The PDX Broadsides: "Relatable Content" Store + More!
Created by The PDX Broadsides
Purchase copies of our fifth studio album, "Relatable Content," as well as other goodies from your favorite nerdy Portland trio!
Latest Updates from Our Project:
FFFFFFFFUNDED! (so now what?)
almost 5 years ago
– Fri, May 24, 2019 at 01:45:52 PM
RELATABLE CONTENT IS A GO!
FUNDED! OUR FAVORITE F-WORD!
$14,520, 116% funded, 334 backers, and every one of you are our heroes. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for supporting us.
There are a lot of feelings right now as we see that final page pop up with those numbers. Gratitude is chief amongst them, but then there's a lot of lesser things happening in our brains and hearts as we come down from the absolute insanity of the last month. To illustrate, we have made you a graph of our feelings this morning.
*cue Nickelback* LOOK AT THIS GRAPH
So...now what happens?
We run off with your pledges to Bermuda and leave this life of crime behind us.
That was my outside voice again, wasn't it?
Ahem. What I MEANT TO SAY was that in about two weeks, you'll receive an email survey from BACKER KIT, who is organizing all of our various surveys and shipping needs. We'll get your contact information including shipping address. If you happen to move before we ship? You can change your address in Backer Kit by the deadline date. Easy-peasy.
Anticipated FAQ Time!
I got an email saying my pledge "errored." What do I do now? Follow the instructions, it generally means you had an expired credit card. You generally have a very short window to do this, just a few days, so make sure you hop on and fix it ASAP. We've got a handful of errored backers and we want to make and give you things!
Can I get more pins, art prints, CDs, etc.? Good news! Backer Kit will have an option for adding those to your packages, including a discount on multi-pin packages in case you have a lot of friends who need a shiny bit of inspiration in their lives. We'll also have previous albums, t-shirts, stickers, and other existing merch available for your one-stop shopping needs. It's very handy.
When will I get my stuff? We plan to have items ready to ship by the end of July, as long as CD, art print, and pin production stays on track. As you may have heard from us, RELATABLE CONTENT has been recorded, mixed, and mastered, so we are already well on our way!
The only items that have different delivery dates are the special items available at the $150+ level. Hot Seat, Together Breakfast, custom song folks: this means you. You'll be getting a separate contact form in about two weeks and we'll be making arrangements with you personally.
Why two weeks? It takes Kickstarter and the credit card companies that long to confirm pledges, review errored backers, so we know who gets surveys for sure, and then have the money ready to transfer so we can pay for some of the bigger production aspects. In the meantime, we're still working, making the surveys, booking the rest of the East Coast tour (!!!!!!), and learning to make Bugles nachos.
THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!
We'll keep you posted as things progress, including all of our tour dates and definitely an album release party online and in person! Here are upcoming shows as of right now:
I think I got everything for now, so once again, THANK YOU. We knew this was a big goal to ask for from the start, and it is so wonderful and exciting to have you with us on this big step forward.
With <3s so big they are <4s,
Dr. Jessica (and Hollyanna and Christian)
The PDX Broadsides
17 Hours Left! Plus a Mega Behind The Song(s)!
almost 5 years ago
– Thu, May 23, 2019 at 12:41:55 AM
17 Hours To Goooooo!
We are so close to the finish line! Yesterday we unlocked our third stretch goal, THE DIRTY EP, and we're less than $400 from unlocking the patch and sticker of THIS MACHINE KILLS GATEKEEPERS. And if we reach beyond that by tomorrow, we may be doing band tattoos or even extending our tour dates beyond the East Coast!
Look at those locks a-poppin'!
To recap, thanks to our stretch goals, all backers will be receiving commentary tracks where we discuss each song of the album. All backers $10+ will get the REMIX EP, where Seattle nerdcore producer/DJ Bill Beats will be giving some new shine to five of our tracks, as well as the DIRTY EP, containing songs of a more adult-nature like the swear-filled science ode to Dr. Rosalind Franklin, "FWAC (F*ck Watson and Crick)." All because you helped us get above and beyond our goal!
We still have a couple of CUSTOM JINGLES and COVER SONG slots left, as well as BRUNCH WITH THE BROADSIDES, HOT SEAT CONCERT SEATING, and HOUSE CONCERTS! Remember that we sign everything in the $100+ packages and they all come with your choice of an art print of our Relatable Content cover artwork by Aud Koch or Trust Issues cover art by Benjamin Dewey!
