PledgeMusic - Poster Artwork Added
Juliana has made further quantities of posters available and added the artwork to the PledgeMusic project (archived).
News
NXNE Show, Toronto - Venue Change
The Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield show at the NXNE Festival in Toronto on June 16 is now scheduled for Lee's Palace, and not the Horseshoe Tavern as previously reported.
Upcoming Show - NYC, June 25
Saturday, 25 June 2011 at City Winery, New York. Tickets are now on sale.
UPDATE June 17: It's not clear if this event is still going ahead. The concert has been removed from the City Winery main listings and Jesse Malin's sites have no reference to it taking place. Needless to say, check with the venue before setting off for this one.
UPDATE June 18: It has been rescheduled for 26 August 2011.
PledgeMusic - Updates Roundup
PledgeMusic have announced that Juliana has broken the record for an artist to achieve their target.
As pledgers will know, Juliana has been updating regularly from the studio. A number of song titles have been revealed, random pledger only videos posted (including Juliana shaking it like a Polaroid), lyrics shared, the now obligatory canine photography, and gearhead porn.
She has also revealed that the album could be released as soon as July, or even sooner. Ooh.
Juliana has also been posting other typical offbeat photos via Twitter, and 11 teasing seconds of Pro Toolsian music.
New Album - Juliana Heads For The Studio
Juliana today sets off for the recording studio with her band to commence work on the new album, her first 'electric band' record since 2008's How To Walk Away.
In keeping with this fan assisted project, she will be updating pledgers on the progress.
Exciting times.
PledgeMusic - More Artwork
Following a weekend where some pledgers had their Skype chats, some more of Juliana's paintings have been added to the PledgeMusic incentives.
Video - PledgeMusic intro
Although recorded and uploaded to a Vimeo account it would appear Juliana decided not to use this introduction video (or others she tried) for the PledgeMusic project at launch.
20 Questions with Juliana
If you missed the chance to take part in the Q&A email incentive offered in Juliana's PledgeMusic project (archived), one participant has kindly shared their exchange via the This Is The Sound group.
If you're not a member of that group (and why not?!) you can view the Q&A as a pdf here:
A big thanks to N'Awlins Contrarian (and Juliana) for making this available. If anyone else wants to share theirs (or parts thereof) please feel free to do so.
PledgeMusic - How To Walk Away Demos added
Juliana has added several copies of her How To Walk Away demos CD to the PledgeMusic incentives list (archived).
This limited edition bonus CD was originally available by mail order with initial copies of How To Walk Away, released in 2008. It features a number of home demo versions from the album, many with a basic drum machine backing. The tracklist also includes demos from what became the Sittin' In A Tree EP plus a few previously unreleased songs.
If you missed it first time around, now is your chance. Allez.
PledgeMusic - New Artwork, Songs
As promised, Juliana has added several items of her artwork to the PledgeMusic incentives (archived), mostly offered at $125 each.
Also, prior to her heading to the studio at the end of the month we now have 2 acoustic songs in progress, available only to those of us who have pledged on this project.
We're called 'pledgies' don't you know.
New Song - Price Tag
See the song above? Juliana has covered it.
Yes, Juliana has covered Jessie J. With rapping. RAPPING!
This outrageously good track is available as a download in Juliana's latest PledgeMusic update.
PledgeMusic - Initial Target Reached
It would be an understatement to say the PledgeMusic project (archived) is going well.
Juliana reached her main target within hours of launch, with many of the incentives selling out before some of us in Europe had emerged from our slumber.
A look through Juliana's updates suggests she is really enjoying this and genuinely overwhelmed by the response.
To her fans this will be less of a surprise. She has a small but remarkably loyal following. The list of pledgers is so familiar it could have been compiled by Keyser Soze. It looks like some of us have been wanting something like this for a few years.
Juliana has just increased the allocation for some of the previously sold out incentives and added a few new ones, including custom guitar picks, a 20 question email Q&A, signed books and posters, with the promise of more artwork related options to come.
On the basis of the last couple of days, you might need to be quick. This is a good time to be a Juliana fan.
New Album - A PledgeMusic Project
The cat is out of the bag. This is Juliana's new project. A new (possibly double) album project. Electric band, baby.
All the details are at Juliana's PledgeMusic project page (archived) where she says:
I invite you to participate in the making of my new album. You are the modern Medicis and I need your help to make this happen. Your pledge for any of the items and experiences I am offering will directly support the recording, production, packaging, and marketing of my new album.
Various options are available from pledging to buy the CD, through signed artwork and up to a day in the recording studio*(update Apr 8 - the studio offer has now been withdrawn).*
Some kooky options are there too, including a 15 minute Skype call which has already been snapped up, and the creeptastic prospect of a 'lock of Juliana's hair'.
This seems a natural progression from the honor system downloads, running her own record label and selling custom made songs.
Would anyone be surprised if Juliana lost money on How To Walk Away yet turned a small profit on Peace & Love? This, despite the latter selling far fewer copies? disclaimer: this is 100% uninformed speculation. smiley winking face.
Without a traditional advance from a record label, can non-stadium filling artists justify the expense of a full studio production and promotion?
In the dying days of the Juliana forum, there was a frequent debate on how artists can earn a living from their work in the digital age, a debate only heightened by Juliana's 'Song For You' custom project.
Often veering into the awkward territory of indirectly telling Juliana what we thought she should do (doubly awkward as she never asked us!), the forum consensus seemed to suggest something similar to Kristin Hersh's CASH Music projects and using some of her Strange Angels ideas without the subscription model.
Basically, most of us seemed to come up with the main principles of PledgeMusic before PledgeMusic existed. Now it does and it seems to make perfect sense for Juliana.
Let's really hope this works out for her, and by consequence for us fans too.
New Song - It Never Rains in Southern California
"pop/rock worker, dog lover"
So says the bio of Juliana at PledgeMusic, where we find a new song - a cover of Albert Hammond's It Never Rains In Southern California.
It's available to play via the above widget and you can download it in exchange for your email address or login via Facebook. (update - PledgeMusic is now defunct)
The original song dates back to the early 1970s; the clip below is Albert Hammond's 1973 recording, not Juliana's cover:
Live Photos - Salisbury Mar 26
A couple of photos from Juliana's performance with Evan Dando last night at the Blue Ocean Music Hall, Salisbury, MA.
Thanks again to David Young for sharing his photos.
The full set is archived here:
Peace & Love Outtakes For Download
The three Peace & Love 'outtakes' which have been streaming on Juliana's MySpace since last year, are now available for mp3 download from her official site.
That's two songs which didn't make the final album - I Won't Let You Go and Between The Clouds, plus an alternate version of I Picked You Up.
As ever, it's the honor system. You know the drill.
New Album Coming
It's been a bit quiet here for news over the last month, then BOOM!
No more details other than one line on Juliana's blog:
"NEW ALBUM COMING IN THE SUMMER"
In block capitals, no less. More as and when.
Upcoming Show - Salisbury, MA (Mar 26) (Updated)
Another Juliana & Evan performance has been added for Mar 26, 2011 at the Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury, MA.
No ticket info yet.
UPDATE: The event is billed as 'An Evening with Gomez, Evan Dando & Juliana Hatfield', to benefit the non-profit Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation.
Tickets are now available.
UPDATE 2: As Charlie points out in the comments the VIP 'meet and greet' ticket option is now billed as only for Gomez not Jules/Evan.