frontstretch-fest

The Mint Julep Jazz Band is spending a day at the races! We will be performing at a bourbon festival and steeplechase on April 4 – Frontstretch Fest at the 64th running of the Stoneybrook Steeplechase at the Carolina Horse Park in Raeford, North Carolina, to be exact! There will be bourbon and races, of course, but also local chefs, food trucks, local artists, horseshoes, cornhole, croquet, and even some hammocks for relaxing. We’ll be performing periodically from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Don your Derby best and come out! For more information and tickets, visit the Frontstretch Fest website.

Seriously, these people and organizations are the best, and are the reason the Mint Julep Jazz Band will record a second album! Thank you all so very much! 😀

Contributors (people who donated their time, products, and services as rewards):

Kim Clark of Time Machine Vintage
Jazz Dance Education Council of Richmond, VA
Ben Lassiter
Valerie Salstrom
Jamie Sturdevant of Chatterblossom
Alexandrea Thomsen of Dtownperspective
Gayle Windley (our vocalist Laura Windley’s mom)

Backers (people who pre-ordered the album and opted for other delightful swag, in order of contribution; also, if we have somehow missed or misspelled your name, please email us at mintjulepjazzband@gmail.com and we will make it right!):


Brad Nathanson
Quito Washington
Jesse Miner
Michael Quisao
K&T Eisenbeis
Craig Parker
Kofi Arthiabah
Gabrielle Kern
James Benze
Chris Ronderos
Debi Blair
Jane Dawson
Christian Bossert
Andrew Knipe
Stephen Badham
Tim Grimsey
Christine Cochrum
Lindsay Gardner
John Buhrmann
Laura Ansley
Keith Moore
Ryan Lemar
Eris Discordia
Ian Whitman
revclemens
Rob Moreland
Amanda Croasdell
Sarah Ovenall
Greg
Glenn Crytzer
Martha S.
Beccy Aldrich
Chris Evans
Gisela
Yulai Liu
Brennan Bowman
Michael Van Andel
Brian Tietz
Paul Gilbert
Ross Blythe
Peter Bonventre
Bobby Cook
Erik Kutzler
Brittany Bugge
Joseph Bopp
Tyler de Caussin
Sarah Henderson
Reese
Kate Hedin
David Bradford
Luke Holladay
Anna B
Chayant Tanti
Brian Fennessy
Srishti Garvey
Aaron Seals
Wes Price
Andy Straube
Amy Sosinski
Jacob Z. Price
Marcus
Emily Topham
Gil Macali
Frank Verdi
Steven Travis
Phillip Bailey
Dror Speiser
Phillip Paggi
Robert Edwards
Albert Mak
Jeffrey Lane
Chase Bannister
Emilie Richard
Kelly Tomlinson
Olivia Bowman
Mary
Chelsea Lefaivre
Carl Blackwell
Chad Skeeters
Jenna Bayer
Cassandra Patitz
Paul J. McLaurin
Andrea Waybright
Austin Gowland
Karl
Tia Shelley
Beth Grover
Elaine Silver
Brian Sheridan
Alex Richard
Mallory Peterson
Jacob Rix
Jenna Pekofsky
Erik Myers
Christian Seyfert
Alexis Strickland
Aubrey Groves
Scott M. Manson
Rich Werden
Joanne Fujii
Amanda Fletcher
Stephen York
Jason Platt
Mary Lou Mazzara
Adrian Fahrer
Kathy Tilton
Bill Wolf
Ivan Huang
Sara Kremer
Jason Rights
Jack Mitchell
Phil Manijak
Joan Llabres
Geddiz
Ferdinand Stout
John Li
Andy Nishida
Jami Good
Helene Horowitz
Ryan Swift
Dani McQueen
Jill A
Gary Sharpe
Mark Calkins
Marcus Levine
Nirav Sanghani
Stephan Jankowski
Stany
Nate Landon
Conner Phillips
Ann Sychterz
Logan Rott
Laurel Mitchell
July
Sarah Gray
Antonia Burns
John Davies
Oren Forward
Nick Gorman
Ben White
Kristen Buxton
Joel Carlin
Revek
Gary Chyi
YoungWoo Joh
Jared Cary
Bill Speidel
Kevin M. Thoresen
Kris Light
Erica Vess
Frank Myers
Kenneth F. Hanson
Marc Latou
meranie
Melanie Levine
Holly Yang
Joelle Andrews
Paul Pj Ryan
Michael James
Skjargh
Jeremy Weinberger
Douglas B. Matthews
Eduardo Sanchez
Barry Pincus
Clara Goodwin
Sharon Ferris
Arnold Cabreza
Suzannah Hamer
Erin Riley
Colin Butler
kabotnik
Elizabeth Tietgen
Gina Helfrich
Tim Heard
superheidi
Scott Angelius
Ann Mony
Emma Durham
Chiara Coombs
Allison Meeks
Daniel Newsome
James Green
Megan
Debra Blair
Maya Bernstein
Elizabeth
John Ennis
Binaebi Akah
Tim McMackin
Tiffany
Cliff Dyer
Argsnargle Flartblart
Gena Bell Vargas
Dave Warner
Jennifer Barnett
Mahmood Sheikh
Melissa Hinkel
Andrew Boggs
Maryjoyce
Rik Panganiban
Valerie Salstrom
Larisa Harrison
Melanie Kramer
Bret
Antje
George Gee
Douglas Spaceage Schumann
Allen
Tai Heng
Rebecca Plante
virtuald
Tim Korkuc
Madeleine Brook
Patrick Draus
Amanda Stock

