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The State of All The Things - MARCH 2018. {official thing, here we go} (Patreon)

Published:
2018-03-31 23:50:48
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

(patron-only post)

hello my loves!!!

my loves, i got to the end of this increidbly long post and i put this as a p.s. but it was good enough to cut and paste up here to the top:

p.s. THIS REMINDS ME OF MY OLD INSANE BLOGS BACK IN 2004 WITH 788 PHOTOS!!!! i forgot how fucking long it took to put these together (this blog took about 4 days to assemble and write)...and it made me realize...i don't blog like this anymore. this gives me a great excuse to get back to my old blogging habits. thanks for that. blogging is like it's own weird jazz art-riff...let it be, let it be. 

okay

this is IT. the first edition of our new monthly STATE OF ALL THE THINGS.

first and foremost: WELCOME to ALL THE NEW PATRONS!!! HELLO!!! HELLO!!!! good god it's been a beautiful crazy week - we've added 300+ new patrons and we're scrambling around trying to make sure the guestlist stuff is all working and getting excited about Art In The Mail (more on that below) and everything is just coming up roses. i did get one tweet two days ago, from a girl named @serpent_sky


here's what i love about this exchange:

she was mad. at me. she didn't realize she as speaking directly to me, not really. she was mean. and i didn't get angry; i didn't react. i listened to and talked to her. she came around. these are the zen lessons of internet-ninja-compassion that i learned and carried away from the Great Internet Kerfuffles of 2012/2013. 

it's a lot like life, people. go out and be kind, okay? you never know what is going on with someone who's being a dick to you.

.............

okay back to the point.

here we go, as promised (and if you're new and missed the discussion, it's HERE), the State of All The Things.

if you remember from the last group discussion, someone suggested we call it Althings, as opposed to All The Things, since it's got a hilarious context:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Althing 

"The Alþingi (parliament (Icelandic) and anglicised as Althingi or Althing) is the national parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest parliament in the world.[1]...The Alþingi claims to be the longest running parliament in the world.[1][2] Its establishment, as an outdoor assembly or thing held on the plains of Þingvellir ("Thing Fields") from about the year 930 AD, laid the foundation for an independent national existence in Iceland. To begin with, the Althing was a general assembly of the Icelandic Commonwealth, where the country's most powerful leaders (goðar) met to decide on legislation and dispense justice. All free men could attend the assemblies, which were usually the main social event of the year and drew large crowds of farmers and their families, parties involved in legal disputes, traders, craftsmen, storytellers and travellers. Those attending the assembly lived in temporary camps (búðir) during the session."

THING FIELDS!!!  

so apart from the fact that this shit is men men men, COME ON, how awesome is it to name our new monthly patron--only update/newsletter/discussion forum after THE OLDEST PARLIAMENT IN THE WORLD??? and also we all know any and everything having to do with iceland is just fucking cool. björk 4eva. 

here is the OLD Althing:


HERE IS THE NEW ALTHETHINGS:



hayley and the team and i have discussed all month WHAT we think should go in these monthly updates, and obviously, this is our first time at bat, so please be very liberal with the feedback.

as many of you already know, i've had an EMAIL LIST for the past (gulp) EIGHTEEN YEARS. my email list is golden to me. it has over 150,000 people on it (and you should be one of them. really. sign up here).

this is important: THIS is not THAT.

this is going to be a monthly deep-dive, JUST FOR THE PATRONS, into what i am working on.

the mailing list emails, which go out about once a month, are the shallow dive. i have a video out. i have new tour dates. i have a new book. i try really hard to keep the emails personal but also easy to read, short, bare-bones, and less annoying for the people who just wanna know when i have NEW SHIT out and WHEN I'M GOING ON THE ROAD. 

for you guys (my patrons), i'm assuming you're here because you want the whole kit and kaboodle. so this is it. our monthly attempt to throw you the kitchen sink and also, since we are charging the month, a way to show you all the work and resources that go into making our whole system go. it's a lot. 

we decided it would be best to divide the State of Althings up into four parts: What Happened This Month, What's Coming Up, How The Patron Is Doing, and a Community bulletin board (i.e. other things/people to check out and support).

here we go, yo....

HERE'S WHAT'S HAPPENED

it was march!

it was mostly a new york-centric month for me, and as the snow came and went, i bounced back and forth between being home in woodstock and spending a week down in the city (NYC, that is) with jason webley for the public theater workshop. i had a fucking cold for the entire week. 

last weekend i was on a panel at the woodstock book fest, we webcast it on facebook live, you can watch the archive here:
https://www.facebook.com/amandapalmer/videos/10155732102548375

it was a SUPER-POWERFUL, all-female memoir panel and i got chills a few times. if you have a chance to tune in...watch it. i also recommend you check out tina alexis allen's book, "hiding out", about her experience being the 13th of 13 kids in a catholic family (her dad ran a catholic travel agency that sent families to the vatican), then coming out of the lesbian closet to her dad, who then came out of the closet to HER. and that's only chapter three, before they start escaping the family and going to gay clubs together. this is clearly a must-read. i'm also hoping to get her on a podcast ASAP. she's a truly enlightened being (as my friend elizabeth, who runs the omega center for spiritual enlightenment n stuff, said: she's COOKED). just watch the webcast, you'll see. 


and in book news...my book, "the art of asking" is back on the NYTimes best seller list!

it hasn't been on the list since the WEEK it came out back in november, 2014! it's been back for FOUR WEEKS NOW and is climbing up, it just went from #17 to #15 on the audiobook list. i have NO IDEA WHY THIS IS HAPPENING but i'm pretty goddam psyched. 

if you've never read it....i'd love it if you did. it helps make so much more sense of me and this patreon and everything. you can pick up a copy at your local book store (ask them for it, hahaha) or online in physical and digital formats (including the AUDIOBOOK which features me reading + performing songs): https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/amanda-palmer/the-art-of-asking/9781455581078

you can also get the hardcover, signed or unsigned in the worldwide/US AFP shop or signed softcovers from the UK AFP shop. k that's that.

one other tidbit, while i'm here:

if you HAVE read the book, did you know i made a companion website for the book (with a TON of photos, stories, etc.) back when it came out?

I DID. it's here: http://amandapalmer.net/theartofasking/


...........

and before we stop talking about BOOKS....

i just did an interview for this wonderful reading podcast called READING GLASSES.


.....you can listen to it on their website or on iTunes - it's episode 41.
(they're on twitter as @readinggpodcast)

fun fact: the girl on the left is brea grant, and she's currently shacked up with john congleton, the producer of my last huge record (the kickstarter one) "theatre is evil".  more on john below, and it's a tiny world. in the podcast, i talk about how neil and i deal with the books in our house, how i deal with giving away books when i travel, and how my own relationship with my book has changed...it's a really unique (and funny) interview, you'll like it.

it also prompted me to walk around the house and take pictures of me and neil bookshelves. here are ONLY 10 of the goddam 35 pictures i took:

don't ask me why i let neil have marmite in the house. 

i am weak.
................

i wrote a post about it already, but the WHO-KNOWS-WHEN-IT_WILL-BE-READY musical i am working on with jason webley and steven bogart is underway and we spent a whole week in manhattan writing, thinking, workshopping, and planning. the next phases of the workshop will probably happen in june and august, in cracks of the schedule.

i wrote a post about it here...with a ton of photos from the studio workshop.

i love making theater but honestly, i love any excuse to spend time with jason and bogart. they're two of the most intuitive and loving and weird-ass artists i know and it's a pleasure just being in the room with them and talking about what it's possible to do on a stage.

