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Blair Borax (Warbling Creek Studios Episode)
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Special Episode!
Recording artist Blair Borax returns with a touching live SRTN set in Eugene, Oregon. This episode is guest hosted by the lovely Jenny Jo Peterson and features four Borax tracks:
Tender Lately
Wink or Worse
Call me Lazy
Like the Weather
After releasing her debut album “Keep Walking” in June 2022, she is working on her sophomore record, “Tender Lately” and plans to release it in Fall 2023.
This episode, as always, is crafted by Editor and Producer, Peter Bauer.
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:01
Speaker
You are listening to something rather than nothing. Creator and host Ken Volante. Editor and producer Peter Bauer.
00:00:31
Speaker
Feeling terribly. Thinking you don't want to be my baby. I've been feeling all the crazy. Wondering why you won't tell me.
00:01:02
Speaker
Yes, love takes a certain kind of breakthrough You've got armor on you
00:01:32
Speaker
I don't want to be someone else's fantasy. All I want to know is darling, that's me.
00:02:03
Speaker
Out of touch, oh, I will wait. Oh, it's about no date like you don't know. You've been down on your mind. I've been holding you, holding your breath for a second.
00:02:36
Speaker
It makes your lonely heart grow hungry. I guess you'd let me live in my dreams. Oh, that's the one again I'm feeling lonely. If you miss the chance to love me, love me, love me,
00:03:06
Speaker
I don't want to be someone else's fantasy. All I want to do is darling, dance with you. I don't want to be someone else's fantasy. All I want to do is honey, dance with you.
Host Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:04:15
Speaker
Welcome listeners. This is Jenny. I'm standing in for Ken this week. We are in Warbling Creek Studios down in beautiful Eugene, Oregon, welcoming back Blair Borax to the show. So welcome back. And what a treat to be here. Thank you. It's nice to be here too.
00:04:33
Speaker
Yeah, yeah so we just heard an incredible track which I was telling you in between our recording that it's like hits me hard every time I hear it so thank you can we start by just talking a little bit about that and listeners have probably heard it before on the previous episode but
00:04:53
Speaker
Yeah,
Blair Borax's Musical Journey
00:04:54
Speaker
totally. This song is called Tender Lately. I want to start with it. I totally forgot that I sang it on the last one. Whoops. I want to start with it because... No whoops. No whoops. It's like I said. Thank you.
00:05:06
Speaker
Uh, I want to start with it because it's going to be the title track of my next album title. Uh, it's called Tender Lately. And yeah, I just, I love this song a lot. I wrote it in the fall. Um, the short story is that it's a song about getting ghosted. And the longer story is, Oh, wow. Um,
00:05:36
Speaker
just feeling tender after feeling like I've had to start over so many times in the process of trying to find love, which is what a lot of the songs that I am putting on the next record are kind of about.
Themes of the New Album
00:05:55
Speaker
And I think a lot of people can really do that one. Well, for me, it's like the line, love takes a certain kind of bravery.
00:06:05
Speaker
and having that bravery and then the courage to keep trying, even if you're in a relationship, how keeping it going, having the bravery to keep it going. Tell us more about the album you're working on.
Recording Process and Collaboration
00:06:20
Speaker
The album I'm working on, I've basically started it
00:06:25
Speaker
almost a year ago now it's been a slow and winding process and it's gonna be I think 11 or 12 songs all songs that I've written since in the past year since I released the first album last June and
00:06:46
Speaker
The process of recording has been different than the last one in that we're taking a much more acoustic approach to it and bringing in some more session musicians so that it feels a little bit closer to my live performance sound than the last album that was a bit more poppy in its production.
00:07:12
Speaker
Yeah, and I it's been fun because I've felt the growing confidence to be able to communicate some more of my own ideas into the songs and which as someone who
00:07:29
Speaker
doesn't have any formal training in music sometimes it's hard to communicate the ideas or what you hear in your head and so it's been fun to start to be have the confidence to be like what if we did this or I think I hear this even if I don't still sometimes don't have the quote unquote right words for it but it's been a much more
00:07:50
Speaker
It's been a collaborative process in a new way with my producer James Via over at Groundswell Studios is where I'm recording in Portland. Nice. Yeah, what's it like, I guess, maybe working with more musicians and building that collaborative relationship with other people to find those sounds? You know, just finding those pieces.
