That healthy ashen glow....

Nah….
One of the buckets that I pour energy into is The States Project. We focus on state legislatures - which are having an unusually powerful moment in the national discussion these days, as “re-districting” (such a sexy word!) is something that everyone is now aware of. Guess who makes that happen? State legislatures. Guess who’s been working there since 2017 to flip those legislatures blue? The States Project. And whatever you hear about the national picture - this has REALLY been working - and giving me a big measure of hope - and relief, knowing that I’m in the right place!

I’m a co-captain in one of almost 200 giving circles in The States Project called Creatives for Democracy. My friends Jill and Winnie have been there since the beginning and it has grown to include new leaders and members over the years - and we are having our annual live event TOMORROW. The lead-up involves lots of planning, too many newsletters, script writing - and this year - songwriting!

I’ve gotten a couple protest songs out over the years - this one tailored to the event. Here’s a lyric for you - I’ll grab a video at some point. (It’s a call-and-response, so you can sing along! Make up a melody!)

One Step at a Time
CHORUS:
One step at a time
(One step at a time)
It may be a steep incline
Wanna see that view
You know what to do
Pull on your boots and climb
One step at a time
(One step at a time)
No use to cry and whine
That’s how the race is won
That’s how we get it done
One step at a time
(One step at a time)

People talk about the shape the country’s in
Everything is hopeless
Don’t know where to begin
Crooks in charge
Living large
Nothing they won’t skim
What more can we lose
When we’ve lost the right to choose
But it’s the darkest night
Before the light
So put on your walking shoes

CHORUS - (One step at a time....)

If you want that change
wanna rearrange
the senates and the houses
Time to hit the street
talk with your feet
and put your money where your mouth is

CHORUS - (One step at a time....)

The mountain’s high, but if we trust
We don’t have to scale it all at once
We can reach that peak, every one of us
One step at a time
(One step at a time)

Tomorrow evening (6-8PM ET), we will share food, music, conversation, laughter, and yes, beverages. Actually over-extending myself this year (surprise, surprise!) and making it a hybrid event (remember those?? ). This will be a three-camera Zoom (handmade Zooming at its best!) so folks can tune in from wherever they are. If you’re interested, come join! You can watch me try to remember the words to the song! Actually sang “Try to Remember” from The Fantastics last year. What a gorgeous melody….

Wait - you want to come, you say? RSVP HERE for both the Zoom, and to get the live event address in Soho here in NYC! Just want to know more about our circle? Here you go. You want my goofy newsletter? You are amazing! (I do indeed try to keep it goofy…) Here you go!

I have a few more song-starts on our list, Chorus/Verse first passes that may deserve a melody and structure so we can bring them to the next draft. Also have an idea for a tune that would be more of a stretch - a poem that Dad would write that I would just set to music. A different approach. Just to shake it up! And then…. what’s next?

My guess is another house concert. Somewhere. If I can get Dad into it. I gotta say, a deadline was a motivator for me! Dad has many of his own interests and project ideas, too, of course. Anyone know the gorgeous piece by Dylan Thomas, Under Milkwood? He has a long history with it and it’s something he cannot shake, understandably. He directed a beautiful workshop of it a couple years ago that was insanely effective for a 5-day process. I got to do it with him and it was truly beautiful and powerful. So that is making its way back on the list, too! Maybe it gets some music…?

A lot of you already know that I am in embroiled in the mysterious and captivating spell of… making a business?? Whaaaat?

So what that actually means is that I am following something that I have not been able to shake for the last couple years. The idea that musicians are being listened to more widely than ever before in our history - and that simultaneously, all that listening has made musicians’ income shrink. Doesn’t make sense, right? So, I’ve been wanting that to change.

I don’t think that most people are going to step away from streaming. I think many people will - and I completely support that. Building community (like here on Substack) is one of the things digital media can actually help make happen! People are also embracing less digital ways to enjoy music again. Again, I SO support that. (Hello, radio [check out Emily White ], old iPod and new turntable!) And nothing beats an in-person experience - my best guess about where things are heading right now: there will more and more desire and opportunity for that!

But in the meantime, there are huge numbers for steaming. That is what is happening RIGHT NOW. Over 800 billion dollars in streaming revenue. But independent musicians aren’t getting that money. In fact, indies, the vast majority of them - are actually getting $0.00 dollars for their streamed music. And I don’t see the convenience of streaming being overtaken anytime soon.

But yeah, a LOT to say about this topic. But I actually want to DO something about it. (Kind of like The States Project work!!)

So I am building PayMusicians. An application that will allow listeners, who ALREADY listen to the artists they love, actually support them financially. Directly support them. Without having to buy a CD they will likely never play, or a t-shirt they may never wear. Those purchases are really about how much they want to SUPPORT those artists - they are less about the stuff than they are about the love. And the desire to help those artists continue to make…art.

So I shout out to my amazing wife, Kathy, who restrains herself from saying anything like, “Are you going to step out of your room at ANY point today? Are you in LOVE with your mouse or something…?”

I do find myself remarkably engaged with the puzzles and strategies around how to make this application and build a business. Not something I ever thought I would be doing! Glide, Make, Google sheets, Runable, Notion, interfaces speaking to other interfaces, vibe coding, advice from people in this sphere already, investors.… My brain is a bit on fire these days, but I’m really enjoying it. And learning a TON.

Prototype is what I’m working on now. Hoping I can get it to function properly so I can test it (meaning getting folks like you to try it!) - and then it will get a glow-up eventually and be pretty and all that. It is on the way, and I’m really excited to share it with you when it arrives!! Here’s a screenshot of how I’m assembling the User Interface in Glide (Kathy is obsessed every time I mention Glide. HAHAHAHAHA.).

Here’s a couple of the screens dummied with names you know, but they will likely be small independents, mostly, as those are the folks people want to support - like YOU, people!! But this will give you the idea….

A shout out to all the folks out there who do all the “wiring” and “plumbing” and designing and and and…. Making these things actually function is a complicated process to say the least - and I salute you!

I’ll be in the back room if you need me!