.....

in the isn't-this-awesome-department...

photographer jack lowe, a fellow creator on patreon and a patron, gave us a shout out on the patreon blog

you should read his entire story, it's just beautiful.

he started out with a passion for old-school-style photography and now he's able to continue the project permanently because of patreon.

he takes portraits, using actual victorian photography methods, of the brave UK volunteers of The Royal National Lifeboat Institution. HOW AWESOME IS THIS?

from the blog:

Someone Jack admires greatly — because of what he’s learned from her — is Amanda Palmer, author of the book (and Ted talk) The Art of Asking.

In fact, he pays $1 per month to be her patron so that he can learn from the way she interacts with her audience.

He learned that, when you turn to fans for support, you’re not telling them to give you money.

You’re letting them give you money.

“But she said another thing,” he added, “and it’s that you can’t actually ask money from strangers. You cannot. But you can ask money from your crowd.”


kinda made me cry. thanks, jack. 

..............

and on that note, from the department of asking....

two days ago, i did an AMA ("ask me anything") on reddit to answer questions about patreon. you can read the entire thread here: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/87iomm/i_am_amanda_palmer_ask_me_anything_about_patreon

here's one of the top upvoted questions that i answered:

marudays asked:
In your opinion, how has patreon (and other crowdfunding services, actually) changed the relationship between artists and fans?

my reply:
that's such a huge question...and probably one of the most important questions. i think it's made things more honest. we have had such a distanced, romantic and sort of dishonest with artists (especially musicians) for so long. i grew up in the 70s and 80s where all musicians seemed like these untouchable, otherworldly beings who weren't part of this dimension. it's like going to a super fancy restaurant and never meeting the chef who makes your meal and sharing a glass of wine with them: it's always been the case that as soon as a musician becomes a "professional" there's a giant army of middlemen (labels, publicists, distributors, promotors, etc etc) between the ARTIST and the person EATING THE ART. i think that that distance isn't something we should take as a given; i actually think both audiences and artists are happier when they are connected to one another in a more human way. even when that means that the uglier and more vulnerable sides of the artist (and the audience) come into play...including how the art-sausage gets made. so while i don't divulge every excel sheet and penny (that would be boring), my audience basically knows how my business runs, what it takes to keep the lights on, and i feel like that draws them closer to my art, it doesn't push them away. that's the counter-intuitive part: i think a lot of artists feel that the artist should remain in an unknown, faraway garret. i'm arguing for more connection, more knowledge, more community, more transparency, less "off in the tower" stardom. my audience (but they'd need to speak for themselves) seem to love this. it makes everything real. it IS real. but now it all feels more real. if that makes sense.

scransmellion replied:
As a $5.00 patron with a $10.00 cap, I agree with the heightened sense of realness. And the realness is both delightful and uncomfortable, as any realness is bound to be! If anything, I would say that Patreon breeds more accountability with artists. Not accountability in the sense of "I own this artist" or "This artist must only put out art I adore/agree/underwrite with my approval" or anything like that . . . but more in the way that, because I am directly offering funding to a person and their judgement and their inherent humanity, I examine their actions more. When there were proposed fees for patrons, the entire Patreon community had very strong feelings about the proposed change. I am a patron to two artists on Patreon. I watched how both artists responded. Amanda engaged in even, open, understanding dialogue and gathered view points . . . she listened, I mean really listened, to her patrons. And she advocated for us beautifully, and we all made it out alive. There was radio silence from the other artist. Amanda now has my higher pledge.

my reply:
finger on nose. it's also why so many artists don't necessarily want to tangle with this level of crowdfunding. IT IS A LOT OF WORK to have a real relationship with eleven fucking thousand people. you can't clock off and only take. you gotta give a lot. and you gotta love the giving, because people can smell inauthenticity a mile away.

....today i'm packing and about to get on a plane (monday, since tomorrow is family-and-easter-egg-hunt-day) and on monday i head to the northwest for my four-date tour with jason webley. 


HERE'S WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIKE

the past 3 days have been spent holed up in a studio in woodstock....as i posted exuberantly last night....i just spent three days of alone-time with a piano and an engineer set aside forever, and i a list of songs to work on and some fetal ideas (and pacific northwest tour rehearsal to do, since i don't want to hit those shows totally cold)...but i got sidetracked.

i really like getting sidetracked. 

i'll tell the whole story when i release the song (next month!) but i wound up using that studio to co-write a brand new song with these two random british songwriters, jasmine power and matt nicholson. (i'm actually writing this blog from the studio while we do overdubs and mixes).

here we is:


all i can tell you is the song is part musical theater, part tears for fears, and again, like nothing i've ever recorded before. 

i've already gotten a text from one of my feminist writer friends saying For Fucks Sake Amanda Don't Call Your Song "Mr. Weinstein Will See You Now" no matter what the content is. but that's the working title. stay tuned for a hopefully non-kerfuffle release.

here's the three of us (jasmine on far left, matt in the middle) after a long day of vocals yesterday (photo by chris the engineer):


here's jasmine if you want to catch up on her work... https://www.jasminepower.com

the song is going to take at least a week or so to mix and arrange (matt is going to be adding some extra sounds) and hopefully it'll be out ASAP. i don't want to keep this one for later, it's too topical and too beautiful.

we did a photoshoot in a local hotel room yesterday (we checked in just for the occasion, but it was perfect because jasmine, who's been living on the road for weeks, got a nice tub)...the images are amazing. all shall be revealed. stay tuned. 

..............

also coming down the Thing pike: 

the artist/animator david mack, in collaboration with the amazing olga nunes, has been working for MONTHS on a stop-animation video for one of the songs of my collaboration record with edward ka-spel, "i can spin a rainbow".

i won't tell you which song, but i WILL tell you it's beautiful, i am releasing it in a whole new way (with a SURPRISE WRITING COMPONENT) and we are remixing the song slightly for the video release. here's a still from the animation...


....i'm hoping it'll be out this month, too.

..................

i have one other secret project that i've now been working on for over a year (more, i think) that is waiting for the right moment to emerge. it'll hopefully be either this coming month or in may.

...................

i'm going to be on tour with jason webley for the next week, so who knows what nonsense-things could come out of that trip, but we are mostly on the road, so we may not have a chance to record anything new. then i'm at the TED conference in vancouver for 4 days (i'll send word of how people are saving and blowing up world)...and the ninja TED show is shaping up to be magnificent!!! so far we have AMAZING guests confirmed: jaron lanier, maria popova, joseph gordon levitt, adam savage from mythbusters, the amazing spoken word artist sarah kay. I AM GOING TO TRY TO RECORD THE SHOW and release it to the patreon - maybe just AUDIO this time. thoughts? i'll also try to stream it on patreon or FB live. it's wednesday, april 11th. here's a link, the show itself is almost sold out and all the $$ goes to the greater vancouver food bank. here's the poster!! all the poster sales will benefit the food bank, too:


wheee

..............

and then i'll be back in upstate new york for the end of april. i'll try to get some more writing and recording done then....and then i leave for the UK tour with andrew o'neill in may....i wouldn't be shocked if andrew and i try to bang out a recording together. i love working and being silly with him, and it's been a whole since i put out something silly. maybe we'll write and record a ukulele song and brexit....

....................


NEW ALBUM (eeeeeee!!!!) updtate:

DATES ARE LOCKED, BETCHES.

i am officially going to be making my new solo record in september and part of october in LA with john congleton....here's wonderful john in the studio recording "theatre is evil" in melbourne before the album had a name:

(photo by jim batt)

i am so excited, not just to make the record, but to make the artwork and to tour the fucker around the world. 

it's such a comprehensive collection of songs and the more i think about trying to make it a sonic cohesive whole the more excited i get. you'll be hearing PLENTY about this whole process, so hold onto your tumblers and i'll get there.

exciiiiiiting.

......................

okay, and....

