Overview

Hello world! My name is Justin, and I'm a singer-songwriter here in the beautiful land of Northern California.

I have been writing and performing music my whole life. My greatest musical influences have come from my time singing folk, bluegrass, and old-time tunes with my family and friends, learning jazz piano in high school, and singing in various choirs over the years. After pouring everything I’ve learned into songwriting, I am so excited to have some awesome new songs to share with you all.  

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

This campaign is raising funds for my professionally recorded album with Bryan Fennelly in Boston, MA.

Bryan is a Boston-based producer and engineer with experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians. Together, Bryan and I are digging into my original material, writing arrangements, and reaching out to local musicians to bring the songs to life. 

We’ve been able to cover the costs of recording and producing a demo version of one song remotely, which is ready for you to check out right here on this page. This first song is called “Drop of Honey,” and you can check it out below!

While I’ve been able to fund this initial recording process for "Drop of Honey" on my own, to create an album of songs with full production and professional quality, studio 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. Bryan 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 been a central element of my identity since I was very young. From the very moment I wrote my first song on the piano, I knew that I was a musician. But for all the years that I spent composing primarily instrumental music, I looked up to the role models in my life who bravely shared their hearts and thoughts through their music. I am, for the first time in my life, feeling brave enough to share my songs with the world. To me, this album is about fully stepping into my musical identity as a songwriter and sharing that process with the world.  

Since I've never been involved in a music project of this caliber before, this is my chance to finally create something tangible as a product of the intention and hard work that I have put into my craft. This is the best chance for me to get my foot in the door of the world of professional music-making! With your support, I will finally be making this dream of mine come true.

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.