WHO I AM  & WHAT I WANT TO DO

Hi everyone. My name is Will Stenberg. You can listen to my music, and learn more about me, at http://www.willstenberg.com. I have been honing my craft as a songwriter for some time, and have self-released various projects in very small runs, but I am ready now to make the record that will be the full statement of my vision as a songwriter and musician. I'm not good at many things, but I honestly believe that I write songs that, at their best, possess depth, clarity, uniqueness and power. I'm not a great singer or an expert musician, but neither is, say, Leonard Cohen. I don't want to over-sell myself, but I believe in my songs: I think they say something original in a unique poetic voice, and I think my music - based in traditional folk but infused with my own weird sensibility - deserves a fair hearing in the wider world.

THE OBSTACLES & HOW YOU CAN HELP

Here in Portland and elsewhere, I have friends in successful bands, with great label and management contacts. What I don't have is a lot of extra money. I am working hard as a banquet server/bartender at a local hotel, but all my money is going to sustain the basic needs of myself and my wife, who is going to school. The good news is, the record won't be very expensive. I have good connections with studios and recording engineers in this city. I have an amazing band assembled and ready to go. I just need money for studio time, and perhaps a small amount to pay some outside musicians who I might bring in to help. Any money left over will go to mastering and manufacturing. I work fast, I know what I'm doing before I get in the studio, and I'm not an obsessive perfectionist. On the other hand, I want to make a record that is everything it could be. I am in such a good place to get my music heard and exposed: I just need some help with the financial end.

To bring up Leonard Cohen again, one of my heroes, I imagine something like one of his early records: intimate and lyric-based, but with strangely apt flourishes, like the occasional small string section or female backing vocals. Another reference point, quite different, is Dylan's John Wesley Harding, which is so exemplary in its use of a tight, funky rhythm section to flesh out musically simple but lyrically complex folk songs. I have an amazing rhythm section put together, and some interesting ideas for orchestration, so the end result could be something between those two reference points. But I suppose it will sound mostly like me!

SO, IN SUMMARY ...

So ... if you're interested, check out http://www.willstenberg.com and take a look around. And if you feel like helping, you will have done me a service I will not forget. And, to be very clear about where your money will go, it will go towards the recording of this album regardless of whether I meet my ideal goal. Everything helps! If you can't pledge money, you can still spread the word via your social network. Thanks for your time!