Thank You All So Very Much! Now the bus pulls out...

As we get ready for the next part of our ride, I would like to express my deepest gratitude once again, to you, my backers, who collectively decided this book must come to the shelves. Thank you so very much.

Plans for the Kickstarter campaign began over a year ago, and I’d also like to thank some of the behind-the-scenes people who worked with full energy and commitment to make this campaign succeed. 

Let’s start with my good friend and incredible talent, writer/musician Ken Sharp. The Kickstarter campaign was Ken’s idea and he kept me grounded and focused. Thank you, Ken, a thousand times over.

Ken was introduced to me by Barbara Pazmino, President of the U.S. division of the “Just David” Fan Club who knew of the "Partridge Connection" we shared. Thanks Barbara, for recognizing the potential, for connecting us, and for spreading the word about this campaign every day. 

From the very early stages of planning, Kirk Poffenberger  sat with me in his office at The Design Studio and said “let’s do it.”  Kirk is the guy who designed the book jacket and all the variations of its “look” used on many of the items—the denim patch, the sticker pack, the book marks, the lyric sheets, the website and most notably the guitar—our grand prize. Thank you, Kirk!

Speaking of which, I’d like to announce Debbie Daum as the grand prize taker! Debbie grabbed the guitar towards the final days of the campaign and pushed our numbers wildly up! We will be featuring a photo of Debbie with the guitar in the coming months. The guitar, a Squier by Fender, is signed by 3 of the greatest session guitar players of all time. Thanks, Debbie, for hopping on the bus and landing with a splash!  Which brings me to….

…the very special thanks I have to all the artists, producers, actors and executives associated with The Partridge Family TV show and albums who so graciously signed countless pieces of memorabilia for this campaign. Each and every one of them truly wanted to see this campaign succeed. Beverly Weinstein, Bob Claver, Mike Appel, L. Russell Brown, Ken Jacobson, David Price, Bobby Hart, Diane Hildebrand, Jeremy Gelbwaks, Brian Forster, Terry Cashman, Steve Dossick, Marty Kaniger, Dan Peyton, Glen Hanson, Joe Osborn, Hal Blaine, Max Bennett, Dennis Budimir, John Bahler, Tom Bahler, Jackie Ward, Ron Hicklin, and the great Henry Diltz--Thank you all so very, very much. Your generosity was over-flowing. 

Tim DeBacco--Pittsburgh boy,  and Partridge Family Fan! Tim is responsible for the website you see, and the ease by which it can be navigated. He spent countless hours working on this, and continues to keep it maintained. He also designed the newsletter. Thank you, Tim, from the depths of the Partridge Family garage!

Mary Hertweck, Stacy Jo Coffee-Thorne and Mary Lou Nelson-- who relentlessly kept the campaign alive on all the David Cassidy and Partridge Family fan sites with their time and enthusiasm. Thank you all so very much.

Tina Funk-- my dear friend in Germany who runs the other half of the “Just David” Fan Club for the German and European fans, also continued to pass around the information I sent each day, along with Barbara. Thank you, Tina, for all the heart.

Jane Reaburn-- All the way from Australia, Jane manages David Cassidy’s Official website and Facebook page. Jane had those offers and posts up on David’s Facebook page faster than lighting! Thanks Jane, so very, very much! 

Jim Salamanis--also from Australia, Jim exudes so much energy across the entire planet that no one can possibly miss it! Jim sent countless emails out to fans all over the world for weeks on end. Thank you Jim for all your amazing support!

And Dave Thomas—my film-making, writer-director-of-all-things “whimming” who disguises himself as an entertainment attorney by day. What would I ever do without you, dude?

Last but not least, Donna Spencer—our copy editor who hopped on the bus in faith it would all happen. Ready Donna? The bus stops at your place next! 

As we move forward, please, everyone, make sure that you sign up for BOTH the newsletter AND the daily blogs. The newsletter will only be put out once a month at most, but the blog will hit your email with more immediate news as it happens. Both will be delivered right to your email.

I'll be back with you as news unfolds. For now, we proceed with copy editing. The bus is moving forward...

Thanks everyone!

Johnny Ray Miller

Executive Producer Bob Claver is a Backer!

Bob Claver, Executive Producer of The Partridge Family, has joined us as a backer! 

Claver began his career working on Captain Kangaroo and has always cared deeply about doing things for children. Claver not only ran the Partridge ship as Executive Producer, but he directed many of the episodes as well. He was one of the first interviews for "When We're Singin', and we thank him so very much for all his support!

5 Days to go.... Hop on the bus! Let's publish "When We're Singin'! It takes you, the fans to make it happen! http://kck.st/1DSL7zP

Kickstarter's Staff more than Likes it, They LOVE it! Featured on their Blog!

Today, the staff at Kickstarter sent an email saying  they love this project so much the are featuring it on their blog! Check out the video clip of David Cassidy from an episode of The Partridge Family, as well as a plug for the book-- a book that cover the Partridge Family's music for the very first time! Here's the link:  http://kck.st/1F8Z8Ar

The biggest premium reward on our campaign! Signed by 'Wrecking Crew' session players! Includes real Partridge Family lead guitar player, Dennis Budimir, real Bass Players Joe Osborn and Max Bennett, artist Kirk Poffenberger and author Johnny Ray Miller. 