HERE'S HOW THE PATREON HAS GROWN

last week i refreshed the patreon page and added the new reward tiers. if you missed the post detailing what's new, read it here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/here-we-go-new-17710794

since adding the reward tiers the patreon has grown LIKE WILDFIRE!!

about 300 new patrons joined us!
126 patrons joined the $25 Art In The Mail tier
21 patrons joined the $75 (Signed) Art In The Mail tier
2 patrons joined the $250 tier.

a NOTE about the front-facing number: yesterday, i finally (after some hemming and hawing), turned off the "front-facing number" on the patreon. this means that the public can see the total number of patrons, but not the number of total dollars on my front-page. if you wanna know why i did this....go see the previous (long) discussion about removing the front facing number from last year:
https://www.patreon.com/posts/greetings-from-8664443
always happy to have more feedback and thoughts about that.

i think it's a good thing AND it gives me some more tasty information to give YOU - the patrons, in private.

so here goes, some transparanecy for y'all, because usually this is only stuff we can peer at through our patreon creator dashboard.

as of this writing there are 11,313 patrons pledging $44,645.

you may have noticed that patreon charges you retroactively, meaning that you get billed on the 1st of the month for things released the month prior (for example, you'll get charged for the Things released in march on april 1st). so i don't have figures for march just yet, but there's february...

because people have their pledges capped, the first Thing raises the most money, and anything released thereafter raises less.

the numbers below are gross and not net, meaning it's the money raised before fees were deducted by patreon and is not the total deposited to me. patreon takes a 5% fee (which they use to build and sustain the platform) and then there's a payment processing fee, which varies on a ton of factors and is usually between 5-9% of the total collected.

in february, i Thinged three Things:


the mess inside was the first Thing and it earned $41,450.46 so far from 10,711 patrons

judy blume was the second Thing and it earned $25,613.90 so far from 7,637 patrons

strength through music (2018) was the third and final thing of the month and it earned $19,282.32 so far by 6,018 patrons. after patron and payment fees and the cost to remix the song and video, we donated the profits to support the March for Our Lives rally this past weekend, on march 24th. together, we raised $15K to donate.

note that it is money earned "so far" because patreon is still trying to process some pledges that have yet to go through.

go us, go world, go everything.

FROM THE WORLD OF TEAM AFP:

so you know where ELSE a ton of your money is going: this is hayley and michael, looking bad-ass, hauling a truckload of dresden dolls merch between shows last fall. they are both on full salary with benefits & work pretty much every day out of our new york office in greenpoint, brooklyn, and we can dedicate a whole section of a State of All Things some month to how our office works, that'll be fun.....

and here we all are (with jason) at the weird al yankovic show which i wrote a huge blog about if you missed it: https://www.patreon.com/posts/little-love-to-17625533 

hayley also went to a patreon.com workshop in NYC....here's her name badge :)


ALL THE THINGS.


HERE ARE SOME MORE ARTISTS TO SUPPORT & THINGS TO CHECK OUT RIGHT NOW...

TRISTAN'S NEW RECORD....


tristan allen is an old friend of mine and a spectacular piano player. i created my very first kickstarter to help produce his first piano EP back in 2010...which contained our duet "janos vs wonderland", which remains one of my favorite pieces of piano music ever: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3ScfLqXlYc ....

(check out my dyed-black-EmCee hair - this was in the middle of the 42-show "cabaret" run at the american rep theatre) 

and now, 8 years on, he is releasing the follow-up piano EP. team AFP has been helping him along in his process. we aren't really a record label, since WTF, but we do have resources and we help our friends (and we spread the word when they have amazing shit to put out in the world).

it is GORGEOUS and if you're into haunting, beautiful piano music this has your name on it. it's great work/writing/painting music....and you can pre-order it now as a digital download or on CD. go listen, at least:

https://tristan-allen.bandcamp.com/album/vi-x

..............

BOOBS ANYONE....?


i just backed this kickstarter. the goal is ambitious and i'm already nervous, given their slow start, that it's actually gonna get there, but I REALLY WANT TO SEE THIS ONE, so i throw myself at your feet - o breastfeeding mums, especially - to support this UK artist-mum who's making an animated song video about breastfeeding:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/superdoodle/big-up-my-boobs

................

OZ ESPECIALLY: HELP OUR PALS in CANBERRA!!

this is a worthy project to help save a venue belonging to our freaky community in oz.....help save the phoenix in canberra, australia! over the last 25 years they've presented over 15,000 bands across 10,000 shows
https://www.gofundme.com/save-the-phoenix,
and they're friends. their crowdfund is on fire (sorry no pun intended) at around $50k of $75k. 

.........................

LISTEN:

this link was emailed over to me two days ago by my friend ann-marie.

it's one of the best songs/youtube videos i've seen in a while...i listlessly opened it & then stood there, transfixed in the kitchen, as neil looked over my shoulder and we both stood, transfixed, by this epic musical-art-capture of gabriel kahane & co. i teared up twice. 

enjoy. 

black lives matter.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_QaK0dE0is 

............

that's it for now my loves....

before you disappear completely overloaded with the beauty of the bounty of this month - COMMENT and let me & hayley know (she helped me pull a ton of these links and photos for the blog) about how this post hit you. too long? too short? did the state of all things WORK? any and all feedback will be put into the compost pile for next month's post...

and last but not least, i have also been working on this project....

he's phenomenal.

his new thing is counting himself to sleep. it's goddamn adorable, especially when he goes "one...two...three.....SEVEN."

i relate.

one last thing....

i love you all so much. thank you for reading all this, thank you for being a part of this beautiful community, thank you for making me possible, thank you for going on this unpredictable art-journey. thank you for your patronage. 

thank you for.... being here.

LOVE,

AFP


------THE NEVER-ENDING AS ALWAYS---------

1. if you’re a patron, please click through to comment on this post. at the very least, if you’ve read it, indicate that by using the heart symbol.

2. see All the Things i've made so far on patreon: http://amandapalmer.net/patreon-things

3. join the official AFP-patron facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/afpland

4. new to my music and TOTALLY OVERWHELMED? TAKE A WALK THROUGH AMANDALANDA….we made a basic list of my greatest hits n stuff on this lovely page: http://amandalanda.amandapalmer.net/

5. general AFP/patreon-related questions? ask away, someone will answer: patronhelp@amandapalmer.net

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Comments

Aimsel Ponti

❤️ You are amazing and this is awesome. I skimmed a little bit but I will read the whole thing over coffee in the morning. Xx

Jon Pressick

Of all the Things, of all the business, of all the life you share with us, the peak inside you allow of your artistry always amazes me. I'm sitting here, trying to finish some content on a deadline and right now I am 1000% more inspired that I was an hour ago. Thanks for the diversion and all of the things!

Leslie Lundy

It was long but in a good way, I loved the videos you shared in it. I also love the idea of more in depth info for people that just like to know things haha all the things. That song by Gabriel kahane was amazing.

Linnea Perry

I hope one day to grow into a woman as open and honest as you, thank you for all the things you put into the world. You continue to inspire me in more ways than you know. Also know that if you need a stage manager for your musical hit me up, it would be my honor and my dream to work on it with you <3 xxoo Keep up the amazing work! I see you and you are lovely.

Laura Clark

Hey there, I love this format. It's nice to have a check-in, otherwise the months pass quickly and the sense of the totality of what you're doing can be lost. Keep up the awesome work! Xoxo

ellen schinderman

if you're recording the album in LA will we get a show?? we miss you!

L. Alexandra

I think the length is just right for a monthly message. If this was more frequent, that might be too long, but it's a solid overview for the month. I am super behind (months and months) on your things and emails, but just happened to catch this one. I love it. Also I agree about removing the front facing number. I don't really think that's the business of the general public. I appreciate you giving us the run-down of your spending, but I think for people considering being a patron, who don't understand how you work, who you're paying, what you spend it on, etc. the initial reaction is "OMG SHE GETS 44k a song?! WHAT A RIP OFF!" like you're taking it and running off Scrooge McDuck style to go deep-dive in the cash. That's not the case, but people will go for the knee-jerk before they go for deeper thoughts.

