Emergency Working Artist Project Grant FY22

Because of the pandemic, most of our live shows have been cancelled (approximately 150 so far), and all of the income that would have come from those shows, so the money from this grant would help us out financially a lot, helping to sustain our musical and artistic efforts. The songs might not come to fruition without the financial help from this grant; and having several new songs to share with and perform to our fan base would help to propel our career. Our goal is to capture the sounds, thoughts and sensations of the current pandemic, where death is so near, and so many people are more isolated than normal, and where we can't perform live at our normal set of venues, and where it will be just my brother and myself creating, without the help of other artists. Through this music we want to spread a message of love, compassion, generosity and a sense of community, where we help each other out, and to remember the fragility of life, the brevity of breath, and the longevity of the soul. You should have confidence we can execute this project, because of our steadfast record of living our lives centered around making music, everyday writing, rehearsing, recording and mixing. Making and playing music is how we've been earning a full-time living for the past 14 years. Music and poetry are what we breathe. When we wash the dishes, chop wood, build our own homes, everything we do, we're completely seeped in the conscious desire to make the next song. Our songs are our lives, and what we truly love to do, and we're good and prolific at making them. We've already released 10 full-length albums of original music, and have created and released a dozen original music videos. Albums we've released so far: The Dark Exchange-2020 Blue Spruce-2018 A Thread Through the Night-2014 This is a Walk in the Woods-2013 When You Crave a Sweetness-2012 Emancipation Blues-2012 Deep in Dark Woods-2011 Partly in the Blue, the White-2010 Wild Cat Road-2008 The Blood of a Thousand Clouds-2007Firstly, we will assess this work based on our own high artistic standards that we've developed over the years, and with the keen ears and eyes of discernment, we will ask ourselves about the work's quality. Secondly, we will also show the songs to a few other artist friends whose judgment we explicitly trust, and we'll ask for their honest input. And then thirdly, after it has passed the test of the first two assessments, we'll show the best of the work to the public in general. Based upon their reactions, our trusted friends' reactions and our own reactions, we should get a good idea of how well we've done, and whether we've succeeded in our work. We will also keep track of how many people watch the new music video, and how they react in general with likes and comments. And then, after the pandemic ends, when we see how people react to these new songs at live shows, that will also be a good metric of success for us.