Overview

Hello world! My name is Reverend Doctor, and I'm a musician and storyteller from the Midwest.

Storytelling has always been a family tradition. Some of my earliest and most precious memories are of my mother or oldest sister reading to me. Danny and the Dinosaur, Clifford the Big Red Dog. I remember the pages arresting my imagination.

My dad used to make up stories for my sisters and I before bedtime. I remember often the stories were about a family of deer with a momma and daddy and children deer that bore an uncanny resemblance to our family. Usually the younger deer fell victim to some childlike obsession and the momma and daddy deer lived happily ever after. Despite our untimely fates, those were somehow our favorite stories. We were children and our vanity was assuaged by hearing narrative tributes even if ultimately we were killed off for a punchline.

But before long we also began taking turns telling stories about one another, or making them up. Recounting memories was sometimes less about the accuracy and more about spinning the truth and telling entertaining stories.

Even though my family never wrote a single story down this creativity seeped into my bones. So when I was really small I started to make up stories on my own; characters with long histories, love interests, and unusual quirks. Once I learned to read on my own I would read as many books as I could and would spend hours in my room drawing, illustrating and reading comic books. Storytelling became both my escape and how I saw the world around me and how I related to others.

When I was a freshman in high school I remember some classmates of mine forming a band and playing music and that was the very first time I realized that the people that wrote music on the radio were just like me (shout out to the members of You Tell Jimmy that might read this!). They were just telling stories like I’d been doing. I also realized that music has a way of filling in the gaps in stories without words. And once again I was captivated.

However I wouldn’t really start writing music until much later. I was eighteen years old when I wrote my first song for a friend. It was the summer after graduating when a mutual friend from that first band I saw freshman year would ask if I wanted to play in a band together. I couldn’t say yes fast enough.

That began my journey of a lifetime. I’ve played and performed and wrote music in, what feels like, countless bands. And in my way I loved each one of them. If you’ve ever collaborated with people on such an intimate level you know that no band is ever perfect, even the ones that go on to have success. So over the years, I’d collected small ideas on how I might do things differently if I was in charge.

Six years ago Reverend Doctor became my first solo musical project. It’s called Reverend Doctor in a very literal sense: Reverend: “to preach”, Doctor “to heal”. It's a mission to use the power of music to help us learn to love ourselves better and in doing so, maybe learning to love each other. I figure if music can help sell cleaning products, it can sell love, right?

I wanted to create a platform I could tell stories from. Whether it’s about growing up really different, about watching my sisters try and survive a male-dominated world, how friendship can blossom in the most unlikely of places; with Reverend Doctor I could try and give people hope. Stretch goals: maybe along the way, even build a small community of folks curious about how we might be able to rethink the ways in which we treat each other.

I’ve spent a lifetime collecting stories. I’ve spent part of that time shaping them into songs. Songs I think that the world should hear.

That’s where you come in. I need your help to tell my story.

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 EP.

This campaign is raising funds for my professionally recorded EP 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 “Woman Being,” and you can check it out below!

While I’ve been able to fund the recording process for "Woman Being" on my own, to create an EP 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 EP. 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 EP. 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 EP 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.

If this campaign is successful, you’ll be a part of helping me create my first studio EP. I’ve been playing and performing music for over 20 years and I have never crossed this moment. I have always wanted to give my message the best platform possible and together, you and I can make it happen. I think now, more than ever, we need the stories that Reverend Doctor wants to tell: songs about building up our communities in love, dance as an act of protest against the grief in our lives, songs that remind us when we go together our future is bright.

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.