If you've already backed us, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Please consider sharing our new campaign with your friends who love clever, funny, sweet music about fandoms and feelings made in beautiful harmony by three nerds who love weird nerdy things. <3
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And Now, Our Last Behind The Song For The Campaign!
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. If even those words are triggering to you, you might want to just skip past all of this to the next big heading title. Know that I'm with you in the trenches and it's okay to feel that way.
I can't talk about any part of this album without talking about mental health. Every song is representative of something that we were processing at the time we wrote it (and probably even still, even if it often gets easier). This album, more than any other thing we've produced, comes from a place of intense vulnerability and I think that's why it's the best music we've made to date. I'm going to channel that vulnerability right now to tell you how mental health played a role in the story of two songs I wrote on this new album: "Heartless" and "Jerkbrain."
If you've seen us perform "Heartless" in concert, you've probably seen Holly and Christian congratulating me when I get through it without becoming a sobbing mess. It is the most emotionally challenging song that we do, for me. "Heartless" hits so close because I empathize with Marissa Meyer's version of the Queen of Hearts on many levels. She is a woman who loved and lost hard, trading away pieces of herself to try to win anyway. How many of us have been willing to give up everything for something or someone and still fallen short of the goal? This is a song about despair, and how it can harden us into something cruel if we're not careful.
One of the lyrics I'm proudest to have ever written comes in quietly at the end of that bridge: "If you paint yourself red, no one can tell that you're bleeding out."
It's a quiet admission on purpose because it's a painful truth. If you make your reactions big or angry, it's harder for people to tell that you are Not Okay before it's too late. It's easier to hide behind a big false front and keep other people at bay while inside you're a mess. Remember to let people in as the Queen tells you her cautionary tale of madness and grief.
"Jerkbrain" starts in a similar way: anxiety, depression, embarrassment...but it has a completely different tone (that still makes me tear up sometimes!). It was written as a commission for our friend Shawna Jacques (hi, Shawna!), and she gave us the quote: "I'm not broken, but I'm different," and I knew we had to use it to talk about the struggles folks with invisible illnesses, particularly mental, struggle with daily. The song's auto/biographical. We know we're not the only ones going through it. It can feel very lonely, but if we are honest with our community, our friends will catch us and love us in the hard times.
"Jerkbrain" could have easily been more like "Heartless" except that we remember that we are loved and we rely on our friends. They're very similar stories except for those critical elements: community and trust. We get so much of both of those things from you, and because of you, there is less painting myself red, and more being openly not broken but different with less fear, and I hope that's true for you, too.
And if you missed Tuesday night's live concert, you can find it on YouTube here. We sing some old favorites and a few from the new album, while Miss Lucy gets treats and we talk about tattoos, favorite brunch foods, and more as we answer audience questions.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!
See you tomorrow. Get some extra rest for us. :) We love you all so much, THANK YOU!
ALLONS-Y!
Dr. Jessica (and Christian and Hollyanna)
The PDX Broadsides
72 hours to go! Online concert! Stretch goals! Secret NSFW Video Reveal!
almost 5 years ago
– Mon, May 20, 2019 at 07:48:41 PM
It's the final countdown (doodle-DOOOO-doo! doodle-DOO-DOO-doo!) as we enter the last 72 hours of this Kickstarter and we are taking it out in style!
And let me tell you, there was no finer way to celebrate my birthday on Saturday than waking up knowing we'd just reached the goal line on our Kickstarter. Absolutely amazing. <3
Join us as we count down to 6 PM! We'll take questions, read off and thank all of our backers (even ones that donate live through that last hour!), and probably discuss how much we love Bugles. They are delicious.
STRETCH GOALS!
We've successfully unlocked our BASE FUNDING GOAL as well as THE COMMENTARY TRACK! We had a lot of fun making the last one for Trust Issues and we're already looking forward to sharing our Relatable Content stories! We're $58 from the R-R-R-REMIX ALBUM with nerdcore producer BILL BEATS, and 15 backers from the Dirty EP.
What's on that Dirty EP? A few special things, including this very special ode to Dr. Rosalind Franklin that we call "FWAC (F*ck Watson and Crick)." You get to be the first ones to see this UNLISTED SECRET video, recorded at a house concert in Seattle this summer, and get a taste of what's on the horizon.
