On speaking your truth in a time of crisis

A bunch of you hit reply after reading yesterday’s piece, and it was really good to hear from all of you.

I got one reply in particular that I wanted to address publicly, because I think it gets to the heart of what it is to be an artist in a time like this one. Our friend Stan wrote:

My focus, passion, and expectation have all changed in a flash. I must assume that similar changes are afoot for many current or potential listeners.

I want people (listeners or otherwise) to know that I care and want to support those who are marginalized or criminalized by the new regime.

I've also been pondering how far I'm willing to go. First, am I willing to alienate 50% of my potential fans in the USA (and possibly worldwide). I think I am.

Regarding alienating your listeners — my point of view on that is that it's absolutely essential.

Music is meant to be a rallying point. But if you're not taking any stands, then you won't be giving anyone anything to rally around. Put another way: try to please everyone and you'll please no one. Especially in a time like this. I remember so clearly how I felt about artists in 2017 who weren’t stepping up and confronting the current moment; I had no respect for them.

Shannon and I happen to have extremely relevant personal experience on which to draw in this discussion, because we did this precise thing in early 2017, after the first Trump election. We very intentionally made an unflinchingly honest, intense, and experimental record about the shocking and painful awakenings and realizations of that time. We named names and didn't pull any punches. And then we took that show on a fifty-show house concert tour into people's living rooms and back yards all across the country. And we enraged and subsequently lost about half our audience!

And you know what? It's the single best thing we ever did for our career. Looking at it in retrospect, it was like pruning a rose bush. At first, sure, the bush was a lot smaller; but with all the unhealthy parts removed, it could properly flourish. And that's exactly what happened with us.

All the growth that you've been seeing recently in our career started in earnest there. Not only did we get much more focused and real about who we want to be in the world — we also curated our core audience down to a group of people who want us to be the most authentic versions of ourselves, and who have demonstrated that in a passionate and ongoing way. That diehard core support has been the foundation on which we’ve built everything that has come since.

And I would encourage you wholeheartedly to do the same. The job of an artist is not to placate; it's to enlighten. If you use this time correctly, you can do a lot of good for a lot of people, simply by showing up as the most authentic version of yourself in their time of need.

Damn the torpedoes — jamie