larry p - Posted - 06/21/2012:  10:21:39

Last night we received the 500th email requesting, encouraging, or otherwise inspiring the writing of a book about Earl Scruggs since April of this year-so it seems there may be a demand, or at least some interest in such a project. Many of this correspondence has come from 'The Banjo Hangout' family..

Having some experience with publishing companies/record labels, etc-the prospects of dealing with another one isn't very enticing, so I'm leaning towards exploring some 'self publishing' avenues, and have been considering the launch of a 'Kickstarter' campaign to finance the time off to complete the book/books. We have quite a few things that some may find appealing to offer as 'rewards' for a contribution...I'd Love to hear from anyone who has used this program if you're up for sharing your experience with it, or any other ideas you might have about a project like this..

thanks!lp

banjoy - Posted - 06/21/2012:  11:43:44

Well, I know that Tony Furtado successfully funded his current CD project through kickstarter.

I just set up a kickstarter account for a project I have in mind too, but have not fleshed it out yet.

I was told about it last month by a friend in Columbia, SC who had a friend who got funded successfully.

I think if you fully present your project, flesh it out, and with your personal relationship and wealth of knowledge, that your project will be successfully funded.

Go for it.

P.S. -- I have been following your posts today about Earl, I truly enjoy what you have to say, I really enjoy your command of the written language, and you use it very well, and I can tell you appreciate it as a form of expression as much as banjo. Me too. I appreciate that.

Edited by - banjoy on 06/21/2012 11:45:06

larry p - Posted - 06/22/2012:  08:52:21

Thanks SO MUCH!! I DO greatly appreciate the written word as an art form. Being not well educated or versed in the proper use of words, punctuation, and grammar, the idea of writing a book has been quite a stretch for me.

I'm SO grateful for the 'Banjo Hangout' and to 'the family' for providing a forum and topics through which we can exercise what abilities we do have in contributing and responding to the threads that pertain to things I've had an interest in or a bit of experience with, and for the emails and phone calls from Friends who have been asking, admonishing, and inspiring me to take the journals, photographs, films, emails, text messages, and memories I've collected over the past 35 years regarding Earl Scruggs and somehow lace it all together to fashion a book..Finally been inspired to look past the lack of education and experience to compile and begin writing for the Friends who have expressed an interest in 'a book about Earl', and for Earl: After I moved in with him in January, 2006, every morning at breakfast he would reminisce about his experiences, recalling things that happened when he was 4 or 5 years old, what it was like growing up on the farm, things that happened at 'Lily Mills', musical experiences with 'Lost John', Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, and 'The 'Revue', flight experiences, and so on-many things I never heard him speak of before or saw in print. I asked him if had any objections to me keeping some notes of the things he was sharing, and he said, 'No-I wish you would! If you don't, nobody will ever know some of this stuff."

Thanks!lp

5stringJim - Posted - 06/22/2012:  10:49:53

 After I moved in with him in January, 2006, every morning at breakfast he would reminisce about his experiences, recalling things that happened when he was 4 or 5 years old, what it was like growing up on the farm, things that happened at 'Lily Mills', musical experiences with 'Lost John', Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, and 'The 'Revue', flight experiences, and so on-many things I never heard him speak of before or saw in print.  

---

 Go for it, Larry ! That's the kind of material I'd love to hear about. There were only tantalizing snippets out there before. I've learned more about the real Earl from your posts and others on the Hangout than anywhere else. Thanks.

From Greylock to Bean Blossom - Posted - 06/22/2012:  11:06:27

As it was Earl's wish and it is your interest and there will be 60,000 from the hangout that will look forward to it and many from outside the hangout also - it sounds like it will be filling the desires of many. This is a part of our bluegrass history that needs to be preserved. I bet you can get a lot of  people to contribute chronicles also. 

I had a friend that wrote a book. In seeing what he wrote I was overwhelmed by the enormity  of the task. He said it was not that big. You just had to write a little each day.

Good luck Larry. It will be a big winner.

Ken

larry p - Posted - 06/22/2012:  17:03:55

Thanks so much!

