Drummer Dave Weckl is teaming up again with his old friend, keyboardist and fellow St. Louis expat Jay Oliver, and using "crowd funding" to raise money for their new project. Friends since high school, Oliver and Weckl worked together on Weckl's early solo albums Master Plan, Heads Up, and Hard Wired and the Dave Weckl Band albums Rhythm of the Soul and Synergy, but it's been twelve years since the two last collaborated.
Though the drummer has recorded for Concord Music subsidiary Stretch Records since 1998, with his most recent CD Multiplicity coming out in 2005, this time he's turning to fans and friends to finance the project via the crowd-funding site Pledge Music.
Like the better-known KickStarter and other similar services, Pledge Music allows creators to set a financial goal for a prospective album, then promote it online directly to fans. Supporters can pledge at different levels to get various rewards, but the project proceeds and the money is collected only if the fundraising goal is met.
For their as-yet untitled project, Weckl and Oliver plan to assemble a package that will include not only an album of new music, but also a DVD, written charts, and "play along" mixes without drums, guitar, bass, or keyboards. The recording will feature additional guest musicians, yet to be announced, and will include a drum duet featuring Weckl and a collaborator TBA.
Possible levels of support range from $15, which gets you project updates and an MP3 download of the finished product, all the way up to $15,000, for which the lucky supporter will be rewarded with a "private jam in your home/venue." The campaign ends on December 10. For more information or to pledge your support, visit Weckl's page at Pledge Music.
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