A message from 20 Minute Loop founder Greg Giles:
Greetings! I am living just south of Portland these days, loving the rain, the standing water in the crawlspace, the smell of the tomb that emerges thence, the Crayola FOREST GREEN outside, the cool air, the fact that weird-ass militant ranchers recently occupied a wildlife preserve called MALHEUR (sans blague!).
I miss music. I am currently without the music, because my recent move has put it on a tiny back burner reserved for melting butter in a little sauce pan. Also, I have a nasty wart on the tip of my middle left finger which has thrived in the callous of my fret hand, speaking discouraging words to me in a voice akin to that of Lionel Stander.
But I do miss the band. Like all bands, 20 Minute Loop could be a struggle, but more often it was a reason for self-respect and confidence and the satisfaction of doing the angels’ good work that is performance and writing. I am shamefully proud of the work my collaborators and I put into its fifteen-year history. Here are those collaborators in alphabetical order: Kelly Atkins, Adam Cunha, Nils Erickson, Dan Jones, Alex Kamages, Tai Kenning, James Kingsbury, Joe Ostrowski, Mike Romano, Kevin Seal, Ethan Turner. And in an engineering capacity: Jim Greer, Scott Greiner, Chris Manning, Desmond Shea.
Kelly Atkins—who can only be described as my partner in crime and the spirit behind this recent recording project, because of her persistence, enthusiasm, and musical righteousness—helped lure the inimitable keyboardist and vocalist Kevin Seal into this manifestation, and while there are only two songs that haven’t already been recorded or released, there is a live feel to the new album as well as a stripped-down approach that should offer a dramatically different take on the songs that have appeared over four albums reaching back to the year of Space: 1999 (when Martin Landau was toasting for us). I am pleased to know that I can sing and play guitar in a single, simultaneous take with other musicians and have it be recording-worthy. This is something I was never sure I could do, to be honest.
And what a host of other guest musicians performing with us! Nils Erickson on electric guitar, Melanie di Giovanni on accordion, Darren Johnston on trumpet, Laela Peterson-Stolen on viola, Rebecca Seaman on wineglass organ, Caitlin Tabancay Austin, Tim Silva & Tom Purtill (of Iron Henry) on backing vocals… We are gifted with musical friends.
We want to release this on limited vinyl, but we don’t have the financial wherewithal to do it. Sara Lautman, an ingenious Baltimore artist who has recently had artwork featured by the New Yorker, has provided cover art that should be lavished on something larger than a CD panel (let alone a thumbnail image on some… file). It is absolutely gorgeous, using as inspiration some of the eccentric lyrics from our various albums.
So, if you would like to see and own a vinyl version of this recording, we need to reach our goal of $3800. Like any self-respecting Indiegogo campaign, we offer different tiers of donation rewards, depending on what amount you feel willing/able to give. We hope these peculiar rewards offer some incentive as well as a signal of appreciation toward our beloved audiences who have always been the best compensation along a difficult road.
The reward levels are listed on this page.
I hope you are all doing well, enjoying life, finding peace and cheap thrills of your own. As this campaign proceeds, Kelly & I will post updates of progress, etc.
Love,
Greg