The research I've done on the 'kickstarter' program has got me to thinking: Why couldn't a person conduct a 'kickstarter-like' campaign on their own? If it's incumbent upon the person with the project/idea to conceptualize the presentation of the project, advertise it, come up with the 'rewards' and mail them out/honor them when the contribution has been received, and produce the project-why give 'Kickstarter/Amazon' what amounts to 10% of the contributions received? Maybe I'm missing something-I'm sure the 'Kickstarter' program has a presence on numerous websites and may be able to provide exposure that might elude an individual, but I'm not convinced that they would do enough for the project to warrant them receiving the 8-10% fees they charge..Seems to me that we could offer a CD as a 'reward' for a $15.00 contribution, a set of strings that he signed, dated, and noted places or events that he used those strings on as a 'reward' for a $100.00 contribution, or a prewar flat head banjo as a 'reward' for a $80K contribution just as easily on our own as we could through the official 'kickstarter' program..Anybody have any idea or observations about it? I'd Love to know what I'm missing here..

thanks,lp

banjoy - Posted - 06/22/2012:  17:20:56

Hey Larry, let me address a couple of points you raise.

Regarding your education, it does not matter. I only have a high school diploma but write, read and comprehend at a much higher level than that. So do you. All you need help with is smoothing over your writing, tightening it up .. basically what a good editor would do.

Regarding kickstarter, I understand your points, but you are only seeing 1/2 the equation there. kickstarter is not just about projects. It also has an very large following of folks who give money. There are two types of participants. Those who put up projects, and those who put up money.

The nearly 10% fees are a bargain if you consider that they offer a platform to show your project to a very very large audience. Much larger than banjohangout. I would suggest that you do kickstarter and link it to and promote it through BHO, but I doubt seriously your funding will come primarily through here.

Part of the fees charged by Amazon, are the exact same as credit card processing fees. I do not believe that the total fees add up to 10% as you indicate. I believe it is less than that, but even still, if you raise, say, $20k or whatever, $2k is not that bad as a cost of fundraising. There is no other overhead and there is no control of your project.

You should build in all foreseeable costs, including all costs to get the book to production, and also costs of all your rewards, including shipping. You may need help preparing your budget if you are not familiar with that process you can really screw yourself if you get funded and realize that you don't have enough fnds after all. To your budget, add 20% contingency on top, for administration and unknowns that will pop up.

You should not look at the fees from kickstarter as though you are not getting anything for that. You are getting a LOT in return. Kickstarter has successfully funded well over $20 million is projects and all of that came from private contributors, entirely through their network. That is a pretty powerful starting point.

If you want to reinvent the wheel, go for it, but don't expect that you can do better than the wheel that is there already. I know that truth fro first hand from experience. Ask me LOL.

If your project does not meet its funding goals, no one's commitment is called. If you do your own fundraising, what will you do if you meet 1/2 your budget, have money in hand, but cannot complete the project? No one would like that, not you, not the funders. With kickstarter, you don't get anything until your funding goal is met, which makes it much more likely you will complete the project.

Also, there is no funding limit. If you exceed your goal and people still want to contribute, they can. I saw one project on there that had a very modest budget but has been funded at nearly 2000% of its funding goal, nearly $2 million for that one project. I doubt they could have done that one their own.

Also, the administrative tools that kickstarter offers to help you keep up with what gift who gets, and keeping in communications with your contributors, is very well thought out and is already in place, something you need to consider as well. I mean, something as simple as keeping up with the 200 people who want CDs, for example, their addresses, etc, can seem small, but can be an administrative nightmare. You need to think of all these things through, and kickstarter has the tools to help you do that.

So, Larry, given my example of a $20,000 budget, and your 10% figure, would you pay $2,000 to receive $18,000? I would. It's not your moeny anyway. You just got $18,000 that you didn't have before.

Hope this helps.

--Frank

Edited by - banjoy on 06/22/2012 17:26:05

BluegrassWarehouse - Posted - 06/22/2012:  17:24:59

You could probably get all the publicity you need to pre-fund it right here on the Hangout, as well as Bluegrass Today and other sites.  No need to give Kickstarter a cut for that.  Tell me where to send the money to and I will send it now!  If you have Paypal, it would be real easy for people anywhere to send you the money.

