The Limousines short relationship with record labels is coming to an end. After they self-released their EP Scrapbook and full-length Get Sharp, and even got some radio airplay on their own, Universal Republic signed the band for a single-song deal for “Very Busy People” and Dangerbird Records re-released Get Sharp. The duo is going back to its DIY roots with Hush and recently launched at Kickstarter campaign to fund the project.

“We could easily get another record deal, but that would just mean putting our band, our lives, in the hands of people who are less passionate about our music than we are,” the band wrote on their kickstarter page.

They are asking for $30,000—the minimum needed to finish recording, mastering and mass producing the album—which at the time of writing this post was nearly met. If they exceed $30,000, they plan to properly promote the album by hiring agents, publicists and going on tour.

The band is more than happy to be working on the album without label support. According to their Kickstarter page, they had a lot of reluctance signing with a label in the first place.

“We had every intention of staying independent, but we were constantly pestered and tempted by record labels—We know that would be a dream come true for most bands, but to be completely honest, it was kind of scary…Guess we ended up losing our bearings and they eventually convinced us we needed the help of a label to take the band to the next level,” they wrote on their Kickstarter page.

The Kickstarter campaign to fund Hush ends on Tuesday September 25th.

In just a couple weeks, Corpus Callosum embarks on their first national tour, which was only recently made possible by the generous donations and support of their friends and family here in the Bay Area.

The tour will stop everywhere from clubs and theaters to basement parties and backyards. They return to San Jose for a homecoming show at Anno Domino on August 14:

Corpus Callosum National Tour 2012
Fri 7/6 San Francisco, CA @ Hotel Utah with Paper Bird, Muralismo
Mon 7/9 Santa Fe, NM @ High Mayhem with Cloacas
Wed 7/11 San Marcos, TX @ Green Casa books
Thu 7/12 Austin, TX @ house show with Some Say Leland
Sat 7/14 New Orleans, LA @ Mudlark Public Theater with the Mudlark Puppeteers
Sun 7/15 Memphis, TN @ Courthouse Co-op
Tue 7/17 Knoxville, TN @ Groundswell Collective
Wed 7/18 Durham, NC @ Casbah with Crystal Bright & the Silver Hands
Thu 7/19 Baltimore, MD @ Whole Gallery
Fri 7/20 Brooklyn, NY @ Goodbye Blue Monday with Monsoon in Bloom, Carroll, the Gradients, Marigold
Sat 7/21 Providence, RI @ TBA
Sun 7/22 Boston, MA @ Lily Pad with Speaker for the Dead
Mon 7/23 Brattleboro, VT @ Headroom Stages with Wooly Mar
Tue 7/24 Brooklyn, NY @ TBA with Not Waving But Drowning
Wed 7/25 Philadelphia, PA @ TBA
Thu 7/26 Columbus, OH @ Cafe Bourbon Street
Fri 7/27 Bloomington, IN @ Rhino’s
Sat 7/28 Milwaukee, WI @ Riverwest Public House with the Celebrated Workingman, Shiloh
Mon 7/30 Chicago, IL @ Burlington with the Jeff Harms Singers, Cpt. Captain
Tue 7/31 Minneapolis, MN @ TBA
Wed 8/1 Fairfield, IA @ TBA
Thu 8/2 Columbia, MO @ TBA
Fri 8/3 somewhere in KS @ TBA
Sat 8/4 Denver, CO @ Mercury Cafe with Cloacas
Mon 8/6 Bend, OR @ TBA with Rural Demons, Spirits of the Red City
Tue 8/7 Tacoma, WA @ TBA with Spirits of the Red City
Wed 8/8 Seattle, WA @ Beery House with the Mongrel Jews, Spirits of the Red City, Wild Reeds
Thu 8/9 Olympia, WA @ Oly Art Kitchen with You Are Plural, Eleanor Murray, Spirits of the Red City
Fri 8/10 Portland, OR @ house show TBA with Spirits of the Red City
Sat 8/11 Portland, OR @ TBA with Spirits of the Red City
Sun 8/12 Eugene, OR @ TBA with Spirits of the Red City
Tue 8/14 San Jose, CA @ Anno Domini with Whiskerman, Spirits of the Red City
Thu 8/16 San Francisco, CA @ Hotel Utah with Spirits of the Red City, Suzanne Vallie\

For more info, visit the band’s website.

After a decade together, local indie-folk-band-meets-theater-art-troupe, Corpus Callosum, decided they wanted to take their show on the road. Between all the instruments, props and band members, touring would be no small affair. So they made a kickstarter with a minimum of $5,500 to help buy a bus. In the end they raised $7,443 and were able to buy a vehicle with as much character to it as they have.

“The bus is an old North Carolina school district vehicle that a couple of park rangers converted into an RV and drove out to California with their kids,” says singer Dax Tran-Caffee. “We bought it off of them down in Pinnacles National Monument. Two days later we brought it to SubZERO as a bit of a test run.”

It was perfect timing too since Corpus Callosum are known for always bringing unexpected performances to SubZERO. This time around they put on an intimate show inside the bus. A handful of people, as many as 12 at a time, crammed inside the bus and watch a few songs, then a new batch would rotate out. Corpus Callosum don’t have plans to play inside the bus on tour, but there are other ways to use their vehicle for live shows in the future. “It wouldn’t be out of the question to have a functional stage on the roof by this time next year,” Tran-Caffee says.

The tour dates are still being finalized, but they are for sure starting in Austin on July 12th and concluding at the Hotel Utah in San Francisco on August 16th. Thoughts of their first tour are exciting and scary.

“Heading out on tour is really nerve racking. We’re doing everything we can to prepare, but we’re also stepping out into the unknown. We won’t know if anyone will actually show up to the shows until we hit each stage, so we don’t really know if we’ll be making as much money in each town to keep going as planned. We don’t yet know where we’re sleeping each night, or if we can actually handle being in each other’s company for those 14-hour drives, although having such a spacious bus is quite a blessing in that regard,” says Tran-Caffee.

For More information, check out Corpus Callosum’s website.

Corpus Callosum always wanted to go on tour, but that is easier said than done. With seven members, multiple instruments and loads of theatrical props, a mini-van just won’t cut it. That’s why they are putting together a kickstarter fundraiser to help get them on the road for their first ever nation-wide tour.

Corpus Callosum have been performing together for ten years, and have accomplished quite a bit in that time. They’ve produced innovative, artistic music videos; performed in art museums; curated their own series of music and theatrical shows at the AD Gallery and they always make a big splash at Sub Zero Festival every year. Though they have traveled up and down the West Coast, they hope to take their act to the next level by going on a legit national tour. If all goes well, the fundraiser will set them up to tour in subsequent years.

Considering how serious and prolific Corpus Callosum are, it’s strange that they haven’t hit the road after a decade of performing, but they aren’t really a “band” per say. They are more of a musical theatrical troupe. They put a lot of work into each of their performances, which are a mixture of indie-folk music, visual arts, theater performance and puppetry. Their shows usually begin with something truly fantastic like having the entire troupe enter the stage alongside a life-size eight-foot-plus tall puppet. It is a visual-auditory spectacle.

In order to be able to finance this tour, Corpus Callosum estimate that they’ll need at least $13,000. They are asking people to help them reach a minimum of $5,500.

Their kickstarter campaign will remain active until May 21. If they make their goal, they will announce tour dates in June. More details HERE.