It is with great pleasure that I can report that Steve Barkman has completed work on a replacement for my 12-string guitar. You will (remember when) _the last one got stolen_ ages ago and the media got involved trying to find it. For a long time now I have been answering the same question over and over: “Did you ever find it?”
We finally have a solution, and it is a brand spanking new Mk3.
The old Mk1 reached a point where I had played it so much it was totally gone, and Steve had to cannibalise it for bits and pieces to make the Mk2. Which ended up getting nicked.
The new one is exquisite, and just waiting for me to pay the price.
After the last one got stolen, I received much support which kept me going. I used what I had to pay for a new neck on my six-string Takoma.
This was the only guitar I had which I could use for gigs, and I still use it to this day, but now my signature instrument is ready and I can get back to normal. I can’t tell you what a relief it is, since this comes at the time when I am due to record a new album. My studios of choice are Roundhead and Eieio in Te Puke. So! The plan is simple: 1. Purchase the new SB 12. This will be easy if I get the kind of support I got last time. 2. Record the next album (yes – new songs coming!).
If you feel like supporting the cause I won’t get in your way! I am not ashamed to ask for help in an industry where we are expected to give 99% of our material away with no way of profiting*. So you see… if the biz don’t work – and it clearly clearly doesn’t – then the best next option is to hold out my tiny hand and smile nicely and promise to make you a lovely, lovely album and play at yours any time you please! Call me now!! 021 025 929 19.
Anyone who donates $50 or more (buttons below) gets the first release of the new songs. I’m also thinking about holding a group guitar workshop and hopefully a concert or two. Let me know what you want. I’m working on the new album but need the new guitar to make the sound the best it can be.
Thanks for the huge support and encouragement in the past, but please keep doing it, ’cause I really need to pay off this guitar. Once it is in my hands I will be able to reply to, “Did you ever find your guitar?” with, “No, but this one is WAY better!”
If you are a guitarist and would like Steve Barkman to make you a guitar, or repair or restore one, then I would highly recommend him.
Address: 15 Dickson St, Macandrew Bay 9014, Dunedin Phone: 03-476 1463 (021) 180 6249
If you want to help more directly, please use the buttons below to make a supporting donation towards the guitar.
You will be emailed directly by Paypal P.S click on red buttons if you make a mistake & need to deduct amounts from the shopping cart.
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Update: 10 August. Thanks to those of you who have made donations or bought more music in the store. As of today you /we have raised 67% 74% of the cost of the guitar. A few more donations would be welcome to pay off the last 33% 26% thanks.
Summary below – but read the full article.
“Local band She’s So Rad earned multiple 5-star reviews for their album Tango and have two songs on A-rotate on Hauraki.
• Yet they’ve only sold a total of 20 physical CDs and 50 digital albums.
• They have had 90,000 songs streamed on Spotify, earning them $130
• Toy says: “It’s just much worse than we expected. I expected it to be bad, but this far surpasses it.”
I think most readers don’t realise how broken the music industry is. Yes – it is now possible to record something like a live album for a few thousand but typically that album still needs mixing and mastering. If it is recorded in a studio the gear will be better but is easily double or triple the cost and that is without paying any other musicians.
This makes it a catch 22 for the artist. Do they invest $5-$10k to record an album knowing that albums sell on iTunes at $18.99 or thereabouts and so in round numbers you have to sell 250-500 albums just to break even. That is a very tough business model. Of course the musician still needs to eat in the meantime and guitars and amps are not free. A great album will sell for a long time but funding it is not easy and there are no guarantees.
If we value creative works then we all need to put our hands in our pockets and give Luke a helping hand. We also need to support the work of artisans like Steve Barkman. He has made a beautiful guitar for Luke but he needs to pay his bills too.
Recording an album of new songs and releasing that via Bandcamp is much better than relying on iTunes or Spotify as neither of those pay much but Luke needs our help to make any of this happen. A new guitar is the first step.
If you are interested there is a more in depth article linked below on the music industry.
http://redef.com/original/less-money-mo-music-lots-of-problems-the-past-present-and-future-of-the-music-biz
far out 20 physical cds! gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah