In the summer of 2008, Holly Laessig and Jessica Wolfe, the principle singers and songwriters of Brooklyn-based Lucius, were scouring Craigslist housing ads looking for a new place. They came upon an ad that immediately caught their attention. It was for a residence called the Bromley House, which struck them since it isn't too terribly often that you find a house in Brooklyn with a proper name. As they read the rest of the ad, they knew it was meant to be.

The house was a recording studio and music school for over 60 years before Laessig and Wolfe moved in. The previous owners, Buster and Faye Bromley, had left behind instruments and equipment with the house, which would be put to good use in the hands of the six musician friends and bandmates who moved in. And thus, in more than just name, the groundwork was laid for the band's debut album, Songs from the Bromley House.

It isn't just Lucius' easy-going, rootsy sound - which focuses just as much on "seems-like-they've-always-been-there melodies" (an accurate description from their bio) as it does on meaningful lyrics and arrangements - that helped them realize the album and garner attention in New York's saturated music scene. Lucius' nimble and resourceful business savvy could serve as a model for many upcoming bands in today's uncertain industry. But we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves here...

Wolfe and Laessig first met through friends of friends when they were freshmen at Berklee College of Music in Boston. One evening they got to talking about potentially getting a band together and doing a Beatles cover show. "We did rearrange and cover 'Happiness is a Warm Gun' and were going to put together a whole slew of other tunes," Laessig says via email, "but instead, decided to take the band we were going to work with and start writing our own original material."

After graduating from Berklee, Wolfe and Laessig moved to New York where they and a handful of their closest musician friends began working on the debut Lucius record. Starting with sketches in GarageBand, the songs slowly began to take shape until they moved into Bromley and finished the arrangements they would take into the studio. But one question remained, one that usually does for young, independent bands with an album worth of demos: how the hell are we going to pay for this?

For Lucius, the answer came from their vast network of friends, family, collaborators and the modest fan base they had built. They financed most of the album's recording themselves and the rest of the money was raised by reaching out to the network who valued their music and asking for a small donation in return for a signed copy of the album (and possibly even a live performance).

"The album was financed, written, produced, recorded and done up as far as graphic design within our inner circle," Wolfe explains. "Thankfully for us, though, this circle was comprised of extremely talented professionals - including producer Doug Wamble and engineer Ariel Borujow - who are the best at what they do. So we were extremely blessed in this way. The support we have been shown through this process really proves that anything is possible if you are sincere with what you do. Be yourselves, project the message you need to project, love what you do and it all shines through to those that are around you. Surround yourself with people who do the same, be it graphic designers, musicians, technicians or photographers."

Wolfe continues with advice that helped Lucius get to where they are now: "Our business decisions were fueled by necessity," she says. "We don't have a label backing us. We're a startup group, this was really the only option, so we made the best of it. Get out there, get to know people, think about building friendships as opposed to making connections. Creative people have the honor of supporting one another to create a bigger picture. The album is not just about the tunes we wrote. It's about a gathering of ideas - musically, visually, emotionally - and projecting it in a way that not just one person could possibly do on their own. It's an amazing thing to accomplish and something we couldn't be more proud of in that way. Never give up and always make yourself and your work available and accessible to people."