Overview

My name is Mel Alston Jr., and I'm a singer-songwriter here in the beautiful city of Philadelphia, Pa. 

I’ve been making music and performing around Philly my whole life: weddings, stage plays, music festivals, local bars, jam sessions with friends in Mt. Airy driveways, and on West Philly porches. I've opened up for Nelly, Jay Sean, and Kindred The Family Soul. These opportunities and so many others have helped me fine tune the approach to my writing style and capture a theme for the direction of my music. After performing new music from my first project, "Movie muziK," we continued to shape our sound, gearing up for the next chapter in the series: Movie muziK2. After pouring everything I’ve learned into songwriting, into stories, into harmony, and increasing my guitar playing skills, the only thing left is to share my growth as an artist 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 studio album.

This campaign is raising funds for my professionally recorded album with Cairo Marques-Neto in Boston, MA. Cairo is a Boston-based producer and engineer with experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians.

Together, Cairo and I are digging into my original material, writing arrangements, and reaching out to local musicians to bring the songs to life. While I haven’t made it to Boston yet due to the current health crisis, I will––and I know this album will be worth the wait! In the meantime, I’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 “Blowing in the Wind,” and you can check it out below!

While I’ve been able to fund this initial recording process for "Blowing in the Wind" 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. Cairo 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 lifts people up and brings us together through the good and the hard times. Music lets us know we are not alone. Music helps to express the feelings that keep us connected at times when we can feel so distant. With so much going on around the world today, I have decided to create a catalogue of songs that speak to the soul of the state of the times, the beauty that we seek through the clouds of hate and anguish that so desperately try to divide us. 

For me, music is a collective process of soul searching to find an inner light, building with musician friends that have pushed me to be better, my family, who has given me such a wide perspective on different styles of music when I was a kid, and my brilliant and wonderful wife, who is my biggest supporter. Music is about community, culture and connection, and I've shared musical experiences with so many great people in my life.

While I’ve never made a music project of this caliber before, I feel like I've been preparing for this moment my whole life. I have managed to use my past experiences - the highs and the lows - as stepping stones to a spirit of resilience that I believe resonates in us all. I've been deepening my musical focus, practicing, learning, and meditating. One of my hopes is that this project helps me to express the need for unity, and expand my reach and to make more great music to share with the world. With your support, I will channel these experiences into something beautiful and timeless that we have brought about on this journey 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