Things are moving fast for the Genki Dama Japan Tour!
MERCH!
Almost all of the merch has arrived with Shao Dow and we are on schedule to get you everything you pledged for in May!
Which means this weekend we are "locking" pledges, which is the final chance for you to change your shipping address if needed. You will receive an email about it.
As we continue to push forward on SK Labs and wrap up the StarKid Returns rewards, we're also launching a new crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter this Saturday, April 6th, 2024. This time we'll be raising funds for a fantasy-filled musical adventure...
StarKid invites you on a journey to The Lands That Are for our latest stage production, CINDERELLAβS CASTLE! This grim retelling of the classic fairy tale is filled with humor, puppetry, and an electrifying musical score by Jeff Blim. We've put together an amazing cast and crew that we're excited to reveal over the coming weeks, so be sure to check out the new campaign to learn more.
Below is a sneak peek at what's in store... the full Kickstarter trailer will launch on April 6th, along with the campaign! Follow our Pre-Launch Kickstarter Page HERE to help us build the hype and stay notified about updates on the show!
Follow the campaign for:
Exclusive Previews: Dive into the depths of the production, from peeks at the musical score, to cast reveals, to glimpses at this new fantasy world we'll all create together.
Backer-Exclusive Perks: We're lining up special rewards to celebrate your support, including new apparel, exclusive digital backstage content, and more!
Join the Story: Our journey would not be complete without all of you. Your contribution helped make our StarKid Returns campaign a success, and we'd love to have your support in creating the magical realm of Cinderella's Castle.
Your tour merch is on its way! Shao will be receiving everything in April and will be sending everything to you all in May before the tour!
Here's some pics, and we'll keep you updated as we progress.
Handsome flag, handsome guy
The new manga is almost finished!
What a fine looking cup!
IT'S ALL HAPPENING AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOU!
We're super excited about the GenkiDama Tour and we hope you are too. See you again in April with an update on merch reaching Shao, and the completion of the manga.
Since the STARKID RETURNS campaign ended in October of 2022, we've toured with the JANGLE BALL, produced NERDY PRUDES MUST DIE (and released the show on YouTube). We've shipped physical rewards and signed scripts, but we're not through yet!
Last weekend, on Saturday March 16th, we hosted our STARKID REACTS Livestream for SK Returns backers who contributed $25 or more. If you missed the stream (where SK cast & crew members re-watched our latest musical NERDY PRUDES MUST DIE), you can still catch the unlisted video on YouTube. Be sure to check your email for the STARKID REACTS messages, containing the link to the stream.
And speaking of emails, we've already started scheduling our $1,000 tier STARKID RESPONDS video chats. So if you're one of the 24 backers who we'll be having an hour-long Zoom conversation with, please make sure to look out for messages from us about planning those hang-outs. We had our first round of video chats today, and they were tons of fun!
As far as rewards go, that just leaves the STARKID RECORDS Personalized Songs! We're pleased to report that those are being worked on right now and should go out within the next few months.
WHICH BRINGS US TO THE SK RETURNS PROJECTS THAT ARE IN CURRENT DEVELOPMENT. Namely, STARKID LABS...
While the three SKLabs projects are all in various stages of pre/production, we're looking to have all of them completed within the next year. In fact, here are some brief updates from the three SKLab teams: First off, the forces behind SISSY had this to say: "The script for Sissy is in active development, with Tammy and Corey L. setting some deadlines for different stages of the script and production. Weβre aiming to mount the reading in summer of 2024." Next, Lauren Lopez, the creator of THIS TITLE IS PERMANENT! teased a winter '24/'25 release with the following statement: "Ok you ABSOLUTE FREAKSβ’οΈ! This Title is Permanent will be premiering in the winter, which should give everyone ample time to watch Divas Live 1999 (in full!) before listening." And the producers of SPACE BABY (currently targeting a fall 2024 release) sent this transmission: "Ahoy there, Interstellar travelers! Weβve been hard at work bringing our new anthology series, Space Baby, to life! You might askβ¦ what IS Space Baby?!
