WELCOME TO

"G.T. THOMAS PATREON PHASE VIII"

Hi! I’m G.T. Thomas. From my studio, Epcotette, I make music, comedy, & share my philosophies on creativity and process.

In 2023, my career is shifting shape, and it's an exciting leap, but also a somewhat scary one!

I'm moving away from freelance and solo-work on my own projects, and on to looking for employment on the music/ story-development side of creative productions such as TV, radio, podcast, live theater, comedy shows, etc.

In order to free up energy and focus for the massive undertaking of job-hunting, networking, traveling, and seed-planting for opportunities to join the kinds of creative productions that I'm determined to get involved with, I've decided to humbly accept a wonderful gift I became aware at the end of 2022:

Patrons here have, more than anything, proven to simply be loyal enthusiasts of me as a person. They are fans of my style and my past work, and folks who have nobly decided to help course-correct for the inadequacies to the existing financial and earning models in place for artists.

Regardless of any specific output I'm making at any given time, or any rewards or benefits I make available here, patrons are people just like yourself, who keep showing up because they see an imbalance in the way my work has been valued, and they are trying to offset that, period.

For this, I'm deeply grateful. 🙏

I have decided to graciously accept this support for what it is. Thank you.

To reflect this, starting February 2023, I will no longer differentiate benefits based on tier-level. Instead, ALL patron tiers receive will the same benefits as each other.

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As a bonus, when you are part of my crew here, my work does tend to have a motivational effect on people who hang around me. I face challenges, tackle them, and conquer massive goals in a demonstrable way, all while inevitably putting out high quality, original works of art. This inspires patrons to keep going where you may have stopped in the past on your own projects & dreams, and to look at life through lenses you may not have tried on before.

Here are some thoughtful words shared with me about the experience of having access to what I share:

“By talking about your process and your plans and how you approach them, discussing your meta-work [it] makes me think about MY process and approach to what I’m doing.”

- Shane

"G.T. literally does it all, and with genuine passion and dedication. I'm just wowed by her amazing life."

- Sarah

"If you spend any amount of time with G.T. Thomas her energy is infectious."

- Terrance

"I'm lit up in this moment (shining brighter) by your creativity ... It's so dang inspiring."

- Amy

You may be asking: "You're a musician, right? How do things work around here and is there actual music or other music-related entertainment I can expect on the horizon?"

The G.T. Thomas Patreon functions by going through “phases,” where specific creative projects or career objectives lead the way. (See the list of my six phases thus far and the accomplishments per phase in the FAQ below).

At the time of writing this it's July 2023 and we are entering a new phase – PHASE VIII. Here's what I'm planning to do during this phase:

Create and release at least 2 episodes a month of the G.T. Podmas, patron-only podcast
Organize themes and ideas from the podcast, by combing through past episodes, with an eye out for whether any of it might be translatable for a wider audience. (NOTE: If not the podcast project, then something else that has to do with going through my archives and selecting material I can share with a larger public, with which I have not already done so.)
Apply for at least 6 jobs or opportunities in L.A. (things that keep me pointing my life in a direction where I'm heading over there at least part-time)
Learn and play more in the areas of: animation, practical effects, stereoscopics, and diorama building.

Thrilled you’re here!

F•A•Q

1) HOW LONG DOES PHASE VIII TAKE?

That's entirely up to how many patrons join up. More income generated here = more hours I can devote to making all of these components of Phase VIII a reality. Phase-length also relies on the actual duration of simply "however long it takes" for various goals or projects to be completed. These are communicated in depth with Patrons at all tiers via Patron-only updates. For a point of reference, here is what was accomplished in the previous phases:

PHASE I was roughly 8 months. Here’s what patron supported music looked like in this phase:

Released a NEW G.T. THOMAS ALBUM “I Am a Highlighter Pen”
Released a PUPPET MUSIC VIDEO, for the single “Future Moving”
Created a NEW SOLO ACT as ONE-WOMAN-BAND where I played 3 instruments simultaneously while singing
Went on TOUR in the US
Met my hero Donald Fagen

PHASE II was roughly 7 months. Here’s what patron supported music looked like in this phase:

Released a series of TEN PUPPET VIDEOS about the 9 songs on my album
Released a MUSIC VIDEO for my single “Edges” (with a guest cameo roll from the puppet)
Played 2 AWESOME ONLINE FESTIVALS – Nutstock on IG, and Dutch Modular Fest on YT and FB
Was selected for the touring Dutch festival “Popronde” and chosen in the top 10 by Klap van de Molen podcast and Musicmaker magazine
Held a 10 EPISODES OF A WEEKLY MUSIC LIVE-STREAM music performance on FB called “Any Wednesday That I’m Welcome To”
Over 75 CHAT LIVE-STREAMS ON IG about the creative process and productivity in one’s music practice
Spent hours practicing jazz theory at the piano and writing 4.5 new songs for a special project

