DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

March Roundup

Hi all,

This month, at last, I’m grateful to report that I’m settling into something resembling normalcy. Of course, it seems obligatory these days to mention that “things” (meaning: political events here in America?) are distinctly not normal—but I’m not sure that I agree. Disgusting, yes; infuriating, certainly; but the selfish actions and warped minds of those who have seized power seem, to me, nothing other than unsurprising and completely predictable. Terrible people with a lot of money and power are using hatred and divisiveness to continue to advance their own agendas? You don’t say.

Sorry! I don’t mean to be glib, just honest. I am no more sure than you how we are supposed to get through hard things this life, but I’m pretty sure it’s not by yelling at each other for not showing up in the exact specific way that we believe to be correct. So whatever you're doing (or not able to do,) it's okay! Of course, there are many things that make me sad and angry and afraid. But I refuse to live the duration of whatever is left of my life in a constant state of nervous system dysregulation. So instead, I’m allowing myself to reconnect with some of the small, sweet pleasures that occasionally do still come with being alive on this planet. And today (and hopefully until I, y’know, die) I’m going to try to offer up a handful of things that are intended to bring you a bit of ease, delight, and enjoyment.

-A big thank you to those of you who were able to donate to last month’s fire fundraiser, which collectively raised 275k in one day. As promised, my contribution to that compilation—a completely new song called Someday We’ll Lose It All—is now available for y'all here on the Patreon. It’s lighter and more soothing than the title makes it sound, I promise.

-Also available to ALL (including FREE!) subscribers—an impromptu cover of The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, live from my teeny-tiny bedroom studio. This is one of my favorite songs popularized by the great Roberta Flack, who passed a couple of weeks ago. (Special thanks to my dear friends who asked me to play this at their gorgeous wedding ritual ceremony last year. You know who you are, I love you!)

-AND as a fun little bonus, a few recommendations:

The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, the new memoir by confirmed big-hearted genius Neko Case. It’s funny and devastating and made me feel more alive while I was reading it. (Special thanks to my dear friend Adam Schatz for sending it to me while I was sick!)

Heavy Metal by Cameron Winter, an album that manages to be catchy and accessible and wildly inventive and forward thinking at the same time. I can’t stop listening to it. It’s starting to annoy everyone around me how much I’m listening to it.

Plants. Yeah, just plants. We had moved into our house and it still didn’t feel quite right and then I got some plants and was just like “oh. Right. Plants.”

Giving yourself something to look forward to. It doesn’t have to be much! Of course it can be something big, like a vacation, but honestly, small little things throughout the day (coffee in the morning! a nice walk with a friend! a sweet treat in the afternoon!) can really get the job done. Usually when I’m feeling my best I notice that I’m doing a decent job striking a balance between diligent work ethic and doing nice things for myself.

School of Song with Laura Marling—I hope I’m allowed to say that I’ve been trying to teach one of these school of song classes for so long, but the timing has never been quite right. With that said, the timing is one hundred percent right for me to take this class, with an artist I greatly admire, Laura Marling. Perhaps one thing will lead to another. (Additionally, if you are interested in getting even more things in your inbox, her Substack newsletter is absolutely brilliant.)

These are my offerings for now. I hope they make your month feel a bit brighter.

And lastly, if you happen to be in Los Angeles, I’m playing a casual house show on March 29th with a few other bands—low key, outdoors, during the day. Get your tickets HERE.

I love you, hang in there,

JW