A call to arms - we are the media

This is not my normal "wow Amanda Palmer is amazing"; ok so in a way it is but its also about all of the people out there that make a difference.  This is a call to arms you could say.

Personally I am a big lover of the arts - music, movies, art, theatre you name it I will give it a chance.  I believe that the power of the arts especially music is more than I can express.  Music has changed my moods, locked in memories of people and places, not to mention inspired me. All day I had been checking my Twitter feed to see what was going on and Amanda's was in overdrive with thank yous but I couldn't see the reason why so much love was being shared over the world.  In fact it wasn't till I got home and jumped online to watch the GeekandSundry channel did my YouTube homepage explain it all to me.  Once opening the page I saw Amanda had uploaded the vid you see above and it all made sense.  It is a call to arms for her new record/artbook/tour all on Kickstarter.

 

Basically Amanda and the GTO need some help to fund their music.  The fundraiser lasts for 30 days with the aim to raise $100,000 for the album/tour/artbook.  Now that's a lot of money when the minimum pledge is $1, thats a lot of love from fans needed.  And thats exactly what Amanda and the GTO have recieved.  

On saturday night I put my money where my heart is and pledged to help this project and thanks to many others the stats look like this (as of monday when i checked.)

BACKERS : 10,382

GOAL: $100,000

PLEDGES RAISED: $571,299

DAYS TO GO:24

WOW!!!!!! is all I can say, and yes this does restore my faith in a world where digital priracy is everywhere.  This is people saying I will give YOU the ARTIST the money to SUPPORT YOU.  Every time I watch the clip I get teary as I reminds me of the days when artist were supported by individual people not just large corporations. 

I also thought I would share what amanda has said on this all about 15 hours ago on the kickstarter page.

"Update #1: welcome to the project! HOLY FUCK 

GOOD LORD.

we did it, dear comrades. we're doing it.  do you see what's happening for cry-eye?  i thought this would work, but i didn't know it would fucking EXPLODE!!!!!!

i have so much to say to you all, but let me point out the most important thing, really, truly:

YOU GUYS CREATED THE RAGING FIRESTORM that made this crazed success possible.

YOU YOU YOU.

from the moment we launched, i watched you all spreading the link, creating facebook groups to get the house parties, supporting at whatever level you could, telling people what you'd done…i watched the twittersphere and blogosphere going BERSERK with shared information: that was YOU, that was not me. 

 it's still happening. 

the word about the record and the kickstarter is spreading like madness....via the people who are supporting it. 

THAT'S HOW IT WORKS. so THANK YOU. we all did this together.

thank you not only for backing at whatever level you did: but for BEING THE MEDIA. 

no rolling stone, no spin, no TV, no radio...none of that. 

PEOPLE POWER. 

 

this is the new way, motherfuckers: we come first - the media follows. not the other way around.

we all went to work and we all did our part to spread the information.

and look what it did. the whole world is watching, and it's awesome. the SCALE of this means we're making history.

 

i've been doing this crazy job for a long, long time. and i've never felt stronger, braver, and more supported...i feel like i'm crowdsurfing on a sea of 10,000 loving arms.it's the best feeling in the world.

so.....

you're going to be getting lots of updates from me and the team, starting NOW...and i'm going to try my darndest to make you all thrilled and happy as hell that you chose to back this epic undertaking.

and seriously? WAIT UNTIL YOU HEAR THE RECORD....you're going to flip your shit. 

i go into the NYC mastering studio with john & michael this thursday to finalize the sound and song order. i'll try to get some video for you.

i love you all so much.

i'm in a bit of a daze. things are about to GO MENTAL....thanks for being on this beautiful ride with me, the band, and my whole team.

yesterday we did a photoshoot in NYC with my friend kyle cassidy...and this one's for you guys:"

So from one fan here in melbourne i say "I LOVE AND SUPPORT YOU".  Yes we are the media, yes we are the ones who can hold the special ones in this world high, we CAN support each other.  LOVE YOU AMANDA FROM TIKIDOLL

30 songs in 60 days challenge pt5

5. A song that makes you sad
Bad Wine and Lemon Cake by The Jane Austen Argument

performed by The Jane Austen Argument with Amanda Palmer

This song was on a recent release of Amanda's (yes you all knew she'd get in this list at some point) and thankfully she introduced me to The Jane Austen Argument and the beautiful sound of Tom Dickenson. I find his voice so captivating that I could listen to him sing for hours on end. I have actually been lucky enough to not only see The Jane Austen Argument perform here at the Butterfly club in melbourne but also with the amazing Amanda Palmer. This song does make me sad but in a good way, if there is such a thing. It just reaffirms my belief that music is food for the soul as it can lift you up, hold you and often say what you can't seem to. Enjoy!!!!

TOWARD A PATRONAGE SOCIETY

I come from a very odd family; half are professionals (lawyers, doctors, accountants) and the other half creatives (musicians, film makers, designers, artists and actors). Which is very interesting when as a young child your submersed in one specific side of the family, needless to say I was brought up by the creatives. However the divide there is always a strong element of support from both sides. The creatives use the professionals services and the professionals try and buy/watch/ talk about what we are all working on.