Space Baby was conceived as a safe space for artists to bring to life their wildest, most WTF ideas. This cosmic variety show will feature the work of a diverse array of creators and digital mediums seen through the eyes of our titular tot as he sets out to discover the origins of life itself. Participants are given a prompt, a budget, and (most importantly) permission to get weird. Don't overthink it. At its core, Space Baby is an experiment in creativity, comedy, and play.
So whereβs the show?!
Starting back in early 2023, we began the process of finding someone to bring our titular tot to life in puppet form! After meeting with several different puppeteers, we found an amazing artist based in the Washington DC area who agreed to take on the challenge within our limited budget. Turns out, making a puppet takes a long time! Over the summer and into fall, as we awaited the arrival of our heroic space child, we met with a variety of artists as we assembled the creative team for this first episode. Then, in late November of last year, Space Baby was done and sent to us! Now in 2024, the time has finally come to begin production. The creative team is assembled, our intergalactic infant is in our hands and we are SO excited to show you all what weβve been working on. Itβs gonna get weird!
The creative team (so far) includes: Jaime Lyn Beatty (co-creator) Curt Mega (co-creator) James Tolbert (writer and director) Matt Dahan (original music) Angela Parrish (original music) Leigh Lahav (animation) Sinead Persaud (writer and director) Kim Whalen (producer and actor) Amy Plouff (original props) Nick Gage (theme song) And more!!!
Be on the lookout for an official trailer dropping later with a target release date of late summer / early fall! Thank you for helping us bring new stories to life!
Sincerely, Jaime, Curt, and the Space Baby Team"
In fact, you can watch a teaser for SPACE BABY right here!
In addition to the SKLab projects themselves, we'll also be producing the SKLABUMENTARY (a short documentary detailing the process of bringing these experimental endeavors to life). That featuretteΒ should be coming out in late 2024/early 2025 as well, so stay tuned for more updates!
In the meantime, THANK YOU again for supporting the STARKID RETURNS BackerKit campaign. We so appreciate your involvement and your patience. We hope you've enjoyed all the projects that have been released thus far, and we can't wait to show you the rest of them!
Gratefully yours, Nick Lang StarKid Productions
PS. We've got one more treat for you! A special peek backstage at the STARKID JANGLE BALL in your first POV VIP TOUR (the NERDY PRUDES backstage tour will be coming soon)! Enjoy!!!
Have you ever felt lost, broken, or rejected? Our latest album reaches back into the past to find old, forgotten, and "broken" songs to polish them up and make them "beautiful". The work spans over a decade of effort.
After more than a year of polishing and updating, this "small" project has grown into something massive, with efforts from more than 80 people (it may be closer to 100) world-wide, and it includes the incomparable talents of such performers as:
Judy Kang (resident cellist for Celine Dion) Stroma FilmWorks (New Zealand orchestra comprised of performers from prestigious groups such as the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra) Olivia Foa'i (singer on Disney's Moana) ... and many others
REFRACTIONS cover
Backer-Exclusive Content
Because this album is meant to show you our rough edges, we have included a special look-behind-the-curtain. As an additional download for Refractions backers only, we are sending you Refractions Origins, a collection of the "original" tracks from which Refractions was born - the broken tracks (as many of them as we are able to share.) Some of these are snippets; many are unmixed reference tracks sent to creative directors during the process.
For those who haven't pledged for a copy of Refractions, but would like to, we've re-opened the "pre-order" store. Simply head to the campaign page (https://talesoftheblackpiper.com), click "Pre-Order Now!", find Refractions in the list, add to cart, and place your order.
Refractions Wider Release
We don't have a date yet for a wider release of Refractions. We are currently targeting May 2024, but we have a few things to work out first before fully committing to a date.
We also don't yet have any details on which, if any, platforms we will release it on. We will have it available for sale (at a higher price) on our website - at which point the "pre-order store" will be closed again. but beyond that stay tuned for updates.
Digital Downloads(important info for backers!)
Refractions has been broken up into several zip files. If you have ordered Refractions, you should get an email that directs you how to access your content and how to open the multipart zip files provided. (There are 5 zip files for the Refractions WAV format and 3 zip files for RefractionsOrigins.)
If you cannot find the instructions or have any trouble with the downloads - let us know!
