well well well

Hello friends. You haven’t heard from me on here since 2022. I’m sorry it’s been so long. How to explain? Life has been exerting itself in really difficult, seismic ways and also beautifully busy ones and I couldn’t keep up.

I started this Substack in 2021 to document the making of my next album… I had to pause album work in 2022 because an opportunity to develop a musical arose, then to write a book, and peppered in were tours and festival performances and aforementioned life. Now I am lucky and compartmentalized enough to be working on all three blessings at the same time, while still fitting in live perfomances. I know I should not rename this substack For the Record, Book and Musical but please know that is why I had to take a break.

I wasn’t sure whether or not I could maintain my Substack in a meaningful and sustainable manner. As such, I paused paid subscriptions in 2022.

I have missed being connected to you sweet people but it’s taken me until this week to believe I can keep up my end of the bargain again. I want to be in touch and I want to move away from other platforms.

Here is the new plan:

Free subscribers will get a weekly note/ramble/ode regarding a piece of work (literature, film, song, neuroscience article, whathaveyou) that is helping and inspiring me in my projects in some way. In this period of serious output I need a lot of serious input. But perhaps what I am aiming for is a whole life of vast output and input. My hope is that you all will share art/articles in the comments that are keeping you inspired and creative as well, so we can help keep each other going.

Paid subscribers will get the free thing of course and then another correspondence: me doing a cover song (you can submit requests) a piece of writing, an instrumental piece, a beat I’ve produced, a new or old demo, or experimental video art with a score (I’ve been getting into that lately) or some other kind of creative oddity/heartfelt communication, who is to say what muses will visit now that we are back in touch.

*For all paid subscribers who have been on very long pause: I will be re-activating paid subscriptions on Feb. 21st, 2025. Thank you so so much for your past support. If you want to reassess our relationship I absolutely understand. If you choose to stay on I am so deeply appreciative.

I’ve been quite heartened to see new subscribers signing up even in the dormancy, welcome to you, welcome to me, ha. I hope you have been sufficiently engaged by the back catalog.

Thanks everyone and I really look forward to being back in community with you. More soon! Weekly in fact.

-thao