Dearest Reader,
It’s been an alarming week, a five alarm siren kind of week. I hope you’ll bear with me. I have been turning over in my mind what to send you that is not just a dump of horrifying news. It’s made me think of devotion and what that means to me in this time of great uncertainty.
Songwriting is one of the ways I express my devotion. I’m grateful to report I have been writing songs, ones I like and am proud of. These are not overtly political songs, but to continue my work feels defiant. I’m not shamed to admit I’m very scared of the situation we are in, where due process itself is on the line. I’ve been living in 2017 era levels of anxiety and news refreshing. Each moment is both new and old, hanging on tight in this feedback loop between the stubborn past and fought over future.
When I spend an entire day in the world of making a song, I come out with immense satisfaction. It’s a part of my job to beat back the bastards from encroaching on my mental and spiritual plane. It feels miraculous to wrestle back the present moment from the many greedy hands trying to capitalize off our attention and fear.
I hope you’re doing well, and finding time and space to tap into your own creative practices.
Here’s a mixture of what I’m holding onto amidst the chaos.