Be a part of music that travels light and sinks deep.

Hi. My name is Bobby Jo Valentine. I'm making a my most exciting album yet and I would love, love, love for you to be a part of it.

I'll talk more about it, but here's the bullet points:

-This is an album launch - like kickstarter, but patrons pledge monthly instead of one-time. The invitation is to donate every month, for 12 months, and help me make something beautiful.

-I'll be releasing a video blog every month with short clips of the songs, songwriting and tour stuff, etcetera! Everyone who pledges - you can pledge as little as $10 per month - gets to be a part of the video blogs.

-For every level, there are awesome rewards for every month that are fun, personal, and interactive, and then a big reward for sticking with me for the whole 12 months!

-The list of monthly rewards are at the bottom of this note - please choose whatever per-month amount you're able and would like to be a part of, follow the quick steps, and let's make some music.

Now a quick bit about me and this project: I try to write songs that travel light and sink deep. Songs that are easy to listen to, and when you actually stop to listen, have something to say. Songs about hope, mainly. Hope without ignoring the shadows. It's not all sunshine all the time but I believe that even in the darkest drowning moments of this crazy life, you can make out a few lights on the shore.

THOSE LIGHTS are what I'm interested in writing songs about. And I'm making a brand new album full of songs about them and I need your help.

Last time I made an album, I did Kickstarter. It was a fun experience, but the album took longer than anticipated and there was a large gap between the fan's donations and the actual release of the album and rewards. So this time, I wanted to do something a bit more involved - like this! 

Patreon is a system based on the idea that the creation of the art is just as important as the consumption of the art. People pledge an amount per creative work, and so the artist gets to keep making his creations. This idea - of being a patron of the arts, instead of just a consumer of them - is really important to me. Because I still do my own booking and managing, and have been playing 15-20 shows a month to support myself, my brain has to be so wrapped up in business that my creative brain has been starving and -more importantly- feeling unsupported. A program like this helps me to feel like that side is being supported, and that the making of the art is valued and not just the consumption.  This is the perfect way to create my next album. Inviting you to be truly involved and instrumental in the creation of these songs, and to be directly supporting the creation of them. To support art for art's sake. Patrons will be able to chat with me on here, dialogue about the latest song, give feedback - it'll be great!

The new selection of songs, thus far, will be a double album, and a bit of a concept piece - two different moods and styles in one collection of songs.

The first selection will be for when we feel on top of the world, when the party's happening, when we're excited and elated, or when the big interview is in a few hours and we just need to get an earful of adrenaline and joy. It's going to rock, it's going to have rhythm and catchy fun stuff and quirky, poetic turns of phrase and observations about life and it's going to be a blast. I want it to be up-tempo, anthemic, without sacrificing songwriting or depth. 

The next selection - the 'sunset album' is for the glass of wine and dinner, for the times when you want to lie back and think about life a little bit. Some of the songs might cut deep. I have some things I want to talk about. A few secrets to share. But it'll also be friendly and hopeful and gracious. It'll have space to breathe. It'll be like the chair that's too big in your living room that you always sit in because you feel like it's more than enough to carry your weight and at that moment, you need to feel like something is hugging you. I want this part to feel like that. 

So that's that! If you can, I'd love to have you jumping on board! I'll be releasing demos and video blogs about the process (to Patrons only!) for 12 months and we're going to create this album together. It's a monthly thing, so you'll never be charged more than once a month.

There will be fun rewards for different levels, including the release of song demos, limited edition 11x17 posters, hand-written lyrics, Skype or internet concerts where we connect and I give you a personal performance of the new song, etcetera! The perks are listed below this note. There are perks on a 'per-month' basis, but the BIG perks will be for those that stick with me for a full 12 month period.

I want this to be really, really fun. I want there to be rewards like coming to my small town in California for a retreat and we'll hang out and I'll take you to my favorite restaurant! Rewards like playing at your wedding or your friend's wedding. Rewards like a private pre-album release listening party, only for the patrons who have been with me for the whole way. Stuff like us writing a song together with a message that you want to share with the world, and then coming and spending a day in the studio with me as we record it for the CD! 

I also want you to feel like you can email me and say "hey, what about this perk?" and I'll add a custom perk just for you. So, feel free to email me at [email protected] with an idea if you have one that's not on here!

And after the album is done - next fall, hopefully - then if you want, I hope you'll stick with me and every year from then on, we'll make an album together. And I'd be so honored if you'd consider being a part of this music and poetry that I get to create.

Please click on one of the levels below - whatever you can do - if you'd like to be a patron. Thank you, so much, for being part of my life sharing music. You're why I get to do this and I'll never take that for granted. Now, let's make an album!

Love,
Bobby