My first newsletter! Took me long enough. I’ve felt hesitant to have a newsletter. What do I have to say? Or perhaps, more to the point, why would anyone care?
Turns out being in a band and making music involves so much more than making music - writing newsletters, for example. Perhaps that goes without sayin. While some of those other tasks are fun and creative, many are tedious and, in some cases, leave me feeling yucky. While the music remains the most important part, the more I understand the industry, the more I see the importance of all the background work. It is often this work that defines who hears your music, what stages you get to play on, or how you pay all the people who help along the way.
I find many of the other parts of being a musician challenging. Every decision feels higher stakes than it is, I spend too much time on social media, I grovel at the feet of grant funders, and I am constantly asking people for something. I’m asked to connect with an audience that I don’t know if I have, and asking people to listen to my music continues to feel weird, transactional and just lame.
But alas, here I am, asking you to listen to my music. Over the next few months, I’ll be doing a lot of that, and as recipients of my newsletter, you’ll be the first to hear about the big, exciting news soon to come.
But for now, listen to “State I’m In”. When we recorded The Arc as It Was Written, I wanted to add a few songs that didn’t quite make the cut on the first go around. “State I’m In” is one of those songs. It’s a song about depression – the kind that you can’t think yourself out of – and the futility and desperation that comes with it. This time of year is rife with it, so I hope this can be a reminder that you aren’t alone.
Sharing music is a love language. If you enjoy State I’m In, please share it however your share music <3
Alex
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