Thanks to the unbelievably generous support of 78 "Fantastic Fuelers," we were able to raise $3,230 through the Rockethub site. Add to that the off-line contributions of a handful of individuals, as well as the hundreds of concert-goers who attended the fundraising shows, and we were able to gross over $4,300!

Only 5 days left to help Light The Dark... Get exclusive, limited edition CD/Vinyl/DVD content (and much, much more), but only through January 31st. Go to http://rkthb.co/4469.

Starting TODAY, contributions of $75 or more will be rewarded with A signed copy of the LP--including a complimentary CD version; an invite to a “Secret Album Release Show” wherein I’ll play the whole record in sequence; a DVD compilation of all 40+ behind-the-scenes Flip Video Production “Vlogs” chronicling the making of the album--including a few that didn’t appear online; all of my previous CDs; a digital copy of the record a month before it’s released--complete with CD-sized album art and liner notes; and, the exclusive “I Helped David Release His Record” button--all stuffed into a 15x15 davidullman.net "Green Boot" canvas bag! Get yours @ http://rkthb.co/4469

See the FULL PERFORMANCE of this brand new tune when you "Fuel" my new record at any level @ http://rkthb.co/4469

If you're the first to contribute to the "Release David Ullman's New Record" campaign (http://rkthb.co/4469) @ The $150 Fueler Level, you'll receive this custom Green Mahalo Ukulele!

Get a one-of-a-kind customized "Green-Boot" Ukulele! This forest-green, maple-bodied soprano ukulele comes with a matching gig bag and 4-chord chart. I'll sign it if you like or send it as is if you "fuel" my new record @ http://rkthb.co/4469

The person to correctly identify the highest number of LPs (by both title and artist) surrounding me in the project pitch video @ http://rkthb.co/4469 will be awarded a $25 fueler reward package. Use the picture above for a leg-up on the competition, and post your best guesses in the "Recent Conversations" section of http://rkthb.co/4469. 

We get Brian Yost out of his NYC apartment and into the RCR studio to rock the drums for "The Fall." 

I had such a good time at the Light The Dark album fundraiser in Akron on the 23rd, I'm doing a Cleveland edition at The Beachland!

Here's how they're describing the evening:

"Akron punks the Nimrods didn’t pack it; they instead found a new way to cause trouble with their latest band, the Giggitys. Switching gears, we’ll also have the dark and desolate folk of David Ullman, along with Cleveland’s own one-woman band sensation, the cheerful and fun Miss Firecracker. If this isn’t a diverse bill, what is? This show is curating work of bartender/music lover Terry Durst, so come give him some love."

Get Your Tickets NOW @ http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=4183505

Sneak peek at The All-Ullman Band's Mini-U2 Set. See a full performance of U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" when you help out at http://rkthb.co/4469 - Kindly captured on 12.23.2011 by Eileen Matias at Musica in Akron, OH. Vocals: David Ullman, "Edge" Guitar: Brian Ullman, Keyboard/Guitar: Jim Ullman, Drums: Jack Ullman, Bass: (Honorary Ullman) Mike Thomas

My brother Brian shows us around his home recording setup, where he laid down his guitar tracks for "The Fall" and "Fear Followed."

Free sneak peek at the "Fueler-Only" Blooper Reel. See the full video (with even more Walken!) NOW when you help out at http://rkthb.co/4469

http://rkthb.co/4469 - The Founding members of my "GreenBoot Brigade" Street Team, Monica, Rae Anne and April, give you an inside look at the surprisingly involved process of creating the "I Helped David Release His New Record" buttons and the manual mail merge for the new album fundraising show fliers and Rockethub Campaign letters.

http://rkthb.co/4469 - We interrupt our regularly-scheduled "vloggage" to bring you this very important message!

Greetings!

David here. I'm posting this long, letter-like entry to update you about the new record. I’ve been working hard all year, and I'm really excited to share it.

Unfortunately, I’ve spent and borrowed all of the money I can to get it to this point, and now I don’t have enough left to finish the album and give it a proper release.

This is where YOU come in. I need your help to release this record!

Here’s how you can contribute: Visit the project page @ http://rkthb.co/4469, check out the “Rewards” section on the right, and click on the “Fueler” option that works best for you.

You’ll notice the more you give, the more cool stuff you get, but it’s worth noting that contributing at any level will get you access to “Fueler Only” content such as previously unseen behind-the-scenes videos, early mixes and more! Something new will be posted each week.

My new album, entitled LIGHT THE DARK, includes the best, most raw and personal songs I’ve ever written, and for reasons I can’t even fully understand (let alone articulate), it’s awfully important to me to share them.

I pour too much of myself into my music for it to exist only as ones and zeros (ie: “digitally”), and even though my “day job” keeps a roof over my head and my creditors at bay, there’s not enough money left over after all of that to release this music the way you deserve to experience it.