00:08:15
Speaker
It's been really, really fun. The cool thing is that over the five years now that I've been active since like my first open mic in Portland, it was only like five years ago, I've met a lot of musicians and they've become my community. So when I'm in the studio and we're like, well, what about mandolin on this song? Or what about trumpet on the song? And I'm like,
00:08:44
Speaker
Oh, this person I know plays trumpet. Jordan Vale plays trumpet. I'll bring him in and, you know, like...
00:08:53
Speaker
just being able to then collaborate with people in my community. And also, like, it's really fun to I mean, making an album is really expensive, but it's really fun when you're like paying people, other artists and people, you know, to to do what they do, because it's yeah, it's really special to keep the the money circulating. You're supporting each other. Yeah. And just kind of paying it forward with each other.
00:09:21
Speaker
Yeah, and before recording and stuff like that, I never really was in a position where I was doing that besides buying art at a craft fair or something. So it's cool to be able to collaborate with people in my community and help support them in the process, too. I wish I had more money to pay them more, though.
Writing and Performing Personal Songs
00:09:48
Speaker
It's such a nice mutual connection when you can support each other that way. I want to talk about writing just from my own perspective as a writer. As a writer who doesn't share their writing. Most of the time I write and I burn it.
00:10:06
Speaker
And it's gone. And that's that. And the fox and like over a fire, kitchen, stove, the lighter, whatever. Like I just get rid of it not every time, but often. And that's just, it's, it's my own process and it's for me and it's done. And those thoughts and feelings might come back and maybe I have to do it again, but what's it like to like write down these experiences, thoughts and feelings, and then continually project them and share them with the world?
00:10:34
Speaker
That's a really good question. Well, I think that part of the process, the burning it metaphorically or literally, is part of the process too. I try to every morning, when I wake up and I have my coffee and I sit down before I check my emails,
00:10:53
Speaker
I do some writing in my journal and usually it's so messy that it's like not even legible to myself when I read it back. I've been trying to change that habit a little bit because I'm taking a songwriting class right now with this organization called School of Song and the teacher she was talking about how like sometimes it's you can like pick out little lines from your free writes that might turn into songs. I've been trying to write a little bit more
00:11:23
Speaker
legibly but I think like in the Artist Way book they talk about the morning pages which is just could be kind of just to get the gunk out of your mind to get like anything that's like clouding you
00:11:38
Speaker
out of your mind, off your chest. And then sometimes things might stick out to me that I'm like, I want to explore this more. But a lot of times the songs will begin like at the most random times, like one of the most recent ones I wrote, I was like playing a private party. It was like a high school graduation party, which was interesting.
00:12:04
Speaker
And I went to the bathroom in between my sets and then all of a sudden just this like little line, little hook melody came into my head. I was like, I'm not listening till I'm dead was the line.
Songwriting as Catharsis
00:12:21
Speaker
And the melody came with it too. And so I just recorded it on a voice memo. So it didn't just... Cause it will proof go away if you don't record it.
00:12:34
Speaker
you could sometimes you could try real hard to like keep it in there and what was that again um yeah and so but sharing i started songwriting just for my own process too and i wasn't really planning on um letting the songs out into the world either um i've probably talked about this on the last
00:12:57
Speaker
recording but that my room my first roommate in Portland just gave me a cheap old guitar and I started just writing in my bedroom and it just the first one the first song I wrote it just felt like such a cathartic process to release the emotions that I think like song and melody and rhyme and poetry has a way of of getting that out more than just like talking it out or writing it out at least for me um
00:13:27
Speaker
And to vocally express it just adds a whole different element of releasing. Yes, it's very physical. But then when you get up in front of an audience, it's a whole different thing and sometimes it can feel really powerful and sometimes it can feel really vulnerable.