Michael Sperry

Thank you for this, Amanda. Re: the length, it's perfect for a weekend when we have more time to read.

Alexander McKenzie

Dear Amanda, Given all that you've already written to us this month, this is too fucking long, but I've read and enjoyed it all anyway. Write what you feel impelled to write, and I'll read what I can find time for. You are the artist we are supporting, and it won't work if you feel constrained!

Trish D

Loving the insights and the explanation of how the money comes in each month, and that it helps to employ some great people. Looking so forward to another magical, mad NinjaTed in Vancouver (anyone who can make it, grab your tickets now as it is always worth it, and a huge fundraiser for our foodbank.) Thanks in advance for doing this in our city. Amanda, I wish you were in Vancouver this weekend as well as it would have been wonderful if you could have been part of East Vancouver's current fight to keep The Rio Theatre open. The Rio is a movie and live act venue unlike any other in our city, and one of the last independent cinemas. It hosts burlesque, live music, community events, plus a great line up of movies. Unfortunately, it is facing sale to condo developers unless the owner can raise enough cash in the next 3 days to purchase the property. Vancouver is becoming outrageously expensive and these types of venues are quickly disappearing, making it more and more difficult for musicians and other performers to find space to share their work. Platforms like the Patreon certainly help artists, and I am happy to be part of this. The loss of live venue spaces is a fight I imagine artists are waging in many of the big cities these days.

Cyndi Hernandez

Love the Althing. Sitting here reading it in a local coffee shop with local bands playing.

Caren Rusco

I love all of the information because it's the right kind. Thank you for being you, and thank you for letting me help your journey through life. ❤

Rachfaced

I appreciate that you remind people to be kind, and to think hey that jerk could be going through some shit. That's how I try and live my life, and a message I try and spread to others. As for Ninja TED it would be awesome to watch. Have fun working with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, here's fantastic. I love Hit Record. Great first State of All the Things, very interactive! XO

Liz P

This was amazing to read. Getting all this information really added to the "close to the journey" feeling. Also, best name ever! <3 <3 <3

Jacob

I loved this! I always love seeing what the people I'm into are into. Maybe make some defined sections to keep things going organized? "Here's the business stuff, here's what I've been up to, here's some cool shit and here's some things you can support" would go a long way with keeping people from getting lost in your beautiful walls of texts. All the love, as always.

AlidaNui

Really like the longform post. More coverage less often works for me. I agree that it contributes to an understanding of your insanely dense and productive schedule. Yer a reglar Variety Show! I do sometimes worry about the mind-boggling standards you and Neil are setting for your poor little kid! Whirlwinds. Just kidding. He’s lucky. Cheers to you and your happy family.

Juliet Andrien

Love it, but for what it's worth, gmail clipped it after the picture of Ash, requiring a click-through to a web view, because apparently even gmail has limits. (I hadn't seen that one before.)

Lala Stowe

I love getting all this info and you keeping us all in the loop. If I'm being completely honest I'm also reading every post intently hoping for you to announce your San Francisco dates that you teased earlier lol.

auntie_antiope

THANK YOU for the pics of Neil and your bookshelves! They make me feel better about the very big booksplosion in my very small apartment. And gave me ideas for new books to add to the pile(s)! Can't wait to check out the podcast.

Sophie Alice Acton

I ADORE Janos vs Wonderland. Such a beautiful piece. Your webcast with Tristan back in the day was fantastic.

amanda hart

I like the state of all things...

Kathryn Hughes

I like being able to see behind the curtain, and I like long emails. This works for me, thank you. Also I LOVE that Hayley and Micheal get full benefits.

Aldous Cyriac Lázár

I was on vacatipn the last two weeks and was barly able to follow your weel doings. Great to have it in one package. Maybe a bit to long, during the end my attention was floating away with the wine I'm enjoying, but what I always wanted to DEMAND of you came to my mind. Do a thing about your hair! I always wond(n)erd how you keep it in control and so perfect in all those many ways.. I imagine there exist a lot of funny stories ^^ cheerio and happy easter

Dana M

Def long but I loved it. Thanks for sharing all the Patreon stats!!

Kate Sturgess

Amanda, I have two tickets to the Portland show. I bought them before we knew I was pregnant and my morning sickness is so bad we sadly can't make the journey to Portland from Kansas City. Do you know of a pair of wonderful people that would like them? We are happy to just give them to the cause even. We just thought someone else should get the opportunity to enjoy your amazingness.

Amanda Reilly

I like this a lot! I'll admit I scanned parts because I'm sleepy, but the big, bold headlines make it easy to skip around for the moment, and I'll come back later and actually really read. Thank you for the update! And, for the record: no pressure to go this hard every month. Like. Bulleted lists are good sometimes, too, okay? Attempting to look out for you (and Hayley!) and say preemptively that, if this kind of massive report is too much for something other than, like, a quarterly update or something, then that's going to be okay, too! Balance is good. Take care of yourselves. <3

Damian Masterson

This is splendid. I enjoy the mix of life and lives threaded throughout the recap of the month. Will check out the Reading Glasses interview. I know Mallory from a Twin Peaks podcast I used to listen to. She’s a delight.

Bob Wait

Loved reading this! Also appreciate, nay, relish the $ transparency; it's both ethical and satisfies a curiosity itch. I do wonder if you'll find it sustainable to publish something of this length every month when touring life gets crazy and/or mama gets tired, but that's up to you. Cheers from the crowd!

Laura Wellner

Awesomeness, lots of things happening, and new things to see and listen to...I had to read it in bite-sized bits and will enjoy all the links in more bite-sized bits o' happiness! I enjoyed browsing the books on the bookshelves. I need more bookshelves for all of my books, my Fred will have to build more. (One can never have too many books!) Ash is growing so fast! Love!

Brandy

Long, but good. I'll admit I had to stop & start a few times, but it was worth it. I appreciate the info & I appreciate you. Have fun with Jason; I wish I was up in the PNW to see it!

Silvia Paz

The quality of the post made the length completely worth it. I think that it also helped to have everything broken up...it made it easier to take breaks between reading it so that I could check out all of the links and attend to my kiddo between reading. It felt like a completely authentic conversation...like when my best friend needs to update me on her life. LOVE IT. Thanks Amanda and crew!

DebbieG

Thank you for this, love the update chock-full of details..and pictures! I love pictures. I do want to know if you and Neil have actually read all of those books, I used to read everything I bought but sadly I don't seem to have as much time anymore. I love books. Sorry, distracted. Thanks for the recap on the Things and the funds, I appreciate it especially as I am going to up my pledge. So it's nice to know how it's being used and that includes paying Haley and Michael to do what they do. Many thanks, stay well.

Jackie Schicker

I really appreciated the opening with the tweet exchanges; I don’t have time to follow all the social media channels and streaming so this synthesized update was helpful. Also thanks for the transparency finances update, it helps me to keep in mind why I have a cap, and how that impacts Team AFP.

Silvia Paz
>>11205141

If I had a sitter, I would totally take you up on that offer. I'm sorry that your having bad morning sickness! I hope that it does not last too long!

Len Tower Jr.

love how he’s worn the knees out of his jeans!

Tessa Dawson

Long post but beautifully worth it! Was great to catch up on everything from the past month in the one post 🖤

ece

Keep on keeping on...enjoyed the post muchly.

Leanne McCarthy

Lovely post! I have begun looking thrthe links, but I want to savor them. I appreciate all the appreciation, but for the record WE wouldn't be here without YOU. Your mind, heart, whatever it's is that inspires you, is what brings us all to this place. It is a relationship of mutuality, with me anyways, and I think many patrons would agree. Not only do you make all this fantastic art from THIN EFFING AIR, but in just being the person you are you have created a community of beautiful connection. It's a lot of effing flowers! So, thank you! Thanks for all the pics, Ash looks great. It's like a little sneak peek for how my daughter may be next year at this time. They always say "enjoy this time, it goes by fast" and it's so exhausting sometimes, but a whole bunch of times every single day, my daughter fills my heart with new love, pride, amazement, gratitude, joy, and wonder. Mich love from me and mine, to you and yours!

