Musician Licity Collins is the creator of “One Girl Town” and “The Open Diary Project.” Licity has been a member of Fractured Atlas since March 2015 and wants to use music as her primary tool to heal the world.
How has Fractured Atlas benefitted your artistic practice?
Fractured Atlas helped me launch an exciting new phase of my artistic journey. After a happy career as a visual and theatre artist, I felt a deep calling to finally pursue my life-long dream of making music. Fractured Atlas helped me to raise funds in those critical early days when the vision of my new life was just a glimmer in my eye. My long-term tried-and-true supporters were the first ones to contribute to the creation of this new art form. They were soon joined by the community I was building through performing my new music.
Not only did the money I raised through Fractured Atlas help me to nurture my vision as a music maker, but it meant I could hire some of the best talent in the business to work on the project. The producer and I reached a point where we realized this project needed a top-notch team to realize its full potential. We needed the best — and we have them. The session players on “One Girl Town” play with icons in the folk and rock worlds and they completely understood my unique approach to combining these two genres. The album, and the “Licity Collins Sound” would not have been fully realized without their skills.
Having the opportunity to work with such great people pushed me to grow and develop, and has also added a level of validation to my music, not only for the outside world, but by bolstering my own confidence and clarity in what I do. These amazing musicians loved the music we made together and we continue to seek out ways to work together live and on future albums. Fractured Atlas helped me to build these crucial and beloved relationships.
How has Fractured Atlas benefitted your revenue/income generation?
My supporters love the tax deduction. It has made their donations even more generous. One thing I love is that Fractured Atlas is not a strictly project-based platform. This has allowed funders to continue to support my ongoing work whenever they feel moved, at whatever level they want to give, from $25 to $10,000. This gives me the opportunity to focus more of my time and attention on creating music. It also means I get surprise donations without even asking!
What specific Fractured Atlas services/programs have you used?
I love the fiscal sponsorship services, but have also used artful.ly for ticketing and donor tracking. It’s great to have a one-stop place where I can see how much donors have given to-date.
Why do you think artists and organizations should become members of Fractured Atlas?
Fractured Atlas is fundamentally about art and artists. It is a platform that is a community supporting the development of art. While other platforms prioritize flash and profit from any and all means, often resulting in projects that go unfulfilled and incomplete, Fractured Atlas helps artists grow in long-term meaningful ways. Having fiscal sponsorship means there’s no ticking clock looming overhead for fundraising. This means artists can be free to raise money in a way that is authentic to our specific artistic philosophies and timelines.
That flexibility is so important to both me and my funders. It’s so great to always have a place where people can donate spontaneously, it makes both me and my donors feel so great. Plus I have used other crowdfunding platforms both as an artist and as a supporter but have chosen to stick with Fractured Atlas because it has a good user interface and great support team for both sides of the equation. The Fractured Atlas team also has been super responsive when I have new ideas that I want to fund as a part of my ongoing fiscal sponsorship. Fractured Atlas is committed to creating a space for art to be brought to life. It’s the real deal.
Do you have any upcoming events that people should know about?
I am filming a live show in a local hot new venue. A few produced videos are coming out soon for both the music and the diary, and shows. Stop by the website to keep up!
What is your biggest accomplishment as a result of being a Fractured Atlas member?
I released my debut album in the Spring of 2018. “One Girl Town” features kick-ass artists, and a top-notch team who were funded in part by donations received through Fractured Atlas. Fractured Atlas helped me to make the kind of music I had dreamed of since I was a little girl playing cello, singing in chorus, and listening incessantly to a heavy metal album I won in a dance contest.
“One Girl Town” is a testimony to the emotions that drive human relationships. The genre-blending album has been embraced by both folk and rock radio programs. Creating a sonic experience of both intimacy and bravado, The sound is a refreshing and unique experience that both cradles and challenges its listeners. I offer a raw voice and candid lyrics which make it impossible to ignore your own feelings. Driven by my passions for folk music and 60s and 70s classic rock, the songs on “One Girl Town” combine traditions into an expansive, vivid, heart-wrenching adventure with a vintage vibe.
The album features an all-star line-up of musicians: Kevin McCormick (bass); Steve DiStanislao (drums); Mark Goldenberg (electric guitar); and myself (vocals, acoustic guitar, and tambourine). The album was produced by myself and Jeff Evans; recorded and mixed by Jeff Evans or Colourbox Recording,; and mastered by Kim Rosen of Knack Mastering. These team members work with icons of the folk and rock world including David Crosby, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and David Gilmour.
Fractured Atlas was a comfort in this process as unique challenges faced the making of “One Girl Town.” A historic fire encircled my small California town forcing me to re-mix the record while evacuating to three different locations. Then, my mother died four hours before the final album files were completed — the day the media outreach was scheduled to start. Released two months after my 46th birthday, “One Girl Town” became a testimony to the determination and resilience of the human heart.
In addition, while in the final stages of recording and releasing the album, I launched “The Open Diary” as an intimate companion to the music. Transcending the artificiality of social media, the subscription-based project lays bare the intimate and sometimes excruciating details of my life to its readers, creating a genuine connection.
Fractured Atlas was the beginning of it all. The very first donation I ever received toward this work was through Fractured Atlas. It was instrumental in every bit of my music, sound, writing, passions, and my art coming to life.
You can learn more about Licity and her work at http://licitycollins.com and can follow her on social media at @licitycollins, on Spotify; and on YouTube.
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