I’ve written several blog posts over the years discussing the concept of 1000 True Fans. Below is a list of those posts if you want to catch up.

• Do You Have 1,000 True Fans?
• Another 1,000 Fans Success Story
• Another Look at 1000 True Fans
• Will Free Music Make You a True Fan?
• What Makes Someone a True Fan?

While the concept may not apply to every situation, there is one where it has brought a group back to life. I wrote about Rock Sugar Band in 2010. Wow, that was a decade ago. They had created a unique mashup concept of heavy metal and 80s pop songs. Not sure what that means? I’ve embedded a YouTube video of their biggest hit from that CD: Don’t Stop the Sandman.

At first listen you might think they just sampled music from other groups and edited them together. In fact one singer took them to court claiming there was no way the band could hit the notes. The reality is the band performs everything themselves and no sampling is involved. Jess Harnell is simply an amazing voice talent who you may know for some of the animated characters he has voiced over the years. Sadly that lawsuit led to them not being able to sell the CD any longer and the band disappeared for nearly a decade.

Want to see samples of more of the music on that first CD? They put together a video with clips of most all of them. I’ve embedded it below.

Rock Sugar came up with some great new music, but they aren’t allowed to sell it. How crazy is that? What can they do to monetize their efforts? They turned to their true fans via a Kickstarter project. Yes, that link does provide me a small commission if you back their project. To be fully transparent, I got that link after I had already backed the project myself and I can’t wait to get more of their tunes.

They have released one new video already if you want to get a sample of what’s coming. It mixes the Scorpions with Adele. There is an embedded video below.

In their words, part of the fun is hearing songs for the first time and how they put it all together. So they are not even releasing song titles for most of the new music. But as part of the Kickstarter, they have released a couple more videos. The first features a bunch of cameos from folks you may recognize. You’ll see the video for Shout at the Devil Dog All Night below. The force is definitely with them!

The last video is a Christmas version of their original hit. Enjoy Don’t Stop the Santa Man in the video below. It has already been added to my Christmas playlist.

Love what you’ve heard? Eventually you can download any of their new songs for free. Remember, they aren’t allowed to sell it. But if you want to support their efforts and get access to the music sooner, consider showing them some love on Kickstarter. Time for me to pop in their first CD and give it yet another listen.