Manuel Ledesma

I loved the post, the length is perfect.

Jann

I love this post and love the idea of monthly updates. Love love love. All the things and all the patrons and especially the patronee!!! This is so much fun being a part of this!!

ann innes

I am a new patron and just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading all this...and that I don't know where you get all your energy from to do all the things you do... and finally, that I have to admit to siding with Neil on the Marmite debate :)

Sabine

great post ❤️

Gaba Kulka

The post is awesome. It's very informative and usefully gathers all the big and little stuff happening, in one place - there's quite a few interesting events I missed inspite of foowing you both via newsletter and via faceboob. So cheers! As a complete sidenote: I think you can call a song whatever the hell you want, kerfuffle be damned. As another complete sidenote: the story about the person who now gives a higher pledge to you, as opposed to an artist who stayed silent through the patreon price hike controversy - it kind of made me sad. The way they speak about artists being more "transparent" and " accountable" thanks to patronage - also made me a bit sad. It's like we now hold up artists to some near impossible moral standards and monitor not jist their every utterance but also every silence for signs of moral shortcomings. So slmebody thought the transaction fees could actually be fairly covered by patrons, and said nothing. And that makes them a worse person... wait, worse *artist* than another, and their art less worthy of support? Damn. I'm sorry for this digression, but it really, really rubbed me the wrong way. I love supporting artists who are genuinely lovely, honest, progressive people. But I support art I love, first and foremost, regardless if the artists lives up to every single standard of behaviour that is currently demanded of them. They're not my political representatives.

Abbi

Truly, I really love this. It's a proper old, sit down with a cup of tea and dig in, sort of thing. It's something to make time for and feel part of, and it's a joy. I particularly love the bookshelf photos, I live professionally amongst thousands of books and I still can't get enough of staring at others' bookspines, so thank you for sharing that! This feels new and fresh and involving and also like the old blog and the old "here's some stuff I love, try it" and, ah, yeah. Thanks Amanda, thanks everyone. I love this part.

Johoney

The post is wonderful. I am so curious to check out the artists and art you recommend! Length is great. After I listened to the art of asking two times in a row this year I hear your voice in my head while reading this. In a good way 💚 One thing: In the wake of the Cambridge Analytics scandal I left fb and I'd appreciate it if things like a stream would take place here instead of there. I know you'll reach less people here. Maybe you can do both? Sorry Hayly you might have to hold the phone for the patreon stream. Take care and thank you for all the things.

Neil P

Tristan Allen's piano music is beautiful, thank you for sharing. Exactly what I needed today. Pre-ordering the new album now...

Beckie Calvert

Love the update, the angry tweet resolution, the photos, the sharing of figures and album updates. It's all wonderful. Thank you ❤️

Cath Juta

Thanks for the very very very comprehensive update, Amanda. Perfect thing to read on an Easter Sunday morning in bed <3 not too long and full of love and things <3 much appreciated

Anna Rnrt

Loved this so much! Perfect start to Easter Sunday :) also really like the insights into the whole Patreon process which is something you don’t get very often but is really very interesting. Thank you so much 💚

Tammie Cook

Wow, this must've taken you some time to put together, Amanda - very greatful! And loved it - loved all the updates, future plans, photos, reccomendations, gorgeous photo of Ash. Thank you for all you do <3 <3 <3

Vivien Baguio

Theres so much to learn from you. New patron here. Loving althingies!!!

ChiliBossXXL®™

What... the fuck... . That is too goddamn much to comfortably read and process in one muthafuck’n sitting. I wanna preface this next comment with I’m not judging you or implying and or accusing but are you trying to cover up or use subterfuge because you feel like you’re ripping people off every month? I personally don’t believe you are but I think you kinda feel like that at the end of every month and so you push out these posts that are part apology, part “see I’m not a bad person I am kind to people and part I don’t know why I need to know these details. You’re good, lady. Just keep making solid music for us when you got something you wanna get out into the world. We are all well aware that nobody can “fake the funk”. Fuck. Now I wrote a long rambling post!

Sebastian

A lovely long Easter Sunday read! Gives me inspiration for when I finalise my patreon page. But... Marmite AND Vegemite?!

Ali Desovska

Where do you find the time for all the THINGS?! I can't find the time to get dressed most days. I live vicariously through you though. Thankyou x

Dietmar Bloech

Thanks for this long and insightful post :) I've missed those and have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Nicole Ives

Thank you so much, I agree I was touched to see the Vegemite 🤗 Amanda for sharing all the messiness of creating Art.

Isabel Vogt

Great post, loved to read all this recap. Btw, do I spot John Cale's What's Welsh for Zen in the first book photo?

Amy Potter

Fabulous post, it was the perfect length for me. It makes me so happy to see All The Things and to know more about what's coming up. So excited to see you on your UK tour, and looking forward to more Things in the meantime. And thanks for the recommendations; more wonderful music! x

Sarah-Louise Kelly

Thank you both for pulling together such an almighty post! I actually loved this. I'd just sat down with some toast and a coffee, music in my ears and this was an ideal way to start my Sunday. See you in August - A patron who has just been able to afford to come back xx

Michael Hargreave Mawson

My first reaction when I saw the e-mail was TL;DR. But I clicked through, as I always do, and I started reading. Then I skipped a bit. Then a phrase caught my eye, and I stoped to read again. Then I skipped. Then I looked at some pictures, and read the con-text. Then I skipped some more and read some more, and skipped and read. Dammit, woman, you have just reinvented the Sunday Supplement! I love it.

Wendy S. Katz

A perfect Sunday morning read. Thanks for making the mega post on a weekend :-) It makes sense to drop the front-facing number, since the amount per Thing changes as the month goes on. Thanks for sharing that. So excited for the new Things about to come! How on earth do you ever FIND a book? You need a Librarian. Ook.

Christopher Schiller

It hit me reading this that you've got a perfect album title in SIDETRACKED for all the songs that forced themselves into being when you weren't intending to make them.

Claudia Rapp

Althings! I like it. Will finally check out the Althing field in Iceland in October!!!

Korin Knight

If you'd banned marmite from the house I'd have felt so sorry for Neil I might have had to reconsider my pledge. Just sayin'... ;)

Rebecca Reid

Thank you! Love what you're doing and so glad to join the community!

Natanielle Felicitas

Great post! Yes to video or audio of NINJA TED! I LOVED watching from Winnipeg, wishing I could be in Vancouver last time. And holy fuck, JARON LANIER!?!??!!

Frank Boyle

I just now have a chance to actually READ and not scan your posts... if you must know, you will be replacing what used to be my weekly Sunday NYT time (before All Hell Broke Loose aka The Big Layoff) as a monthly Sunday read (working retail on a computer-derived "matrix" schedule i kid you not that's what they call it) and I find the content, layout and length Just Right. Kudos to Hayley and Michael and, of course, to all of us and you... <3 you, Amanda F. Palmer.

Russell Mowbray

How on earth do you ever find a particular book when you want to look at it?

Ted Thomas

I thought it was the perfect-sized read for a Sunday morning while I drink my mug of coffee. Grazie!

Lacey Wahl

I like this post. It's nice to know what's coming up in the future. It's also nice to not know everything a'la secret project.

Karin Janssen

Isn’t it amazing what happens when we don’t automatically go to defense mode and just keep our ears and eyes open (still reading just got through the first bit) ❤️❤️

Kaeleigh Post

I would love to have the Ninja Ted in audio or video. I also thought the state of things was just the right length. Thanks for the various links.

