A Manchester hip-hop band have raised £10,000 for a new tour bus solely through DONATIONS, just in time for their European Tour next year.
Nine-piece group The Mouse Outfit created a Kickstarter project following the financial burden of having to hire their own transport – the idea of band member James Defty.
Fortunately, the project has paid dividends, with their dedicated fan base and music fans pledging their targeted amount with three days left to spare before it expires.
“The response has been amazing. It seemed like a long shot, but we needed to find a way of getting a van somehow,” frontman Doctor Syntax, aka Ben Hughes, told MM.
“It’ difficult having a nine-piece band – you have to be prepared to invest in yourself a lot, so with a campaign like this, things become a lot easier.
“We received loads of pledges in the first few days, and then it slowed down for quite a while, to the point it didn’t look like we would make it, but I’m pleased to say we’ve hit our target with a few days to spare!”
If the band had failed to reach their target, then they wouldn’t have actually received any of the money.
Dr Syntax revealed this caused some concern, considering they were still nearly £1,000 away from reaching it only yesterday.
“It’s been a nail-biting last week,” the 33-year-old said.
“The van we are after still costs more than we will make, but we set the target a little lower to increase our chances of getting anywhere.
“People can still pledge up until our deadline though, even though we have hit our target.”
The Mouse Outfit have been offering signed merchandise to people who have pledged, such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, signed CDs and vinyls, as well as tickets to future tour dates. They even also offered dinner with the band.
The band were ecstatic and grateful that their dream had finally become a reality.
“Getting a van will make a big difference to us,” Dr. Syntax said.
“With van hire or petrol costs down, we can make a bit more money from shows,which is great as there are a lot of us!
“Thank you so much to everyone who has pledged! You have helped us out in a huge way.”
The band will be touring Europe in Spring next year, with dates to be announced soon.
View their Kickstarter here.
Image courtesy of Ross Brewer, with thanks.