00:13:51
Speaker
Yeah, it's fascinating. I think when I first started performing at Open Mics, I remember
00:14:00
Speaker
maybe part of this is like natural to like, this is a new thing I haven't done and is it any good? Like part of it's natural just to be like, to be wanting feedback or external validation. But I just started noticing in myself how dependent I was on other people's opinion and validation from people in order for me to feel like it was a good night or was a good show or was a good performance.
00:14:27
Speaker
And so I started trying to like work with that because it felt like it was trying to teach me something too of like, well, why do I need someone to come up to me after my set and say, Hey, good job.
Challenges of Live Performances
00:14:42
Speaker
Um, can I just like feel good about it in myself? And sometimes the performance did suck and that happens too. And that's okay. That's also part of the process. But, um,
00:14:56
Speaker
It's been a really amazing teacher for me because it has shown me, even if someone came up to me and complimented one element about my performance, if they were like, your voice is amazing. My first thought would be like, well, obviously, I think my guitar sucks.
00:15:14
Speaker
And I still work with those voices, those inner critic voices, in my head all the time. I write lots of songs about and to that voice in my head. Some of the more recent ones, which I have yet to really start performing them, are about that. They'll come on the next album as well. But yeah, it's been an interesting journey to stand in front of people and share very vulnerable,
00:15:42
Speaker
parts of myself but when i step back i also realize like how fucking cool it is that like people pay me to sing songs like that's that's crazy that's a crazy job and you're your own you're your own boss now i mean yes you get to design it how you want it to be so speaking of which you're headed out on a tour now um i'd like to just say that we're the first stop on the tour
00:16:07
Speaker
You are, yay. Even though it's not on your poster or anything, I'd just like to say that we're the first stop on the tour. Where are you headed? What are you doing? We're in Eugene right now, so I'm playing tonight at an art gallery, Art City, Eugene. Tomorrow, I'm headed south to Applegate, Oregon, and then I'll be in and around the Bay Area, Nevada City, Sierraville. That's not quite the Bay Area, but that's on the way.
00:16:38
Speaker
Roseville and then Berkeley, Santa Rosa, a couple other stops that I'm not remembering off the top of my head. There's a lot of dates and cities juggling in my brain all the time. I love getting out on the road, so I'm a little envious of the road trip piece of that.
Touring as a Female Musician
00:17:01
Speaker
What's it like touring and being out there as a woman?
00:17:05
Speaker
Can you give us a sense of what that feels like as a woman? Do you feel safe? I know as someone who's road tripped alone and camped alone and did different things that way, we have different experiences when we're alone as women. It's just the truth. What's that like touring and being out different cities, traveling?
00:17:29
Speaker
yeah well for the most part um that all the touring that i've done i've had like a co-pilot another so far female singer-songwriter that's sharing the bill with me and that's still mostly true on this um run i'll be meeting up with maranda mallard um when i get down to the bay area so i have a couple today and tomorrow shows are solo but
00:17:54
Speaker
after that I'll be with her for most of it and it's really fun to tag team with another artist and she'll be celebrating her her album release too so I'm looking forward to sharing the stage with her but yeah I think it's like something that
00:18:15
Speaker
I always have to be a little bit more mindful of my surroundings, but really more than traveling alone as a woman, traveling alone with a car full of expensive gear is the thing I think about more. Yeah. So there's a lot of, uh, there's a lot of schlepping gear in and out of.
00:18:37
Speaker
buildings and cars. Absolutely. Okay.
Transition from Teaching to Music Career
00:18:44
Speaker
Blair, you and I have a lot of overlap because you were an educator in the K-12 system, some alternative settings, and I'm a current educator, special educator on my happy summer furlough currently. In the Lord's work.
00:18:59
Speaker
Um, the good Lord's work. Um, and we're both 500 hours certified yoga instructors. So we've got some different overlaps and a recent conversation I was having with Ken was talking about kind of the sense that even though I know I'm in a good place professionally, I know that I have a lot of strengths in what I do. I get a lot of gratification out of what I do.