You deserve much more than an MP3. You deserve a record that you can hold in your hands, place on the turntable and flip over when you want more. You deserve an album you can interact with--one you can touch, smell and display. With a lyric sheet, liner notes and artwork bigger than your whole head!

**Don’t fret if you don’t have a record player. Each album will have a CD version tucked into the sleeve.**

If you stop and think about it, we carry on life-long relationships with the albums we love. They mean different things to us at different times, and they mark periods of our lives in ways that nothing else can.

By contributing to my Rockethub campaign, you’ll be helping me make my mark by enabling me to get my record mixed, mastered, manufactured (and possibly) promoted--all of which I could not do without you.

Thank you kindly for watching and reading. Please comment and/or ask ANY questions you may have in the “Recent Conversations” section over @ http://rkthb.co/4469. You can also e-mail me directly at dju@davidullman.net.

What are you WAITING for?!

Go to http://rkthb.co/4469, pick a reward, and come along for the ride!

YOUR Fan,
David

PS: Please share this project with anyone you think would be into it!

Cauliflower Audio head-engineer Adam Boose takes a few minutes to talk with us about the process of mastering music for both vinyl and digital releases. Check out his site @ http://caulifloweraudio.com.

Vince Slusarz takes us on a tour of his bustling downtown Cleveland vinyl manufacturing plant and answers a few questions along the way. **NOTE: The folks at Gotta Groove are so busy, there were 5 presses running while the video was taken. Thus, it's a bit noisy!**

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In this 8-minute interview, graciously given at the end of a Three-Day-Mixing-Marathon, Elevation Studios Engineer Jake Fader walks us through the workflow he utilized on my project, discusses the unique challenges presented by the time constraints and explains how he bullied the air molecules into playing nice together in the frequency spectrum. 

With a gorgeous view of NYC outside his window, multi-instrumentalist Brian Yost gives you a glimpse into his home-studio piano session for "Who You Say."

Fueled by mozzarella rolls and Crystal Light, multi-instrumentalist Brian Yost gets creative with his Roland TD-4K2 Drum kit, djembe, mandolin, MIDI controller, bouzouki, foot-bells, shakers, tambourine, et. all in the service of "Wiseblood, You'll See, The Fall" and "Fear Followed"--all in the comfort and confines of his NYC apartment!

The first song written for the record which will likely share its name, "Light the Dark" has been a bear to record. The biggest problem is my overly-dynamic vocal approach. The lyric goes from quiet to loud in hard-to-anticipate jolts. Add to that my insistence on simultaneously singing and playing guitar as well as my refusal to use a "click track," and you've an engineer's nightmare. Thankfully, Elevation engineer Jake Fader is a patient man with a lot of great gear at hand!

And... Roll tape! Using a combination of both 8-Track, 1-inch tape and direct digital signals, Elevation Studios engineer Jake Fader captures the voice-and-guitar take for the song "Upward Down."

The fantastic folks at The Beachland are presenting one of my favorite performers, Ed Hamell (Hamell On Trial), at one of my favorite places, Cafe at Arts Collinwood, and they've asked me to open the show!

"Equipped with a battered 1937 Gibson acoustic guitar he strums like a machine gun, a politically astute mind that can’t stop moving and a mouth that can be profane one minute and profound the next, Hamell sets his sights on some classic subjects (sex, drugs, and rock and roll) and some personal ones, too. 

His performances invoke thoughts of the great rebellious comedians and social commentators of the past: Lenny Bruce, Bill Hicks, and even a bit of Sam Kinison. Hamell is a great mind; acoustic punk rock mixed with a traveler’s soul. There’s no way around his obscenity, but in that is a willingness to fight for the free-thinkers of the world. Hamell On Trial is a refreshing punk-rock bomb on the unsuspecting folk singer-songwriter world and above all else a preacher of common sense and truth."

I badgered the Beachland into letting me open for Ed at the Tavern in March of last year, and I'm so very pleased to have been asked back.

Plus, I love the Cafe at Arts Collinwood! I played there monthly last October through June and can't wait to return--two weeks from today--to set the stage for one of my heros.

Get Your Tickets @ http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=3971095

Session Engineer Jake Fader takes us on a guided tour of the gorgeous Elevation Studios in Cleveland. See the control room; with its comfy couches, compressors, R2-D2 tape machine and sometimes-creepy studio mascots; the 28ft-ceilinged live room, complete with a physical Echo-Plate 2 Reverb, Whurlitzer, and stable of amplifiers; and, the spacious isolation booth.

This update--not brought to you by Great Lakes Brewing Company--takes place on the eve of my September Elevation Studios voice-and-guitar/mixing session. Plans are shared, details are divulged and glasses are clinked.