Lance

banjoy - Posted - 06/22/2012:  17:30:18

One final point too, is that a LOT more potential folks would be interested in a book about Earl Scruggs, than just us banjo pickers. If you limit your exposure to banjohangout, and Bluegrass Today and sites like that, you are reaching a very targeted, but limited audience. Why limit it to only a narrow target? Kickstarter will expose the project to folks who may have tons of money and just think its cool to fund your project. Would that kind of funder be here at BHO. No. They would not.

If you made a music CD for example, would you only promote in here, or would you want everyone to know about it, even outside of bluegrass world? Do you think enough folks on BHO alone would buy it to make it worthwhile? Or would there be folks outside of BHO who may want to buy it too, but can't if they don't know about it? Same thing.

Tony Furtado recently raised $18,000 for his CD project. Do you think he could have done that here? Or on Bluegrass Today? Possible, but doubtful.

If you run away from that 10% fee, and that's the only reason, you won't be doing yourself any favors, IMO. You will pay for that 10% many many times over.

Not every service like that is just to take your money. Some things are actually worth it. You need to take a very long look at that again and look deeper at just what they do, and why it is worth it.

And, finally, using kickstarter does not preclude that you can still raise funds on your own. It is not exclusive. You can fund a project through them and also raise funds on your own at the same time. Why limit yourself? All over paying 10% for funds you may not have raised anyway?

Trust me, 10% is a bargain.

Edited by - banjoy on 06/22/2012 17:36:17

From Greylock to Bean Blossom - Posted - 06/22/2012:  17:40:09

Gentlemen,

I have not been familiar with the kickstarter program but am getting an idea through this thread. I have a question. Is it possible for Larry to do a kickstarter on Amazon and also do a fundraiser here on the hangout? As much as I understand what you are talking about, I think there would be some banjo people that would very much like to be a direct part of making this happen.

Thanks for reading this.

Ken

banjoy - Posted - 06/22/2012:  17:43:20

Hey there. Sorry about the overspeak here.

Here is the website being discussed: kickstarter.com

It is an independent website. It just uses Amazon to process payments that's all.

From Greylock to Bean Blossom - Posted - 06/22/2012:  18:05:11

Thanks Frank.

banjoy - Posted - 06/22/2012:  19:16:53

Actually, it's a brilliant idea for funding. Here is something I copied from their info page:

◦    Since launching in April 2009:

    ◦    $250 million pledged to projects

    ◦    2 million people have backed a project

    ◦    24,000 projects successfully funded

 

2 million members have funded projects. $250,000,000 raised. That's pretty impressive. In three years. Wow.

Their web traffic is impressive, I read the stats but can't find them now.

As I said in my earlier post, I'd pay 10% to get 90% of something I didn't have before and that does not need to be repaid. That's a bargain.

DISCLAIMER: I have no affiliation at all with that website. I just learned about it a month+ ago.

larry p - Posted - 06/23/2012:  13:20:13

Thanks Frank!! You’ve helped clarify the part I wasn't sure about, that is-what does 'Kickstarter' DO to deserve the percentage they receive of whatever is pledged...I understand it much better now having read your thoughts than I did, and can see now how doing a ‘Kickstarter’ project could be most helpful. Yes sir-I would pay $2K to receive $18K for the project-absolutely!

You may well be right about the actual amount the project winds up paying 'Kickstarter' and Amazon: The website says 'Kickstarter' gets 5% if the goal is met, and Amazon gets 3-5%. I inferred that meant one could expect to pay 10% total-But again, yes sir; I would pay $2K to receive $18K..

One thing I'm not 100% clear on just yet: As you point out, the program’s stated policy is: "If your project does not meet its funding goals, no one's commitment is called.”

If the effort is put forth and time is spent putting together a presentation and 'rewards' and the 'Kickstarter' campaign runs for a month or so and ends up lacking $15.00 to meet the goal, then no one's commitment is called. For the artist/project who is depending solely on the 'kickstarter' for funding that would be a big let down for both them and the people who stood ready to make good on their pledges. I guess a way to avoid that scenario would be to set a goal that’s low enough that it's reasonable to think it will be reached, or exceeded.

