The Journey

It all started with a small group of artists.  Musicians, song writers and others in support of maintaining the art.  We realize that making music is hard, expensive and a life long sweat-equity project that forever is an expense, until it’s not.  The song making craft  is always second fiddle to the other career choices needed to sustain our lives.   As an original artist, it’s always:

• pay to play,
• pay to record,
• pay to buy gear, 
• pay for a place to play and write, 
• pay to publish and distribute,
• pay for marketing–pay, pay, pay all the way. 

Where is the ROI for a life-long investment of making songs?  Maybe if we got our money for nothing and are chicks for free we’d be singing a different toon.  But if you’re like us chances are even if you have a hit song in the making, how’s the world ever going to hear it?  You could say we’re the kind of people that would put $5000 of music equipment into a $500 dollar car, drive two hours to play music for a night for beer and dinner.

Our passion amidst many challenges, personal and economic, remains solid.  We stay true to the belief that the spirit of our song would carry us into something more spiritual and rewarding. This was something we know we have to win an up hill battle just so we can keep paying and keep recording.  So after many years of set-backs of things like having no place to play drums, or practice music openly or loud, or be able to record our songs,  life unfolded in a way we never expected.

A door opened.  We found an old rustic building subsidized for us and a few of us came together and made a small recording studio.  For about a little over a year we paid to fix it up and and made some songs we’re very proud of there.  Then something awful happened and we lost it.  So as two of us carried the expenses we realized that there is no way we’re going to be able to sustain our ability to write and record songs. How in the world could we bring them to market?

We thought long and hard about what we could do to maintain and support our craft and artistic creativity to fund all of this and distribute and market songs.  We asked ourselves what is the nature of song?  The answer came as a bit of a surprise.  The nature of the song is harmony, melody and unity to equal solidarity.  In other words people playing in unity and notes coming together in melody and harmony, the song.  We came to the conclusion that the song in and of itself is a solidarity cooperative by natural design.  So this song coop endeavor built for the purpose of allowing us rise to the challenges to sustain that spirit with continuity forever.  We understand  and appreciate that so many of you struggle with the same challenges to creative, artistic people in the world and strive for a solution.

We had an epiphany: to sustain the spirit of making songs, we have to function as the song in its true nature.  In a phrase:  The power of many working harmoniously as one.  In a word… solidarity.  We exist for no other reason than sustainability of the common love of songs and for the care, love and compassion for all who surround it.

This is our truth, our struggle and the struggle of those like us.