CROWDFUNDING RADAR: New Projects from Laura Cantrell, Molly Tuttle, and Ghoultown

Being a devotee of fairly obscure acts in a relatively obscure genre, one thing I get asked regularly when I share these columns on social media is “Where do you even find these bands?” The answer, as with the people who ask writers “Where do you get your ideas?” is much more boring than they might expect. Mostly, I spend a lot of free time trolling the major crowdfunding sites for likely candidates. But sometimes I get them in other ways. Friends whose tastes I trust will send me recommendations. Sometimes artists will contact me directly. And sometimes, because I follow a lot of artists on social media to dilute the bad political takes, I’ll find them there. This week, I’ve got a mixed bag. One artist was recommended by a friend whose tastes have never failed me, one I found browsing (though was familiar with already), and one I pulled from social media.

Laura Cantrell – New Recording Project (click here to view project)
A lot of friends share campaigns from artists they enjoy with me, and I give most of them a listen, because writers are naturally lazy beings. But there are only a couple of people who have “red phone” access that almost assuredly gets something in the column. One of those is my pal and fellow No Depression columnist Amos Perrine, who has guided me to more favorite artists than I can count. So when he sent me the new campaign from Laura Cantrell, I immediately queued up some of her work on YouTube. As usually happens with Amos’ recommendations, I came away mostly embarrassed that I didn’t know her before. Cantrell is now launching “Phase 2” of her Indiegogo project, which has a unique bent. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of her first album, Not the Tremblin’ Kind, Cantrell isn’t releasing a new album or a remaster of the first one, but rather a series of singles released every 4-6 weeks, with a compilation “album” at the end. It’s a project that is both new and a throwback to the days of 45 singles as the primary media for music releases. Backer perks include a digital “subscription” to all of the singles, the compilation “album” on CD, and a signed copy of Cantrell’s 2011 tribute album Kitty Wells Dresses plus her essay on Wells and Patsy Cline from the book Rock and Roll Cage Match.

Ghoultown – Curse of El Dorado (click here to view project)
Considering how long I’ve loved Ghoultown, this should have fallen under the “social media discovery” category, but whatever algorithm sites use to decide what you see determined I didn’t need to see this, so I found it randomly browsing. Ghoultown is a band that appeals to me because I can sell them to most people credibly. Metal fan? Ghoultown does metal. Love Southern rock? Ghoultown is beefy Molly Hatchett-inspired Southern rock at its finest. Like psychobilly? It’s the genre that most fits them. Now the hard-rocking band with a penchant for penning horror-country songs about cowboy zombies is back with their new album Curse of El Dorado. Backer rewards include the album in digital, CD, and vinyl formats; a Skype session with frontman Lyle Blackburn; and tickets to the album listening party in Dallas.

Molly Tuttle on Patreon (click here to view page)
I have a hard time believing there are many No Depression readers who don’t know Molly Tuttle. But if you’re one, you’re going to want to fix that now. It isn’t often the term “beast” is used about an acoustic guitarist, but no one has ever doubted that it’s appropriately used for Tuttle. In addition to releasing a new covers album next month, Tuttle has also joined the growing ranks of artists on Patreon. Her page has three tiers. The $5-per-month tier provides early access to new music and videos and a discount in her merch store. The $15-per-month tier adds a monthly “lifestyle video” and fan chat. The $20 tier adds a monthly livestream performance and a signed lyric print.