"Ok, you’re leaving your band and going solo as London Rose, so what’s the plan? You DO have a plan right? Do you have a record deal? You must have a deal, other wise, what do you have to leave for?" Well, I don't have a record deal, and I don't have a big pile of money. I’m taking a leap of faith, knowing that doing my own music is what’s in my heart! I’m trusting that Martin Luther King Jr. was right when he said, "You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."Ok then, what's Step One? Make myself available! Leaving the band was a difficult decision. I'm close to the guys in Living Proof and realized just within the last month how much I've learned by being on stage for the last 10+ years. It's an awesome family and so many good things have come of it. At the end of the day though, this leap of faith is assuming that there's another stage to this journey! But just like Living Proof couldn't survive without it's supporters, I'm quickly learning that London Rose is no different!So, of course that leads to Step Two --- Ask for Help! I’ve never been very good at that. I’ve never wanted to have to lean on someone else. From a very young age, I was extremely independent. “I want it like this, I like it like that.” I’m sure my parents loved all my little opinions (by the way, sorry mom), but it’s true. I am both competitive and independent which creates quite a focus and drive. I was driven to do well in school, I was driven to strive for the best and I was concrete in my opinions the second I formed them. Over time, I’ve learned to not be so quick to form opinions but my competitiveness still pushes me to want to keep moving forward! I think it's that drive that forces me to glance up the staircase and see what obstacles might be in the way. It is how I know where I am going ... but just like the saying goes, it takes a village to launch a record! That's how it goes right? No? huh. Anyway...Step Three: Put together a great team! So far, I've been able to get a really good start. I'm working very closely with Steven Beer, an awesome Entertainment Attorney in NY (thanks Carol!) who has worked with many major and independent artists! I'm also fortunate enough to be working with Greg Camp from the band Smash Mouth and Jeff Franzel, an incredible piano player and songwriter who has collaborated with American Idol and penned songs for NSync, Clay Aiken and several others. On my last trip to NY, I was able to connect with a great team of producers called EMW Music Group, whose most recent project was picked up by VH1 and released for their Save the Music project. Seriously -- couldn't be more excited! The pieces are falling into place but the reality is: it costs a lot of money to get a step in the door in this industry. So where do I find it?
Step Four: Ask for MORE help? I know I can't do this on my own. So here's a question for you, what fundraising ideas might YOU have? I'm open for ideas! So far, I've gone through just about everything I own that I don't really need as Leonard and I are becoming close friends with Craigslist and preparing for our first garage sale EVER! We're selling a bunch of music equipment, clothes, movies, art, etc. I have NO idea how we accumulated 1/2 this stuff, but I know how we're going to get rid of it!
I'm also thinking about doing a fan funded project to help with some of the expenses. I'm seriously considering a Kickstarter.com campaign where an artist puts up their project and people contribute whatever they can ($5, $10, $20, etc.) and get fun, exclusive gifts in return. The catch is that if you don't meet your "goal", you don't get ANYTHING! (Ahhh! no pressure, right?) So I'm curious, in addition to any ideas you might have, if we actually started a Kickstarter campaign within the next couple of weeks, would you be interested in contributing?
I know it's weird and often uncomfortable to talk about money, but I'm definitely thinking outside the box and would love to hear from you! If you have any ideas, send me an email at LondonRoseLive (at) gmail.com or send me a private message on Facebook. Thanks so much guys -- I couldn't do this without your love and support!
Staring at the Staircase....~London Rose