The answer to your question regarding ‘what I would do if I did my own fundraising and only came up with 1/2 of the budget’ is that I will do the project-it just wont be done as quickly as it could be done if adequately funded. Every person who sent in $15.00 for a CD would receive their CD, whoever pledged to purchase one of the limited edition banjos (that has been discussed a bit to possibly be a part of the project) would receive the banjo, whoever pledged for a piece of memorabilia would get it, and so on. I have every intention of doing the project-whether we get any help with it or not. Adequate funding will be the difference in having the book completed and available in a year or less, or the project possibly being handed off to someone else and our children or grandchildren reading it someday. Additional funding received over and above what’s needed will facilitate our being able to include a nice photo section in the book and CD and DVD with the package. I know beyond knowing that the project will be done when it’s purposed to be done and it will be available to those it’s purposed to be delivered to. If the interest that has been expressed in the project translates into contributing partners-we’ll have a book much sooner than later.

In the case of this particular project all that's needed right now is the financing to facilitate our taking the time off from the normal things I do in order to pay bills and subsidize myself so that I can focus the most of my time and energies on getting everything done on my end to finish the project. If I can settle in with all the materials I’ve compiled over the years and not have to buy and sell instruments or run back and forth to Nashville to work on records to pay the bills we can get the book done in a matter of a few months. Although there’s an incredible amount of material to deal with, I’m very familiar with it, it’s already categorized by days, months, and years, nearly everything is scanned, etc-so it could go quickly if that’s all I had to do for a few months. We have several published, highly respected journalist who have offered to lend ‘a second set of eyes’ and help with editing etc. Several graphic artists have offered to help with the design of the cover, book, and layout of the photo sections. Audio engineers are eager to work on the unreleased sessions that I would LOVE to be able to include with the project, and a cinematographer has offered to help edit the video from the session so that a REALLY COOL DVD could be included as well. I’m committed to giving the project all I’ve got and including any contributions from others who have something to offer in the way of things they know or have experienced regarding the subject to make it as factual, comprehensive, enjoyable, informative, and a real credit to all involved.  Maybe I’m setting my sights too high, but I envision something like a ‘coffee table book’ with a CD and a DVD-not just a simple paperback book.

Maybe the best way to go about it is to start the ‘kickstarter’ program, and subsidize it with auxiliary fundraising as well. That way if for some reason the ‘official kickstarter’ campaign falls short of the goal, we’d still have something to work with to at least get some of the work done.

One other question: Is ‘Kickstarter’ to be preferred over other similar programs like ‘PledgeMusic’ and ‘GoFundMe’?  Based on the stats you posted I would think ‘Kickstarter’ is the way to go. I'm SO HAPPY to see that our Friend Casey Driessen conducted a successful ‘Kickstarter’ campaign to fund his new project (kickstarter.com/projects/96076...r-project).It's going to be great!

Thanks so much ‘5stringJim, Frank, Ken, Lance, and those who have sent ideas and encouragement by way of email since we started this thread! We’re beginning to get a sense of direction and starting to get somewhere thanks to y’all..

From Greylock to Bean Blossom - Posted - 06/23/2012:  14:29:03

Larry,
You vision sounds very exciting. Please count on me for at least $100 which ever way you want to go.
Ken

SWCooper - Posted - 06/23/2012:  15:29:04

If it were me, I would hate to get paid up front and then have to do the work living on the proceeds. Psychologically, I just couldn't do it that way around. I'd at least want to have a big chunk done first, even if it meant slowly pecking around at it on my own time. But maybe that's just me.

Anyhow, I hope you do it, however you fund it.

banjoy - Posted - 06/23/2012:  15:57:36

Larry it sounds like you have an awesome project. And it sounds like you have a lot of the elements in place.

I do not mean to convey myself as an expert in anything. I have worked on very large projects before, many of my own origination, so I know what it can be like to take on a bear. Sometimes, these things take on lives of their own. But it sounds as if you have the support in place -- the editing, graphics, design and layout, etc. Those alone are huge, massive blocks to deal with.

