Prosthetic on Vinyl

• • 3ARTS MATCH
  • 102% contributed

For a musician, nothing compares to putting an album out on vinyl. With this campaign, I’m raising funds to help me do just that with my latest recording called Prosthetic. In addition to being an immersive sonic experience, this vinyl release will be the first step towards establishing my Calculated Discomfort music label that I hope will become a home for forward-thinking disability-inclusive artists.

About This Project

The tracks on Prosthetic are a distillation of different musical pursuits since I began leading my own bands about five years ago. The album combines my interests in musical improvisation and collaborating with musicians with varying types of experience to develop an honest sonic representation of ‘the now,’ all while making the influence of my disability identity known and felt.

The recording features a trio, also called Prosthetic, that includes myself on drums, Aidan Epstein on bass, and Julius Tucker on keyboards and synthesizers. It was completed in a single outpouring of musicality one afternoon last July. The trio moves as a single unit through dance grooves and atmospheric jazz fusion. I believe this is my most exciting and expressive drumming on record to date. I purposely left in some of our talking and encouragements so you can feel that you are there with us in the studio. I’ve made a few records over the past five years, and this one gets at the empathy that can be hard to represent in recorded form.

While the digital version is already out in the world, I’m asking for your help to give this project the home on vinyl that it deserves. This is a seriously intimate recording, so if you’ve previewed it and like what you hear, I hope you will agree that there will be no more satisfying way to hear it than in the distraction-free format of vinyl.

Contributions to this campaign will help cover the costs of mastering, vinyl pressing, design, packaging, and shipping. The vinyl jacket will feature a collage picture of all my prosthetic eyes from the past 27 years of my life, which is a reminder of both the importance of my disability identity and the group’s name. The album will come with a brailed insert of liner notes for maximum tactile accessibility.

This will be the first official release bearing the Calculated Discomfort label. Some may know that’s also the name of my longest-running band, but I’m expanding the concept more broadly now. It starts with this vinyl album, something very near and dear to me, but I see this release as my mission statement to do everything I can to help people in my community have the chance to tell stories in ways that validate their desires and experiences. I hope you will join the Calculated Discomfort journey with us.

Thank yous

Contribute any amount or choose from the levels below.

• $20
  Access to an exclusive track download ($17.00 is tax deductible.)
• $50
  Above + vinyl copy (or existing merch item like CD or coffee mug if vinyl not desired) ($30.00 is tax deductible.)
• $100
  All of the above + a free virtual ticket to special celebration stream (on Bandcamp) ($70.00 is tax deductible.)
• $150
  All of the above + Tommy will record a solo percussion piece for you at his home studio and give you the only digital copy ($20.00 is tax deductible.)
• $250
  All of the above + your name listed as a producer on the album liner notes ($120.00 is tax deductible.)
• $500
  All of the above + copies of the next 2 Calculated Discomfort releases ($330.00 is tax deductible.)
• $1000
  All of the above + free private performance or 4 free private lessons ($430.00 is tax deductible.)

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Tommy Carroll

Make a Wave Artist

Tommy Carroll is a drummer, composer, and beatmaker who happens to be totally blind. He leads Calculated Discomfort, an eight-piece jazz dance collective that performs throughout the city. In his work, Tommy draws on dance music and improvisation to create …

View Tommy Carroll's profile

• 3 updates
• 42 supporters

• Update 1: One week in and feeling good

  Posted on April 26, 2022

   

  Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your generous contributions. I was really nervous launching a campaign like this, so you all jumping on board in the first week confirmed to me  that this is both doable and worthwhile. I also just really appreciate the kind feedback about the music itself. We've still got some time to go and ground to cover, so if you know anyone who might be interested in supporting the music, please feel free to share the campaign link. I'm hoping to have these records by the fall, when I plan to embark on my first tour as a bandleader. Thanks to you all chipping in, there's a good chance  this tour can be profitable, which means more music and more creativity on our own terms! Things have been a bit hectic, but I'll have time this week to reach out to you all individually and also fulfill the digital rewards. Hope you're having a musical day!

  Update 2: Heading into the final stretch and getting ready to place an order with the vinyl plant

  Posted on May 09, 2022

   

  Thank you, thank you, thank you so much to all of you have contributed to this dream of getting Prosthetic out in the world on the most epic of audio media. I've still got a bit to go over these next 10 days to hit the goal, but I'm feeling confident and I'm starting the process of placing the order with Atomic Disk, which is a great musician-run company that presses records and prints jackets. It's going to be so cool to get this project on store shelves and bring it on the road as I plan my first tour as a band leader. My days have been pretty busy, but I promise I'll be reaching out to all of you with personal thank yous. Both friends old and new have chipped in, and I want to properlly express my gratitude to each of you. Hope you all have a great week!

  Update 3: We did it!

  Posted on May 19, 2022

   

  Wow! Thank you all so much for your generous contributions and words of support. We hit the goal with time to spare, and Prosthetic will be pressed onto vinyl this year. I was very nervous about launching a campaign like this, and you all made me feel so validated in what I do. The band sends there thanks as well. Stay tuned for info about a the virtual (and potentially hybrid) celebration event. And if you're in Chicago, I'll be celebrating with a set Wednesday May 25th at Cafe Mustache. Thank you so much, and I'll keep you all up-to-date about the progress of the vinyl pressing.

• Thank you to the following for contributing to 3Arts with the recommendation that we support this project.

  • Karl Maher

  • Tracy Conoboy

  • Carrie Sandahl

  • Kristi Carroll

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  • Anonymous Supporter

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  • Rodrigo Orviz

  • Connor Z

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