Melinda M Kearney

This is wonderful. Great job with the variety of information: what's going on, what's ahead, links of interest... Patreon continues to expand my horizons! I was blown away (in a good way) by the financial information you provided. I had never comprehended the dollars-and-cents of the Patreon, so to see the final numbers deepened my understanding of what you're managing here! And it's not even all about **you** -- it's also about the scads of artists and musicians and technicians and on-and-on who are involved in your Things. You are the pebble-in-the-pond, dear AFP, creating wonderful ripples of art and music and words and kindness that make the world a better place. I am peacock-proud to be a part of the Patreon community.

Peter Gillet

First off, I'm the someone who suggested 'althing'. :) My mind connects words and history that way. I'm delighted you decided to use it. Also, women in pagan Norse culture owned land and were warriors. Look past the patriarchal filter on the history. ;) I hope my book 'Mind Full of Prose' is somewhere on those shelves. TED talk - audio is fine, unless the presentation is visuals-heavy. Your generosity to the food bank is amazing. For Hayley: you're amazing, and you take great photos. Don't worry about the post being too long: people can pause or not read a post too long, but they can't stretch a post too short.

Kelly Rainey

Loved everything about this post. Fabulous way to wrap everything up for us... I do read all the posts you send but even so this felt fresh and inclusive and just a wonderful read. Thanks!!

Lydia Tewkesbury

OH HEY. I read this with tea and Easter egg and enjoyed it very much. I really like this - it's not too long, which I appreciate, but it's enough to feel like we had a chat about things. I really admire to way you dealt with the Twitter situation. I think far too often artists, and actually, to a greater extent, their fans, tend to go on the super aggressive defensive without ever really taking a minute to hear a person's concerns. While it's hard online because most people ARE trolls, I love that for a moment here you were able to look past the troll-eyness of the tweet and get to the actual issue the person was trying to communicate AND shut down any aggression they were receiving by your fans. Nicely done, Palmer! There is a podcast happening atm called Conversations With People Who Hate Me by Dylan Marron (the voice of Carlos on Welcome to Nightvale if that means anything to you, but also a really awesome social activist), where he contacts some of the people who have left him the most abusive messages online to talk it out with actually quite lovely results. To butcher the wise words of Atticus Finch, people aren't so bad once you finally see them... or something like that. Also, LOVED the links. That apartment sessions thing was mind blowing! I hope you and the family are having a lovely Easter and I can't wait to see you at the Bath show!

Amalija Vitezovic

I like long blogs. I already look forward to the long blog at the end of next month :-) By the way, "one, two, three, seven" totally sounds like my brother when he was Ash's age :-) I remember when he memorized the numbers from 1 to 5 and started counting the long line of toy cars he had arranged on the floor: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5..." Our mom asked: "And what goes after five?" And he replied in all seriuosness: "This truck goes after five." :- D

Melinda M Kearney

P.S. I think a section about the inner-workings of the AFP office with Hayley and Michael is a great idea for a future "State of All Things." :)

Jen G

First I need to say that I totally support you Thing your general overhead for the month, even if you haven't put out an "official" art thing. Stuff takes time, effort, and support. I don't feel like I'm buying anything by being a part of your patreon, I feel like I'm supporting you so you can make art. Second, I love the detail and nuance of your AlTheThings post. I'd also love to get a view behind the curtain of office and what it takes to maintain what you do. All the love.

Jennifer Pierce

Please always end with a photo of Ash. He is such a ray of sunshine! <3

Gabby Gilliam

I like posts like this. It's long, but everything matters. I like the sneak peeks behind the scenes. I love knowing what's currently in the works. And thank you for sharing links to other artists and their projects. It's always fun to discover cool new things. Thanks for all the things.

Messina Greathouse

I love the layout. It’s so nice to have a “monthly check-in” as someone else put it, as time does pass so quickly, and I’ve been completely removed from social media for months. I now don’t have to fret that I missed someTHING on FB or elsewhere and can just turn to this one post to directly link to it (thank you Amanda and Haley for delicious pics and links). I love all the sections and so proud of everyTHING. I love seeing what/whom you love supporting. I. Love. You. AFP, team, family, friends, Patrons, ART: 4eva!!! <3

Anik Dean

Thank you Amanda, for sharing yourself so authentically that your Truth/Love created this incredible community!

Rachael

Love the cute project at the end - when my son was around his age he counted to ten going "five, sicken, eight, ... " I LOVED number sicken. We are coming to see your show in Spokane (traveling up from SF) Super excited - if you notice a crazy curly headed eleven year old in the audience you can dedicate map of Tasmania to him -- he loved that video especially the Legos.

Fabio

New to this Patreon-thing, I joined last night (well, Europe). Got a surprise in the mail in a couple of hours - the good kind of surprise: thanks. Short? Long? Size doesn't matter, or so they say: only YOU can know how much you want to write/post/share... I'm happy to read! (I'm new here, as I told, so this is a very-extra-fresh-first impression. It all seemed great, but I really loved the bookshelves pics: it's a lovely opportunity, for an admirer of both you & Neil, and a quite strong reader, to have a glance at what you read.

Bruce Rauhe

Floored.And pouring love and thanks your way. I acted on at least two talents you referenced in here! Gabriel Kanane and Jasmine Power. Who knows if I'd have found these gifts another way, so thank you for that. XO

Bruce Rauhe

Also.... I hadn't thought about the diminishing returns of more than one "Thing" per month... I am rethinking my limit.

amandapalmer
>>11210646

you’ve pretty much nailed my insecurities. but i don’t feel like any of the information here is gratuitous or unnecessary, yknow? and since this is my first actual monthly post, i perhaps thought it was better to go over-board than under-board.

Susan Clow

I love the book photos, and I love seeing The Art Of Asking in the same stack as Dylan's Chronicles. Where it should be. ♡

Ria

Great post, love it. Thanks for your honesty and transparency. Love you ❤️

Dylan Tweney

whew! you are busy, and keeping other people busy (and employed), and massively open about all of it. I can't possibly keep up and watch/read all of it but I am glad you're doing all this. thank you!

Michela M.

Love this post, so interesting and helpful to keep track and remind me of stuff. Just one technical thing: I tried reading this in the patreon app and it crashed, three times in a row. I finally read it in my email, and I'm now just commenting through the app. I think it's too many things for the app. Maybe there's an update that I missed. Anyway, it's great, keep it up! I'll try counting myself to sleep too, sounds cool, especially if I can skip the numbers.... 😉👍 💖

Katt

I do hear echoes of the old blog which is lovely but you have also stretched it into just about being an online magazine! It's awesome and I loved reading and following all the links (the Apartment Sessions one, though....damn.) thinking about your secret projects and looking at all the books and smiling at your lovely Ash. I just think that sometimes you are trying so hard to be 'worth it' to us that you have missed the point that you ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH! Fuck, woman you need to stop letting the fraud police break down your doors! We love you, you love us, your art is valuable in and of itself and so are you. Breathe. xxx❤️❤️❤️xxx

Martin Holeysovsky

love the last long term project! :) and as feedback goes you managed to make it well structured and easy to scroll through and easy to see the highlights. that's very important for me with your long posts :)

Dez Miller

I enjoyed this. My only feedback is that calling grown women girls is a symptom of the patriarchy and implicitly gives women a lower status than men, whom we rarely call boys, unless we’re teasing or being cute. Or racist. (Just to be clear I noticed this when you were talking about about the women who run the podcast you were on.)

krisis

This was terrific. I love a massive omnibus update that gives some context to where the art is coming from. Also, I still remember listening to that first Tristan Allen EP in my kitchen in my first house in 2010, and now I'm living in a totally different country in a new house and I can listen to his second one!

Annapurna Moffatt

I love a good, long read, and will read anything by you (I've missed the old, long blogs), so I enjoyed working my way through this this afternoon and evening. I like seeing what goes on behind the scenes--and I'm looking forward to that post about the New York office.

