Green Band meets fundraising goals for new travel van

The Jefferson County Green Band doesn?t have a tour bus, but thanks to the generosity of fans, they do have a 15-passenger Chevy van.

Seventy-nine Green Band fans recently pledged $14,050 to help the band purchase the van - $1,550 more than the band needed.

?We are so grateful,? said founding band member Steve McLain.

Using Kickstarter, it took only a month to raise the funds necessary to purchase the vehicle that will allow the band members to travel to concerts together.

Kickstarter is a web-based funding platform for creative projects. Each Kickstarter project is independently crafted, put to funding and supported by friends, fans and the public in return for awards. Awards vary based on the level of support. For example, the band will perform for the three largest supporters who pledged $1,500 each.

?We?re happy to do it,? said band member Steve McLain. ?We?re so thankful we made it, and we?re so thankful for our van.?

Because every Kickstarter campaign is an all-or-nothing initiative, the band was fearful they might not reach their goal of raising $12,500 by 4:21 p.m. on July 28. If the band had not received the full $12,500 in pledges by the campaign?s end, it could not have collected on any of the pledges.

By July 25, 46 backers had pledged $7,301 toward the goal - a shortfall of $5,199. Band members were nervous, McLain said. When July 28 rolled around, the band gathered at harmonica player Kevin Riley?s home to watch the computer as pledges slowly came in.

?We were watching it. It was like a big rally. My phone was blowing up. It was getting really tense,? McLain said. ?Right at the last minute, it went over. Then we refreshed the page and saw it was way over at $14,050. It was a great moment.

?I feel like there were a lot of people watching our Kickstart, and it was a great feeling of community, of the community coming together with us,? McLain said. ?We had a little celebration going on over at Kevin?s, that?s for sure.?

Describing the van as ?gorgeous,? McLain said the band already has been able to travel together in it three times. They played for the farmer?s market in Sigourney July 30. Friday, they played for Get ?Er Done Days in Cantril, and Saturday, they traveled to Warsaw, Ill., to perform at Riverfest.

?We filled it up once, and we made it to all three gigs without putting any more gas in,? McLain said. ?It was great. The whole band was in one vehicle.?

McLain said without the van, the band - which in addition to McLain and Riley includes Ed Raines, saxophone player; Tim Duffy, bass player; and David Hurlin, drummer - was unable to ?stretch out? and grow further.

?Having the van means catapulting into the next level of success,? said McLain.

?Our main objective has always been to reach as many people possible with our music,? he said. ?That was becoming increasingly harder to do with our personal vehicles. We had reached a point in our careers that without a van, we could not grow further.?

McLain said he cannot express how grateful he is to the Fairfield community and to the individuals who supported the band?s effort to purchase a van with their pledges.

Attributing Fairfield Ledger publicity with getting the world out when it mattered most, McLain said he could not ask for a more supportive town to make music in.

?We appreciate all the years of support from our Green Band fans,? he said. ?We will continue to write new songs and make fresh music for you.?