CROWDFUNDING RADAR: Caleb Caudle, David Wax Museum, and More on Indiegogo

If you play crowdfunding word association with most people, the first answer you’d get back is likely “Kickstarter.” The second, particularly if they are consumers of crowdfunded music, is “PledgeMusic.” But both those sites were predated by a little site called Indiegogo. Founded in 2008, a year prior to Kickstarter and PledgeMusic, Indiegogo tends to fly under the radar a bit. But that has allowed it to keep its focus primarily on truly independent creators. For this week’s batch of campaigns on Crowdfunding Radar, I pulled three current campaigns on Indiegogo, from rising stars to established independent favorites.

Caleb Caudle – Untitled New Album
On the heels of his successful 2018 album Crushed Coins, Caleb Caudle is looking to get away to record his next album, as of yet untitled. And he knows just the place. Cash Cabin. Built in Hendersonville, Tennessee, by Johnny Cash as his own place to get away and work, Cash Cabin has become a pilgrimage site for many a young artist hoping to soak in some of the history of the place where Johnny and June recorded much of their later material. Caudle is planning to team up with producer John Jackson (The Jayhawks, Ray Davies) and engineer Chuck Turner (Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn), as well as an “all star band” that he is mostly keeping under wraps, but does include bassist Dennis Crouch and drummer Fred Eltringham. Backer rewards for Caudle’s campaign includes the standard offerings of the album in digital, CD, and vinyl formats (the latter two signed) but also a signed studio print, a personalized music video, a vinyl test print, and the chance to have Caudle write you a song. 

David Wax Museum – Line of Light
The duo of David Wax and Suz Slezak, collectively known as David Wax Museum, have been self-funding and releasing their albums since 2008, the dawn of the crowdfunding music. Their unique “Mexo-Americana” sound and their relentless touring schedule have ensured the kind of cult following it takes to sustain a career for a decade and six albums independently. For their new album, Line of Light, David Wax Museum are teaming up with producer Carl Broemel, lead guitarist for My Morning Jacket. Broemel’s studio in Nashville served as home base for Wax and Slezak who, after years of touring with seven-piece bands, found themselves longing to get back to their roots, recording much of the album as a duo, with bandmates Danilo Henriquez and Ben Kogan brought in to beef up the more uptempo numbers. With a $40,000 flexible goal, David Wax museum are offering Line of Light on digital, CD, and vinyl, but are also offering handmade valentines by Suz, gift-wrapped CD packages, a donkey jawbone necklace (that’s a first for me), and a duo house concert. 

Maz O’Connor ­– Untitled New Album
Maz O’Connor may be Britain’s best-kept secret. While more and more British artists are breaking through with American audiences, O’Connor has quietly become a go-to opener on British and European tours for the likes of Rosanne Cash and David Gray, as well as writing commissioned pieces for the Royal Shakespeare Company and garnering rave reviews on the British roots festival circuit. It’s been three years since O’Connor released her last album, The Longing Kind. Since that time, she spent the last two years exploring her family history and her own musical voice. The result, according to O’Connor, is a darker album of story song that pulls from the tales she uncovered of the women in her history, and how she saw them in her own experiences. Backer rewards include the album in all of the usual media (with the CD version including a download as well for those who don’t want to wait), but also includes a trial option that gets you a first taste of the album with an early download of the first track. Other rewards include a five-track live album, an acoustic version of the new album, a signed poster, and a tote bag.