10.4.23
I’ve always wanted to start these letters to you all and don’t really have a reason I haven’t sooner.
It seems like time and all the moments within that span feel more cluttered than usual, not just for me but for everyone I’ve talked to about it. I can’t help but wonder how everyone is adjusting compared to my own venture with it.
I don’t know how often these will be but I’m sure some seasons will bring more than others … I’m just happy to have a way to connect with you all on a much more personal level through all the noise of the social media purgatory.
I struggle with social media a lot. Personally, I despise it and feel like it stole most of what made us human. Sure, it connected us globally and allowed for immediate information to be delivered but I don’t know that I believe it’s a positive perk. It feels like we’ve traded empathy and patience for split second gratification and reactive auto-responses. The same flailing words and ideas stuck to thoughts like mold on a sandwich. This isn’t what these letters are about but I guarantee they will constantly be filled with rants and random thoughts … some more lighthearted than others but yea, I try to avoid social media as much as I can.
Moving into a positive arena, we’ve officially finished the new record. Mixed and mastered … literally DONE AHHHHH! Every recording experience so far has been wildly different and rewarding in its own light but this was genuinely the experience of a lifetime because it was a first. We did it ourselves! It’s the first record that was done completely in house, in our own studio, on our own time. We turned a non-traditional setup into a comfortable and fully functioning recording space. We then dove into that space until we felt like we could breathe again. I thought it would feel like drowning but there was a sense of euphoria the whole time and I’m thankful to have been able to go through that experience. I’ll go more into the process and how it all went down as we get closer to the record but for now, I wanted to let you know why I’m as excited as I am for this one. Thirteen tracks and some of what I believe are the most emotionally involved writings to date. I was so fucking nervous.
For further clarity on these letters, even though there will be information about plans, tours and goals and blah blah, I don’t want this to feel like just a stupid marketing tool to remind you to buy tickets or “we’re going on tour!” or promo promo promo! This is a chance to reclaim a personal tether to you all, to this family that I feel had lost clarity … to just let you all know where my head is from time to time and share stories or funny moments that as like minded people I feel you’ll enjoy. I’m sure some will be more boring than others and I’m sorry for those. All the info you’ll need for all the “business” stuff will just be attached all the way at the bottom of these somewhere as references for what I might be talking about.
Aside from the music, there are a few projects I’ve been working on. One is a collection of poems I’ve had laying around alongside the new ones I’m writing. I don’t know when or if it’ll ever be done and that’s alright too. It seems like the pressure to complete an idea weighs more on the mind than the actual process of it so I’ve been trying to let go or expectations on myself. So far it feels like it’s helped. I also wonder if we ever actually feel pressure ourselves or if it’s just the assumption that everyone around us will judge the fact that we “failed” by not accomplishing something we’ve mentioned out loud. Who cares? For me, personally, most times it feels like the idea itself was the fun part and everything after is just baggage. Who knows? I def don’t. I’ll bring up the other creative adventures I’ve been cruising through soon.
A decade later in a bank lobby,
Remembering you.
More of a hobby than a memory,
I remember you.
I tend to forget why it ended
As they sift through the tender
Behind a marble counter.
This is what I chased
Instead of you.
Anyway, I’ll cut this first ramble short but will always end these with a list of some records I’ve been listening to, some books I’ve read or have been reading … stuff like that.
Thank you for being here through this journey. We’re all hopefully growing, we’re always learning and it’s an honor to be alongside you all through that process.
Yours,
Danny K.
Records I’ve been listening to:
Dean Johnson: Nothing For Me, Please
Hatchet Field: Beneath the Black Mountain
The Deslondes: Hurry Home
Lola Young: My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely
Wrekmeister Harmonies: Light Falls
Tonstartssbandht: An When
Desiree Cannon: Beach Sleeper
Gidge: Autumn Bells
No/Mas: Raiz Del Mal
Some books I’ve recently read or am reading:
My Ishmael: Daniel Quinn
America: Jean Baudrillard
We Can Never Leave This Place: Eric Larocca
Tender is the Flesh: Agustina Bazterrica
The Solace of Open Spaces: Gretel Ehrlich