I just got the email from the Nick Cave mailing list the other day but since February 18th, The Bad Seeds have been hosting a crowdfunding event for the benefit of their inactive road crew. Lots of bands are helping their road crew, and this one is being run like a lottery. Fans can buy chances for £5 each for a chance to win [randomly] 100 prizes that run the gamut from musical instruments to significant books, autographed by their readers in the Bad Seeds.

100 prizes for 100 random winners…

• NICK CAVE’S GUITAR. SIGNED BY NICK
• WARREN ELLIS’ KEYBOARD. SIGNED BY WARREN
• WARREN ELLIS’ MINI GUITAR. SIGNED BY WARREN
• NICK CAVE PORTRAIT. LIMITED EDITION 58 x 54.5cm ART PRINT OF ‘INK & SOLACE’. SIGNED BY NICK & ARTIST, BEN SMITH
• ’HELL’S ANGELS’ BOOK – A THOMAS WYDLER TOUR READ. READ & SIGNED BY TOMMY (+ signed postcard)
• THOMAS WYDLER’S DRUM STICKS (PAIR). SIGNED BY TOMMY (+ signed AAA pass)
• THOMAS WYDLER’S DRUM SKIN. SIGNED BY TOMMY (+ signed AAA pass)
• ORIGINAL DIGITAL ARTWORK BY MARTYN CASEY. SIGNED BY MARTYN (4 available)
• JIM SCLAVUNOS’ DRUM SKIN. DOODLED & SIGNED BY JIM (2 available)
• JIM SCLAVUNOS’ DRUM BRUSHES (1 pair). SIGNED BY JIM 
• JIM SCLAVUNOS’ DRUM STICKS (1 pair). SIGNED BY JIM
• DELUXE LOVELY CREATURES COMPILATION + AAA SIGNED BY TOMMY + DRUM BRUSH SIGNED BY JIM
• LITTLE GHOST CHARM. SIGNED BY NICK
• NICK CAVE & WARREN ELLIS VINYL OST BUNDLE
• GEORGE VJESTICA’S GUITAR PEDAL. SIGNED BY GEORGE
• LARRY MULLINS CUSTOM STOOGES DRUM STICKS. (5 pairs available) 
• LARRY MULLINS ‘1001 NIGHTS’ – COPY OF SHEET MUSIC FOR WILLY SCHURICKE’S LEGENDARY DRUM SOLO, AS  PERFORMED BY LARRY IN BABYLON BERLIN. SIGNED BY LARRY (15 copies available) 
• NICK CAVE LIMITED EDITION PICTURE DISCS (1 set of 4 discs)
• NICK CAVE HAND DRAWN SKETCH. PERSONALIZED TO THE WINNER
• DIE HAUT FT. NICK CAVE ‘BURNING DOWN THE ICE’ CD. SIGNED BY TOMMY & NICK
• TRIBUTE TO WALTER STOHER CD. SIGNED BY TOMMY (3 available)
• PAIR OF TICKETS TO A NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS SHOW OF YOUR CHOICE (EXCLUDES FESTIVAL SHOWS). VALID 24 MONTHS FROM DRAW DATE. (25 pairs available. One pair per winner)
• LIMITED EDITION CREW LOGO SHIRTS. DESIGNED BY DRUM TECH, DES (30 available. One per winner. We will use best endeavors to accommodate preferred size)
• £200 GIFT VOUCHER FOR BAD SEEDS STORE
• £200 GIFT VOUCHER FOR CAVE THINGS STORE
• PUSH THE SKY AWAY LIMITED EDITION BOX SET

The band takes care of the postage for everything. The beauty is that each £5 ticket has a chance to not only win these prizes, but to make a difference to the road crew that gets the band from points A-Z under normal circumstances. Anyone who had seen the brilliance of The Bad Seeds live have these people to thank.

The best thing is that although the crowdfunder closes in a week, and the thought was to get a pool of £70K to get these people solvent in a time of no paychecks, the campaign has been a rousing success. Currently the take stands at £171,472. The target has been stretched to £200K. Every ticket gets a random chance for a prize and there’s no limit to how many you can buy. If you would like the chance for a Nick Cave sketch for your wall or just like to see The Bad Seeds road crew solvent in troubled times, then you know what to do, below. We’ll get back to Sparks tomorrow.

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