Joan Bullard
Fran Richmond
Jessica
Jeff Meyer and Sarah Lapan
Joe Pangburn
Rosa Matusik
Anthony Licata
Adam Raines
David
Maddie FitzGerald
Ana Oara
Elliot Simon
Lauren Chester
Lynn Redmile
Tom Lassiter
Iris Carter
Nick D’Amico
David Rehm
Jonathan Jones
Carrie Newman
Matt Dorrance
Keith Beckman
Susan Manke
Norma Owens
John Palmer
Samuel Sykes
Mary Ann Carothers
Lyneah Marks
Laura Boyes
Matthew Royal
Doug Noel
Cindy Cuomo
asphyx
Caitlyn Deeter
Jenni Li
Claudia Thornburgh
Albert Hardy
Benjamin Cass
Lauren Maringola
Deborah E.
Aidan Dunne
Clark Gibson
Sarah White
Sarah Garr
Heather Adams
Moya
Dang Mai
Ulla Wingenfelder
Cansu Cimen
Diane Carroad
Laurie Desch
Edwin C. Butterworth
Michael Gamble
Bobby Smith
Brad Mohr
Chelsea Reed
Johann Waldvogel
Matthew Lewis
John Rowe
Raleigh Vintage
Moriah Wood
Brenda Price
Heather Reynolds
Vicki Smith
Lily Mahon
Emily Schuhmann
Lizzy Hazeltine
Kevin Sizer
Carol Linden
kristy
Karl Sakas
Artist Andrea
Sean H
Andy Weaver
Linda Boschert
Susanna Rosen
margaret
Hannah Catzen
Meghan Lisi
Jamie Foehl
Sommer Gentry
Bradley J. Rogers
Kristen Churchill
Warren Cheung
Matthew Mella
Sarah St. Ores
Adam Speen
Simon Vogt
a.bryson
Amir Rosenblatt
Joy Jing
John Derrick
Beth Midavaine
Royall Spence
Andrew Byrnes
Marie-Eve Gelinas
Helen King
Elizabeth Farrington
Shelley
Robert White
Meagan
Jason Maynard
John DeFranco
Doc Harvey
John Antram
Abby Cohen
Richard Springs
Gary House
John DelVecchio
Matt Gritter
Tessa Smith
Brennan Ames-Phares
Andrea Gomez
Calcifer
Morgan L. Williams
Camille Wood
Misty Landrum
Cat Keen Hock
James Pack
Albert Alva
Mark Henderson
Erin Douglas
Bri Swingdancer
Matthew Keener
Travis Getz
Chris Imershein
Craig
Andreas Olsson
Lucie Q. Ewen
Clara M.
Michele Bailey
Richard Poole
Matt Mitchell
Susan Sacher
R Lynn Rea
Margaret Williams
Susan Gauthier
Owen Hortop
B. Darst
Tom S.
Amy Dalton
Randy Zingo
Michael Herbert
Alexandria Sampson
Emily K.
백종수
Triangle Swing Dance Society
Holly Owens
Michael Baswell
Mary Kyle Manson
Mike Guzzo
M. Legett
Ska Bob
astroblastro
Sebastien Lienard
Ethan Olson
Shea
Ben Rich
Michael Steinman
Ryan Ewing
Sean Johnson
Matt Lam
Stina Dallons Isaksen
Stephen
Gavin MacInnes
Joshua Mclean
Caroline Gleeson
Athena Moon
Mimi
Richard Korn
Voon Chew
Nelle Cherry
Boris
Rebecca Conley
Chris Parizek
Manu Smith
Ben Beccari
David Rohan de Silva
Christine Sirota
Jennifer Donner
Stepan Jordanek
Scott Cappelluti
Lindsay Kelly
Sarah
Matthew Brooks
Corrie Holliday
Ben White
Elizabeth Quay
Beth Bernobich
Lindsay Giese
Jason Sager
Dave Hall
Jeong JongHwa
Ksenia Sedova
Vicki Matthews
Nicholas Neagle
Tiffany Christensen
Erika Anstead
lind8514
Lori
Clay Miles
Robert Szarka
Alison
Nick D
Heinrich Hess
N. Joanne Foil
Anthony Russell
Kemper Talley
Rob Keder
Matthew Tucker
Etsuyo Choi
Sam Carroll
Dylan Kilpatrick
Caitlin Farthing

kickstarter

As we head into our last few days of Kickstarting our second album, Battle Axe, we are so fortunate to be funded at our $12,000 goal and are working toward our stretch goal of vinyl copies of the album if we reach $16,000! If you haven’t pre-ordered the album yet or if you want a tee shirt or any of the other goodies that are only available through Kickstarter, you have until March 11 to become a backer. 🙂