00:19:23
Speaker
lot of not so much gratifying feelings out of the system I work in. A lot of time feeling like there's something else that should be going on that I should be putting my time and effort into. And you took that jump.
00:19:38
Speaker
And I'm not necessarily being pulled that direction, and I'm not a songwriter, so don't worry, no competition. But talk to me about taking that jump and saying, okay, no more of this. I've had enough of this over here. I need to bring myself over here and be autonomous in what I'm putting myself toward and not have anybody pulling my strings anymore.
00:20:02
Speaker
What's that like? Yeah, it took a lot of courage to do that. There's a lot of what-ifs that went through my brain of like, well, what am I going to do when I don't have employee-sponsored benefits and paid time off? And what if I don't make enough money each month? And there's a lot of that. And that definitely does create
00:20:32
Speaker
some stress now in my life, if I'm being honest. But it's also very empowering to be so in control of my time and energy and where I put it.
00:20:47
Speaker
and I try to remember what a gifted is to have like slow mornings and to be able to spend time with my creativity and it's actually it's easy to not spend time with that still because there's plenty of admin work that I need to do so many emails and Instagram posts and
00:21:12
Speaker
Yeah, it's like eight jobs in one it feels like sometimes and it does always feel like I'm not doing it like like there's always more you can do but Yeah, I recently wrote a reflection about
00:21:30
Speaker
self-employment and what it's been like for me because it's been about a year. One of the things I was thinking about was thinking about what lessons have I learned in this year.
Self-Employment and Work-Life Balance
00:21:40
Speaker
A big one for me is we've all had bad bosses, bosses that make a good job bad.
00:21:49
Speaker
and so I need to remind myself I remind myself like be the boss that you've always wanted someone who like tells you you're doing a good job and appreciates like what you bring to the table and doesn't expect you to work all the time and tells you to put your phone down and go to the beach you know give yourself some bonuses and some self-care time like yeah because I can have very high standards and expectations for myself and so
00:22:14
Speaker
I've been working on not only like time blocking that the times that I am productive but also like putting in my calendar like You're off during this time. Otherwise, I will find Something to make myself busy of course with and so that's that's one in the new habits. I'm trying to to cultivate because it is harder to create boundaries around
00:22:41
Speaker
work and life because There is no nine to five and there is no weekend and there is no office. It's all meshed into one thing like sometimes I I don't know what day of the week it is and I Don't know when the last day I took off was like that feels like me as soon as I sink into summer It's like what day is it?
00:23:05
Speaker
It's very free. But hopefully that's in a way of like, you're not working. Yeah, exactly. It's the slow mornings, it's tending to the garden, it's tending to creativity, recording a podcast, whatever we need to do, right?
00:23:21
Speaker
I want to circle back a little bit to the songwriting process just for my own curiosity and fascination. You said that the melody kind of came along and the lyrics right along with it. Does that tend to happen for you? Or does one chicken-eat-egg type scenario what usually comes first for you?
00:23:43
Speaker
Sometimes it's both together and when it's one at a time, it's usually the words first. I love words and I love playing with words and rhymes and storytelling and alliteration and all that. And so, um, sometimes I'll just be like in my car at a red light or pulling up to my house or something. And I like a little phrase comes into my head and I just put it in the note, the notes app on my phone.
00:24:11
Speaker
And then when I have the time and space to sit down and say, I'm going to try to write a song, then I'll like look back at those notes and see like, hmm, that's an interesting one. Let's explore that and see what will come from that. See what that song might want to say.