To unlock this EP, we need you to keep spreading the word! :D 15 new backers and we'll be able to put "FWAC," "The Ballad of Wood Jackson," and other alternative fare out in addition to Relatable Content! It's going to be Relatable AF (hey, that's a pretty good name for it...)
Beyond that, at $14K, ALL PHYSICAL BACKERS get our "THIS MACHINE KILLS GATEKEEPERS" design as a PATCH (our first ever!) and STICKER for FREE!
To recap our stretch goals beyond that, should we be so fortunate:
If we can reach $15K: Christian and I will get our band tattoos to match Holly's, since she stepped up a while ago and has just been waiting on us. You can ask us about our excuses (and plans to rectify, should we hit that mark) tomorrow night on the concert and chat. :D It's also Christian's birthday next week, we understand birthday ink is the best ink!
At $16K, we will be SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BOUND! We'll bring our music on down for a fun-filled spree of shows with local nerdy friends. Get us close and we'll spill the tea!
AND THE BIG ONE: at $20K, we're coming at you, MIDWEST! Expanding this tour beyond the East Coast would be an absolute dream come true for us. We know we have a ton of fans in the Chicagoland area, and we hear Minneapolis and Cincinnati would like to see us as well. We have some great friends who happen to be nerdy musicians in the area that we'd love to do a mini-tour with...get us to here, and we'll get us to there. (We would scream with joy so much if we could reach this by Thursday!)
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
There is no way we can thank you enough for getting us this far. We're making the album! (In fact...it's already REAL. Mixed and mastered, and getting the final checks. !!!!) We're coming to the East Coast (and if you live there, GIRD YOUR LOINS and prepare for tour announcements)! We get to make sweet enamel pins and art prints for the first time! We're making custom songs! We get to do this art WITH YOU and BECAUSE OF YOU and WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.
To celebrate and close this email, here's Christian being a cowboy again because some of you are THIRSTY for the cowboy action, it seems, and he is obliging.
Less than 72 hours to go, friends. Let's tear across that finish line in high style.
<3 <3 <3 <3,
Dr. Jessica (and Christian and Hollyanna)
Your PDX Broadsides
FUNDED! OMG! YES YES YES! Introducing Stretch Goals!
almost 5 years ago
– Fri, May 17, 2019 at 04:26:30 PM
WE MADE OUR GOAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!
Look at these cuties and how excited you made us.
We won't lie, we were all staring at the numbers all morning in shock, awe, and antici-
Our gratitude can be viewed from space. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! And it's still not nearly enough. We knew that this was a big number to ask for so we could do this thing, but when you're growing and doing new things, you have to dream big and hope that the people who have loved you and supported you will see what you're doing and believe in it, too.
And you did. This is going to happen because of you. THANK YOU. <3 <3 <3
Cue King George: WHAT COMES NEXT?
We have 6 days left, and we're not throwing away our shot. (You like all these Hamilton references? Stick with us, kid.) We've got stretch goals, and two are getting close: we're $205 from unlocking Stretch Goal 1: Album Commentary, and 28 backers from getting the Dirty EP. HECK YEAH.
We described these stretch goals in our previous update, so check out all the details there! We want to send a special congratulations to Bill Beats, who is doing the REMIX EP Stretch Goal, for getting featured in publication Respect My Region with music partner Shubzilla this week! The SXSW featured duo has been tearing up the nerdcore scene recently and we're hopeful that he can bring that energy to make our songs shine in a new way.
Again, from the bottom of our most nerdy of hearts, we want to thank everyone who backed us, shared this campaign everywhere, got up on stages and yelled about us (we love you, Misbehavin' Maidens!)...we can't wait to keep making this Relatable Content with and for you.
HEARTS AS BIG AS THE MOON,
Dr. Jessica (and Hollyanna and Christian)
The PDX Broadsides
P.S.
....pation.
95%! 7 Days! Stretch Goals and Final Concert!
almost 5 years ago
– Thu, May 16, 2019 at 07:13:40 PM
We. Are. So. Close. $571 stands between us and making this album and tour and pins and art prints and BRUNCH and custom songs and just everything, all the things.
But only 7 days remain.
So we figured we'd better sweeten the pot.
It's time to introduce the STRETCH GOALS.
STRETCH GOALS!!!
