Alchemy - Part 1
Coming back to making ART
So here we are, the first Members-Only essay I’ve penned for my Substack. I guess it’s appropriate that I start at the beginning. Where else should I start?
*Yes, I’m showing my theatre roots, I know.*
By the time I set foot in the studio in February of 2026 to record, it will have been almost exactly 10 years since I’ve made an album. I recorded my last project, “Desire” in the fall of 2016 & released it in March of 2017. A 10 year hiatus is almost certainly career suicide, for an indie artist anyways. If you’re Cher, Barbra Streisand or Lady Gaga, you can do whatever you want & your fans are still gonna be rabid when you release a new single, album, or video after a 10 year break. But for someone less established & without the label/marketing machine behind them, and/or a massive, built-in fan base, it’s much more difficult to “come back” after such a long time away.
Part of my time off was mandatory - we did have a 2-year period during the Covid-19 Pandemic where live concerts were not happening. And in the Fall of 2019, just prior to the big shutdown in February/March of 2020, I had decided on a self-imposed “time out”. My plan for myself (which, as we know The Universe either laughs at or conspires with) was to maintain all the bookings I had already contracted for 2019 & 2020, but to stop taking & seeking out NEW bookings.
There were many circumstances that had led me to the decision to take a break from the music business: lack of stability & support (both financial & logistical), an almost constant & compulsive hunger from my fans for me to keep working & creating when my own cup was empty (which I wrote about in the piece below),
as well as literal physical, emotional, & creative burnout from the never-ending demands placed upon me, & ONLY me, due to the aforementioned lack of support …. Folks, the cycle was cycling - I was spinning my wheels with no forward motion. That kind of work, no matter the field you’re in can, & will, leave anyone exhausted.
So …. I wrote an open letter to my fans & shared it on social media. It was break time.
