That means:

I’ve been rather slow on putting a wrap on Pledge-O-Rama 2013. What a shocker it was. We were bracing ourselves for a bit of a drop this year. Advance pledges were down. Excitement wasn’t there like it was for last year, our first. I/we brought in donations in a way that we didn’t quite expect, and certainly didn’t think would come in again. There’s always the novelty of the first of these kinds of events, and I wonder whether that’ll keep people from getting excited again.

And yes, we did lose some pledgers. That could be for a lot of reasons, and I certainly don’t intend to judge anyone who made the choice to sit this one out. But lots of others came through. In a BIG way.

UMFM‘s goal was to raise $24,000. Once again, we were able to meet that goal and go over, ending up with $31,336.33 thanks to your generous donations.

And my humble goals were slightly lower as well. Last year you helped my little shows bring in over $3000. I had no expectation that we’d do it again. Honestly, I was hoping to be half the man I was last year, and hoped to bring in around $1500. Well, you really came through. Near the end of Steel Belted Radio‘s Pledge-O-Rama edition, I had no idea where we stood on my shows, and we weren’t sure exactly how close we were to meeting the station goal. Afterward, we sat down and crunched the numbers. Once, twice, three times, all with differing results. We were tired and a little confused.

In the end, we came so close to the station goal, that I only had to make a small donation to push the station total over $24,000. Thanks to you for that. And after a few false totals, it was later revealed that Tell the Band to Go Home brought in a whopping $2,399.47, and Steel Belted Radio added on another $612.50, making our grand total an unbelievable $3,011.97!  I once again humbly ascend the throne as one of the fortunate few Three Thousand Dollar Men!

And again I say THANK YOU for helping this organization which does so much good, has made so many dreams come true for me, and which I love dearly. We’re going to have a great year full of great programming and improvements behind the scenes, and that’s thanks to YOU!

As our thanks, we have plenty of great station incentives. I’ve delivered some, and still have a bunch here to get out to you. If we haven’t talked already, please let me know how/when to get those to you, because I want you to get what you’ve earned.

I’ve also got a copy of the Best of 2012 compilations for all of our kind and wonderful donators. You should have received a download link already, but if you haven’t received your hard copy (if you want one), I want to get that to you as well. Initial feedback on the compilations has been positive, so I really hope you are enjoying or will soon be enjoying the collections.

You’ll get tired of it if you aren’t already, but from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!

And if you missed out on the love, it’s never too late to donate! You can still go online or contact me to make your donation, and can still get in on station incentives and my prizes!

If donating just wasn’t in the cards for you, I totally understand. Contact me if you want a copy of the compilations.

November also means the return of Brock Zeman, Blair Hogan, and Dylan Roberts! These three are insanely talented, and really great, decent guys. If you have seen them at The Sunset Saloon, Trout Forest Music Festival, or one of their various gigs around town over the years, you’ll know how wonderful the show is. If you haven’t, prepare to be blown away. I got to see the boys on their way out West, and I can tell you that they’re sounding even better than in August, and even better than ever. They also have a great new album and some really awesome new shirts (I can’t wait to try one on.)There’s still room left on the guest list, but it’s disappearing quickly. These guys get more popular each and every tour, and for good reason, so we’ll squeeze in as many folks as we can, but I’d bet that we won’t be able to accomodate everyone. So if you haven’t already, CONFIRM YOUR SEAT! Don’t assume that I know you’re coming, because sometimes you can’t, so I wait to hear it from you. If you wait too long, we might have to have an awkward conversation, and I really hate those! Join us!

7:30

BYOB

All are welcome.

Snacks galore on hand, but bring something if you wish.

Looking (way) down the road, I just lined up a show for next year that I am absolutely bouncing off the walls over. It’s a long wait, so I won’t talk about it much, but needless to say, this multiple award winner (CFMA, Juno, and many more) is one you won’t want to miss. Stay on the mailing list… it’ll be worth it. I can’t wait to tell John Prentice and Gail Comfort about this one!

Coming up this week:

Tell the Band to Go Home features tributes to yet more amazing musicians who have gone to the great jam session in the sky (seriously, these guys are dropping like flies… if you’re a musician, make sure you have life insurance…). We’ve also got some amazing new and exclusive tunes, and a look ahead to some great upcoming shows.

On Steel Belted Radio, we’ll have an in-studio visit from Charlie Mars, who’s in town opening for The Dixie Chicks this week. He’s an interesting guy, and I’m looking forward to seeing him again, even though our last visit didn’t go so well… But eventually, you gotta get back on the horse and try again!

I hope to see you out at The StuDome tonight for the return of one of this year’s great Sunset Saloon performers, Animal Parts (aka Joshua Cockerill.) Word is that he’ll have some beer cheese and BBQ sauce on hand, so you’d better get there early before I buy it all. Seriously, I LOVE that stuff! Oh, and there’s music, too.

Stay warm,

Jeff

host of:

Tell the Band to Go Home
Sundays, 2-4 pm central
www.tellthebandtogohome.com

Steel Belted Radio
Thursdays, 6:30 – 8 pm central
www.steelbeltedradio.com

CJUM 101.5 UMFM
Winnipeg, Manitoba
www.umfm.com