PHASE III was roughly 6 months. Here's what patron supported music looked like in this phase:

Hosted a 10-PART LIVE-STREAM SERIES about the music of Steely Dan called "Do It A-Gwen"
Released a NEW G.T. THOMAS SINGLE "Colours"
Performed a SINGLE RELEASE LIVE-STREAM SHOW with new digital and analogue visual effects (a development of the style of my performance at Dutch Modular Festival – you can watch that here: found.ee/asterion-dmf2020)
Took the progress I made with my "jazz theory and piano skill upleveling" of Phase II, and MADE THE PITCH OF A LIFETIME (sign up even at the lowest tier to get in on this info)

PHASE IV was roughly 13 months. Here's what patron supported music looked like in this phase:

TRANSFORMED MY STUDIO –newly named Epcotette!– from primarily a practice space into a space that's one step better-suited for collaboration and recording (e.g., acquired important music production equipment such as studio monitors and Ableton Push and moved in an exciting freebie donation: a digital Hammond organ!)
Carried out ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT work with a mentor that helped me choose direction with my work for the coming time
APPLIED FOR 5 GRANTS. RECEIVED 3.
PRODUCED 5 NEW SONGS, collaborating with brilliant musicians, Hermine Deurloo, Jon Herington (Steely Dan guitarist! very exciting for me), Brad Boal, Peter LaBarge, and Berend Dubbe. Mixed by Iwan van Wijk, mastered by Nate Wood.
SHOT 6 PUPPET JINGLES for TikTok and Instagram Reels, and launched them (more to come soon).
PLAYED 2 ONLINE SYNTHESIZER FESTIVALS (Frequency Shift, Palacio Palace).
Carried out 2 WORKSHOPS ON THE CREATIVE PROCESS.
WAS FEATURED MUSICAL GUEST on Saturday Nut Live.
BOOKED FIRST SHOW WITH NEW BAND. Coming up in September
SHARED ORIGINAL BASS RIFFS for the "12 Days of Riffmas" on Instagram.

PHASE V was roughly 5 months. Here's what patron supported music looked like in this phase:

RELEASED ALBUM – my new, 5-song EP "Context" is out now.
CREATED A REMIX of one of the EP songs and shared it as a PATRON-ONLY perk
WENT TO L.A. to pursue some creative opportunities
GUEST LECTURED at a college in California on songwriting, production, and improvisation
PERFORMED STANDUP COMEDY in Hollywood

PHASE VI was 1 month long. Here's what patron supported music looked like in this phase:

RESTED for the month of December to test a theory that letting go of the compulsion to be in "create-mode" constantly would allow me to switch into "receive-mode"
WAS INVITED to a performance by one of my musical heroes and got to strengthen my friendship with him
WAS INVITED to perform (and performed) backing vocals on live, late-night TV for hundreds of thousands of viewers
RECEIVED a lot of other invitations and conversations on a personal level that were extremely healing for me (which I only had the space to embrace because I wasn't busy-busy-busy 100% of the time being in "create-mode"), and which will absolutely, without question clear mental clutter that will make it easier for me to do my work as I return to it in the next phase.

PHASE VII was 6.5 months long. Here's what patron supported music looked like in this phase:

COMPOSED an approximately 10 min piece of music for my recently acquired modular synthesizer system – only be available to Patrons!
TRAVELED to L.A. to pursue and establish more creative opportunities, and came home with a stuffed Rolodex and 2 totally new skillsets (stereoscopy, and certain practical effects to add to diorama building)

Without patron support, none of the above would've been possible. Before I started Patreon, I was a musician with no studio of her own to carry out her work in, with no live act, no releases between 2011 - 2019, had never played a festival, never could've imagined being introduced to her hero by a member of his band, nor that she would be establishing (at least) part time living in Los Angeles. Patron support provides me with the time and location to carry out all of the above and MORE. THANK YOU!

2) I CAN'T SIGN UP NOW, HOW ELSE CAN I SUPPORT YOU?

"Tips" in any amount are always welcom via: paypal.me/gtthomas Even a one time contribution of a small amount helps keep the magic happening!
Also, please follow me on social media: instagram.com/gtthomasmusicandart facebook.com/gtthomasmusic youtube.com/gtthomasmusic

3) CAN I CHANGE MY TIER FROM ONE MONTH TO THE NEXT? YES! If you need any assistance doing so, please just send me a note, but I'm happy to help you with this to make sure you are pledging at an amount that is right-fit for you.

Please take note of the "GOALS" section to see even MORE benefits patrons receive, if certain financial milestones are reached each month!

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WELCOME TO

"G.T. THOMAS PATREON PHASE VIII"

If you aren't ready to become a patron, you can always find my music at: Spotify – Apple Music – YouTube and all other major streaming platforms.