Fans of legendary recording artist and Gospel Music Hall of Famer John Schlitt, best known as the lead singer for award-winning Christian band Petra during the era when the band won four Grammy Awards and 10 Dove Awards, have only a few hours left to partner with the singer for the recording of Schlitt’s new music project and become part of the exclusive fan team. The deadline is noon ET Monday.
The new CD, titled The Greater Cause, is being financed by donations through Kickstarter, a popular “crowd-funding” platform for creative projects. Donors to the project, dubbed the TGC Crew (The Greater Cause Crew) in honor of the CD title, will receive rewards and special thank-you messages from the musician. They also will have access to a restricted website with a behind the scenes look at the recording of The Greater Cause, including photos, videos and a blog.
“It is the last weekend of an amazing 90 days,” says Schlitt of the Kickstarter fundraising process. “A group of faithful friends that we now call the TGC Crew have partnered with me to build my next CD. So far, more than 400 partners, who have made donations through Kickstarter, will share the recording experience with me through an exclusive website designed especially for them.”
Members of the TGC Crew have donated more than $40,000 to-date, surpassing Schlitt’s initial goal of $35,000, which was met July 29, 10 days ahead of schedule. All funds donated during Phase 2 will go toward the necessary expenses of packaging, manufacturing and promoting the new CD.
Pledges are taken on Schlitt’s personal Kickstarter site (kickstarter.com or thegreatercause.com) and powered by Amazon, enabling backers’ credit cards to be charged via a secure website.
Throughout the Kickstarter process to meet the funding goal, Schlitt has captured the attention of his fans through a series of updates and early rewards, including a free demo download of one the first Christian songs that Schlitt ever recorded, as well as personal thank-you messages to each donor via Twitter and other social networking sites.
A limited number of incentives are still available to pledgers at various levels, including a concert in the donor’s location of choice (including the donor’s living room), joining Schlitt in a Nashville studio during the recording of The Greater Cause, and receiving a customized piece of furniture designed and crafted by the multi-talented musician.
“The Greater Cause will be a ‘back to the roots’ rock album, which is what my supporters have been asking for,” Schlitt says. “It is intended to be a fresh and powerful tool to accomplish what God has been doing through me for many years: connecting and encouraging people through my music. We need to use common sense in this world and awaken to the fact that Jesus is Lord, no matter what those around us may say — or do. This is my goal with The Greater Cause.”
Fans can pre-order The Greater Cause through the website by noon ET on August 8 and become part of the TGC crew with access to Schlitt’s exclusive website.
For more information about Kickstarter or The Greater Cause, go to kickstarter.com or thegreatercause.com.
About Kickstarter:
Hundreds of individuals have raised capital through the Kickstarter business model, including Christian musician Shaun Groves, who, earlier in 2011, raised the funds for the CD he is currently recording. The film adaptation of Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz, slated for a Fall release, received $345,992 (276% of its original goal) from more than 4,495 donors through Kickstarter to make it the largest crowd-funded film in history, according to Paste Magazine and Kickstarter’s website.
About John Schlitt:
During more than three decades in the music business, Schlitt has earned multiple Gold Records, Grammys and Dove Awards. As a solo artist, member of Petra and former lead singer for popular ’70s mainstream rock band Head East, Schlitt has toured all over the world. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame as the lead singer of Petra, one of the most successful Christian rock bands of all time. Schlitt was recently named the best rock singer in Christian music history by GospelMusicChannel.com, and according to the website, Schlitt “remains one of the most distinctive and impactful men to ever stand behind a microphone.” Schlitt was also named “Best Male Vocalist” in About.com’s 2011 Reader’s Choice Awards.Schlitt’s most recent album, The Grafting, is available on 4K Records and is distributed by New Day Christian Distributors in the U.S. and internationally by Go Global Entertainment. For more information on Schlitt and The Grafting, visit www.johnwschlitt.com.
About the Author
