Sometimes I remember that certain people exist and it makes me want to cry. I have great grief and and great hope inside of me. They share a pillow at night. My grief is worldly. My hope is other-worldly. Otherwise I would have no hope.

This other-worldly hope rings true in song and dance. Poems and prayers. Paint brushes and prose. In tears and long goodbyes. These are all magic. These are all so necessary for survival.

I wanted last year to end so badly. I am so glad it is through. I kept holding on for things to get better. For friends to call. For opportunities to come along. Then, I let go.

I found rhythm in my breath. I sang gratitude, and grievances and “why God why?” I made plans. I wrote scripts. I tore them up. I know now, that I do not know best.

2025 was not a record year by any means. I did not feel prolific during most of it. But I kept things in motion. I played some solo shows out of town. I took a part time job running sound at a church. I put out an EP. I recorded and mixed and mastered a good many songs for friends. I played some full band shows in Nashville. Made a new album for myself and then another Album with my friend Sawyer Norman. I don’t know why I feel like I am falling behind sometimes.

Comparison is such a slippery slope. I found myself on social media way more than I wanted to be at the end of 2025. I try to login, post, and get out — but at the end of 2025, I was taking it all in. I still am now. I will say though, I had my most viral video of my 20’s in December. Fortunately, this set a fire under my butt to take action. My focus on output, gave me less time to focus on what people think of me, or what I haven’t accomplished.

With my next LP wrapped up now, I have been going into label-owner mode, trying to come up with creative ways to promote this album when it comes out. Historically I’ve been tempted to pump the brakes at this point in the process, because to be quite frank, it doesn’t feel very creative. I am trying to combat this feeling by spending the month of January creating as many accompanying elements for the record as I can. This might seem like I am making more work for myself, and thats because — I am. It’s a coping mechanism that I know all too well. Making more work for myself. But hey, having more to share means reaching more people. Right? Well, maybe.

A lot of how I am hoping to promote this record is by creating mixed media. I am excited to be setting myself free in a realm multiple mediums. Happy mediums, if you will. I spent the end of last year cleaning out and prepping an art space for myself independent of my music studio. Truly, it’s just the shed behind our house. But it’s pretty well suited for arts and crafts. It’s seems that someone used to use it as wood shop of sorts. It’s insulated enough and has plenty of outlets.

I am writing from here now, and it’s quite pleasant.

I hear the Stratford High School band outside practicing on the football field. The dishes and the unfolded clothes and the roommates are all in a house of their own less than 100 yards away. I went in the house today to take my lunch, and freshen my coffee, and those were truly the only things I did in there. I am trying to separate my workspace from living space I suppose. Even though my music studio and my bedroom still share a wall, I think my new headquarters is giving me a much needed degree of separation. Which by the way,

I am a firm believer in degrees of separation.

…

I wrote most of the above a good bit ago. Nashville is pretty dormant at the moment. So I am catching up. We are under much ice and snow. My heart is heavy for my neighbors across the state and the nation.

Hold tight ya’ll.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Community Dinner is coming back TOMORROW at out house in East Nashville! RSVP here and it IS a potluck so we would love if you could bring something to share! Subscribe to the Happy Medium Substack to stay in the know about whats to come with dinner, local music and more.

* I am trying to put together a list of resources to help immigrants here in Nashville and across the nation. If you have resources please pass them along. For now, here are a few places you can donate to:

* Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors

* Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition

* Unidos MN is a grassroots organization that builds power with Minnesota's working families to advance social, racial and economic justice.

* I am looking for some helping hands for community dinners, and DIY shows and events this coming year with Happy Medium, TN ! Fill out this form if you are curious about helping out! Thanks!

* My playlist of friends and hero’s “Indie Twang and Beyond” is Now Playing at Happy Medium HQ and you can listen to here.

* Smitty merch is still up for grabs on Bandcamp now! Good Grief CD’s, Binder Clip Tees, and Share A Song Today Tees.

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

I once decided that a change would be made. That I would not return. I would move onward and upward. But I don’t think I believe in this anymore. Now, I think it’s just onward really.

Keep trucking. Stay attentive. Learn some things along the way. You might even see yourself change. But all change isn’t good change. Sometimes you realize that it’s time to turn back.

When I was about 13 I told myself I wasn’t gonna worry about what people thought of me anymore. It was obstructing my creative pursuits. About 10 years later, i’m here in Nashville, trying to set myself free all over again. Social ladders reinvent themselves— or better yet, we reinvent them.