00:24:32
Speaker
It's so cool. So cool. It's a fun process. Sometimes it's infuriating, but but it's fun. Yeah, mostly I can only imagine and then returning to new album and that process like
00:24:48
Speaker
how do you structure an album? And maybe this is just a naive, it's good that a listener is here as the host, I guess. I can ask the dumb questions. Like, how do you decide the structure of an album? And like, does it come kind of organically to like, oh, these songs kind of flow together, you know? I think of certain albums where you play them straight through and it sounds like this just wonderfully orchestrated piece altogether, right? And then of course other albums are,
00:25:17
Speaker
But how do you structure that and like what's that process and with our perfectionist brain like finding the sound? Do you mean mostly just like the order of songs or? Yeah and finding the proper order I guess is what I'm getting at. That's usually the very last thing that I do because they're all each song is like its own little piece of the puzzle and I think it's not till I hear like what the
00:25:46
Speaker
Produced sound ends up being that I Might want to like sit down all together so it is definitely a process and I think My I think everybody probably does it differently But like maybe some people go in they already know what the order is before they record Yeah, but I haven't done it like that But I think for me I also like to think of like the storyline. Maybe there's like a story arc like it
00:26:16
Speaker
but from the beginning to the end of the album, too. Actually, I do know one thing about the order of the next album, and it's that I wrote one song recently, it's called Who Cares, and it's about the music industry, and trying not to focus on the things that they tell you to focus on, which are like,
00:26:42
Speaker
Spotify stream counts and how many people show up to hear shows and stuff like that Because it can be it can feel easy It can be easy to feel disappointed if that's all you're focusing on and so I have to remind myself To focus on what does matter which is the people who are in the room? That even just handful of messages that I'll get from people saying this song really impacted me and here's why I
Ending the Album with 'Who Cares'
00:27:09
Speaker
and also the process of like enjoying the process of songwriting and performing and not getting so stressed out that you've like can't see like this is what I'm doing and it's fucking awesome that I can do this you know
00:27:27
Speaker
and also not forget to like live my life and not be so hyper focused again like being a good boss like giving myself time off time to live and love the people around me and go to the beach
00:27:42
Speaker
Exactly. Most importantly, go to the beach. Yeah, exactly. So what I was going to say is, I know that for this album, my plan is to have that be the last song in the album. Because like here, everyone, here's this collection of songs that I've been working my little tail off on. And so I have a lot of people, team of people.
00:28:06
Speaker
I like I offer it to you I hope you enjoy it and then like wipe my hands who cares like who cares best of luck which I know I will be still checking the Spotify streams like a madwoman because That's in my nature Aparigraha from her yoga training,
Performances of Original Songs
00:28:27
Speaker
right? Yeah letting go yes things done
00:28:31
Speaker
Exactly. That's the Who Cares song. Stay tuned for that song. Blair, we're all looking forward to hearing more from you. So tell us about what you're going to be playing.
00:28:43
Speaker
Awesome. This next song is called A Wink or Worse, which is kind of hard to say out loud, but fun on paper. A Wink or Worse, it's like a tongue twister. But it's another song that I wrote in that same kind of time period in the fall when I was like, not.
00:29:02
Speaker
when I was not feeling like getting back out there, getting back on the horse, you know? And it's about, but there's only one way to find out and you gotta feel first. And it's, yeah, it's kind of annoying sometimes. You don't wanna have to like wade through the muck to find the good stuff, but sometimes you gotta. So this is a wink or worse.
00:29:34
Speaker
Don't put all your eggs in a basket you ain't seen the bottom yet What if a basket is made of plastic? There are holes you haven't met And if you try to fix up a life but you don't know how to use the tools
00:29:56
Speaker
A happy life makes a happy wife But you'll end up a fool Cause you can't memorize the words If you haven't heard the whole verse Can't wake up to the birds If you haven't slept a wink or worse
00:30:28
Speaker
Aye, aye, aye, aye, aye You can't try to see straight with rose-colored glasses on
00:30:53
Speaker
Don't fall for the clickbait She looks different in the light of dawn Not just another wish I made Should've, would've, could've, fantasy Can't be another hopeless dream Another love to fall apart at the seams Cause you can't memorize the words If you haven't heard the whole verse
00:31:21
Speaker
You can't wake up to the birds if you haven't slept a wink or worse. Wink or worse. Blassing or curse. Fall or farce. There's only one way to find out.
