WAITM again for a vynil-only split LP which will be out later in 2009.

recording with swith_drawn

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 04:36:11 GMT

they say that a task will take up however much time you allot to it. in one sense, it has taken an eternity to record a set of songs i wrote about 10 years ago, because i never set a deadline for it. in another sense, it is taking exactly three days.

after 10 years of schedules-never-working-out, swith_drawn and i finally found a small window of time when we could get together and play music. we had exactly one day for rehearsing - yesterday - and we started recording this afternoon at my friend jason's house. we've already done the basics for six songs, with three more to go tomorrow. then it's off to our grandmother's in harrisburg on wednesday for christmas.

it's so strange to hear these old songs with drums, as they were intended. i am incredibly psyched and so glad i waited for the chance to play them with stephen - they never would have sounded right otherwise. thanks brother!

Cal Robbins benefit auction

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:33:18 GMT

Cal Robbins just turned 2, a milestone age for a kid with Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

I am auctioning off a cello arrangement of a song of the winner's choice, as part of a series of birthday auctions for Cal (including some pretty serious indie-rock stuff, like the rare Shellac "Futurist" album).

Check it out!

On Vox: Jawbox on Cello official release date: 12/18/2007

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:34:49 GMT

The album will be officially available on Tuesday, December 18. I'm still waiting to see exactly which online retailers will carry it -- so far, eMusic is definitely on board. In the meantime, you can download or order a CD from the MySpace page.

The PR campaign is also in full swing. My favorite music magazine, The Big Takeover, got a copy several months ago, so they are the first to review it. The following review is published in Big Takeover's issue #61, which comes out this week:

"If New Jersey’s Nutley Brass can give The Ramones and Misfits the horns & brass treatment, and if U2 hits can be “lullabized,” why not compose a cello album comprised of… Jawbox songs? Enter Withers (AKA Trisloth). A few years ago, a smattering of his cello-jacked Jawbox covers made the rounds on the Internet. At the beginning of 2007, Withers re-cut many of the tracks for this collection as a benefit release for Jawbox frontman, J. Robbins, whose infant son Cal was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Even for the most ardent aficionado of classical and/or chamber music, familiarity with the original Jawbox incarnations of these 12 songs (which by the way, span the group’s four albums) is a prerequisite for any genuine appreciation. That aside, this thoughtfully crafted, D.C. punk-related oddity is ultimately for a good cause."

(Definitely check out The Big Takeover -- it's the only magazine I subscribe to and has hundreds of informative reviews and stories in every issue)

Also, look for mini-interviews coming soon in the Washington City Paper, the Boston Phoenix, and BostonNow.

Originally posted on trisloth.vox.com

On Vox: union pool 11/2

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 04:35:57 GMT

The show at Brooklyn's Union Pool on November 2nd was a blast. It was the first time i had ever played any of the Jawbox cello arrangements with other cellists. Somehow, through the Cello Mafia Grapevine^TM, I was hooked up with Brooklynites Isabel Castellvi and Seth Woods, and I also recruited old friend (and former roommate) Jonah Sacks (Chris Brokaw, Dresden Dolls, etc) for the fourth slot. I spent countless nights struggling with Finale music software, and finally sent everyone parts for seven songs at nearly the last minute.

It actually was the last minute when we all met up at Isabel's apartment for the one and only rehearsal. Due entirely to the amazing musicianship and awesome attitudes of my fellow cellists, everything came together perfectly. At Union Pool itself, we were blessed with The Best (and most accommodating) Soundman Ever, who ran around for 45 minutes straight to ensure that four cellists, each with a different amplification style, all sounded great in the small rock club.

The show itself was awesome, and the crowd's response was incredible, especially considering we were the opening act. There is nothing quite like the sound of a live cello ensemble -- so much power and soul all at once. I can't wait to do it again.

The stage was really small, but we all fit! (Photo by J. Nordberg)

l to r: jonah sacks, isabel castellvi, seth woods, gordon withers

Originally posted on trisloth.vox.com

On Vox: Ordering information for Jawbox on Cello

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 19:00:19 GMT

Copies of Jawbox on Cello: A Benefit for Cal Robbins, can now be ordered via Paypal by either going here:

http://www.myspace.com/threetoedmusic and clicking "Add to Cart" in the "About" section, or by going here:

http://trisloth.livejournal.com/profile and clicking the "Add to Cart" button in the middle of the page.

Please let me know if you have any problems with ordering. It should be configured so that you are required to enter a shipping address. You should also be able to order multiple copies in one transaction.

Thanks!

- Gordon

Originally posted on trisloth.vox.com

On Vox: Jawbox on Cello to be released on Pop-Up Records

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 14:41:44 GMT

Thanks to a bizarre series of coincidences, Jawbox on Cello will now be released by the independent Florida label Pop-Up Records.

