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The Bluez Projekt
My own blues recordings

 Could you be an early evaluator?

Not everyone is a good pick for this kind of thing. But some are. Bottom line: I need folks to help evaluate this collection of music to make it the very best. If this sounds like you, read on...

  • What are we trying to achieve?

    In short, I want outside feedback to help me make "The Bluez Projekt" as good as possible. In particular, I want objective opinions about this:

    • Songs to include or exclude
    • Sequencing of songs (what order they occur in)
    • Places to refine or polish a passage of music

  • What does an "early evaluator" do?

    Simple:

    1. Listen to the music a lot,
    2. Don't make any copies,
    3. Then tell me what you think.

    Easy to do, but I would need you to follow through faithfully.

  • Can you be more specific?

    Evaluators will be asked to listen to the complete collection of music at least twice per week (more often if possible) for four weeks. Hopefully you'll like it enough that it won't be a "chore" to do this! Listen at times when you can pay close attention to details, but also listen at times when you're busy (and the music isn't your main focus of attention).

    After the four weeks of evaluation, you'll receive a web link to an on-line survey. There will be questions repeated for each song and places to give additional comments. You can do part of the survey and come back later to do more.

  • What's in it for me if I am an "early evaluator"?

    You get an early pre-release copy of the music in a 2-CD package. You get (I hope) a rough draft of the artwork for the CD. You get to hear all the music before anyone else, including songs that will not be in the final package. You get a free copy of the final CD when it is released. And you get my gratitude.

  • What kind of person makes a good "early evaluator"?

    You'd be a good evaluator if you really love blues. You might even be a good evaluator if you just like blues, or even if you think you might like blues but need to learn about it.

    You'd be a very good evaluator if you follow through on commitments you make (e.g. you won't drop the ball as an evaluator).

  • What kind of person should not be an "early evaluator"?

    If you really don't undertsand what makes blues so cool, you probably won't be a good evaluator.

    If you are really busy, you probably won't be a good evaluator.

    If you don't have time to listen to music, you probably won't be a good evaluator.

    If you tend to make commitments and then have trouble following through, then you probably won't be a good evaluator.

    If you only like punk rock ... well, you get the idea ...

  • Why send out two CDs? Won't the final product be just one?

    There are too many songs to fit on one CD. The main point of the evaluation is to identify what songs will finally get crammed into the one final CD. So when listening to the music, you'll have to put the second CD in after the first one is done. Bear in mind that the final product will be just one CD, with some of the songs removed in order for it all to fit.

    You'll need to think of the package as one complete listening experience even though you're changing two CDs back and forth.

  • Why are you looking for songs to exclude?

    I deliberately recorded more songs than one CD can hold. This forces me to seriously consider which songs are the best and weed out the songs of lesser quality. The result: one CD of higher overall value.

  • Are there any restrictions you will ask of "early evaluators"?

    Just one thing ... don't make any copies of the music. You can let anyone hear the music (the more the better!), but absolutely nobody can have any copy of any kind. Here's why:

    The songs you will receive are all copyrighted, either by me or someone else. My own original songs are copyrighted with me as the author. "Cover songs" (songs written by someone else) will have royalty agreements still pending. Because all the legalities are still in-process, it is critical that no copies be made for anyone for any reason. I need your help, not just to protect my own work, but also that of other artists who I've drawn from.

  • When does the evaluation start?

    Sometime in the next few weeks. I have just a few songs to finish first.

  • Okay, I might be interested in being an "early evaluator". What should I do?

    Email me by clicking here and tell me the following things:

    • That you're interested in evaluating,
    • why you think you'd be a good evaluator,
    • a little bit about what you think of blues in general
For those who end up being evaluators, I'll notify you when the music is ready, and then I'll tell you what time period the evaluation will occur at. After that, I hope you enjoy "The Bluez Projekt"!

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