$400+ donation to Ear Candy Charity!

Recording, producing, creating, and marketing my album Bits and Pieces was a charity project I started back in the summer of last year. The ultimate goal was to sell as many copies of my new CD as I could, and all the money would be donated strait to Ear Candy, a non-profit organization that provides under-privileged youth access to music education. If you haven't bought your copy, what are you waiting for? You can buy them from me in person, or you can order online! For only $15, you'll get eleven songs (including two mash-ups!) that I recorded, produced, and mixed all by myself! And, of course, all the proceeds from album sales are donated directly to Ear Candy. You can listen to samples of every song by clicking here!

I surpassed a big milestone of TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS raised for Ear Candy, so I sent the first big check to them!!!

Because I donated this money before the end of 2011, the donated was MATCHED DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR by the Kiita Foundation! This means that my Head Indie Clouds project has donated a total of $411.56 so far in support of music education!

Mysterious QR Code

(Hint: If you have a smartphone, scan this QR Code using a bar-code scanner app!)

Holiday special promotion + gift for B&P owners coming soon!

The holiday season is right around the corner, and so is a Bits and Pieces special deal!

To sell more albums, I would like to hold a holiday promotion, such as a extra bonus track or two (holiday songs?). But I am interested in what you all think. What do you want to see in this special holiday package? Bonus tracks? Christmas/holiday songs? Music video?

And for those who have already purchased Bits and Pieces: I will give you whatever extras that are included in this package for free as a way to thank you for your support.

WANTED: Bits and Pieces reviews!

Now that 54 of you own Bits and Pieces (!!), I would like to collect your thoughts on the album. More specifically, I am asking you to write a review on the album.

Click on the image to view it!

You'll notice that, if you go to to my Bits and Pieces CD Baby page and scroll down to the bottom of the page, there is a section for album reviews. At the time of writing this post, the section is empty; there are zero reviews. Having good reviews on CD Baby is a great way to attract the attention of potential buyers who are browsing CD Baby for music. Every album sold is more money donated to Ear Candy and more awareness raised for the cause.

Some things you could mention:

• If you recommend others to buy Bits and Pieces
• Your favorite song
• Your favorite part of the album
• The design (cover, back cover, booklet inside the album, CD graphs, etc.)
• What is unique about Bits and Pieces
• The Head Indie Clouds blog
• Anything else you can think of!

If you are a satisfied Bits and Pieces owner, and you would be willing to write a brief review on the album (even just a few sentences would be fantastic!), here's what you can do:

54 albums sold so far!

Hey everyone! So far, FIFTY-FOUR copies of Bits and Pieces have been sold, and more people are still telling me they plan to purchase a copy soon. That is incredible! Thank you so much to all the support for this project! (If you haven't purchased Bits and Pieces yet, you can listen to samples and buy the album here.)

Ear Candy publicly promotes Head Indie Clouds & Bits and Pieces!

Ear Candy has graciously promoted Head Indie Clouds/Bits and Pieces on their Facebook, yet again!

Click on the image below to enlarge it!

I wasn't completely clear on the definition of philanthropist, so I figured some of you may not, either. Hehe.

phi·lan·thro·py

1. The effort or inclination to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.

2. Love of humankind in general.

3. Something, such as an activity or institution, intended to promote human welfare

Bits and Pieces featured on CD Baby!

Now that Bits and Pieces is available for online purchase, the album has been featured on CD Baby on several different occasions! It is so exciting!

Here are a few screen-shots! Click the images to make them bigger so you can read them!!

Out of all of the albums that have been recently added to CD Baby's online store, Bits and Pieces was chosen as #2 to be featured in the Soft Rock section! CD Baby chooses the top eight new albums of the Soft Rock genre, and Bits and Pieces ranked #2!!

Bits and Pieces also ranked #1 in the New Arrivals- Piano category!

Bits and Pieces is also being considered for being featured in the "Editor's Top Picks" section of the site, too!!

Order Bits and Pieces ONLINE now!

The online store is up and running! Buy Bits and Pieces online now using the widget below, or clicking here.

Remember, this is a completely non-profit project; all the proceeds from album sales are donated directly to Ear Candy, a charity that provides under-privileged children access to music education!

34 albums sold on first day!

Wow. I have sold THIRTY-FOUR albums on this first day of selling! A huge thank you to those who now own Bits and Pieces!

(EDIT: I just realized that is almost half of the total CDs available...!)

For all the info you need about getting your hands on Bits and Pieces, read BITS AND PIECES IS NOW AVAILABLE!!!!

10 must-read posts for new visitors

There will be a lot of new visitors here at Head Indie Clouds over the next few weeks as my album, Bits and Pieces, is sold. There's quite a few posts on this blog, so I figured I should compile a list of the top ten posts new visitors should read first so they can understand what Head Indie Clouds is all about before plunging in to the rest of the posts.

Read them all or pick a few that look interesting... enjoy! (Be sure to click on Click to continue reading or leave a comment to view the whole post!)

1. Listen to samples of Bits and Pieces by clicking here!
2. Read the introduction to the project on the What is going on here? page. Bits and Pieces encompasses quite a few different genres. I had never tried performing any jazz music before this album, and it was a really different experience. You can read about my experience and discoveries with jazz in Trying out jazz... and liking it.
3. I explain my not-so-traditional method of recording in Recording studio at home... without paying a cent.
4. I didn't have professional music producers to edit and mix the tracks of Bits and Pieces for me. Instead, I taught myself how to create well-mixed tracks through research and experimentation. One great instance of this is when I taught myself about panning. Every music-listener should understand the concept of panning, and I explain it in plain English in Learning the ropes: Panning 101.