00:31:52
Speaker
first cause you can't memorize the words if you haven't heard the whole verse can't wake up to the birds if you haven't slept a wink or worse can't memorize the words if you haven't
00:32:16
Speaker
Can't wake up to the birds if you haven't slept a week or worse Can't memorize the words if you haven't heard the whole verse
00:33:11
Speaker
Love it. Love it so much. Okay, what else do you have for us? This next one is called Call Me Lazy. It's for the love weary. I won't tell the story again because it's basically the same one. I swear I write songs about other things too.
00:33:40
Speaker
somebody once told me the definition of insanity is to begin the same way over and over expect a different end so we must be batshit to look for love again and again open up let someone in hearts break not if but when they say you'll get em next time but you just get caught
00:34:10
Speaker
They say you're still in your pride Your catch get caught Love is crazy You can call me lazy But there ain't no heart on my sleeve no more I've heard of love at first sight But I ain't seen a thing They tell me try and you might find another thing
00:34:38
Speaker
You always want the one you cannot have or doesn't want you to Get hurt or hurt someone back, ain't that the truth? What if I don't want to be tethered to another person forever? What if I won't sit and wonder when I'll find my one true love?
00:35:05
Speaker
Life is crazy, you can call me lazy But there ain't no heart on my sleeve no more
00:35:16
Speaker
Hey love, where have you been? I've been waiting on my one big win But I'm here and I'm holding my own I'll dig my heels in Can't wait for my life to be gained Don't need a love I've never known
00:35:39
Speaker
Love is crazy, you can call me lazy But there ain't no heart down my sleeve no more Love is crazy, you can call me lazy But there ain't no heart down my sleeve no more
00:36:03
Speaker
love is crazy you can call me lazy but there ain't no heart on my sleeve no more no no no wait in hell there's a heart on my sleeve no more
00:36:32
Speaker
Thank you so much. You're welcome. Love it, love it. I love the attitude. I mean, that's what I was getting off that. I just love the attitude of being like, nope, not doing it. Yeah, I think my favorite line in that song is, I've heard of love at first sight, but I ain't seen a thing. Yeah. Thanks. Thanks.
00:36:55
Speaker
Okay, what's next? One more song? I'll just keep going all day. I thought that maybe I would play a song from my first record for maybe some folks out there who
00:37:09
Speaker
might know this song already and you can hear a stripped down version. This song like the weather is on my first record called Keep Walking and you can find it wherever you listen to music. You can also buy CDs and vinyl records if you're into the physical variety. It's a dying art form, but maybe it's coming back.
00:37:36
Speaker
Let's hope so. Let's hope so. Yes. Exactly. Keep collecting listeners. Keep collecting. Yeah. I feel really lucky that I got it. I got a new car, 2019 car, and I was very surprised to find that there was still a CD player in it. I think it was probably the last year. That's how we got back into listening to the CDs was because of the car we have as a player.
00:38:00
Speaker
So when I'm on the road and there's no service, I open up my little book of CDs. A lot of them now are my friends and I throw them on. It's fun. It's so cool. Yeah, so this is Like the Weather and it's about surviving wintertime for me in the Pacific Northwest. The gray, rainy, dark days and finding sunshine on the other side. This is Like the Weather.
00:38:29
Speaker
I've been feeling like the weather wake up and my head hurts rain is falling down like sheets in my bag when it's time to start my day oh but the skies are looking gray and I can't shake that fuzzy feeling in my head
00:38:58
Speaker
I'll throw off all my blankets in the cold She leaves me breathless, my feet will hit the hardwood either way Maybe today the sun will say move over to the blues and the greys Maybe tonight the moon will shine so bright you forget the dark
00:39:25
Speaker
so bright you forget the dark I've been feeling like the weather every day is getting shorter and the darkness wants to creep its way on in
00:39:47
Speaker
I throw on my scarves and sweaters and I do I do remember that the trees are not dead they are just waiting to bloom So slow without my honey Not every season is meant to be sunny and the skies will clear someday someday real soon
00:40:16
Speaker
Maybe today the sun will say move over to the blues and the greys Maybe tonight the moon will shine so bright you'll forget the dark So move over dark clouds I will find my way out Step aside grey skies
00:40:42
Speaker
Maybe today the sun will say move over to the blues and the grays. Maybe tonight the moon will shine so bright you forget the dark. So bright you forget the dark. Oh, oh, oh, so bright you remember who you are.
