Hello fans and fans-to-be,

If you’ve been following this Kickstarter, you know that we reached our album funding goal--within 1 day! 1 DAY, PEOPLE. We are now over 400% funded, and are now excited to be working towards our new stretch goal: A FULL BLOWN TOUR!!!

If we reach:

$1800: we can tour to Hartford, Connecticut! (CHECK!)

we can tour to Hartford, Connecticut! $2400: we can tour to CT, and play Hartford + New Haven! ( CHECK!)

we can tour to CT, and play Hartford + New Haven! ( $3600: we can tour to CT AND New York City!

***ALSO AT THIS LEVEL: We will film and release a music video for "C Is For Cookie" (from Sesame Street) as a jazz tune... performed entirely while wearing a Cookie Monster costume.

we can tour to CT New York City! We will film and release a music video for (from Sesame Street) as a jazz tune... performed entirely while wearing a Cookie Monster costume. $4800: we can tour to CT, NYC, AND Philadelphia!

we can tour to CT, NYC, Philadelphia! $6000: we can tour to CT, NYC, Philadelphia, AND Baltimore!

we can tour to CT, NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore! $7000: we can tour to CT, NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, AND Washington, D.C.!

we can tour to CT, NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C.! *NEW* $8500: We will bring "My Favorite Things" to our Philadelphia show. Yes, that means (potentially cream-colored) PONIES and crisp apple strudel will be available to ALL BACKERS who come visit us on the Philadephia leg of our tour!

As we mention below, we want to play more, and this Kickstarter can now enable us to do that in more places, and gain more exposure. These 6 cities are some of the top cities for dance and music, and we're exciting to potentially be bringing our sound around to those towns... and maybe yours too in the future!

Hello all! I'm Jan Marie. As both a singer and a dancer, I have always wanted to make music that makes people want to dance. Just last year, through a series of fortunate graces, I was given the tools and the players to do just that. Some patience, and a whole lot of musical elbow grease later, I've started a band called The Mean Reds. We play toe-tappin' tunes around Boston, and now we want to share the music we love to play with the rest of our fans everywhere. And we need your help.

On April 25th, we will be playing at one of our favorite venues, Boston Swing Central. It's where we all met, where we played our first gig altogether, and so it seems only right that it will now be where we record our first live album. We are so grateful to have a fellow musician and brilliant sound engineer, Tom Bianchi, signed on to record, mix, and master this album in the shortest time frame we can muster. Most of the money we earn through this Kickstarter will be going directly to Tom for his generous time and diligence; the rest will go towards paying Kickstarter, digital music distribution, and other fees.

We have the shuffle rhythm of swing and the grit of blues, but with a heavy gospel influence, and soulful vocals. At our regular gigs, we've covered everything from Ella Fitzgerald, to Britney Spears, to the Coca Cola theme song, to negro spirituals, to School House Rock classics, to Raffi's children songs. We pride ourselves on being able to cover literally anything and make it danceable. If you don't believe us, check out the $100 reward level--we love a challenge!

I am so fortunate to be working with four other amazing players who not only make beautiful music with me, but who make performing fun again:

Scott Aruda, trumpet - besides being an excellent jazz player, Scott also plays with local legends Tim Gearan, Christian McNeil, and with his brother in a duo called Arudawakening. We do so love Scott's sense of humor.

Rusty Scott, keys/organ - yes, I did just say Hammond B3 organ. When Rusty is not touring with one of the best blues bands in the country, Roomful of Blues, he plays in his own organ trio.

Phil McGowan, drums - you've probably heard Phil play with his swing band, The Easy Winners, or his other band, The East Enders, or his other other band, The Phil McGowan Trio.

Justin Meyer, bass - Justin has played with such infamous players as Toni Lynn Washington and Chris Trapper and our very own Phil McGowan!

Our goal with this album is not selling music; our goal is distributing sound. We wanted the most cost-effective way to do that and still stay honest to our sound. Recording live means capturing all of the energy of our live performances without the hefty price tag of renting a studio space. We also do not currently any recordings of our music to share with venue owners who may be interested in having us play more live shows. To be clear: we want to play more live shows!

We only need 60 fans to pre-order this album for us to reach full funding--even less if you donate more than the suggested $10 price tag.

Why might you want to donate more than $10? I’m so glad you asked!

The rewards for this Kickstarter are in large part about what we can give to you, our fans. Yes, we want to give you things. Skills! Like musicianship, or cool dance floor moves. Gifts! Like birthdaygrams, and concert tickets. Mementos! Like mp3s covers of your favorite cheer-up songs, or love letters. Experiences! Like private concerts, or the once-in-a-lifetime twisted delight of having an almost-vegan dress up fancy and cook you a steak. But whatever reward level you choose: we want you to have a symbol of our gratitude.

So, in sum:

Backing this project means not only helping us to distribute our music widely, but also helping us gain exposure, traction, and validity as artists. With your help, we'll have proof that we're worth noticing, and someday soon, you just might hear us in a town near you! :)

Video credits to: Corey Zev Holland

Photo credits to: 207 Stills• Andrew Takes Photos• Aslan Askarov • Ben Hejkal• Lucy Schultz