My understanding of the kickstarter goal is, they give you up to, I think, 90 days to solicit funds. They recommend 30-40 is the best window, but I am unclear why that would be. If the commitment is NOT met, no cards are charged, and the project is not funded. However, they say you can re-submit the same project again.

(One thing NOT to do is try to pledge to your own project. There are industry wide credit card rules which prohibit you from receiving funds for monies charged to your own card like that, essentially floating your own cash advance. If you do that, your Amazon account will be shut down. So, do not use your own credit cards to make pledges, just to get that extra $15 you referred to.)

If you do the kickstarter thing, you need to have it completed as a package before launching your fundraising campaign. WIth a small time window like that to be open for contributors, you need to have your promotion campaign complete and packaged to get word out in an intensive, focussed way, your self-promo video, all your materials described, before you submit to kickstarter. This would include press releases to targeted media, etc.

I am unfamiliar with the two other funding sources you named, but without looking at them, I would guess it's a similar scenario...?

I think if you had a robust pr campaign to get word out about your fundraising effort, including FaceBook, BHO, other social networks, that word spreads quickly and if your goal is modest it seems like it could be pulled together. Modest could mean anything. Looking there, projects from $1000 up to well over $100,000 have been funded as far as I can tell.

You know there are tons of folks rooting for you to succeed with this. I also believe, there may be a wealthy benefactor step forward, and help you privately. I smell that in the wind already.

Larry, next time I'm at BanjoThon, I will make a point to introduce myself to you. Maybe we can jam some together. That would be cool.

Blessings.

Edited by - banjoy on 06/23/2012 16:02:35

banjoy - Posted - 06/23/2012:  16:10:03

Larry, I'm kind of broke, so financial help from me is not feasible at the moment ... but I will help you in any other way I can ...

... PM sent ...

Edited by - banjoy on 06/23/2012 16:11:53

Bastertone - Posted - 06/23/2012:  18:09:03

Larry,
Don't go too small. Consider the publishing costs and put them in along with your writing costs and offer a copy of the book as a main part of the reward. Then every supporter is pre ordering the book. If it doesn't succeed then that lets you know your idea wasn't as big as you thought.
I think you've got something that will succeed. I've already supported three kickstart projects. the banjo project, the John Hartford documentary and Tony Furtados dvd. All were successful and all of them included the finished product as a reward.

Go for it, I'll be supporting for sure!

larry p - Posted - 06/23/2012:  20:17:21

Thanks SO MUCH! I would VERY MUCH like to see you at 'BanjoThon' and play some tunes...I finally got to go to 'BanjoThon' for the first time just this year and HAD A BLAST!! It was like going to the best family reunion ever..Lord willin' I'll be going every year from now on..

Ms SWCooper-I feel the same way you do about things like this. Aside from the record we did with 'Pinecastle' ('A Touch Of The Past') years ago, I've funded all of our projects myself: 'Three Fingers and a Clawhammer', 'A Glad Reunion Day' (with over 30 artist involved), '(I Just Want To) Pick Like Earl' (over 30 artist involved in this one as well), 'Don't Worry About Tomorrow- God's Already There', our 'hot off the press' new record, 'It's Never Too Late', and several others that are 'in the can'...I don't fault an artist for seeking help to do recording projects though I’ve never done it myself. I know full well how much is involved in doing sessions and paying musicians, though I must say that MANY TIMES we've done sessions with an artist and when it came time to pay them for their participation-they refused to accept payment. Earl Scruggs was this way. So was John Hartford, Doc Watson, Curly Seckler, Uncle Josh Graves, John Carter Cash, Laura Cash, Grandpa Jones, Vassar Clemmons, Ms Janette Carter, George Jones, Bob Moore, and others. They either did it out of Friendship, or holding up their end of a trade, or because they believed in the song or project-so often we've received help with a project from within the project, but have never asked anyone to help fund one that hasn't been completed yet. Most good studios (in our neck of the woods at least) are going to run $600.00 - $1,200.00 for an eight-hour day. A professional 'Pro-Tools' engineer is going to run $500.00-$800.00 a day. An assistant engineer runs $200.00 a day. Hard drives for storage run about $250.00. Most musicians are getting $100.00 a song or $600.00 a day (if it's a 'scab session’, which means it’s not done through the union). A day in the studio can easily run upwards of $3,000.00..Sometimes you'll 'catch a wave' and get a lot accomplished, and sometimes you don't-the meter keeps running either way. It's never occurred to me to ask other people to finance a project that's been laid on my heart to do: If we sell enough copies to recoup the investment that's wonderful. If we get an email or letter from someone who says that they've been inspired or encouraged by something they've heard on a CD-that's even better...