As always, let us know if you have any comments or questions or just want to share some love!
All the best, Michael & The Team @ The Black Piper
Refractions Mastering is complete, and we are putting some finishing touches on a (digital) companion booklet we'll be sending out to Refractions backers along with the music.
I know that this "little" project has taken more than a year to complete, but I didn't realize just how big it was until I saw the credits sheet. I mean, by big-budget Hollywood standards, it's not quite blockbuster size, but it's still pretty big! We've counted over 80 people who've been involved!
Also, take a look at all these featured performers π!
REFRACTIONS Credits
Some great folks on there! Like:
Judy Kang (who has served as Celine Dion's resident cellist)
Sandy Cameron (who has done some great work for Danny Elfman)
the Stroma FilmWorks orchestra in New Zealand (which is made up of people from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra - which recorded music for such films as Lord of the Rings), and many others!
We are waiting on a few assets to come in to plug them into the companion booklet before finalizing it, so it may end up being Wednesday before we send things out, but if everything comes in today as promised and we can get everything proofed, you should have it tomorrow, Tuesday, 26 March!
Yay!
As always, let us know if you have any comments or questions.
This is a quick early update in March to let you know of an important deadline!
This Sunday the 10th of March is the deadline to answer your backer survey if you pledged for an official Shao Dow Genki Dama Tour T-Shirt and want your customised name on the back of it!
Most of you (75%!) have already completed your survey, if that's you, you can ignore this update.
If you have not completed your survey and do not fill it in by the 10th, don't worry you can still complete it later.
However, if you pledged for a T-Shirt and don't complete your survey by the 10th, you won't be able to choose the name we use for you on the T-Shirt, but we will use part of the name you used in your pledge so that you are still recognised for your contribution!
As mentioned in our previous update, we will be sharing some exciting tour details later this month! All thanks to your support! That update will also have a schedule for merch production.
70% of you have already completed your backer surveys! We appreciate your quick response as it helps figure out the quantity of products to make and the logistics on where it has to go.
For the 30% of you that haven't yet completed your backer survey, please do so as soon as you can as it really helps us out! You will have received emails about it but you can also click here to gain access to it!
MERCH
Here are first looks at some of the awesome Shao merch that is coming your way, thanks to our incredible artist Krissy Diggs!
Meeerccchhhhhhh!
STICKERS!
I don't know about you, but I think this stuff looks sick!
We've also heard from Shao that Volume 2 of his Manga series is almost completed!
Announcement From Shao!
We have a message from Shao for you all!
I can FINALLY announce, because of all of you supporting the Genki Dama Japan Tour 2024, we've recieved additional funding and support from the UK Government in the form of the MUSIC EXPORT GROWTH SCHEME from the BPI, the DCMS and Department of Business and Trade!!
This is HUGE for me because MEGS funding and support demonstrates that an artist is export ready and indicates that they are a musical talent that can contribute significantly to the British music industry and economy on a global scale. So begins the legend of International Shao.
Thank you all SO MUCH!!!!
This means the UK government will help us make an even bigger and better Genki Dama Japan Tour! And its all thanks to you all. You're awesome.
What's Next?
In March, we hope to update you on our production schedule AND our tour details.
As always, please let us know if you have any questions!
The Backer Surveys have now been sent! You should be able to find them in your inbox (or spam folder) of the email address you registered with BackerKit. You can also click here to gain access to it!
Survey In the survey you will:
Choose options for your pledge, such as t-shirt size and chosen name on t-shirt
Include add ons if you want something extra
Upgrade your pledge if you want to
Give us your shipping address (which can be altered later)
After doing that, you're shipping fee will be calculated, depending on your address and pledge. And that's it!
Schedule Please respond to the survey as soon as you can, as we need your chosen name details for the Genki Dama Japan Tour T-shirt!
You will not yet be charged for shipping until we begin the production and shipping. We will give you plenty of forewarning for when that will happen.
Pre-Order Store If you missed the campaign, not to worry, we will be soon opening a pre-order store. It cannot feature things exclusive to the BackerKit campaign (such as your name on the tour t-shirt and certain bundle deals) but it will let you support the Japan tour and get its merch!
