Sparklehorse tribute album

[stargazerleo]

I finally ordered the vinyl, a few hours and less than 4,000 to go. It's a Christmas Miracle! lol

[raeni]

I finally got myself in gear and ordered the CD, too.

[silence]

News from the 13th... FYI, Dave Fridmann is Mercury Rev, Flaming Lips and Tame Impala's go-to guy.

Last week we received the final go-ahead from artists regarding their mixes and, as we type this update, Last Box of Sparklers is now at Tarbox Road Studios being mastered by Dave Fridmann. The album finished up at 23 songs and makes for an amazing sounding double LP set. We are going to be sending out the perks we have on hand, so if you are waiting for any of the goodies contributing artists offered up they will be coming your way very soon. As soon as we have the mastered tracks and finalized the liner notes the album will go to press.

[silence]

Umm... wtf?

Yesterday, March 6, was the sad anniversary of Mark Linkous' passing from this world. Our aim is not to focus on his death, but rather shine a light on his life and the incredible body of work that he left behind for us all. That is what Last Box of Sparklers is all about.

We know that many of you have expressed curiosity and maybe even concern about the fact that the album has yet to be released. The fact of the matter is that we haven’t felt at liberty to discuss the reason behind the delay until today.

Before the Indiegogo campaign had even begun we had been in contact with the Mark Linkous Estate through their representative and were given permission to move forward with Last Box of Sparklers. There were no indications that we were to anticipate any significant hurdles concerning permissions for the album, artwork, or corresponding liner notes, only that the Estate wished to review these before the release. However, about three months ago we received notice from the Estate’s law firm that they wished us to stop promoting the album, its name, and any likeness of the artwork until further notice, citing that they desired a more detailed legal agreement. This was fine by us, and we supplied them with all the information they asked for very quickly. Since that time we have heard very little from their lawyers, despite multiple inquiries from ours.

We have been ready to move forward with the pressing and distribution of the album since January 15th. We hadn’t spoken about the specifics causing the delay until now because we didn’t want to inadvertently offend or upset Mark’s family, but as time passes it becomes imperative that we speak up so we don’t offend or upset those who believe in us and have supported this project.

We understand the concerns that have been expressed and thank all of you for your patience. To those of you who have inquired about the album in recent days, we hope that this information gives you an understanding of the delicate position we have been in. We want Last Box of Sparklers to be a celebration that brings us together and know that this delay is just a small moment in time that we will be able to weather as long as we have patience and respect for all involved.

If you wish to express your affection for Mark’s music and support for the release of this album, feel free to email us at info (at) boxofstars.org and we will pass your sentiments along so that they may have some influence.

[Grumpella]

I'm thinking the guitar signed by Lanegan is now on ebay for $50 more than it was sold for. Boo.

[mimie]

Mar 28, 2014 23:52:10 GMT -5 Grumpella said:

I'm thinking the guitar signed by Lanegan is now on ebay for $50 more than it was sold for. Boo.

The one I see now on Ebay is not the same I think, but maybe it is already sold.
That's disgusting.
Anyway, I don't understand why people would put a lot of money in an object that wasn't even autographed for them personally, except for a charity cause. Of course people do what they want with their money but that's not my thing. I buy autographed cds sometimes but not on ebay like that, and I'm a lot more fond of the ones that were signed for me by the artist in front of me.

[pin964]

How to order the CD release?

[silence]

Apr 5, 2014 14:59:53 GMT -5 pin964 said:

How to order the CD release?

You can't at the moment - CD/Vinyl/Download orders were only available as pledge bonuses, so you'll now have to wait until there's a release date.
Sadly, as the above stuff shows, this will not have a release date until Mark Linkous' family's lawyers give the green light after raising a couple of (unspecified) concerns. No idea how long this is going to take as the record should have been out in January (after some of these songs were recorded 2 years ago) and nothing's been forthcoming from the organisers for the last month save for requests to vote for them in some thing so they could get even more money - which, given their lack of information passed to people who have given them cash (some have given rather a lot - including a single $1000 donation) is a bit cheeky to say the least.

[pin964]

Apr 6, 2014 8:51:42 GMT -5 silence said:

Apr 5, 2014 14:59:53 GMT -5 pin964 said:

How to order the CD release?

You can't at the moment - CD/Vinyl/Download orders were only available as pledge bonuses, so you'll now have to wait until there's a release date.
Sadly, as the above stuff shows, this will not have a release date until Mark Linkous' family's lawyers give the green light after raising a couple of (unspecified) concerns. No idea how long this is going to take as the record should have been out in January (after some of these songs were recorded 2 years ago) and nothing's been forthcoming from the organisers for the last month save for requests to vote for them in some thing so they could get even more money - which, given their lack of information passed to people who have given them cash (some have given rather a lot - including a single $1000 donation) is a bit cheeky to say the least.

Thank Silence for the clarification. So still now nobody have got the CD or LP. Right?

[silence]

Yup. Everything's mastered, nothing's pressed.

[Stranger]

I love Marks version of Spirit Ditch much

[silence]

Latest update...

We got the initial go-ahead from the Linkous estate to create the album with the caveat that we submit the album to them for review before release. All 23+ contracts with the artists/labels appearing on the album were negotiated before the album was completed. The estate has reviewed the album and we are currently working towards a negotiated approval.

Would have been a lot nicer if they mailed those who have given them money with this sort of thing rather than having to trawl through the site's comments section.