Back to the topic at hand: You said, "I'd at least want to have a big chunk done first, even if it meant slowly pecking around at it on my own time"- I agree with you on that as well. A mighty big blessing came my way back in March of this year in the form of a MOST vexing case of the shingles. I'd had the shingles twice before, and those experiences were irritating for sure-but the bout I had with them back in March took me out of commission. Along with the aggravating rash and blisters came intense, unrelenting pain: every nerve in my body felt like it was on fire. The only thing I could do that brought any relief from the condition at all was to sit in the recliner and not move unless it was absolutely necessary. On top of that we had just relocated from the place I'd called home for about 5 years, so bunches of stuff was boxed up-just about everything but the computer. I figured that the best way to deal with the shingles was to make them my Friend since they were there and not going anywhere anytime soon-so I spent just about everyday in March working on the project. Because sleep was a rare commodity during that time I put in many 15-18 hour days doing nothing but sitting in the recliner digging through files, writing, and organizing. The shingles facilitated my getting 'a big chunk done first': That's why I say I'm very familiar with the material, and feel confident that the work can be completed if we're blessed with the means to 'take off' and focus on nothing but that for a few months.

For many years now people who know about the Friendship I've shared with Earl and Louise have asked or encouraged me to write a book. I've always understood and could relate to the interest in such a book: Earl Scruggs must surely be one of, if not THE single most innovative, influential, imitated musician in the history of recorded music, yet relatively little has been written about him. A book about Louise Scruggs and her innovations, contributions, and accomplishments in the music world is in order as well. The part I wasn't getting is why I should be the one to do it: seemed to me that the subject/subjects ought to be covered by a real, credible writer, and that maybe I could contribute in some way.

In January of this year an extraordinary chain of events started to unravel relating to this project, though at that time I wasn't viewing it as a 'book project'. I began diligently digging through all of my files for reasons that had nothing to do with writing a book. A search on this forum and on 'facebook' will reveal that I was expressing grave concerns and asking people to contact me if they had seen or talked to Earl in late February and early March. When he died on March 28th, 2012, I started a thread on this forum entitled 'I'm so sorry to inform you', and began receiving a tremendous amount of emails and phone calls that hasn't abated much, if any at all to this day. Some offered observations, some have questions, some speculating on this and that, and everybody telling me that I HAVE to write a book.

The idea of seeking ways to finance the completion of the project didn't occur to me until quite a few Friends suggested I investigate the possibilities when I responded to the idea of writing the book by saying that I would work on it in my spare time. Many said that they would contribute to such a cause because they feel that the book needs to be done and published as soon as possible.

I personally abhor the idea of asking anyone for money to do anything, but with so many insisting that it needs to be done (and offering to help), and becoming aware of the 'rewards' aspect of doing the 'Kickstarter' campaign I’ve finally warmed up to the idea: Being able to give someone something for the money they contribute towards completion of the project 'feels' a LOT better than just 'asking for money'. So here's where I'm at with it now: Thanks to your encouragement and all the information Frank and others have provided I'm going to initiate a 'Kickstarter' campaign for the project, and offer items like CDs and such that have a standard value for the ‘rewards’, and augment it with a 'personal campaign'. I'm thinking about setting up something on one of our 'facebook' pages with a list of items that do not have a 'known value', and say that whoever makes the best offer on a given item by a certain date will get that item as a 'reward'. We'll post the offers that come in on each item so that everybody knows what it's up to so that anyone who would like to have a certain item as a 'reward' for participating will have an equal opportunity to get it.