Vocalist Laura Windley is running a simultaneous "Kittehstarter" campaign on her wall to get the word out about the MJJB Kickstarter, while not using any trigger words for Facebook to block her post (and simultaneously posting adorable photos of her cats!)
Vocalist Laura Windley is running a simultaneous “Kittehstarter” campaign on her wall to get the word out about the MJJB Kickstarter, while not using trigger words for Facebook to block her post (and simultaneously posting adorable photos of her cats!)

As we approach the halfway mark on the Mint Julep Jazz Band album Kickstarter, we are excited that people continue to come forward to back us and to donate rewards to the Kickstarter campaign! Here are some stats, facts, and love from the past three weeks:

– As of 2/5/15 we are 65% funded with 278 backers and a total of $7,834 pledged!

– Laura’s mom donated 7 more kittens-talking-on-yellow-telephones aprons – if you’d like one, you can either pledge or upgrade your pledge, there are 2 left!

– Kim Clark of Time Machine Vintage, who makes a lot of the outfits vocalist Laura Windley wears on stage, donated a custom reproduction garment from any era, made to the backer’s specifications and measurements, inclusive of labor and materials. We are so grateful for this generous donation and it’s already been snapped up!

– Lucian Cobb and Laura Windley were featured on the internet radio talk show A Kind Voice on Music with host Tyler Wolf, talking about the Kickstarter, the new album, the creative process, and our wonderful fans! If you missed the broadcast, you can listen to the archive at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/akindvoice/2015/01/27/a-kind-voice-on-music-featuring-mint-julep-jazz-band.

If you are wondering how you can help, the easiest way to get the word out is to invite your friends to our Facebook event for the Kickstarter – Facebook automatically blocks posts that appear to be related to Kickstarter because they want you to pay for advertising, but the invite is a way to reach people directly (note: we are both paying Facebook for ads, while simultaneously circumventing them to reach even more people). Thanks so much for everyone’s help thus far, your backing us and all the “likes” on Facebook really do add up!

HRH2014Header

The Mint Julep Jazz Band will be performing at Austin, Texas’ unique and awesome event, Hot Rhythm Holiday, a weekend of dances, workshops, and live music focusing on the dances Balboa and Collegiate Shag. This is the band’s first fly-out gig and we’re excited, but hope everything goes well at the airport. Cross your fingers for no delays! Once we get there on January 17, we hope we’ll have the afternoon to explore a Austin a bit before we perform at The Fed that night. We’ll be sharing the stage with Austin’s own Thrift Set Orchestra for four sets of live music at the Saturday night dance!

MJJB DOSN CD Cover

While we make preparations for launching our new album Kickstarter next year, we wonder if you’ve got a copy of our album or maybe a relative might like the gift of swing under their holiday tree?

We’re running a Cyber Monday special on our first album, Durham on Saturday Night, just to make sure your shopping gets covered at a better price – physical copies of our CD are usually $15.00 on CD Baby, but we’re running a one day sale on Monday, December 1 (EST), for $10.00.

Physical copies are easier to wrap than digital copies and for one day they will be the same price! Happy shopping!

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We are excited to announce that we will be working with Common 414, a new 1920’s themed cocktail bar that has opened in Raleigh, NC – three upcoming events of note!

1) Friday, November 14, 2014, the Mint Julep Quintet will play from 8-11p.m. and at 10:00 p.m. we’ll be hosting and playing live music for a Charleston contest! Come show off your gams and your hot jazz moves – the winner of the Charleston contest gets a Mint Julep Jazz Band prize pack (CD, shoe bag, button) and a VIP Booth Package for Common 414 (a $250 value).

2) and 3) On two Sundays in January (11th and 25th), 2015 we begin what we hope will be a regular gig for the Mint Julep Jazz Band, so you can hear all this great music from the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s performed by our little big band twice a month! We say we hope because continuation of this event depends on you voting to keep MJJB here with your feet and your wonderful presence. Band plays from 7-10 p.m., $5 cover because there are a lot of people in the band!

Thanks so much to Common 414 for giving us this opportunity, it’s rare to see bands this large with regular gigs and we’ll do our best to keep this one – swing out, Raleigh!

The band recording an original tune for Sesame Street in 2012.
The band recording an original tune for Sesame Street in 2012.

It’s been a little over a year since we released our first album, “Durham on Saturday Night,” and the response to our album is consistently “we want more music – when are you recording another album?” I’m excited to announce that we will launch a Kickstarter for our second album in the early part of 2015 – it takes a lot of work to plan an album and run a Kickstarter, but this should give us a reasonable timeline to complete our goals and record an album in the spring/summer of 2015.

Stay tuned!