UPDATE:
Thanks to all who helped meet the Kickstarter goal! Stay tuned to Kickstarter for Protagonist news!
Alix Olson and the Protagonist Project.
Like most working grassroots artists, I have depended upon the generosity, love and support of my audiences over the years in myriad ways- you have helped carve out space for me to travel, speak, learn, write and perform. My gratitude is boundless, truly. These past 3 1/2 years I have been pursuing a PhD in Political Theory and have been on the road a lot less. I am loving this particular journey but I sure have missed all of you. This is the first time I’m asking our community to come together in making an album and I so hope you’ll be on board!
The poems I have selected for the forthcoming album Protagonist constitute an assemblage of personal-political reflections on the past five years or so. Some of these pieces, like “Dear Diary” you may have heard at shows while others are brand-new. The point is that ALL but two of them are unrecorded, some not even written down, having been living a nice but very solitary life entirely inside my brain. I have recorded two at this point, “Women are Different” and “Dear 16 Year Old Me” (you’ll hear a snippet of the latter behind the video of me talking about this project). BUT I need YOUR help to finish recording and mixing the rest and sending them into post-production land! This entails paying other grassroots and freelance artists to play on and produce the tracks, help me design the inside of the album and make copies of Protagonist. I am also planning to do the lyric book version- as I have with my past albums (my serpentine poems just don’t fit in a CD booklet as handy as that would be– I’ve tried!). So.. I’m reaching out to all of the protagonists in my little corner of the world asking if we can make this project happen together in the next few months. I love these poems and I would love even more to release them into the world to share them with all of you. We have 60 days to raise the funds and then I can hit the studio!
so PLEASE pre-purchase an album here or choose from an assortment of gift possibilities for you or a loved one in time for the holidays! I’ll send a hand-written note!!
Alix I wrote this to close friends who are aware of my forced retirement where I was promised a terrific severance.,,
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Without notice, my company decided to delay severance until Jan 15th instead of today.
Aaron will cover the moving company so I’m OK. However, I had intended to invest $1,000 in Alix Olson’s Kickstarter campaign that closes on Jan 15th and I cannot trust the funds will be there on time.
You know I deeply admire Alix. She is the Walt Whitman of our time and we actually know her. Wow! To this day I can’t believe she co-hosted the awards and performed “Independence Meal”. Her Magnus Opus. Alix said, “Oh Ed, no one at a queer event cares or wants to hear that.” I did. I pleaded for two months. At the last minute she agreed and while she performed it real Outmusic people asked, “How did you get her? How did you get her to perform that?
Most artists on Kick starter ask for $40,000 while Alix is looking for $8,500. I’m concerned I can’t pledge what I hoped to as an investment in my one life. Until the money is in the bank its not real.
So, if you two can pledge to me you will back me up for the day or days (I fear I’ll get a check instead of a direct deposit though they swear I will) I’d… Well, I don’t know what to say. At the rate it is going she may not meet her goal and all is a wasted attempt.
Ed
I’ve attached the 2006 version of “Independence Meal”
Ed, We need more queer Papa Bears like you in the world. You are a treasure.
Alix