Now you may be wondering what on earth this has to do with a Patronage Society, and more to the point Amanda Palmer. Well its pretty easy I see the support within the family as a form of patronage. Not sure what I'm talking about...well the history of art patronage refers to the support that one 'richer' person provides to the 'artist'. In a sense it was the original form of sponsorship.

One artist that I stand behind and support with my small patronage is Amanda Palmer so it was interesting to hear her view on the subject. Hence here it is for you to have a look and listen at.

Some of the images so far

So I have the first batch of photos from the weekend. All photos here are by Allan King Photography.

Some images were just using what was around, so simple location shots. Which were interesting as you never know what your going to get. As well as learning the most important lesson that you may not get what you think out of the camera but its amazing what you can do with a post editing program. For instance all that was done to the shot above was soften the background.

Then we tried to recreate, in sorts, some images. Above is the image of Amanda Plamer that we tired, and the result below.Then there was the attempt at the vogue image.
I still have issues seeing some images of myself, but it was well worth the effort to get some of these images. Again a big thank you to Allan for these shots!

SLAM - save live australian music

Image from http://www.thevine.com.au

Ok so this is music/art and not lingerie but people we need to speak up and save the world again.

http://www.slamrally.org/ Please go and sign the petition to help us save the small venues for muso's out there.

Why do I care?
this is why I love melb (my home town) you can feel the life of this city pulse through every element. A place where art is art, music is expression and each of our souls feels a little richer for being here. Sure melb won't come to you, you have to go to her but once you do you will never be turned away. LONG LIVE MELB ART AND MUSIC! as long as we stand up for ourselves we can never be put down.

Image from http://www.thevine.com.au

I grew up surrounded by artists, muscian's, dancers, actors, doco makers. They were the side of the family that inspired me. So to think that people that i know and love could not make their art kills me. Not to mention the world of music has brought so many amazing artists like Amanda Palmer, Tom Waits, Paul Kelly, Ani Difranco, Peter Gabriel, TZU, Barry Michael, Fat drop freddy's ok this list could go on awhile. Needless to say my life is better for music it heals when I'm hurt, express my joy and finds the words I need when I struggle to speak.

"Every song as a you. A you that the singer sings to, and baby your it this time"
- Ani Difranco

Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls at the rally in Swanston Street. Photo: Justin McManus

Another great posting by one of my muse's Amanda Palmer about SLAM
http://blog.amandapalmer.net/

So PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND SIGN - this is not just about melb, this is every part of Australian Live Music. If the 70k of us can do it you can too. We just started yelling out first! *i think*

Counting Down The Days

So its Feb the big countdown to Feb 26 is on. Yes thats when I get to hear/see/bliss out the amazing Amanda F**king Palmer. I know I've said it before but she is amazing and has restored my faith in the music industry with her dedication, writing and devotion to her fans/humanity around the world.

So I am writing to remind people to get online or walk to the Forum Theatre and grab your tickets. Plus below are the other gigs and places to get tickets.

TOUR DATES:
February 26
The Forum Theatre
Melbourne, Australia
Ages: 18+
BUY TICKETS!

March 4
Spiegeltent
Adelaide, Australia
Ages: All
BUY TICKETS!

March 7
Sydney Opera House
Sydney, Australia
Ages: All
BUY TICKETS!

March 8
A & I Hall
Bangalow (Byron Bay), Australia
Ages: 18+
BUY TICKETS!

March 10
The Zoo
Brisbane, Australia
Ages: 18+
BUY TICKETS!

If you haven't heard Ms Amanda's music jump onto itunes or her blog http://www.amandapalmer.net/afp/music/ and have a listen.

And one more great reason (at least for me) to get excited is I get to wear my new corset in honour of her great performance.

little bit of inspiration

I've been feeling a bit crafty and in need of some inspiration so I got to making these two mood boards. The one above is a combination of photos i've taken and found. Below is a great phrase that I thought everyone should read.

Circa Nocturna

Well its that time of the year.... amazing fashion and art is coming to Melbourne. Of course Amanda Palmer is hitting town at the end of feb, plus Circa Nocturna is coming up in march so fingers crossed amazing designers like Berserk will be back this year. Maybe Kitten D'amour will also come down.

Amanda F**king Palmer

ok so all is right with the world again....I HAVE TICKETS TO AMANDA PALMER!!!!!

Friday 13th & Ms Palmer

Its friday the 13th and I am going to try and dodge the crazy people. Ok so that does include me but I am taking todays vibe and inspiration from one of my fav artist. The amazing Amanda Palmer....a woman who has been an amazing inspiration for me for many years now.

So today I will put the earphones in and crank the ipod up to max while I listen to dresden dolls and Amanda F**king Palmer. If you have never heard her i suggest you jump online and get an earful. Plus it doesn't hurt to see this loverly gal in corsets and lingerie alot of the time.

Bliss thy name is amanda

I'm counting down the days till i get to indulge in some of my favourite live music from Amanda Palmer. Its been a long since I last saw her live and I can't even begin to explain how excited I am to be seeing and hearing her again.

So now its all down to planning what to wear. Just invested in these little shoes so I will build the outfit up from there. I still can't believe I got such a good prices for these babies.


So now that the feet are covered its just what do I do for the rest of the outfit. Watch this space for more.......