Hey Folks,

Eighteen years ago, August 2001 to be precise, I was sitting in my treehouse, in our backyard, strumming my Martin backpacker guitar and wondering how on earth I was ever going to manage to record a new album, without a record label, a lottery win, or a trust fund.

Keep in mind this was eight years before the largest crowdfunding site, Kickstarter, even launched. 'Crowdfunding' was only a vague concept and the only other recording artists I was aware of that had 'crowdfunded' a music project was the British band Marillion, who had crowdfunded their album, Anoraknophobia, a few months earlier.

You know the rest of the story... I didn't want to wait another twenty years for some tone-deaf record executive to give me permission to make a new album, so instead... I nervously wrote an email - like this one - asking my listening audience to support my musical efforts by pre-ordering a CD, in hopes of raising the necessary funds to go into the studio and record a new album.

To my amazement and delight, within two weeks, I'd raised over $25,000, which, just-like-that, gave me the ability to upgrade my studio, purchase a few quality microphones and assorted studio gear, pay musicians and manufacture a few thousand CD's, which I dutifully (and gratefully) packed up and shipped to the hundreds of generous folks (you!) who'd made the unlikely album project possible. 

That first crowd-funded album was 'The Treehouse Journals', which contained tracks like, 'No School Today', 'Picture Postcard Life' and 'George Washington Slept Here'.
	A few years after that, I crowdfunded 'Squirrels in the Attic' - comedy songs for adults! - an irreverent, occasionally x-rated collection of sweet and spicy songs like, 'It's My Job', 'Death to the Neighbors' and 'I Never Really Liked You All That Much'.
Next, came the album, 'Submarine Races', containing tracks like 'Under the Weather', 'A Baker's Tale' and 'I'm a Lucky Guy'.
	And most recently, 2017 to be exact, I crowdfunded '12 Songs' which featured tracks such as 'Malala', 'The Ducks of St Stephen's Green' and 'Your Friend Janet'.

I'm proud of these albums. In fact, as much as I acknowledge a fondness folks seem to have for my early releases, as far as I'm concerned, these last four CD's contain some of my best work, to date. Combined, these four 'crowdfunded' albums contain a total of 52 recordings of original songs, in assorted idioms, covering a myriad of topics. But just to be absolutely clear - none of these recordings would exist, today, if it hadn't been for the belief and support of a good number of the very folks reading this email, right now.

And it wasn't just about raising the money. Even though the money made production and manufacturing feasible, there was much more to it than that. What really made those albums possible was knowing that a good number of folks thought that the idea of me going into the studio to record a new album was something worth doing.

Writing and recording a full-length album is a big project - not just logistically, in terms of a commitment of time and energy, but emotionally, as well; to commit to doing my best, to taking creative risks, while sustaining focus and maintaining endurance (and some semblance of sanity), month after month, until the project's done. It can be exhilarating, at times, and exhausting. It's not a commitment I take on lighty (which is probably why I don't do it every year). But, somehow, on those occasions when I do accept the challenge, knowing I have the support of a friendly and enthusiastic audience - more than anything else - is what gives me the confidence to tackle the job. And that makes all the difference. That encouragement - that's what makes these albums possible.

So...

Are you ready? Ready to take another chance on this indie musician to possibly squander your hard-earned cash on a nebulous creative gamble and the remote chance that this undeniably speculative risk might yield a collection of songs that might just make part of an hour pass more pleasantly, or make you feel just a little bit better about the world (or less worse ;-), or at least a little bit more connected to other folks in it?

Or put another way... would you like to hear a new Dean Friedman album? ;-)

If so, you're invited to click on the 'Dean's Next Album' link below, then, well... just sit back for, oh... somewhere around 12 months, and one day, when you least expect it, the postman will drop a package through the letterbox and you'll hear a small clunk as a thin cardboard sleeve drops to the floor atop a pile of bills, advertisements, political solicitations and take-out menus. (or, if you ordered a 'digital' version, just open your email and download the audio files)

Then, simply poor yourself a glass of wine, or roll a joint, or unwrap a package of mouth-watering dark-chocolate, or just slide into your fuzzy slippers, get comfy, pop the disc into your player (or open up the folder containing all the high-quality .wav or .mp3 files on your device) and sit back and enjoy your auditory reward for helping make all that music possible!

..................................................................................

So, once again...

Would you like to hear a new Dean Friedman album?

If yes, CLICK HERE! ;-)

If not - well then, gee, what can I say?

CLICK HERE, INSTEAD!

Thanks for listening, folks!

And thanks for supporting independent music!

Dean