ChiliBossXXL®™
>>11227403

As a man I would like to say that grown men, myself included, call other grown men as a group,”boys”, all the time as common place. Example being”well boys, looks this is it” or “you boys gonna” and “Boys...” as an address or salutation. I don’t think it gives anyone a lower status whatsoever and moreover imparts endearment to a person or group of persons and peers. It has fuck all to do with rank and status.

DrWex

You keep doing it to me. Though maybe this time it's your friend ann-marie. That apartment session thing is... magical. Thank you, and pass on my thanks to her, please.

WR

just right. Thank you.

Sean

First off, WHAT IS WRONG WITH MARMITE? It's delicious! Second, great post, love the depth and detail.

Jim Lloyd

First, I like the roll-up. It's good to have all the things right there (if I'm busy I may lose track or miss a thing). And the dollars part is cool too (I have to admit, I backed the kickstarter, and was completely confused about the backlash when you let musicians join in for free, so I may not be the best judge). Finally, I also saw the twitter exchange with Rachel Clifford, and what came to my mind was the wonderful Lucinda Williams song "Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone". Because we really can't know what someone might be going through unless we care enough to ask.

Yep That Sarah

First of all OMG I love David Mack's work! I'm super pumped to see this video! Secondly you are amazing and I love how transparent you are and even though your emails can be very long sometimes I usually find some downtime when I can sit down and really read it because it is worth it. Third as someone who is tight on a budget and had to step down my contribution I understand her frustration, but I look forward to when I can step it back up again. So much love for you and your team and all you do!

Andi Stern

This is an awesome post. It must be love for you to allow marmite in your house :) I can't wait to see the David Mack video. My grandson is three months younger than your Ash. They're so cute at that age. (I will say this again as both boys grow; they're still so cute at 31 ;)

Hayley Rosenblum
>>11203175

thanks for the feedback tyler. Amanda had sectioned headlines in this post for the topics, and we used "HEADLINE" format - which makes the text the biggest it can possibly be on the post. did you find that still too small or hard to read? or would you prefer that the headlines be even more specific and less general than they are?

Hayley Rosenblum
>>11208810

if holding up a phone at a show means i get to go to the show... sounds good to me! We hear you re: FB and are constantly working on the best ways to record, stream and share Amanda's happenings. Sometimes we can even get simultaneously broadcasts on different platforms, but that varies. I believe you can watch Amanda's FB live broadcasts if you have the URL even while not logged in to FB - and as a rule, whenever Amanda does a big FB Live broadcast, we tweet the link, too. Thanks for the feedback!

Hayley Rosenblum
>>11213959

if it's any consolation to Amanda, i first tried marmite in that kitchen with the encouragement and assistance of both Patrick Q and Edward Ka-Spel last year.... and Amanda was supportive :-D

Hayley Rosenblum
>>11217922

thanks, Melinda. do you have any suggestions about what you'd like to see there? any questions that we could answer or specific insights you'd love to see?

Hayley Rosenblum
>>11226384

Hi Michela. Which version of the mobile app are you using? iPhone or Android? Are you using the latest, most-up-to-date version of the app? if iPhone, what iOS are you using? Answers to these questions will help Patreon trouble shoot (and possibly replicate) the errors you were receiving. Feel free to email more info to patronhelp@amandapalmer.net and i'll look into it with patreon!

Caitlin Brown

I just love that the Marmite is sitting next to the Vegemite... Why do you have both?!? XD

Lee-ann Dunton

OK, I absolutely LOVED this post. I love the recaps of what you released, how much money each brought in, and where some of the money went, simply because I'm a total data nerd, not that I actually care where/what your money goes to... that's your business (and no, I don't think we have a right to know EVERYTHING). I think every monthly recap going forward should include shelfies... you've started a precedent here, please don't disappoint me. ;) (And I loved finding books I recognize on your shelves, such as MAGONIA! Yay!) And lastly, the shout-out to other projects/art/etc that you're supporting is awesome. I have found some of my favourite people/artists through recommendations you've sent out in the past, so PLEASE keep on doing that! SIDENOTE: I changed my $5/mo ($10 cap) pledge to $25/mo ($25 cap) because this tier was too cool not to sign up for. I love being able to support you! [Wow... I just noticed how much time I said "love" in this post... it's a LOVEFEST!]

Mary Hill

I love that as I looked at the pictures of books I went "ooooooh, marmiiiiiite" and then two seconds later you noted that. I think it's *super important* to note how much money each thing brought in, because as you said, people forget. At this point, I'm not planning on going anywhere and as someone who does art when she can and knows in general that things cost money, I never really get the idea that "ah ha! she's running off with my money!" but as someone who has continually been sold "do art for exposure" I know that the $$$ behind art doesn't make sense to folks. So the front face back face number whatsit, I think you're on the right track. I actually didn't think that the monthly thing-keep-lights-on-thing was going to come with a monthly digest, but I really like it. I actually started my own monthly digest back in 2011 when I went away to UCSD. People said "keep in touch" and I said "challenge accepted" and I still send it out. As people come into my lives I occasionally ask if they want to get my email. It helps me organize my life, especially when I feel like I did nothing. So I just feel a sense of sameness there. I'm really looking forward to seeing you in Portland on April 7th. I'm heading up there from SF because all my besties have moved to Portland and while I know why 'I Can Spin A Rainbow' was very important to you, I'm...really looking forward to a show more you and less esoteric? (do I make sense? I dunno) but with that energy that is just you, not you and-. My selfish self hopes for a ninja gig in Portland, but whatevs. I'm glad you had the spoons to talk to that really frustrated person and turn that moment around. To tie this into the march, as someone who deals with depression and tries to do so many things, I then have to miss lots of other capital T Things because that day I felt empty and blank and I hadn't made a sign or emotionally prepared to do that so I just laid in bed and pet my cat. tl;dr, thanks for the update, I liked it and vibe it, you do you and looking forward to more things. (I'm actually way behind on actually LISTENING to the things but I'll have a giant listening party in my room tomorrow or something.)

Audrey Freeman

Rad. Thanks for the recommendations for artists/kickstarters/art. I love how eclectic and diverse your book collection is and am psyched Tristan is coming out with a new album. I read everything you post, so I'm not sure I'm going to get a whole lot out of monthly Althings, but it is a nice way to sum up what all we paid you for this month :) Looking forward to EVERYTHING in the Althing.

Ashley Sherwood

I like the monthly State a lot so far. Just the right length, as far as I'm concerned. I also love all the photos and more about what's going on behind the scenes. Thanks for doing it- I know it's a lot of work!

Maggie

I really, really enjoyed this post. A lot of your recent posts have been about day-to-day activities and/or stream-of-consciousness and it's hard for me to get a bigger picture of what's going on with you. This post was more like an update I'd get from a friend while getting coffee. I also really enjoyed the recommended projects and artists at the bottom.

Senshi Antares

I like the "friend update,coffee chat,what's going on with you" feel of this post, I like that you give us the backstage salsa of the art-making. I like that you tell us the numbers, I like that you ask for advice. Just want to make sure that you are stoping to smell the roses, once in a while, letting the aroma in, feelling your mind with rosesness and looking inside you to check if everything it's alright. Are you?

TheGratefulNed

Great post. Definitely reminiscent of your blogging days! Quite excited about the new album and tour. Hope I get to see you perform live again; seeing the Dolls 13-14 years ago was fantastic!

Dan Gordon

I really love this post; I see the patreon emails come in through the month and don't usually have time to read them right-then, or I read them but can't click through to watch or listen etc, and they mount up in my inbox til I snap and get rid of them all. So a monthly summary like this, to take five minutes for a quick skim and a more in depth look at bits, is just great.

b0pp

I'm so excited to see you in Portland Saturday! I live in Seattle, but couldn't go to your Sunday show bc my bff's postapocalyptic wedding in that day and I didn't want to leave early. It's going to be a hell of a weekend!

