Ok... so I have been talking about this big secret that I have for a while now. Well...here goes...
Over the past few years, I have done pretty well for myself, ya know? Just eight years ago I was poor and could only afford to shop at thrift stores and had to steal food to eat. But now I make a decent living doing commercials and licensing music. I have a relatively comfortable lifestyle, and I worked hard for it so I cherish it. Yet, I'm not totally satisfied, because I want to release my debut album on a grand scale. I'm ready. However, releasing an album properly costs a lot of money, so I decided to drop an EP called "The Strong Survive" and sell it to raise money for my album project. I'm deadly serious about it, you guys. So much so that I am about to give up all the comforts that I am used to in an attempt to raise money for this album. I have some crazy news for you. Peep the video below. I want you to hear it from me first.
Our goal is to sell 1500 copies of my EP for $10 each. If you would like to buy a cd and hang out with me and Nate, please fill out the poll below. Also, drop a comment and suggest a location or venue where you would like to meet. We will be traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast. If your city is between that area and it is not represented on the survey, leave us a comment and let us know where you are. We aim to please :o)
Let me explain how this ridiculous idea got started. One day, my partner Kenny and I were going over the numbers of what it would cost to release an album independently. Kenny works with major labels everyday, so it took a ton of convincing before he was on board with me releasing my debut project independently. We evaluated the resources and relationships that we already have versus that which we don't, and we came up with a number that we needed to raise to make it work. That number was a bit daunting for me. I didn't necessarily want to go the route of acquiring investors and having to pay them back immediately after the album dropped. So Kenny and I decided to brainstorm on ideas and when we found one that worked we'd run with it. I started packing up the majority of my worldly possessions and decided I was gonna open up a store and sell it on eBay. (I still plan to do that, actually. Gotta do what I gotta do.)
It was early July at this point. The buzz from my mixtape was finally leveling off, and I was recording several times a week, working out, doing press, writing, and producing my album, doing commercials, and blah blah blah. I REALLLLY wanted to go do something... fun. I had been working my butt off non-stop and stashing the money in an attempt to save up for my album, with no break in sight. So one day I noticed a Tweet from my friend Nate. At the time the only interaction we'd had at that point was both of us going back and forth poking fun at each other on Youtube, in addition to a few comments on Facebook. Nathan is a Youtube Partner (which means he gets paid to create content for Youtube) as well as being an on-air personality and comedian. I'm a total groupie of his Youtube channel, NatesVlogs. So one day he mentioned on Twitter that he was going to Los Angeles. I responded:
So I retorted:
To this he replied:
Since he was being all ballsy and mouthy and shit, I sent him a direct message on Twitter and told him to email me if he was serious. He emailed the next day, and we started going back and forth about the specifics. He told me after the fun he'd had on a trip to Florida that he had taken a month prior, he really wanted to get out and meet more of his fans, so a road trip sounded good to him. I then told him about how I was trying to raise money for my album, and asked if he'd be ok with selling cd's with me on the road. Nate is super cool so he agreed to do it, and he suggested we could film all the stuff we do and the bad ass people we meet and post it on NatesVlogs. It was as simple as that.
Next, I had to run the idea past my management team. Kenny was first, because marketing is his field of expertise, so if he said it was a no-go then I'd have to scrap the whole idea. So I hit him up and explained that I wanted to go on a road trip with some funny internet dude from California who I had never met in my entire life.
Kenny needed a minute to think about it.
When we spoke again, Kenny still wanted me to meet with some major labels, just to consider my options. So I did. After a few great meetings in New York I decided that taking a label deal might not be the worst thing in the world. But I want to create a situation where I have more leverage. That's where my road trip idea came into play. Kenny and I spoke about the road trip again after the meetings, and Kenny said "You know what? The more I think about it, the more I like it." So I notified the rest of my management team as well as the founders of Team Bad Ass, Connie and Travis. Nate had to come to NY for business so I begged him to move his trip a few days earlier to coordinate with mine, that way he could meet some of the members of my management and marketing team. (My people wanted to meet him before I committed to doing a month long road trip, ya know?) Nate and I had a great meeting with my partner Jon and finalized all the details surrounding the trip and the release of my EP. Kenny put me in touch with ROAM clothing, who became our first official
sponsors (I love people who put their money where their mouth is.) So it's been decided. on August 15th, I'm leaving home for a month to go on a road trip with Nate. You have no idea how nuts this is about to be. No more spontaneous shopping adventures. No more trips to Whole Foods everyday. No more personal trainer 3 days a week. No more pricey hotel stays and spa days and concerts. I'm gonna be on the open road with A GUY I HARDLY KNOW for 30 days, eating fast food, selling my EP, and staying at whatever cheap hotels we can find. I'm totally freaked out about it. But i have to do it. I just have to. And that's why I entitled my EP "The Strong Survive."
The interesting thing about hanging out with Nate is the fact that he is always "on." By that I mean he doesn't seem to have an off switch. He's ALWAYS filming and he's ALWAYS doing stuff worthy of being filmed. If that requires that he makes a spectacle of himself and everybody around him, then so be it. That kinda works my nerves. So, needless to say, this is going to be...ummm... interesting. We will be posting the videos on the NatesVlogs Youtube page since Nate's account is already a sponsored page, and we are still looking for more sponsors and working out how often the videos will post and all that other stuff.
The EP will be available for download online as well, for all of my supporters overseas and those who aren't within the area that we are traveling. I think I'm gonna have to sell it on my site at first because I have no way of predicting how soon it will post to iTunes. The Strong Survive contains a couple of the songs that I licensed to MTV along with a few of my favorite tunes that I have been saving for my album. I wrote, produced, and performed the entire project and did the artwork for the cover. Don't be impressed. I just did it that way to save money. LoLoL.
Ok, so now you know everything. Please support this endeavor. I'm gonna make the money for my debut album. Or I am gonna die trying.
Filed under: blogging
Tags: #TeamBadAss, Natevlogs, Nathan Fisher, Nikk N' Nate: State 2 State, Nikki Lynette, Team Bad Ass
