Intergenerational

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to read my original letter to Sponsors

Funds raised to date

$22,500.00

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SUPPORT THE RECORDING OF

Intergenerational


ZELLE

VENMO

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and my last four digits are 6-8-4-2

 

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Fundraising Goal

$35,000.00


All sponsors receive:

  • Free autographed copy of the completed album; your name will appear in the album credits by giving level

All sponsors $100 and up also receive:

  • Band T-shirt, early access to 5 demos from Intergenerational, and a download of my full discography

All sponsors $500 and up also receive::

  • Two band T-shirts, two tickets to a live performance of the album (travel costs would be your own). Attend monthly Zoom updates hosted by Grey; he will read stories written by his mother

All sponsors $1,000 and up :

  • Access to two remote seminars on the record-making process conducted by Grey, including Q&A

All sponsors $2,500 and up:

  • Zoom access to one half day in the studio (instrument or vocal tracking day of your choice)discography.

All sponsors $5,000 and up: Become an Executive Producer. You're invited to join us at The Echo Lab in Denton for a day and are welcome to sing with the chorus on the closing track, "Run This Town" (travel costs would be your own)


Please email me directly with any questions at: theGreyAmusic@gmail.com

or call me directly at 202.494.6842


Letter to sponsors

Hello Friends and Family!


I’ve got exciting news! This March 26th – just 5 weeks from now – I am traveling to Denton, TX to spend 9 days recording my third solo album INTERGENERATIONAL with music producer Matt Pence at his studio The Echo Lab. 

I grew up nearby in Dallas and, as a child, I could never get a clear picture of what happened to my extended family. When I was born, there was only one living grandmother on my dad’s side, as well as a 96-pound woman we called Big Mama. She wasn’t a blood relative but had raised my mom since the age of 5. 

As an adult I had many late-night talks over 15 years with my mom. In time she shared what she knew of my lost grandparents and told the harrowing tale of her own childhood, including the final years of my biological Grandmother Frankie’s life. 

The story of my new album centers around my Grandma Frankie, who repeatedly orphaned my mother in her early childhood, finally leaving her completely by the age of 5. Years later Frankie would murder her young lover in Amarillo. She attempted to take her own life after the slaying; the newspaper headline the next day read “Still Critical." She died two days later without ever divulging to my mother who her father actually was. Last year, DNA finally revealed his name to us and that he's been deceased since 1972.  


Some of the questions I am addressing on this record are:

  • What is family?

  • How do we create it?

  • What if there’s no home to go to?

  • How do we avoid repeating the cycle of lived trauma?

  • Is it possible to heal? 

It’s taken me seven years of solo work to write this record based on the stories my mother shared. It’s come together almost as an allegory for the inherited trauma many of us are carrying inside. 

Go here to watch the ALBUM PROMO VIDEO and hear demos for the upcoming record.

This will be the 6th studio album I’ve composed and produced in the last 10 years, and I’m thrilled with the team I’ve assembled for this project. This is the best group of studio engineers and musicians I’ve ever worked with, and they will help me make INTERGENERATIONAL a master work worthy of the stories it chronicles.

I’ve hired Ti Minton to orchestrate percussion and play drums. They are a dear friend from Nashville who have performed on the Colbert Late Show with Adia Victoria and toured internationally with Adia for Atlantic Records. The other core musicians are all part of my longtime music family, with Howard Rabach on bass, Valeria Stewart on vocals and acoustic guitar, and Kevin Dudley on banjo and dobro. 

Matt Pence owns The Echo Lab studio in Denton, TX; he will produce, engineer and mix the record. His longtime collaborator David Pierce will write the string arrangements with me, and we’ve hired local string players. Matt is an old friend I’ve toured with who has engineered and produced albums for Jason Isbell, Sarah Jaffe, Shakey Graves, Nikki Lane, John Grant, and John Moreland. 

Recording this album at The Echo Lab will cost $35,000 and take two months to complete: 

  • $19,000 for recording and production costs 

  • $16,000 for musicians, string arrangements and travel expenses 

I’ve already raised $5,000 in grant funds from the Washington, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

I anticipate that working with this team will be easy and joyful, but I could use some financial help if you’re able. 


I am inviting my closest friends, family, and community to consider sponsoring this project, joining me on this very personal journey of creation. I am opting to reach out personally rather than using costly crowdsourcing platforms. 

All contributions will be enormously appreciated! Below I detail the gifts I can offer – including access to the record making process and in-studio visits – in return for your generosity. Also below is information on how to contribute.

Thank you for reading this far! If this project resonates with you, or if you would like to share your own story or discuss this album in more detail, please reach out to me as I would love to connect and answer any questions. 

Gifts for sponsors:

  • All sponsors: Free autographed copy of the completed album; your name will appear in the album credits by giving level

  • All sponsors $100 and up also receive: Band T-shirt, early access to 5 demos from Intergenerational, and a download of my full discography

  • All sponsors $500 and up also receive: Two band T-shirts, two tickets to a live performance of the album (travel costs would be your own). Attend monthly Zoom updates hosted by Grey; he will read stories written by his mother (see below)

  • All sponsors $1,000 and up also receive: Access to two remote seminars on the record-making process conducted by Grey, including Q&A

  • All sponsors $2,500 and up also receive: Zoom access to one half day in the studio (instrument or vocal tracking day of your choice)

  • All sponsors $5,000 and up also receive: Become an Executive Producer. You're invited to join us at The Echo Lab in Denton for a day and are welcome to sing with the chorus on the closing track, "Run This Town" (travel costs would be your own) 

To make a donation, please visit our website and follow the instructions listed above: thegreya.com/support

There are other options, but Venmo will be the easiest for you. My Venmo link is here

If you'd prefer another method, please let me know directly. For those who would like to make their donation directly to The Echo Lab studio, that also can be arranged.

I will be reading and giving sponsors copies of four magazine articles written by my mother and published in the 1980’s in The Dallas Morning News. They are witty reflections on my childhood, family vacations, and her experience homeschooling me and my four siblings. 

It amazes me how my mother managed to give her brood of five children all the safety, security, and stability she never had. My mother is my hero. 

Thank you in advance for any support you may be able to provide. I love you all dearly.

Grey