tera johnson

The Musician. The Massage Therapist.

What's Happening (v. 5) - April 25th

April 17, 2016  /  Tera Johnson-Swartz

Here's the scoop...

There's so much new information - where to begin!

Website, FROM THE VAULT and Social Media
WWW.TERAJOHNSON.COM - So the merch store is growing already...In addition to the first 3x5 magnet (LOVE YOUR LIFE), I added a new must-have sticker (BORN AGAIN MUSICIAN). Check it out and if you'd like to buy one/support the building of a pretty remarkable project, of course I'll have it in the mail to you pronto!

Also...I NEED YOUR HELP building my youtube, twitter and facebook followings!

YOUTUBE.COM
GOAL: 100 / Current: 4
@TeraJTweets 
GOAL: 10k / Current: 831
https://www.facebook.com/terajohnsonmusic
GOAL: 1k / Current: 114

FROM THE VAULT - ANYMORE was the first song I wrote when I arrived at Berklee in 2000. I remember sitting in my dorm room thinking, "well, I'm here, so I'd better write something" and influenced by some of my favorite poetic phrases in songs, poems and books, I poured them into this song. The comical part of it comes from the clapping at 1:51 - all of us working on this tune felt that live clapping was absolutely necessary at the time (it's so not now!). Nonetheless we gathered up several people sitting in the hallways to record a team of clappers. Ah, college life, I miss you...

THE OTHER SIDE - THE MORNING AFTER is an original song inspired by a conversation I'd had years before. Someone once depicted me as a "wild one" in a rather negative tone. This was my way of responding...


The Album: HOME
Guess what Tera's been working on in her off time? Putting together a production team for a few music videos to compliment the album. I don't want to spoil all the fun just yet, but I can tell you this much: an up and coming producer in Los Angeles is already on board. Check out her latest and greatest podcast project World Changing Voices.

The countdown to our first lead vocal recording session is on: T-minus 32 days! And as promised in the last newsletter, some more song titles are: DO AS I PLEASE, DOUBLE DOWN & PERIL TRUTH...(lyrics will be forth coming closer to the release date - why spoil all the fun?!) and the other two covers that won't be on the album, but we'll be releasing on iTunes and steaming up my website very soon, are I TALK TO ANGELS and RATHER BE.


Small Business or Corporate Sponsorship
It's not too late to join forces or give me some leads as to companies/folks interested in sponsoring this project. Please email or call me...make your mark through music - you never know where it could take you.


Go Fund Tera Johnson
We're at about 56% of the way to my goal now, which is definitely a good thing, but the hot kick off has slowed down a bit and I need to get to that sweet spot of 100%. So, if you plan on buying a CD for yourself, friend or family member, now's a great time to buy ahead - I promise I won't let you down! Thank you again if you already have, but if you haven't yet, please check out my GoFundMe page and pass it along to anyone and everyone you think might be interested.

What's Happenings (v. 3) - March 21st

March 20, 2016  /  Tera Johnson-Swartz

Here's the scoop...

Okay, okay. So once a week in newsletters might be too excessive - but I'm excited darn it! Thanks to all who've kept up and passed along our updates. Thanks to YOU there have been some exciting news to report...Here's what's happening:

Website, FROM THE VAULT and Social Media
So, the site itself has gotten quite a bit of visits over the past couple weeks and even more have clicked on to the subscription bar to be added to the newsletter with other emailing addresses and/or referred family (www.terajohnson.com). And as promised, a couple songs have been added - CENTER (FROM THE VAULT) was written just before I moved from Boston to L.A., being the music conservatory nerds that we were, my then-boyfriend-now-husband and I decided to write songs for each other as "road tunes" and this is what he got. HAVIN' THE BLUES (THE OTHER SIDE) was written while I was working on the production of the album - just reflecting life as I knew it up until that point. Funny when you think about how little you really can relate to "having the blues" un your 20's, but hey, it's a pretty good song! Enjoy!

And as I've been shamelessly promoting my social media base (@TeraJTweets / https://www.facebook.com/terajohnsonmusic), I'm asking for some friends/family/fans to help this along. Thus far I have over 600 followers on Twitter and have a goal in mind of getting 10k by the release date of this album. Think it's ambitious or impossible? HELP ME MAKE THAT HAPPEN! As for my Facebook page, I have so many lovely followers on my PERSONAL page that haven't "liked" my music page. PLEASE do so and pass it along. This has been harder to build than Twitter (which is ironic because I really am beyond green to Twitter and been on Facebook for nearly a decade already). Anyway, if you can help me reach my goal of getting 1k followers (hey, it's a goal) by the release date of this album, I'd really, really appreciate it.

The Album: HOME
John (http://jbrecording.com) and I recorded another 4 rough tracks on Sunday, March 13th. And have scheduled a special bassist to fly in to record all the way from Philadelphia the weekend of May 6th. I also bought my ticket for the first phase of recording lead vocals the weekend of May 19th, so at least you know, it's for real folks. Tera is going back to the studio. 

Oh, and for an even more exciting addition to this project for the album, John and myself will be recording some crazy hot renditions of covers I'm pretty sure you're going to love. Again, they won't be on the album, but we'll be releasing them on iTunes and steaming up my website, so stay tuned!

Small Business or Corporate Sponsorship
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the businesses that took the reigns from the last installment of this newsletter to sponsor this project! My very favorite guitar company Luna Guitars donated a new Trans Black Eclipse acoustic guitar among other exciting promotional gear you'll be seeing at my release party and raffle. I couldn't have made this album without my Luna Heartsong, so I feel beyond blessed they've welcomed me so openly into their circle of artists. Tami Spaulding from The Group, Inc. real estate company based out of Fort Collins, CO as well as B and J Electric from Bloomington, IL have contributed generously as well and I continue to give thanks feeling so humbled and blessed.