These are all easily achievable goals and RAD AS HECK things we think you want that we'd love to do! The last two mini-tours are in direct response to several requests from fans asking when we're coming to LA or Chicago. We'd love to, and we've been petitioning cons in those areas. We can make those shows happen sooner with your help.
Here are some additional details on those stretch goals:
$12,500: GOAL. That's the baseline. That's the album and the East Coast tour with our pals, all the rewards for you, bam, done, YAS.
$12,750: COMMENTARY TRACK. We made a commentary track for "Trust Issues" that people seemed to really love, hearing the stories behind our songs directly from us in a very fun, conversational setting. Let's do it again. This is a bonus for all backers!
$13,250: THIS IS THE REMIX.We flipping LOVE Bill Beats. The Seattle-based nerdcore DJ and producer is a beat-laying legend (and also a tremendous sweetheart, but we didn't tell you that). We've wanted to work with him for forever, so this is our dream opportunity to have him remix 5 of our songs (past and present) into an EP and hear our songs in a whole new way. All backers $10+ will receive the EP FOR FREE for getting us here!
$14,000: BONUS PHYSICAL SWAG. You've probably seen the sticker on Christian's guitar or Jess' keyboard: "This Machine Kills Gatekeepers." Taking inspiration from Woody Guthrie and in support of making nerdy things accessible for everyone to enjoy, we'd like to elevate this fan favorite into a patch design! All physical reward levels will receive the patch and sticker FREE!
This is exactly what it'll look like.
$15,000: THE BAND GETS INK. When we started the band, our logo represented each of us as a symbol: a quill for Holly the writer, an atom for Jessica the scientist, and a comic speech bubble for Christian the comics reviewer. Holly got the quill tattooed on her arm a while back and has been telling the two of us to step up. If we hit $15K, Christian and I will get those representations marked onto us for all time, celebrating our seven year bond as a band forever. We'll livestream it. You can count the new swears I invent.
Our old logo! Tattoos may vary but they'd take inspiration from this original concept.
$16,000: THE SO-CAL SETS. This is to answer the first of the two "when are you coming to [x]?" sets of inquiries. YES, Los Angeles-area friends, we would love to come play for you! At this level, we'll plan 2-3 shows in the Southern California area and head down for a few days, hopefully getting to play with some of our very good nerdy friends...get us close and we'll tell you more! ;)
$20,000: MINI-MIDWEST MUSIC. And here's the second. We heard a lot of "BUT WHAT ABOUT CHICAGO" over the last few weeks so CHICAGO, let's TALK! We'd spend several days in the Midwest with Chicago as a definite point on a several-show spree...but which directions do we go? If we get here, you get to help us decide. And of course, we'd match up with some of our Midwestern nerd music making pals. If we get close to this, we'll definitely reveal more!
PLUS A SPECIAL BACKER UNLOCKABLE: Our Trust Issues Kickstarter funded with 318 backers. If we can get 319 backers to support this project, regardless of final $ amount, we will make a new dirty EP!
As "Trust Issues" was totally clean, we still had folks clamoring for the dirty versions of some of our songs, so we're doing the same with the family-friendly "Relatable Content." We're tentatively calling it "Relatable AF," so you know it's going to be fun. :D In addition to songs we do for adult shows like "FWAC (F*ck Watson and Crick)," it will have some alternative versions of songs on Relatable Content. You're gonna love it.
BIG CLOSING WEEK!!!
On Tuesday 5/21, 6:30 PM PDT, we'll do an online concert and we're taking requests. Go over to our Facebook event now to ask for your favorites! This will be livestreamed using Restream.io to all major platforms, but we hear YouTube has been the best way to see the content and interact with us. RSVP to the FB event and we'll post details there as our links get confirmed.
On Thursday 5/23, starting at 5 PM PDT, we'll be counting down the last hour and thanking everyone who backed this campaign. We'll take questions, be silly, and celebrate the end of a month of hard work with extreme gratitude for everyone who has supported us. <3
(Also, this Saturday 5/18 is my birthday. Christian's is 5/30. It would make a heck of a gift to celebrate this Kickstarter going out with a bang!!!)
BUT TO SUMMARIZE: THANK YOU.
We get to make the music we love because of you. Thank you for your support and your shares, and we hope you'll keep going for this one last push of a week. We are endlessly grateful for your support.
