To commemorate the final 12 days of raising funds for his first Christmas album through Kickstarter, a popular "crowd-funding" platform for creative projects, Schlitt is offering a dozen new reward choices, including photos from Schlitt's personal photo album of the singer's first tour with Petra, a dinner with Schlitt along with friend and fellow musician John Elefante of Kansas fame, and a copy of the May 1986 issue of CCM Magazine featuring an article announcing that Schlitt, the former lead singer of popular mainstream rock band Head East, had joined Petra.

"A friend of mine called and suggested I honor the song 'The 12 Days of Christmas' during the final 12 days of my Kickstarter campaign by putting up one new reward per day for a limited time," Schlitt says. "I thought it was a great idea! I am so grateful to my many friends who have partnered with me for my first Christmas album."

Schlitt, who has never recorded any Christmas music, neither during his 20-year stint as the lead singer with Petra nor as a solo artist, says he has been feeling "a very strong tug" to make this seasonal record.

The majority of the CD, according to Schlitt, will consist of traditional Christmas songs done "John Schlitt style." He also plans to include several praise and worship songs. "My desire is that it will be a double-whammy type of Christmas album that will be very different-and very special," he says.

More than 300 partners have already pledged more than 90 percent toward Schlitt's $35,000 goal. The deadline for pledges is June 8.

Pledges are taken on Schlitt's personal Kickstarter site (kickstarter.com/projects/johnwschlitt/john-schlitt-the-christmas-project) and powered by Amazon, enabling backers' credit cards to be charged via a secure website-but only after the goal is met. If the goal is not met by the Kickstarter deadline, no money is collected from supporters and the project is not funded. Supporters can choose from a variety of incentives, depending on the pledge level, including a cookbook filled with the Schlitt family's favorite holiday recipes, advance downloads of the CD, vintage Petra tour T-shirts, autographed wooden Christmas ornaments hand crafted by Schlitt, and the chance to join Schlitt in a Nashville studio for a recording session. For more information about Schlitt and the new Christmas project, visit johnwschlitt.com.

About John Schlitt:
With more than three decades worth of water under the musical bridge, John Schlitt has enjoyed a stellar career as a solo artist, as the lead singer for Grammy Award-winning Christian band Petra, one of the most successful Christian rock bands of all time, and as the former lead singer for popular '70s mainstream rock band Head East. He has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame as the lead singer of Petra during the years when the band won 10 Dove Awards and four Grammy Awards. Schlitt was named the best rock singer in Christian music history by GospelMusicChannel.com. According to the website, Schlitt "remains one of the most distinctive and impactful men to ever stand behind a microphone." Schlitt was also named Male Vocalist of the Year in About.com's 2011 Readers' Poll in a category that included Chris Tomlin, Jeremy Camp, Brandon Heath and Bebo Norman.

Since Schlitt released his fourth solo CD, The Greater Cause, in May 2012, the legendary vocalist's busy schedule has included appearances on The Mike Huckabee Show, 700 Club Interactive and the Faith & Freedom Celebration-the faith-based kick-off to the Republican National Convention, as well as extensive international touring. For more information on Schlitt, visit johnwschlitt.com or follow him on Twitter (@johnwschlitt) or Facebook (facebook.com/johnwschlitt).

About Kickstarter:
Hundreds of individuals have raised capital through the Kickstarter business model, including Christian musicians Shaun Groves, John Schlitt and Cheri Keaggy. The movie adaptation of Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz received $345,992 (276% of its original goal) from more than 4,495 donors through Kickstarter to make it one of the largest crowd-funded films in history, according to Paste Magazine and Kickstarter's website. For more information about Kickstarter, visit kickstarter.com.

For more info on John Schlitt visit the JFH Artists Database.

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