Tell all your friends, and pass the word! 

24 Hours In, and 10% Funded!!

After our first 24 hours of launch, I am very pleased to report that we are showing an amazing 10% already funded towards our goal in bringing this book to life! 

There is certainly nothing quite like connecting with all of you who care so much about this project.  Your energy and eagerness to get on board and make this book a reality is fueled with an obvious passion, and you have sent us flying out of the gate!  Let's keep going!  Tell your friends and family!  Share it on Facebook and Twitter!  Get everyone on board that you can! 

Commemorative Lyric Sheet for "Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted" signed by songwriter, Mike Appel! Only available on Kickstarter.com!

If you haven't already, please remember to sign up for our daily blog and you will get these daily updates sent automatically to your email. We will be doing a newsletter too, about once a month, and we'd love for you to sign up on that as well!

Back to the campaign trail....

Johnny

Help Spread The Word!

Well, our first weekend out of the gate has been a fantastic explosion of excitement from fans of The Partridge Family and David Cassidy all over the world! I am thrilled to see such a response! As we move toward our Kickstarter launch, I wanted to share one of the inspiring stories behind my attempt to self-publish. 

When I began research on this book in 2010, one of the first people I met along the way was Denny Tedesco. Denny is the son of the late, great Tommy Tedesco--one of the greatest session guitar players of all time. In fact, he played on the Partridge Family albums--the very reason for which I originally reached out. 

Denny put me in touch with several other musicians who played on the Partridge Family albums, and they were all interviewed for this book. Every one of them had great stories to share about the Partridge Family music, David Cassidy, and working together in the studio on the Partridge Family albums!

When I first spoke with Denny, he had recently completed a documentary about his dad and the other musicians from that era. His documentary is called "The Wrecking Crew." He spent several years out on the road, showing the film, raising money, all in hopes of paying off the costly music rights so a theatrical distribution could be had. He refused to cut the music from his film to lower the budget, and he stayed on path to make sure the fans got what they wanted and deserved. 

In the fall of 2013, he ran a campaign on Kickstarter.com and it was HUGELY successful!  I encourage everyone to check it out. It is amazing what can be done when the fan base gets to decide the outcome! Tedesco exceeded his budget, making over $300,000 and ultimately landed a distribution for his film. 

Our campaign for When We're Singin' is scheduled to begin on May 1, and it has been modeled after the success of Tedesco's campaign. But the real key to success is getting the word out to all the fans interested in The Partridge Family and David Cassidy. There are thousands of fans worldwide, and it is our job to find them and let them know what's happening. I hope I can count on all of you to keep spreading the word. We have 24 days left before the campaign begins.

In the coming days, I will be sharing more with you about the content of my book and the amazing experience it has been so far! In the meantime, here is a recent quote from Denny Tedesco about his experience in independent funding: "It's all about marketing, spreading the word," Tedesco said. "That's the reason we're here today, because of the people from Wichita to New York to Japan that either donated or talked about the film."

So are you ready, Partridge Family/David Cassidy fans? Let's keep spreading the word! Get everyone you can to come join us on this site, and subscribe to the news blog! Tell them about our launch on Kickstarter.com beginning May 1, 2015! Only 24 days and counting...

When We're Singin' Web Site Launched - Kickstarter Soon To Follow!

Campaign to launch on KICKSTARTER.COM on MAY 1, 2015

Well, as you already know--by virtue of reading this blog message, the When We're Singin' site is live. Coming next will be our campaign on KICKSTARTER.COM to fund the publication of the book!

KICKSTARTER.COM has become revolutionary in today's world, funding independent films, starting new business ventures, and yes, getting books published! In fact, many within the publishing industry say that KICKSTARTER is changing the way the entire publishing industry operates.

If you would like to have this book as part of your Partridge Family collection, book collection, or music collection in general, we hope you will join us for the exciting 30 days on KICKSTARTER.COM in our attempt to get it published. But remember--we only have 30 days! KICKSTARTER'S model is "all-or-nothing." So the funding goal must be reached within 30 days, or the campaign is null and void and all the pledges are cancelled. 

In the coming weeks, watch for updates on our KICKSTARTER page as we get ready to  launch! Check out our live countdown clock on the  home page so you know exactly how many days there are left until the launch!

And there's more! 

We have a ton of cool, rewards and premiums that will be available!

On KICKSTARTER.COM  You will be able to view our list of premium rewards that will be available to donors at every level! We have tons of exciting items for you to peruse! It promises to be loads of fun for Partridge Family and David Cassidy fans worldwide! We will be previewing it in the days to come! And tell all your friends and family about it! Crowd-funding is the name of the game!

Fans of the Partridge Family, David Cassidy, and pop music from the 70s in general can rejoice in that an exciting new book is ready for the shelves, showcasing the music of The Partridge Family, as well as the hit ABC-TV show.

Let's get everyone we can on the bus!

Stay tuned to this blog for more updates and breaking news! And be sure you are signed up on the subscriber list--you will get updates automatically delivered to your email or phone!  Stay tuned!

-Johnny Ray Miller and the team!