BrandonLee Cierley's Sophomore Record

Hey Everyone,

My name is BrandonLee Cierley, and I'm a saxophonist born in Tacoma, WA, and currently based in Portland, OR.

I am here to request additional aid to record and release my sophomore album later this year. Over the pandemic, I was able to complete brand new musicial compositions and have spent the last year performing them with fellow musicians around the Portland & Seattle/Tacoma community. I have realized that the time has come to document these bodies of work with some high-quality recordings.

This album will be comprised of all original compositions as well as some original compositions from other members of the group that will be a part of this recording process. This album will be comprised of 8 tracks which we will be recording at Dead Aunt Thelma's Studio in Portland over three days. Day 1 will just be setting up the space and picking the best audio equipment to use to document this album. Days 2 & 3 will be 8-hour days of recording each track at least twice and with two different bands to capture a unique sound. Each day has been calculated

I will be bringing in two unique ensembles of friends/collaborators that I believe will bring out the best of my compositions. This album will be so special to me due to the fact, I will be featuring my mother on one of my original compositions as well.

I'd like to feature the following artists on my record; they make up some of my favorite and most consistent collaborators:

Keys: Dylan Hayes, Dario LaPoma

Guitar: Martin Budde

Drums: Machado Mijiga, Xavier LeCouterier

Bass: Clay Parkman, Nick Morrison

Trombone: Chris Shuttleworth

Flute: Frances Cierley

Trumpet: Justin Copeland

After speaking with my colleagues and asking others in the music community, I selected two of the most used and highly-known duos, Sacha Muller and Dana White, as the mixing and mastering engineers for the job.

Once the project is complete, I will be booking shows to do a mini "album tour" where we will be performing these compositions and more.

I want this project to be presented to a larger audience beyond the Washington & Portland market. I will try to make this vision a reality by shopping this project around to artist-owned labels and potentially building a team around me to help push this album as far as we can to push my music career further.

In January of 2022, I applied for a $3,000 "Make|Learn|Build" grant through RACC, Regional Arts and Culture Council. This Portland-based organization distributes financial assistance to artists/organizations in need.

*hyperlink is embedded to give more information about their organization and what they stand for.

I am happy to announce that I was one of 595 applicants awarded the grant, and I am very grateful that this organization was able to see what impact this project will have once completed.

This assistance rewarded will cover the cost of the fees quoted for mixing/mastering and small compensation for all musicians involved.

This GoFundMe is to request additional financial assistance to help compensate the musicians more for their time and energy, food for the two days of recording for all parties involved, and digital promotion, such as Facebook & Instagram ads and CD production & distribution.

For the album artwork, whether it be something created or a self-portrait, I will be using a Seattle-based collaborator that I have had the pleasure of working with in the past, Shelby Natasha. Shelby has a unique view of artwork and has been nothing but spot on when it comes to bringing whatever vision I have for artwork. I am super excited to have her participate in this particular project.

I want to be able to show my gratitude to whoever donates to this GoFundMe by offering some incentive. I am creating a tier system that is the following:

Tier 1: if $5-10 is donated, a link to the official single will be sent to you before it goes live on streaming platforms to give you a first listen before the public gets access.

Tier 2: if $10-20 is donated, you will receive the link to the single and the link to the entire finished project before the public gets access.

Tier 3: if $20 or more is donated, you will receive rewards from Tiers 1 & 2 and a free CD once they are produced.

I want to give a huge thank you again to the following;

RACC for awarding me the "Make|Learn|Build" grant, all of my friends/musicians who graciously agreed to participate in this project. Sacha Mueller & Dana White for deciding to be the engineers for this project. All of my supporters for showing love while pursuing my musical endeavors and donating to this GoFundMe and most importantly, all my friends and family that fuel me to be the best I can be and to keep elevating for more - I honestly can not do this without you.