00:41:13
Speaker
such a treat thanks such a treat Blair I want others to experience the the amazement that is especially seeing you live but experiencing your your art your creation how do we get in touch with you I mean I would say listeners check out our tour dates and go go find it like make it happen because it's well worth it it's intimate it's emotive it's all those things but
Connecting with Blair Online
00:41:39
Speaker
How do we find you? Thanks for asking. Yeah, definitely. I'm doing a lot of touring these days. Oregon, Washington, California. I'm going to Colorado, New Mexico in September, and I'll be touring the East Coast in November, Northeast probably. But if you want to find me online, there's a couple different ways. I am very much on Instagram. That's kind of my main social media platform, blessing and a curse.
00:42:09
Speaker
But you can find me on Instagram at Blair Art Thou, like where art thou, but with a Blair instead, B-L-A-I-R. And I'm pretty active on there sharing new songs and shows and stories. But the other two places I wanted to mention are one, I have an email list and I know that sounds really old fashioned, but I really put a lot of heart into my email newsletters. I send about two,
00:42:35
Speaker
newsletters a month that are not just hey come to my show or hey listen to my song but try to offer I love writing in general not just songwriting so I try to offer like interesting reflections and thoughtful words and something more to think about than just like self my own self-promotion which I get tired of too
00:42:58
Speaker
The newsletter is spot on though, just to interject. Like listeners, if you're going to sign up for a newsletter, this is a good one because whenever I see it pop up in my inbox, I'm like, oh, just read through this. It feels good. And we talked about the making yourself your own boss.
00:43:15
Speaker
That was my last one I sent out I think two days ago and it's it's really sweet because I feel like people actually will respond to those messages those emails and thoughtfully which is like Because I think when people are on their email, although our attention is always scattered I think there's a little bit more sustained attention that people including myself have for emails and
00:43:42
Speaker
rather than Instagram which is like we're just programmed to keep scrolling by so it's it's harder to like dive deep into something so and then if you like the the newsletter if you like that format I have a patreon which is I started a couple just a couple months ago it's a subscription-based platform where you can support artists directly each month and
00:44:03
Speaker
the lowest level is $5 a month and I share like another once a month thoughtful kind of reflection but I'll also share like unreleased tracks and like songs right when I've written them just a video of me playing them live and stories behind the songs and
00:44:23
Speaker
cover songs that you can request and all sorts of things. And that also feels like a really sweet space now because whereas like Instagram sometimes can feel like you're like singing into like a crowded bar where everyone's trying to talk over each other, Patreon and the email feel like more of like a listening room.
00:44:42
Speaker
Yeah, so if you're interested in that, those are the places that I'm most excited about. I'm also on TikTok, I'm not excited about that, but I am there. Awesome, awesome.
Podcast Website and Future Possibilities
00:44:55
Speaker
I'm also supposed to mention that Something Rather Than Nothing podcast has a website, somethingratherthannothing.com.
00:45:03
Speaker
where listeners you can check out art postings all of our episodes are on there as well we're going to be integrating a blog as well on there so check it out all sorts of stuff on there
00:45:18
Speaker
And it's been a pleasure to be on the something rather than nothing podcast, not once, but now twice. Thank you so much for having me. Hey, next time you can come back and host and bring one of your friends or someone you'd like to your own show. That sounds like fun. Let's do it. Yay. Cool. Now it's recorded, so it's official. Ken always does things like that where he kind of puts it in the recording and then it has to come to fruition. You said it publicly, so. Awesome. Thanks so much, Blair. Thanks, Jenny. I appreciate it.
00:45:54
Speaker
This is something rather than nothing.