Damian Cowell

I’ve spent the last three years working on the most stupidly ambitious project of my career: a double concept album/animated graphic novel/musical/Youtube series. And I still haven’t finished. To do that, I need your love.

Three years ago, songs started appearing in my brain like spam in a junk folder – but this time I thought I’d try something a little harder than a straightforward album. Why not sauce them up with an overarching concept? Someone should have stopped me there… but no – vaulting ambition o’er leapt itself: it became 20 little vignettes, joined together by four sub plots, umbrella-d over by one big story.

Someone really should have stopped me there… but no.

I was already looking at not one album, but a double album. Twice as much work. Twice as expensive to record. But that wasn’t enough for Mr. Smartypants here. I wanted to tell the story visually, as well as musically.

“Why don’t you do a musical?” said my well-meaning friends. But musicals make me break out in a rash. No matter how enormous the budget, they always remind me of the school production. Then I thought of something much more up my alley – something lavish, complex, yet deeply childish: a graphic novel! But then, what, do I ask people to read the graphic novel while listening to the music? I guess, but maybe it could be even better than that…

Someone really, really should have… well, you get the picture.

What about an animated graphic novel? I’m no Disney animator, obviously. But if I could make it look like a comic book which has sorta… come alive… maybe I could pull it off.

And that’s when I started on the biggest, stupidest, most time-consuming and deeply pointless journey-up-my-own-arse in the history of me:

Only The Shit You Love: the double concept album/animated graphic novel/musical/Youtube series.

It’s been three years. And I still haven’t finished. Oh yes, I’ve come a long way: I’ve demo-d the songs. I’ve got lots better at digital art. I’ve learnt (basic) animation. I’ve put together the trailer you’ve just watched, using bits and pieces from half-finished episodes gathered in a huge pile on the shop floor of my laptop. But now I’ve outed myself, the clock is ticking.

To finish, I need your love.

With your love, I plan to turn this into a multi-episode Youtube series which, of course, will be essentially free. Your pledges will pay for me to record and mix the album, pay for the animation tuition and software gimcrackery I need to finish the damn thing, and pay for me to, when the Youtube series comes to its thrilling (!) conclusion, deliver you the full tracks in all their finished over-the-top-ness, via download and CD.

I can’t do this without money, unfortunately. And I know some of you might not be in a great situation at the moment, so I’m asking for less than I need, and hoping I get the actual amount I need so I don’t have to compromise.

Love. Your love. That’s what I need. And in return, I will give you only the shit you love.

Yours

Damian

To kick this project off, I’m asking for $10k. It’s less than I need, but I know it’s a pretty shit time to be asking you for money, so that’s where I’ve set the marker for this campaign. If I reach 10k, I will deliver a Youtube series and an album. It just might not quite be as ginormous as I’m hoping. What I’d really love is to get 20k. If I reach that amount, I can really give you the full explosion of my fucked up vision.