LISTEN TO THIS : ellie holcomb.
ellie holcomb | as sure as the sun
in the interest of full disclosure (as if you don't already know this), ellie holcomb is a management client of the company i work for. HOWEVER, i'm writing about her new album because, aside from the fact that i want her to grow and succeed so i can keep my job, i am really quite obsessed with her music.
i remember when i first started as an intern and didn't actually know much about drew holcomb and the neighbors–one of the bands we represent, i listened to all of their music and walked away with just one question. what would it sound like if ellie made a record on her own? i just wasn't getting enough of her voice on the dh&n albums (no offense to drew), and that's really something because i will almost always choose a male vocalist over a female vocalist any day.
you can imagine how thrilled i was last year, when i not only got to spent time babysitting EL, but that i was watching her so ellie could record. her own album, ladies and gentlemen! it was in the works.
it turns out (and, i didn't know any of this until a few weeks ago), ellie's main goal was to make a record with her dad, who is a pretty well known, talented producer. that's it. she grew up with music and his talent and that's what she's wanted to do – make a record with her dad. what came out of their project together is really something else. something worth paying for and promoting.
and so, ellie created a kickstarter campaign, asking for backers to support the release of her first full-length record with a goal of $40,000 to be raised in 50 days. by the end of day three, she had over $40,000, and by the end of the 50 days, she had a little over $108,000.
you would think that once an artist reaches her goal, the support would slow. why back a project that has been fully funded? to be fair, we added stretch goals to her campaign with extra incentives. for example, if she reached $80,000, every backer who pledged $45 or higher would also receive a vinyl copy of the album.
honestly, i didn't think she'd hit vinyl level. so the fact that she hit the $100,000 release party in nashville level blew my mind.
i can't speak for everyone, but i will say that i backed this project after she was well over the original goal amount, and i did it because i love her and i support her and i believe in her and i want her to have the opportunity (and be financially able) to give this album its best shot.
this album is so good, it makes me so happy, and i've had it on constant rotation since the first day i was able to get my hands on it. and believe me, i got it as soon as i could. i'd hear my boss listening to not-so-final cuts of each song and i was emailing him, "when can i have that?"
and now, YOU can have it. ellie's album officially releases today.