Dear Reader,
I hope this love letter finds you well and that you are enjoying the Easter weekend. Thought i’d sneak in a more personal newsletter in just before i go on a short break, especially as there are quite a few new subscribers that don’t know much about me yet. Welcome to you all!
As some of you outside the walls of Substack already know, my beginnings as an artist were humble. I hadn't had the chance to be a full-time musician until i was 42 (!) and so i didn't know much about what it meant to be an independent artist in the 2010s. I imagined i’d mostly be sitting behind my synthesisers, playing, singing and making music - writing songs, rehearsing, recording, some editing and some photography. Social media was still a bit new to me then and i hadn't even touched on all the other facets, yet, like proper marketing or PR!
Soon i became a bit wide-eyed at all the things we have to do, but still, i loved what i was doing and thought, "Yeah, no worries, it's what an indie artist does". As time went by, the responsibilities increased... and not by a little! I began to feel the pressure. The non-music-making responsibilities began to take up much more time than the actual creative side... The expression on my face began to change…
I started to feel more and more like this, till one day i ended up breaking down and nothing moved anymore:
Right now is the busiest time of the year for me - aside from my usual duties of songwriting, shooting photos, various facets of website care, social media, mixing, editing, PR, music practice, etc., i've taken a few other things on board now: an online second-hand shop; preparing two single releases, (one of which just came out this Thursday, called ‘Paranoia’); an anniversary special; moving my music catalogue over to another distributor; receiving some technical training for an external studio job in May (tech - eeek!); daily creative writing; and, of course, it goes without saying - the regular Substack content i am writing.
So this is the new me in 2023! ⬇️ (note the lack of personal life!). I’m still somewhat wide-eyed and octopussy... still learning to navigate the ship… but I’m surrounded by rainbows! 😊
I only wish to remind you that by adopting the right mindset, you can do this too - and it won’t cost you as much energy as you think! Sure, there’s work involved and some people do take longer than others to see results, but that’s ok! Everyone walks a different journey and it’s futile to compare our journey to anyone else’s. Of course, you don't have to walk around like an octopus on drugs! 🐙 When you think, though, that until recently i was chronically fatigued for most of my life, no wonder i find it unbelievable to be doing so much today! So you see, it is possible to put those old demons of negativity away and succeed in whatever we put our minds to - at any age! 😎
SOME CHANGES
Before i go on that short break to France next week, i wanted to let you know of some changes happening to 'Love & Decibels' that i hope will make it more attractive for you, e.g. more sections with additional content:
- Creative Tools;
- Amazing Books;
- Poetry corner - as well as sharing my own poetry with you, it would be so cool if you could all contribute to this section, too;
- Experimental writing;
- Podcasts - vocal recordings of my written posts for those who prefer audio;
- Giveaways (currently only for paid subscribers, as i’m buying the goodies myself and postage is horrendous from Switzerland!);
- and a surprise section or two that probably top all of the above!
While i'll continue to provide you with some health and wellbeing info, i’m also aware that there's currently an explosion of such content on the internet and this stuff can get a bit boring and dry, sometimes. I'd really like to make this more fun for us all, so i thought to provide you with more posts on creativity, flow, energy and spirituality. What do you think?
Is there anything you'd like to see more (or less) of? Let me know, either by commenting below, or, via e-mail (loveanddecibels@substack.com).
'Love & Decibels' is YOUR newsletter, so your input here is crucial!
Love & Decibels and a happy Easter,
xx jo xx
Sounds great! I love the drawings, so my only feedback is to keep them coming!
Will you be taking the Yellow Submarine to the Octopus's Garden?.
I sent you an article about using a chatbot to handle your more mundane tasks and give you more time to create those wraith like drawings that almost seem to be moving. I didn't send it out of the thread we had going so you may lose it to your spam filter.
I am no longer amazed at how many of my younger clients are big fans of Pink Floyd and Comfortably Numb is one of their favorites, and mine. As a hyper anxious person all my life I really chased after that comfortably numb feeling but the problem with that is that I became numb to the rewarding feelings that come from participating in life and finding joy in the accomplishments of others. Coincidentally, I was 42 when I checked myself into treatment and came out a month later, feeling younger than I had 21.