John Brown’s Body
From our first shows in Ithaca when we called venues during pit stops on the road from sketchy pay phones, to this year’s #1 Billboard-charting reggae record Amplify, you have been with us. You stayed close through broken bones, vocal surgery, and the evolution of our sound and line-up, when we had children, and when we said goodbye to our brother Scotty.
Because of you, JBB has been a major force of progressive reggae for over a decade. Your fierce loyalty and energy at live shows has fed our creativity and kept us reaching for new levels in our music.
Now we need you more than ever.
To coincide with the international release of Amplify/Re-Amplify, and for the first time in our band’s history we are in a position to tour overseas with The Black Seeds and label-mates Easy Star All-Stars. Being on an independent label and lacking the financial support needed to underwrite our first international tour, we refuse to stay home and play the 20th century Music Industry Game - which is where you come in.
Through a partnership with The Hector Fund, we are looking to raise the money to tour through a unique, Artistfunding program. With your support, the 10 of us will travel from New England to Old England, New Zealand to Australia and play 35 concerts en route in October and November of 2009, a commitment that will cost us upwards of $50,000 in expenses.
What do you get for your support?
Everything from unreleased JBB music to trips on the road with the band, to the opportunity to have JBB be your backing band on your next record. A full list of “value propositions,” unique JBB experiences available only to donors, can be found below. If there is something we didn’t think of that you need, just let us know and we will work hard to deliver.
You have been there as we’ve struggled to make a living through our music and now you have an opportunity to help us reach a worldwide audience on our own terms and for that, we offer up a piece of ourselves in thanks.
Peace and Unity,
Elliot, Tommy, Mike, Matt, Nate, Scott, Drew, Sam, Jocko, and Seth.
Download A Very Classic And Very Unreleased Song Right Now For Free
Produced by Matthew Saccucci Morano. This song, Sweeter was written by Elliot Martin during the recording of “Sprits All Around Us” at Electric
Wilburland Studio in 2002. Never before heard by most, Sweeter is all exclusive, you-downlid-it-here-first-for-free type stuff. Dig.
John Brown’s Body Artistfunding Campaign
$6 First Steps Level
2 unreleased tracks and a limited edition JBB sticker that says “John Brown’s Body & I”. Buy this now and we’ll send out this one of a kind sticker - as H.R. says, “with the quickness”. The back of the sticker has a download link and password for the two remixes. 1 remix is by Dubmatix, 1 remix is by Emancipator.
$35 Limited Edition Level
We will send a Limited Edition t-shirt along with a hand grab of stickers and 3 unreleased JBB songs.
$75 Art Level
Limited Edition Silk Screened Poster numbered and signed by the band. Limited to first 500 donors. You also get the digital download and a limited edition sticker.
$150 Skull Candy Pro-DJ Level
1 pair of Skull Candy SK Pro Headphones ($150 value) and the stems to 2 JBB songs from AMPLIFY so you can mix them up yourself.
$150 Mash It Up Level
2 tickets to a John Brown’s Body club show and backstage passes to meet the band. You can arm wrestle Mike and drink a beer with Tommy. Nate and Matt will meet you at a local coffee shop before the show to get the night started. You can hang out in the green room and eat hummus with Elliot, or talk about metaphysical phenomena with Scott.
$150 Sunshine Yoga Level
Nate and Matt will wake up extra early after a JBB show and lead you through their morning barefoot Yoga routine. Totally chill, you might want to bet them your donation back for who can hold a headstand longer.
$150 Pick Up Soccer Level
JBB will play a game of soccer with you on the beach, in a park, or parking lot. You can bring your friends out and have them join. This includes a massive penalty shoot out.
$200 Music School Level
2 hours of music lessons from the member of your choice. Did you ever wonder why Tommy’s one drop is crushing, or how Jocko gives JBB killer dubs during the live show? Now is your chance to learn what we have spent years practicing.
$300 Easy To Be A Star Level
Receive the entire Easy Star Records catalog, that’s 16 albums, 1 DVD and a personal card from the CEO, president, and producer of the record label.
$300 Festival Level
Two tickets to a festival near you featuring John Brown’s Body and backstage passes to meet the band (excludes JamCruise).
$300 Matt On Demand Level
Matt will lay down the keyboard parts from his home studio for your next single. He has access to all the vintage and modern keyboards that you could ever hope for, including a B3 Organ, Clavinet, Synths, and concert Piano. If Tabla or West African percussion is more what your looking for, Matt used to live in India and Africa and can cover those sounds for you.
$300 What Was That Level
A master of guitar camouflage and subtlety, Mike will add atmosphere, texture, and sonic surprises to your recording from his home studio. Face-melting pyrotechnics is also an option, but nobody wants that anymore, do they? If you’re in the Boston area, he might even take you kayaking or fishing with some Ipswich Ale.
$800 Drew Level
Drew will sit in with your band for a full set of tunes. He is also down to do an improvised solo recording on your next record.
$1000 Jocko On Demand Live Level
Jocko will be your live sound engineer for 1 concert. He likes metal and might even do it for free if you sound like a Norwegian band.
$1600 JBB Horns Level
Hire the JBB horns for one of your gigs or one of your studio sessions.
$2000 Guest List For Life Level
You get guest listed + 1 for life - that’s right, you’ll be guest listed to every John Brown’s Body show from now until your ears stop working.
$2500 Dinner Party With Elliot Level
Invite up to 10 friends to a private dinner party at Elliot’s new restaurant, The North Star in Ithaca. Elliot will pour your beers, bus your table, and keep the water glasses full. Vegetarian friendly 4 course dinner.
$3000 Re-Amplify Yourself Level
Have John Brown’s Body remix (or mix) your song. Includes basic tracking for 1 song as well as guest vocals from Elliot.
$3500 Produced By Jocko Level
Spend a week in the studio with Jocko and have him produce your album. Includes accommodations for up to 4 musicians.
$4000 Almost Famous Level
Travel with John Brown’s Body for a weekend stint on their September tour. Watch the shows from backstage. Hotel room, vegetarian friendly meals, and van ride included.
$10,000 Bad Brains Level
Have John Brown’s Body play your house - your basement, your living room, your backyard. Invite all of your friends and get your neighbors over because it’s going to be loud.
$11,000 Jam-Down Level
Sit in with John Brown’s Body at More Sound Recording Studio for 2 days. Includes the accommodations at the studio in Syracuse, NY that we stayed at while recording Amplify. Also included are, food fights, hang sessions, burritos, waffles, and coffee. The band will spend a day recording any song that you wrote for your next record.
$43,000 We Have Your Back Level
JBB will spend 4 days in the studio recording basic tracks for your next record and 3 days mixing. We will invite you on stage as a guest musician for 1 song at the club show of your choice.
$50,000 Aloha, Mr. Hand Level
You’re all in. You are the King or Queen or Jellybean of JBB Fans. You’re the Executive Producer and the Sonic Reducer. You get EVERYTHING offered above plus 2 first class plane tickets, accommodations, tickets and backstage passes for you and a friend to our 2010 Hawaii show (date TBA at time of this posting).
John Brown’s Body On The Internet
John Brown’s Body Interview With The Hector Fund Pt. 1
John Brown’s Body Media
“The Gold” Video (Dubmatix Runnin’ Remix)