B&P VIP: What the number on your CD means

This post is the first of many directed towards the B&P VIPs, a new and exclusive "club" we have here on Head Indie Clouds. You, too, can become a B&P VIP -- in fact, you might already be one! But you can't enjoy the benefits of being a B&P VIP if you have no idea what that even means... Click here to learn more!

Hey, B&P VIPs!

Open the Bits and Pieces case. Look on the left side of the open CD case. Under the short personal note from me to you, you'll find my signature. Next to THAT, you'll find a handwritten number on your CD. The fact that you have a number is what makes you a B&P VIP.

But what does it mean?

Many artists number their work when it is released. Not every single copy that is ever made, but only the first group. Whether it is referred to as the first printing, first edition, etc., it all means the same thing: You are holding one of the originals in your hands.

B&P VIP tip: No one has the same number as the one that you do. Your copy is unique! The lower the number, the more "special" it is -- I numbered the CDs in the order that they were sold!

Introducing the B&P VIP, a club for Bits and Pieces owners!

Look for the B&P VIP icon in future posts!

So, this is another one of my crazy ideas.


How it works
Many posts will be written specifically for B&P VIP members. Look for the snazzy B&P VIP logo that you see to the left! Anyone can read the B&P VIP posts, but only the B&P VIPs will understand them. (Sounds kind of cool, right?)

How to become a B&P VIP
Purchase one of the limited edition Bits and Pieces CDs! Each copy of this limited edition first printing is numbered, 1 to 75. If you open your Bits and Pieces case and look on the left side (back page of the CD booklet), there should be a small, handwritten number in the lower right-hand corner. That number is unique to YOU, and it proves that you have one of the few original Bits and Pieces copies in existence!

If you own a numbered CD and you read this blog, you are a B&P VIP! Yay!


What it means
I plan to do lots of fun stuff with the B&P VIPs. For example, I have embedded secret messages throughout the CD packaging that only the B&P VIPs will be able to find and decode. The only way to get the clues is to read the B&P VIP posts! It's just another way for me to thank those of you who have chosen to support music education and Head Indie Clouds.

Shout-out from Run Hard, Live Strong

The blog Run Hard, Live Strong wrote a whole post about Head Indie Clouds! Read the post by clicking here.

Thanks, Lauren Hornsby!

Five thousand visitors?!

Head Indie Clouds has now been visited a whopping FIVE THOUSAND TIMES. That is just incredible. Three months ago, when I started this project, I never dreamed that I would receive so much support -- and from all over the world!

Thank you to each and every one of you. I can't say that enough.

If you didn't hear, Bits and Pieces is now available for purchase! Click here to learn more!

BITS AND PIECES IS NOW AVAILABLE!!!!

Wow. Finally, after an incredible amount of work, time, and anticipation, Bits and Pieces -- my charity album I recorded, created, and produced -- is ready to released to the world. There is a glossy, professionally manufactured CD just waiting for you to buy it! One small box full of them, actually.

Wait 'til you see the album artwork and CD in person :D

Here's the basic info:

For $15, you get a professionally manufactured CD/case (all the artwork designed by yours truly!) with eleven songs performed, recorded, edited, and produced by me! ALL proceeds are donated directly to Ear Candy in support of music education!

Malaria, photography, Aikido, jellyfish, and more! (scavenger hunt winners)

As promised -- although it has taken quite a while -- here are the prizes for the scavenger hunt winners: a blurb promoting a project or organization of their choice! Below you will find the name of each scavenger hunt winner that chose to cash-in on their prize, along with what it was that they wished me to promote for them. If I missed a winner that wanted to be included in the post, please tell me! Mistakes happen, and I am known for making them! Read about all the great projects below!

Bits and Pieces is now "in production"!

According to duplication.cdbaby.com, the status Bits and Pieces has now gone from PrePress Review to PRODUCTION! Fancy, eh?

Click on the image to make it bigger!

I'm totally ready for these albums to be here! Countdown to September 20th starts NOW: 14 DAYS!

Ear Candy gives Head Indie Clouds a shout-out!

I just discovered that Ear Candy, the charity that the whole Head Indie Clouds project is in support of, gave a shout-out to Head Indie Clouds and myself! :D Check it out!

Click on the image to make it bigger!

How awesome is that?! It makes me so excited!! Be sure to like Ear Candy on Facebook if you haven't already; they post some awesome stuff about music education that is definitely worth checking out!

A big thank you to Ear Candy!

Bits and Pieces is officially being manufactured!!!

After many attempts, Bits and Pieces is finally, for real, 100%, absolutely, completely sent into CD Baby's duplication factory to be manufactured!! They gave me an estimated delivery date of September 20th -- more on the big release later!! :D

I thought I'd share the basic process through screenshots! Please click on the images as you read the post; it will allow you to see the images at their original size and read what they say.

Step 1: Upload album artwork

There is a lot that goes into the design process of an album. For starters, you have more than the front cover to design. A lot more. In fact, the cover was the easiest piece to design! There is a lot of technical stuff about designing artwork for CD. You can read about that process here.

50 Facebook Likes!

Did you know that Head Indie Clouds has a Facebook page? Did you know that it now has 50 LIKES? Thank you so much! :D

Click here to go to the Facebook page, or share this link with your friends: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Head-Indie-Clouds/201775173202043

You can also "like" the page from right here using the Like button on the right column of this blog!

Celebrating 50 fans! :D