Overview

Hello world! My name is RaShonda, and pianist, music director, singer and songwriter currently based in the beautiful city of Houston,TX.

I’ve been making music and performing across the U.S. my whole life: from composing choral music, and learning various instruments in band, to competing in national piano competitions and touring internationally with my art collaborators, I constantly pour everything I’ve learned about music into my storytelling, into the harmony I create, and into connecting with those emotions that move us each day as humans. 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 studio album.

This campaign is raising funds for my professionally recorded album with Carter Sanders in Boston, MA. Carter is a Boston-based producer and engineer with experience working with both established and up-and-coming musicians. Together, Carter 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 one song, which is ready for you to check out right here on this page. This first song is called “Excellence,” and you can check it out below!

While I’ve been able to fund the recording process for "Excellence" on my own, to create an album of songs of this 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. Carter 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 this incredible ability to heal people and unite people, allowing us to express feelings that help us feel connected in fundamental human ways. For the first time since the pandemic, I am feeling brave enough to offer my music up to my fans and my community as part of that bigger picture.

Scorpio Moon is a heartfelt, emotional project that is near and dear to my heart. I began writing the majority of the songs shortly after my Father passed away in 2020. Music was always a big connection between my Father and I so seeing this project go forward knowing how much he would have supported it, drives me each day to be vulnerable, to share, to remain open to the beauty of music and its ability to help us navigate the times in our life when we feel like giving up. Music is, for me, fundamentally a collective process--incredible musician friends that have pushed me to be better, my classmates in highschool that were there for all my earliest performances, my family for giving me such a wide perspective on different types of music when I was young, my brilliant and wonderful piano teachers in my hometown of Saginaw, Mi, Washington D.C. and New York, who nurtured and challenged me to help grow my artistic voice. 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 make more music together.

While this is my first time approaching a music project with this level of production support, I have managed and executed creative projects of all types: co-composer for original opera works with my art collaborators, working as a intellectual property project manager for a major record label for the past 12 years, and producing instrumentals for commercials and independent films. All the while, I've been deepening my musical focus and practicing, practicing, practicing. With your support, I will channel that consistent work and experience 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.