“I hope this song starts a craze/ The kind of song that ignites the airwaves/ The kind of song that makes people glad/ To be where they are/ With whomever they’re there with” -Brand New “Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t”
There are few nights that I will remember as vividly as when I saw Kevin Devine, Manchester Orchestra and Brand New play at the Warfield in San Francisco in 2007. There are few moments when you witness musicians share a stage and truly enjoy one another. There was not a single moment that night that was wasted. Yes, there was something magical about that night at the Warfield, and it has yet to be recreated.
I have found myself over the years more and more drawn to this collective of musicians, this collective of friends. They are doing what this Project hopes to create someday-a community of friends that collaborate and support one another in their individual projects. Because that’s what this whole thing is all about-supporting one another. It’s about the local bands. It’s about the bands that open for the larger bands that come through town. It’s about you and me.
So when I heard that Kevin Devine had started a Kickstarter to fund his next two albums, I was stoked. Not only could I support someone who I was artistically in awe of, I could be part of the art. And after all, isn’t that what it’s really about? Isn’t that why we go to a show and sing along to our favorite songs with a room of complete strangers because we want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves? So, be bigger and support and share because one day it’ll come around back to you.
