Overview

Hello world! My name is James Whatton, and I'm a singer-songwriter here in the beautiful city of Minneapolis, MN.

I’ve been making music and performing for what seems like my whole life: playing with my first band in my high school auditorium, psychedelic rock covers at music festivals and local bars, folk tunes in coffee shops with my acoustic guitar, jam sessions with friends in whomever’s backyard that would have us, and on many a Hawthorne District front porches. After pouring everything I’ve learned into songwriting, into stories, into melody and harmony, the only thing left is to share the sounds in my head and my heart with all of you.

The material is ready, and the musicians are waiting -- this Plaid Dog campaign is the final step toward creating my first ever, professionally produced solo studio album.

This campaign is raising funds for my professionally recorded album with Mike Davidson in Boston, MA. Mike is a Boston-based producer and engineer with 15+ years of experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians. Together, Mike and I are digging into my original material, writing arrangements, and reaching out to local musicians to bring the songs to life. 

While we haven’t made it to Boston yet due to the current health crisis, we will––and we know this album will be worth the wait! In the meantime, we’ve been able to cover the costs of recording and producing a demo of one song remotely, with the assistance of some pretty amazing technology.

This first song is called “To a Friend,” and you can check it out below!

While I’ve been able to fund this initial recording process for "To a Friend" on my own, to create an album of songs with full production and studio quality, costs add up quickly. With that said, this campaign can give us a unique opportunity to collaborate and make great art together. Your donation will cover the following costs of my project:

1. Pre-Production: This is where everything starts. Mike and I will start crafting the arrangements for each song slated for the album. We’ll hold rehearsals to fine-tune the songs and arrangements and talk through new and exciting ideas for how to approach the recording process.

2. Recording: This is when we enter the studio and start capturing the music and where the songs become what you'll hear on this album. This campaign will play a huge role in making sure we have enough time to capture great performances for every member of the band.

3. Mixing & Mastering: Each track will get mixed to create the right balance between instruments, texture and color that make up a track. As a final step, the album will be mastered from beginning to end so that the listening experience is cohesive and carefully choreographed from start to finish.

And what will you get for your generosity and support? So many awesome things!

I am so appreciative and grateful for any support you can lend to this campaign. In exchange for your generosity, I've put together a really exciting group of gifts that are available exclusively through your participation in this campaign.

Check out some examples below and a full list to the right!

It's hard to express how much this project would change my life.

Music has always been a big part of my life and who I am. For me, there has always been one constant: the feeling I get when I hit those strings and feel the power of the sounds that come through them.  I’ve been on a relentless search for that pure sound that comes through you.  It moves me, and my goal is to somehow have that feeling that moves through me and also move others. Music is the language of the soul. It knows no boundaries. It heals, and it brings people together.

Music is, for me, fundamentally a collective process. Incredible musicians have pushed me to be better: everyone that was there for all my earliest performances, my family giving me the support to follow my dreams, my patient and wonderful wife listening to all the repetition and mistakes I make when I'm working out a new part. Music is about community and connection, and I've shared musical experiences with so many people in my life.  One of my hopes is that this project helps me find new collaborators in my networks to be able to make more music with.

While I've never worked on a project like this and in this capacity before, I have no doubt that, with the help of Mike Davidson and Plaid Dog, I will release something that I can be proud of and represents me musically. I've been deepening my musical focus and practicing, practicing, practicing.  With your support, I will channel that energy into something new and beautiful that we have made together.

If you're ready to contribute, just click the "Back This Project" button on the top right of this page! Every little bit counts, and I’m so grateful for all your support.

If you have folks in your network that would be interested in supporting me, please feel free to share this page with them.

Thank you so much for checking out my campaign page. I can't wait to share this music with you.