Recently, I found myself working several hundred feet away from Pop-Up co-founder Nick Dominguez, who not only has released recordings produced by J. Robbins, but has also designed web banners to help raise money for Cal. Actually, first I found his music collection as an iTunes share on my work network -- when I saw that someone at my office had every Jawbox album shared, I flipped -- I even did a command-line netstat to try to figure out whose computer it was. Eventually, he found my cello arrangements the same way, and one lunch meeting later, a release agreement was born.

Meanwhile, the sleeve reprints have arrived, so I can start selling copies! The first few won't have the Pop-Up Records label on it, but that will change. What I am most excited about, however, is that Nick will deal with the album's online distribution, getting it (hopefully) onto iTunes, Rhapsody, eMusic, etc. -- when it is available digitally, even more of the proceeds from each sale will go directly to Cal (no production and shipping costs!). Also, I am hoping that this partnership will lead to a greater chance of the album getting reviewed (I can't recall seeing anything self-released ever reviewed on Pitchfork).

All in all, some excellent developments. Speaking of Pitchfork -- I'll be at the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago from Friday through Sunday, and will have a few copies of the CD on hand. Drop me a line if you want to meet.

Once I figure out a simple Paypal ordering page, I will post the information.

Originally posted on trisloth.vox.com

On Vox: More photos from 6/16/07 benefit show

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:19:39 GMT

[For a chronicle of the last two benefit shows (and a link to Paul Roub's photos), see yesterday's post]

Much thanks go to Cathy Seeley for these photos:

Alex Nelson of Frenjen:

The Fantastic 5:

Paul Roub:

playing with Frenjen/F5:

Originally posted on trisloth.vox.com

On Vox: two benefit shows rocked...

Tue, 10 Jul 2007 19:40:58 GMT

This past weekend I played a second benefit show for Cal Robbins, and I just realized I never posted pictures from the first one.

The Funky Buddha Lounge in Boca Raton was gracious enough to host both shows, and both were a blast. The first show was held on June 16, and five acts played -- we raised over $500 to split between the SMA Foundation and Cal's fund. The CD's arrived the day before, and we sold a bunch -- however, there was a misprint -- a photo of Cal underneath the CD tray was partially obscured, so I haven't been selling the CD's except at the two shows. As soon as the sleeve reprints arrive (hopefully today!) I will put up a Paypal page for ordering copies.

Here is Paul Roub's photoset from June 16: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulroub/sets/72157600382862890/ (let me know if the guest pass expires). Paul came all the way down from Melbourne to play a set, and we ended up pulling off an impromptu version of Jawbox's "Cooling Card" after rehearsing it once before the show. I also joined Alex's band Frenjen for their entire set. Since three other cellists weren't readily available to instantly memorize parts to 8 Jawbox songs, I finished the night playing a set of tracks from the CD against a backing tape (with the "vocal" tracks removed). It ended up working a lot better than I expected. Alex went above and beyond the call of duty again at the end of the night, when we pulled out a surprise encore of Metallica's "One" -- the Apocalyptica version rearranged for cello and acoustic guitar. THERE WILL BE A VIDEO OF THIS posted soon, I promise!!!

The Funky Buddha asked me back for a second show, so last friday (July 6th) I played two solo sets of mostly classical music, with the Jawbox stuff at the end. It was strange playing two Bach suites, Hindemith, Cassado, and a Harold Meltzer piece at a bar, but it worked (sort of). People seemed to enjoy it -- at one point, a crazy, immaculately dressed Italian guy bought ten CD's and handed them out to random people, while demanding that I play The Godfather Theme. In between sets a friend downloaded a midi version of it to his phone, which I learned and played on the spot (to the guy's delight).

More pictures from both shows to come soon!

Originally posted on trisloth.vox.com

On Vox: show on June 16; cd's ready soon!

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 15:02:47 GMT

All of a sudden, in the space of a few weeks, the CD is done, and we have a benefit show set up for 8pm next Saturday at the Funky Buddha Lounge in Boca! Once the master was in hand, I scrambled to get it sent to DiscMakers, literally the next day -- just in time for them to promise delivery one day before the show. Hopefully there are no snags and the show will double as a CD-release party.

I updated the myspace page with four of the final mastered tracks, a couple of new pictures (thanks Cathy!!) and one video of me recording the bass track for "Reel."

Gotta run, but I will update again soon with more details about the show and album.

musical_med

Originally posted on trisloth.vox.com

Posted using TxtLJ

Tue, 01 May 2007 19:34:29 GMT

IM IN UR STUDIO, MIXIN UR BENEFIT ALBUMS

(omg the whole thing will finally be done soon!)