Yesterday, on my 27th birthday, with the help of 132 backers, I exceeded my $10,000 fundraising goal on Kickstarter to fund my second album. This makes me one of the first ten Canadian recording artists to successfully fund recording projects through Kickstarter since it became available in Canada. I dare say it was the best birthday I have ever had. I am overwhelmed by the support, generosity and enthusiasm of my tribe. It got very exciting close to the end, watching the pledges creep closer and closer to the goal. One fan compared it to watching a cricket match. In the end, it came through at $10,345.

The money should be in my pocket within the next few weeks, and I am excited to spend most of it in Calgary on independent local talent. I made my first album for a lot less, because I did so much of the work myself, plus called in thousands of dollars worth of favours – but this time I am thrilled to have more money to work with so that I can pay my session musicians, my engineers, my graphic design team, and everyone else involved in the project what they are worth. I hope the availability of Kickstarter in Canada will encourage other Canadian artists to pass the support and love of their fans on to their local arts communities. And as for my backers, “thank you” really doesn’t cover it. Those 132 individuals, and everyone who told their friends, shared it on Facebook or Twitter, or badgered their coworkers and family into helping, are the reason I can keep doing what I love.

My debut album, Thought Experiment, was released in 2011 and is available here.