[silence]

Again, an update that was posted on their site rather than sent out to those who have spent money:

We would like to thank everyone for being extremely patient with this campaign, as it has been an effort for us to not become anxious or frustrated ourselves. The album is fully recorded, mastered, and ready to be pressed, however we are still working with the Linkous estate to come to an agreement for the album's release. Please know that patience and empathy is the key here. There are many factors involved in producing an album of this scope, let alone when it is in tribute to an amazing and loved artist who is no longer with us, and who can only be protected and spoken for by his estate. Even though we were given the go-ahead to produce this album, the Linkous estate's wishes were and are to have say in how Mark's name and likeness will be used, and we are currently ascertaining what they would prefer in that regard. We are continuing to be proactive and positive while moving towards a proper release and we are especially conscious of the concerns expressed by our Indiegogo supporters.

To be fair, there's a film in the works about Linkous' life that is currently bouncing off the same obstacles. Ultimately (and not unreasonably), Mark's estate has the last say in all of this (what songs are used, who's on it, where the money goes - the latter of particular importance), and until they say yes or no, it's still up in the air.

[inthefade]

It's a shame fans of this man have to be pulled along in this way. I know it's a sensitive thing for the family, and rightfully so, but you would think they would have their ducks lined up a little better even before, what was it a kickstarter program? This thread has been hanging around for awhile, and even though I'm not a fan, the subject has interested me enough to follow along. You just would think that the estate would consider those whose money they are holding.

[silence]

Yeah, it was a kickstarter thing (via indiegogo, which means that they get the money even if they fail to hit their target). From what I gather, it's not quite the same project as it was when it began (and when some of the artists involved recorded), as one of the people I know on it mentioned this project at least 2 years ago and mentioned that the money was to go to offsetting Mark's medical bills to ease the burden on his family, and that is no longer the case.
Tribute albums to dead artists are always a bit of an issue in any case, as estates can change their mind at the drop of a hat and if there's something that they don't like (and that could be anything when his death is still relatively recent), that's the end of that. It happens more often than not (a Nick Drake one that Mark Lanegan was supposed to be on in the 90s springs to mind) but we never usually got to hear about them prior to the internet.

My own concern is the same as it was several months ago. The sentiment is beautiful, the music is great, the cause seems to be a good one (on the surface, anyway. It does seem to be very specific to one place though, which strikes me - in a country where healthcare funding is universal - as a bit odd). If they had stuck with their original goal, then great - but to up it to 50k still seems strange when records where people don't give their own time and talent for free get made for a lot less makes me uncomfortable, when that money could have been raised from sales and events afterwards instead of all up front. This is not necessarily a complaint at Box Of Stars, but more at how crowdfunding can become a bit skewed as a whole.

[silence]

Another update - and a promise that people will be kept in the loop on a monthly basis sounds initially nice but also seems to indicate that we're in this for the long haul...

We have been working towards the release of Last Box of Sparklers since we received the final masters from David Fridman in January. The album is done, ready to be pressed, as well as all of the artwork for the album and t-shirts. We have updated mostly when we would receive some sort of news from the Linkous estate, which has been very slow in getting back with us. We are definitely going to be releasing the album, but we really want to wait until the estate gives us the ok, otherwise it will need to be an album without Mark's name and likeness. It just doesn't make sense otherwise to us or the artists that contributed their time and talents for the recordings, considering what the album is actually for, which is of course a tribute to Mark but also raising mental health awareness. Progress hasn't gone backwards, it has just been very slow. But we do understand everyones concerns.

For what it's worth, recently we have had several artists that are on the tribute give us full albums to pass on to all of the Indiegogo contributors as a thank you for their patience. We should have the album downloads available within the next week or so. We have been wanting to find a way that we can show our gratitude for sticking this out with us and feel this is one way that we can show it.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We have been trying to answer everyones questions to the best of my abilities.

Not sure whose albums those'll be, but I guess anyone who's contributed should keep an eye on their inboxes over the next few days or so.

[silence]

Hmm. Still seems to be an ongoing thing, but apparently several artists (no idea who) have given full albums for distribution, and this should happen next week. Ish. Maybe.
There's a couple of illuminating statements in the site's comments thread which goes some way to explaining stuff, although I'd guess that everyone's lawyers would rather some of it hadn't been made public as it's only going to further put the mockers on the project if any of the named parties gets their back up:

...we are dealing with an estate that is still mourning it’s namesakes death, a split between Mark’s family and his ex-wife, who seemingly have issues with trust, let alone the trust issues Mark always had with the music business in general. All of which, since the change in executor-ship, has aided in putting a hold on all things Mark Linkous until they can get things straightened out.

All pretty sad really.

[frode]

This one is now officially dead.

Will not be released unless the Family of Mark Linkous changes their mind.

[silence]

It's a terrible shame, but unless there's a huge change of heart this looks to be the case - the split in the Linkous estate also seems to have put the mockers on a crowd funded documentary film as well.
Given the changes that have come about since the first artists spoke of contributing and when the record was publicly announced, it's hard to see a resolution where everyone's happy. As it stands, it's only lawyers who are benefitting

[silence]

Looks like the film's out soon according to its makers (debuting at a festival with DVDs going out to pledgers soon), so maybe the estate's stance is finally softening.

[silence]

And now there's an official Mark Linkous website up today, plus another tribute record (seems to be Swedish) out next week. Hopefully there'll be a positive announcement about this record soon now that the obstacles are finally being lowered.