If you're interested please email or call me and let's get your company on the bill of thank-you's and cross promotions...make your mark through music - really the sky is the limit but a great tax deduction for a certainly memorable investment nonetheless.

Go Fund Tera Johnson
Let's just say I already feel loved to the moon and back from the sponsorships and contributions everyone has made thus far. In less than 1 month I have 50% of my goal made! So many have sent private checks for the project so please ignore the smaller % shown on GoFundMe - 50% (I think if I type it 10 more times I'll believe it's real!). Thank you again, but if you haven't already, please check out my GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/terajohnson) and pass it along to anyone and everyone you think might be interested.

What's Happening (v. 2) - March 7th, 2016)

March 04, 2016  /  Tera Johnson-Swartz

Here's the scoop...


Thanks to all who checked out the last newsletter - it's been the first of many, so be prepared to receive some pretty regular updates! It's been an exciting past couple weeks and so much to share from the fundraiser, album production and more...I won't keep you biting your nails, here's what's happening:


Website, FROM THE VAULT and Social Media
Finally the new website is up and running! Thus far no glitches and I have enjoyed giving the website a complete make-over. Keep checking in from time to time (www.terajohnson.com) as there will be regular music added for your listening pleasure. Of course you can stream tunes from my old album THE OTHER SIDE, but I think you'd probably enjoy listening to some songs on the page FROM THE VAULT where I'll be adding some songs that won't be on the album, but I'm proud enough to share them with you. And as the album production is coming together we'll most definitely add the tunes for you to stream while you're waiting for your CD to arrive. This week's addition is an original NO WORDS I wrote back in my college days and recorded it there as well. It was a fun stroll down memory lane as John and I were testing all kinds of new techie sounds. Hope you like it!

And as mentioned last week, I've been continuing to build the social media base (@TeraJTweets / https://www.facebook.com/terajohnsonmusic) which has been coming along quite nicely so please check them out, like, share and anything to get the word out.


The Album: HOME
John (http://jbrecording.com) and I recorded 7 of the rough tracks on Sunday, February 28th. To those of you scratching your heads, we basically had a tempo clicker keeping the time while I recorded the tracks for the guitar and lead vocal. Essentially we use this as a guide for the instrumental portion of the songs. Later, we'll erase those and rerecord a better quality version, but it gives a great foundation for establishing consistent tempos, chord changes and a general layout of the songs.  Remember, John is in Texas and I'm in Colorado, so let's all be thankful for the blessings of modern technology - without it, we'd be spending a fortune on the flights alone!


Small Business or Corporate Sponsorship
With the help of some suggestions from family, friends and fans that know about this project, I figured I'd pass along the idea of working with some small businesses or corporations that might be looking to sponsor a portion of this project. There are dozens of ways we can cross market your company, brand or product (i.e. sponsor a music video, a specially recorded song/commercial for your marketing team, etc.); really the sky is the limit but a great tax deduction for a certainly memorable investment nonetheless.


Go Fund Tera Johnson
If you know me at all, you'll know that patience is not one of my better qualities, however this has definitely been a wonderful opportunity to exercise it. And thankfully the motto "if you build it, they will come" philosophy has rang true. Each time I begin to wonder "will this actually happen?", another contributor sends me an email, check, or donation on the GoFundMe page. Thus far we have over 25% of the goal total - yes, 25% and that's in basically 1 week of promoting this project. Thank you again to all who have jumped on the bandwagon to make this a reality, but if you haven't already, please check out my GoFundMe page (https://www.gofundme.com/terajohnson) and pass it along to anyone and everyone you think might be interested.


Upcoming Shows
Again, yes, there will be a mini-tour during the release of this album, but until that happens, check out where I'll be playing next...

**Artwork on this newsletter is called GRACE by Rachel Hirning
http://www.rachelhirningart.com

What's Happening (v. 1) - February 29th, 2016

March 04, 2016  /  Tera Johnson-Swartz

Here's the scoop...


Well, as promised, I'm back on the music scene - gigging like mad, songwriting in my off time and yep, in the process of releasing a new, full length album. This project is already picking up momentum and we've only just begun! I'm going to be sharing updates throughout the process from production through release, but in the meantime, I want YOU to join me on the journey - after all it's not about the destination, is it? So without further ado, here's what's happening:

The Album: HOME
We're presently in the early stages of production. My partner in crime, producer, engineer and co-arranger John Bamber (http://jbrecording.com) is already hot on the scene of setting up our rough tracks - he's in Texas, I'm in Colorado, so thankfully technology and the internet have given us a great base to start from before the final vox (voice) recordings.

While John's been working his magic in the studio, I've started my own expansion in building a base via social media. I've been working on creating a twitter account (@TeraJTweets), revving up my facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/terajohnsonmusic) , and already looking into creating videos for my dusty youtube page (nothing to show...yet!). This has definitely been a learning curve, so bear with me.

And for those wondering about the beautiful artwork on this newsletter, my dear friend and artist Rachel Hirning is sharing her talents with what might very well be featured on my album cover! If you're an art lover like me, you'll want to know where to find out about more of her work. Visit http://www.rachelhirningart.com

Go Fund Tera Johnson
Believe it or not this has taken off in greater strides than I ever expected! In a matter of days after sharing this project, over 10% of the goal total has been met (some folks preferred to send checks directly, so if you're preferable to that method, please email me and I'll happily send my mailing address). Thank you, thank you for everyone already supporting this quest, but if you haven't already, please check out my GoFundMe page and pass it along to anyone and everyone you think would like to take this ride with me - https://www.gofundme.com/terajohnson

Upcoming Shows
Yes, there will be a mini-tour during the release of this album, but until that happens, check out where I'll be playing next...