New stuff in the works!
Several months back I teased out on Facebook and Instagram how I was working on new music for the first time in years. I admit I was thrilled to hear many of you were excited about the prospect, but to be honest, I started working on it because I needed to. It was for me before it was for anyone else. Which is why I think this project might be my favorite one to date.
It’s also why I am hesitant to even talk about it more because, as things often do around here, the plans changed. I’m still going to do the project. I’m still going to tell you about it here, and I’m still excited beyond words about what it’s gonna become. It’s just that I’m going to put the release of it all on the back burner in order to make Jonathan and the content we’re developing through Instillery Group my focus for the majority of 2020. We had a weekend of strategy and brainstorming for what this all looks like, and though in my mind I had tossed around the idea of shifting my priorities toward his stuff, it became obvious this was the best way forward. I can’t tell you how good his work is, truly. I can’t begin to tell you what his years and years of study, personal testing and refining have done to this rich methodology he is now working to make available to the world. I can’t tell you how insanely proud of him I am. For now, just trust this: you’re going to be blown away.
IN THE MEANTIME… I wrote this blog last month, and I still want you to hear about the project I have up my sleeves. It’s still going to happen; it’s just going to follow Jonathan’s lead. I feel like this new timing makes so much sense, and I hope you’ll understand it all once you see it unfold. So, here’s more about what’s to come, even if it takes longer than I first anticipated.
The music I’m working on is part of a larger project, a book and music co-mingling, AND a live show to release it all. There’s much to be excited about if I do say so myself, but one of the biggest reasons? It’s a collaborative project that features SO. MANY. AMAZING. MUSICIANS. Seriously, I’m beside myself thinking about all the wonderful humans who are part of creating for this album.
The book is the impetus for the music, but they inform each other, as you’ll start to understand once you learn more about both. I started writing this book over a year ago and have been feverishly working to get it done and published this year because it is time. TIME! It is something I am profoundly proud of and feel deeply connected to. It is personal and vulnerable, but I believe it will speak to so many of us who are longing for permission to enjoy the process of becoming.
The name of the book is Up-and-Comingness. No, it is not a word. At least not yet. But my goal is to introduce it into the common vernacular. See, “up-and-coming” is an adjective we’ve grown accustomed to. But I think it’s more problematic than anything. Maybe even a bit sinister. When we embrace this descriptive word, we unwittingly let in a set of measurements. We let it size us up without even realizing what’s going on. We weigh our progress and accomplishments against its standards, but the “standards” are so far from standard that we don’t even know what we’re measuring. I believe it’s time to adjust. It’s time to recognize that we are not the problem; the word is the problem. I’m setting out to create a new word, a noun: Up-and-comingness. This new word comes with a whole new meaning, a sense of being, a set of ideals to govern how we view progress, and more importantly, how we reclaim peace in the process.
The idea of living up to others’ expectations isn’t new, but it has been supercharged in recent years because of our cultural shift toward immediate reactions, visibility in all areas of life, and an obsession with “hustle culture.” But for all our availability and all our efforts to put our best selves on display, we have, perhaps, lost the essence of true fulfillment, purpose, and peace. Up-And-Comingness is a manifesto of sorts, an attempt to call people back to the idea that slow and steady actually does win the race, that becoming the most you you can be is what the world needs, and that savoring the journey isn’t just acceptable, it’s the point.
So, there’s the book in a nutshell. But that’s not the whole shebang. Nope, there’s way more!
When I thought about writing this book, there was no separating the experience my musical background. I decided instead of trying to make a book that publishers could easily pinpoint, I would keep the creativity at maximum levels by self-publishing and then enlisting my uber-talented friends to help me create a beautiful musical companion to the book. The resulting album is called Interludes.
Interludes is a compilation project with songs written around pieces of writing that are called interludes in the book. See, the entire book is written as a piece of music, with movements taking the place of traditional chapters, and interludes providing a brief respite to allow the ideas and motifs you interact with to marinate through a creative writing piece. I felt like these interludes were just begging to be captured in music, songs that could create deeper attachments to the content through musical exploration of these ideas.
All of these songs are thoughtfully explored in collaboration, embodying and embracing the idea of up-and-comingness as a state of being fully present and fully ourselves. The artists bring their own up-and-comingness to the whole picture, and the result is nothing short of magic.
It is obviously a bold undertaking, and it is requiring not just the time, talent and inspiration from so many artists, but the time, talent, inspiration, AND money it requires to pull off something this ambitious. So. Here’s where you can get involved. We are launching a Kickstarter really soon because we want to invite you into the process! We are working HARD to keep creativity and presence the focus of the work, not its viability as a genre of book or music. It is easy to hijack creativity and make it submit to capitalism. And there’s value in that, for sure. But this project is meant to live without the constraints of mainstream acceptance to embody the ideas set forth in the book. We are convinced that the world needs this kind of boldness and creativity now more than ever. And we’d love to see that reflected in the support we can garner from you!
In short, people support what they help create. The idea that collaboration produces something better is what this whole thing hinges on. So we want the audience to help us create this. We want input from you, to the point that we’ll be polling our supporters and using your feedback in our final iterations of the work because we want you to see yourselves in it. We believe this kind of collaboration creates buy-in far beyond a traditional marketing plan or fundraising effort. We want you to be giddy about what this final product can be because you are reflected in the work that gets to that final product. So, Kickstarter is our collaborative platform of choice. It gives us a way to connect with you while broadening the reach and hopefully inciting more excitement and support along the way.
Lots more really exciting information coming, including a reveal of all the artists who are taking part in the project! I’ll be interviewing them and giving you an inside look at what up-and-comingness means to them. And we’ll be revealing new surprises all along the journey.
I CANNOT WAIT FOR US TO DO THIS TOGETHER! We can make something special in celebration of the journey to reframe progress and reclaim peace!
Eventually there will be a Kickstarter launch, and you will be integral to getting the word out about it. We’re out to start a movement, not just make a project!