Bri Spider

This is great! Ten thousand high fives!

zeeblet

I really like this! One thing though I would find super useful would be a set of links to ALL of the content - I know the 'all the things' page links to the public posts on patreon for each Thing but I wanted to find the downloads for the Bowie and Prince covers recently and it took me an age as Patreon searching is rubbish and apparently I deleted the emails. I guess it might be clearer if it was a separate list for each tier as some links would be dead unless you're on that tier but it wouldn't be that big of a deal as long as each bit had its tied clearly marked. I've now said tier too much and it has lost all meaning. Tier tier tier tier tier tier tier.

Terry E. Linnig

I realize AZ is the old west but we could use an AFP concert or two.

The Adventures of Booboo

Ah, Amanda, you beautiful woman. Your heart and creative mind feels so open to us, it's a privilege to be part of this wonderful ride. I don't have any negative feels or criticism. I just love the way you do all of this, the art, the sharing and talking, all of it. You are an inspiration. BTW, I recently listened to you reading your book, and the experience was so much... bigger, touching... I don't know... hearing your voice, saying your words. I cried, more than once. Love to you and yours

Nikki Goodson

To those of you who have already attended one of the AFP/Jason Webley shows on this tour: what kind of stuff are they doing? I'm bringing my kids with me, and they are less familiar with the Evelyn/Evelyn stuff or the more recent 'Sketches For the Musical JIB' stuff. I will be introducing them to some of it, but I'm curious also if we'll be hearing some more familiar AFP stuff. I will love ALL of it regardless! But the kids would more appreciate hearing what they know.

Camila

Thank you for all the things and taking the time for letting us know where you are and what you are doing, it's important <3

Bonnie Denbo

I super loved the detail that went into this post. Sorry it took me so long to get to it but shit gets a little crazy around here sometimes, ya know? I honestly had to save it so that I could savor the details (like those sexy ass bookshelves which I spent nearly an hour perusing. Super yummy). By the way, I had the song “Money” stuck in my head all day (super ironic because I’m an accountant). I was thinking how much I would have loved to see you as Emcee. There doesn’t happen to be any footage in the depths of the AFP archives to satisfy my curiosity is there? 😉 As always, sending lots of love and admiration from TX.

Judith

I’m one of the new ones. Found you when Spotify rolled off an album I was listening to (I think one by Gogol Bordello?) into RUNS IN THE FAMILY. Usually I hate when it does that, but it worked out this time. Can’t account for the others.

Hark A. Shady

Long but the effort and thought is appreciated. Kudos to Hailey and the whole AFP gang.

Micho

This is amazing. Love all of the photos and updates. Love the length of the blog. It’s wonderful.

Heidi

All hail the AltheThing!!!

Cathe B- The B is for BIG Art Geek

Digging it. Been frustrated in my own attempts at thingamablobbing. Not getting any responses. Reading your book again. Hoping it helps me get my brain in gear. xo

Brandi

Scuse me Amanda, is that vegamite on the shelf below the cookbooks... Does he eat that death paste on his toast?

Taya Hastings

Okay, so you asked for constructive criticism. Here it is: I enjoyed this State of All The Things Post. The only thing was... I was first reading it via email, and the picture ratios really skewed with the email. It was really tedious having to scroll sideways 9000 feet (okay, okay, I'm being hyperbolic) just to read one sentence, and then scrolling all the way back to the beginning to read the next sentence and so on and so forth. Maybe keep that in mind for future, picture-heavy posts. As for the content of this post, A+. I loved reading about what you having going on, which artists you are currently supporting, and what songs/videos you recommend checking out. Furthermore, awesome that we managed to raise 15,000 dollars. That kind of stuff really makes being a patron worthwhile. A quick comment - and, of course, this is a "just my opinion" comment, so take it or leave it as you will - about the difference between 25$ patrons and 75$ patrons. I think the monetary value here is too great to make these two tiers really "worth it". For instance, I would happily upgrade from the 10 to the 25 dollar tier to get something signed from you in the mail every now and then. That would be awesome. That would be more than awesome. That would be.... well, it would just make my damned month, to be honest. :-) But I can't, however, afford 75$ for that. I feel like maybe you'd get more 25$ patrons if you went ahead a slapped a signature on your art in the mail tier stuff. After all, how long does it take to scribble a signature on something? Again, it's just a suggestion, but I feel like a lot more people would go with the 25$ tier if they'd receive a hand-signed piece of art from you through the mail once or twice a year. Getting art from you would be great anyway, but no one is going to know who its from if you haven't signed it, you know? You're a great, fan-focused artist. You always have been. I've followed you since the Dresden Dolls first started touring widely, and you have always been "in it" for the fans. You've always stayed after shows and signed for fans, and -- at least at the shows that I've been to -- you've never charged for those autographs. You've signed things for me that were silly and fun and ridiculous and meaningful and heart-warming. I cherish those signatures. My point is -- do I have one?! -- I don't know. I just feel like 75 dollars for your autograph is a little... unlike you? You've never really put a price on connecting with your fans before, and I know that's not actually what you're doing now. I totally respect the patreon and your need to give back to your fans. I love that you are trying so hard to give them as much as you feel they are giving you. I'm thrilled that I finally have a good enough job and am in a good enough place in my life to be able to join the patreon and support you like I've wanted to do for years. So please don't think I'm criticizing. I just... well, I totally get the guestlist thing being in that 75$ tier. Hell yes. That's certainly worth it. In fact, I think you're giving guestlist access at a hell of a steal at that price. I wish I could afford it! I don't know. I guess I'm rambling now. haha. I just think you should do autographed art in the 25 dollar tier instead of just art, and keep the 75 dollar tier's big perk as being guestlist access. Does that make any sense? I just think a lot more people would take that leap from 10$ to 25$ if they had surprise autographs in the mail to look forward to from time to time. :-) :-) :-) With endless amounts of love and respect for you and your art, Annie xoxoxo

Princess Castellanos

I’ve finally got to read this post and like my favorite thing about it is the marmite, “I am weak”. Hahahaha i am dying laughing!! Love Amanda, it’s fucking insane!

Don Kenyon

I saw the Good Lovelies and The Little Stevies at a wonderful venue in Melbourne last night, great performers but was really reminded of your posts when both bands revealed they were touring with two year old sons, lovely descriptions followed of the joys and difficulties. In this world, in this time such a reassuring thing

Nicholas Alexander Finchum

I think it's smart you are investing in Halley in getting her to the Patreon convention. I'd imagine left to Neil & your natural inclinations your house would be filled to the brim with books. I can only imagine what 35 pictures of books looks like. I'm glad you exist Amanda, and thanks for coming to Portland and bridging the divide between where I used to live (Florida) and where I now live (Portland). I wanted to meet you, but I had to wake up early for work the next day and the next bus was like an hour after the concert if I didn't book it out of there. Much love through the ether. ~Nicholas

Wendy Oakden

This was fun! Loved all the pictures. Wish I had time to follow up on all the links. I wish there was a page of "Cool stuff you should check out" that I could click over to when I had some spare time

Mary Goza

Wow! Finally got all the way through this. *Fuck yes, fist pump in the air*. Took a while because I kept getting sidetracked with all the links. And of course there are other things that I have to do in this life so I would have to stop and then try to figure out where I had left off whenever I was able to return to the post. It's really long but I also really enjoyed it. If you only write one of these super long post per month then I suppose I have a month to digest the whole thing. So that works for me. Rock on Amanda. Peace and Love

Brian Bilbrey

Thanks, Amanda. I'm catching this one in the web version, because today I have time. Often I don't, so I read the email, and then never get around to the Like on the site. So it goes. Love the music. Love the voice (musical, personal, activist, all y'all). NPR model for sure - if that works for your brain, more the awesome. Gotta run, bye now.