kickstartmyart

Kickstart My Art: AP's Weekly Kickstarter Roundup

Whether it's recording an album, pressing it on vinyl or trying to get on the road, sometimes even your favorite bands need a helping hand to see their vision come to life. We present to you KICKSTART MY ART, AP's weekly roundup of Kickstarter (and similarly crowd-funded) projects created by bands and labels you love who are asking you to love them just a few dollars more.

BAND: The Spill Canvas
PROJECT: Recording a new album(?)
PLEDGE: Here

South Dakota rockers the Spill Canvas were booted from Sire Records in 2010 and entered slumber mode for about a year, before re-emerging this fall with some new songs—and a somewhat mysterious Kickstarter project. Nowhere does it explicitly say that the band are going to use the money they raise (nearly $22,000 at presstime, with another three weeks to go) to record a new album. It's sort of just assumed that this is what they'll be doing with the funds they've accumulated, but it's entirely possible that money will go to anything from paying off debt to buying new shoes. Anyway, if you're in the mood to redesign your living room and have $4,500 to blow, you can get yourself a Spill Canvas backdrop from one of their previous tours. Think of the possibilities! You could hang it on your wall, or… Well, that's it, really.

BAND: Dr. Manhattan
PROJECT: Releasing their first album on vinyl (and possibly making a new album)
PLEDGE: Here

Proving that it's impossible for any band to stay broken up, Illinois' Dr. Manhattan played their final show in Dec. 2010 and then played a reunion show the following May. They're currently in a semi-active state, but are looking to get their first full-length (and Vagrant Records debut), Dr. Manhattan, pressed to vinyl with an alternate mix (probably the only way they could do it without having to license the album back from Vagrant). They already hit their goal of $3,000 to cover pressing costs and still have 10 days to go, so they've challenged their fanbase to double that—and if they do, the band will reconvene to write and record a new full-length. The fate of Dr. Manhattan is in your hands, folks.

ARTIST: Rocky Votolato
PROJECT: Recording a new album
PLEDGE: Here

Seattle folkster Rocky Votolato has been releasing music on a variety of labels, including Second Nature and Barsuk, for more than a decade; but with his next effort, Television Of Saints, he's flying solo (although his brothers Cody and Sonny, whose names you might recognize from the Blood Brothers, Waxwing, Jaguar Love, Slender Means and a host of other acts, will be playing on the record). Votolato hit his $20,000 goal already, so pledging for this one is a no-brainer—you're guaranteed to get your rewards and help out an extremely talented surname carry on their legacy. 

Are these projects worth your hard-earned money? What projects should people give to instead? Leave a comment and tell us!