Musician Koji keeps very busy
February 11, 2010 1 Comment
By CHRISTINE FISHER
Philadelphia Daily News
fisherc@phillynews.com 215-854-5444
Musician and artist Koji has a “to-do” list that would make a Fortune 500 CEO blanch.
It starts with raising $5,000 in 30 days via an online pledge drive. Then there’s his plan to release five new mini-albums this year and tour the country in support of them.
He’s got an ambitious “green” agenda that includes environmental activism.
And, finally, he’s running an arts collective called Colormake.
Koji – Andrew Koji Shiraki – got his start in the music business in Philadelphia about five years ago, when he was a student at Temple’s Tyler Art School. Now he’s based in Harrisburg, but when he decided he needed money to fund his big ideas, a friend suggested he turn to the Internet.
Specifically, Kickstarter.com. Through this site, supporters pledge money to artists’ fundraising goals. If pledges fall short though, the money must be returned – an all-or-nothing policy.
But Koji was willing to make the gamble. On Jan. 12 he posted his goal of raising $5,000 by Feb. 12. In return for pledges, Koji offered personalized postcards and T-shirts, music clips, video chats in which he would sing to supporters and even trips to the homes of fans.
With six days to spare, Koji surpassed his goal on Saturday.
Koji, Photo Credit: Philadelphia Daily News
He plans to use the money in three ways – to make music, promote activism and encourage environmental awareness.
Listing his goals in this way, Koji makes them seem fairly simple. But that’s before he begins detailing the specifics of his ambitions.
“It’s a lot of work,” he admitted. “I don’t know even how to explain it.”
“This isn’t an economy to support people who aren’t doing this because they love it,” he said, noting that across the country he has seen a drop in the number of bands touring – something he believes is healthy and reduces oversaturation.
“People are definitely doing music because they love it.”
For now, Koji is putting in 12-hour days as a “100 percent DIY” artist, releasing his most recent CD “The Seaside Sessions” and “itching to get back on the road.” (He also took part in a recent concert that raised more than $5,000 for Haitian relief efforts.)
Tomorrow Koji is performing in Newark, Del., a record release show for “The Seaside Sessions,” which he wrote in a day and describes as new acoustic originals and covers with an intimate feel.
Later this month, he is hitting the road in a tour that will include 60 dates and cover much of the U.S., excluding only the West Coast.
“I love the people element of [touring],” he said. “For me, it’s really important to know the community I’m walking into.”
On this upcoming tour, Koji plans to give back to each community he visits. He does this by offering art classes or supporting local artistic ventures.
Koji sees his tours as a “long, extended conversation with America.”
“What it’s really showed me is the power of art to effect positive change on the community and the individual,” he said in his Kickstarter video.
Koji plans to bring the conversation back to Philadelphia on the second leg of his spring tour.
Koji “Seaside Sessions” CD release show, 7 p.m. tomorrow, Mill Creek Unitarian Church, 579 Polly Drummond Hill Road, Newark, Del., $8.