What do y’all think about that?

Thanks for all the information and insight you’ve provided Frank, and for your gracious offer to help!

Thanks for the encouragement ‘Bastertone’! I’m with you all the way on offering the finished product as part of the ‘reward’ for participating…We’re gonna to get this thing going now..

BluegrassWarehouse - Posted - 06/24/2012:  14:06:06

Where are the Facebook pages?

Lance

larry p - Posted - 06/24/2012:  16:21:27

Here are links to the 'facebook' pages we have-been working towards getting things together to post on these pages all day...

This is our 'home page' (facebook.com/perkinslarryf)

We'll share information about the project and it's progress and keep everyone posted about programs initiated that will be aimed at facilitating it's completion with this page

This is the link to our brand new record 'It's Never Too Late'- (facebook.com/lperkinsItsNever2Late). Today is this album's 'official' release date! Will be posting lots of info about the songs on the album. The purchase of a copy (or copies) of 'It's Never Too Late' will help facilitate the completion of our book. This album is COMPLETELY different from anything we've ever done-a bunch of new songs that are highly autobiographical in nature.

Here's the 'Pick Like Earl' page- (facebook.com/LarryFPerkins). We'll talk about the project and it's progress, and keep you posted about the programs we utilize geared towards facilitating it's completion on this page. Information about the 'Pick Like Earl' album and how the purchase of it will help make the book happen will be posted on this page.

The 'Don't Worry About Tomorrow-God's Already There' page is here- (facebook.com/LarryFPerkinsGodsAlreadyThere). Info about this album and how the purchase of copies of it will help facilitate the completion of the book will be posted on this page.

This is the link to the 'Touch Of The Past' page- (facebook.com/pages/A-Touch-Of-...975644549). We've been using this page to share info about old instruments that's I've had for sale. Later today it's going to turn into the page for info about 'Three Fingers and a Clawhammer' (with Leroy Troy and Terry Eldredge), and  'A Glad Reunion Day'. Your purchase of a copy (or copies) of these records will help make the book a reality. We're also going to use this page to share info about a few banjo parts we'll be offering as a 'reward' for participating, and some extraordinary memorabilia! I'll post pictures of everything we have on hand and the date that each item will be given as a 'reward' for participating in the completion of our book. If and when an offer is received for a particular item we'll post it so that everybody knows what each 'reward' is valued at right up to the published deadline.

Each page has a 'wall', so PLEASE come visit and use the wall to share your ideas, critique, enthusiasm, etc. We'll need a name for our book-I've got a few ideas, but would LOVE to hear yours-wish there was some way we could have a contest and let 'the Hangout Family' decide by a vote what the book's title it. Seeing as how it IS OUR BOOK it will have a section in it with YOUR stories and or pictures. Of course you'll be properly credited and there will be a bit of paperwork to fill out if you submit something that gets published, but there's not much to it-so PLEASE be thinking about it..My email address is: larryperkins78@hotmail.com. You can contact me there or through any of the 'facebook' pages..

I'm thinking that this is a way to get something going while we're working on doing the video and everything else that's necessary to do the official 'Kickstarter' program. What do y'all think about it?

 Can't thank you enough for the camaraderie, encouragement, inspiration, insights, and great ideas you're sharing..

From Greylock to Bean Blossom - Posted - 06/24/2012:  17:23:18

quote:

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Originally posted by larry p

e.

The 'Don't Worry About Tomorrow-God's Already There' page is here- (facebook.com/LarryFPerkinsGodsAlreadyThere). Info about this album and how the purchase of copies of it will help facilitate the completion of the book will be posted on this page.

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I have this album and it is really good.

ken

larry p - Posted - 06/25/2012:  18:27:44

Thanks so much Ken! I'm glad you're enjoying the album..

Alright-I've finally made a step towards getting this project done! We've got a home-made 'kickstarter' program under way that will hopefully help us get the REAL 'Kickstarter' campaign off the ground. Please check it out and let me know what y'all think about it..

Here's the link: facebook.com/lperkinsItsNever2Late

Thanks for all the encouragement and ideas