We like when success is measurable. A number of RSVPs. An exciting cast. “Well, who’s gonna be there?” we ask. We want a good hang. But deep down we want to be known and accepted for who we really are. If everything is fun or funny, then nothing can be serious. Ive struggled with this. folks who take it too far. Like come on. Just sit with me for a second. Say, “man, that sucks.”

I remember finding bands like Mom Jeans and Modern Baseball in high school and thinking “wow, these guys are depressed!” It was powerful. They weren’t telling me how to be — they were just telling me how it is. I didn’t relate to everything they were saying, but I related to the emotion. The intensity. The angst. The abandon.

But maybe it wasn’t abandon. Maybe it was synthesis. Taking pain and disappointment and making it into music. Something I felt far from capable of at the time, but that I knew I wanted a piece of.

A good few years later, i’m learning the dance. Trying to be a truth teller and a friend. A layman and a scholar. A poet and a rock n roller. Praying that some kid a thousand miles away with their headphones in might connect with what i’ve created.

Making music feels a lot like going to the bathroom at this point. I don’t feel the need to do it all the time. But when it’s time to go, it’s time to go. When it comes to making records, there’s not much to it but to do it. Try and make the process sustainable in some way. Try to get better at it and more efficient each time.

Get good people around you. People who get it. Ask for help. Try to enjoy the process. I’ve said it before, and i’ll say it again — while its still true. But I feel i’ve got a lot left to give. A lot left to say and a few good ways to say it.

I’m still getting my head on straight. I’m grateful for the people helping me do so. I’ve been counting my blessings. It’s growing my gratitude. Bringing me back to earth.

Anyways,

holler if you need me,

and be well.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

My new EP “Hellbent” is out now.

You can stream it here on all platforms

Did you hear? I put out an EP a few weeks ago. It’s six songs and nineteen and a half minutes long. Perfect for a commute, a walk, a jog or for laying on your floor. Let me know if you heard it and how you feel about it in an email reply, and i’ll send you something special in return!

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Community Dinner is coming back in 2026! Subscribe to the Happy Medium Substack to stay in the know about whats to come!

* I am looking for some helping hands for community dinner, and DIY shows and events this coming year with Happy Medium, TN ! Fill out this form if you are curious about helping out! Thanks!

* I made a little year end playlist of sorts compiling some of my favorite “Indie Twang and Beyond” from the last year. You can check it out here.

* Some Legit Era Smitty merch is still up for grabs on Bandcamp now! Good Grief CD’s, Binder Clip Tees, and Share A Song Today Tees.

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

It’s a sad thing. Our desire for digital confectionary over spiritual sustenance. Dopamine more than knowledge. A quick laugh more than long peace. I am a guilty consumer. And a perpetual perpetrator.

In one hand I wield a flip phone. A signposting of digital abstinence. A practical solution to addiction.

In the other, I wield an ultra-portable super-computer. The iPhone. A tool. But also, a crack pipe.

My dear friends,

don’t we all know this?

It’s hard to tell which direction is up while being thrashed by a wave of this size. But I have found ways to come up for air. Life vests. Life boats even.

I have finished songs, and albums. Poems and Essays. Made friends with neighbors. All the while keeping the algorithm mostly out of my mind. Yet, I have been bred to live in a never ending assessment of my life’s potential for monetization. In my research I have come to find many hard truths. One of which being that art being good does not mean that it will be consumed. This is old truth. But I feel it reigning ever-more-true as I see my quite talented friends lose their spots in line to folks who have simply become greater “players of the game.” I feel, and have been told — without asking — that my work is easily consumable and likely even enjoyable at times. Yet, without continual content creation, I lose my spot in line. If i’m not willing to show up, there are plenty of people who are. Their music might not be half as good. But they’re showing up to try and sell it.

Let me try and put it another way.

Have you ever heard of “yellow meat” watermelon? Probably not. But if you had, you’d know that it tastes a lot like the watermelon you know and love. You’ve just never given it a chance. Not because you’re prejudice towards it. Just because you’ve never heard of it. But say it was offered to you by a trusted friend, and they said to you “try this, it’s quite good.”

You’d probably try it, enjoy it, and pass on the recommendation.

Social media is the one big party that everyones gonna be at for the rest of all time.

I’ve been trying to bring my funny little watermelon to this party for years now. And I still feel a little weird about it. It’s my thing. And some people are down with it. But a lot of people have never even heard of it.

Nowadays, I know better than to stay at the party for too long. It drains me. Starts to make me question who I am, and what i’m worth, and who my friends are. Besides, this was meant to be a drop-in sort of thing anyways. I was just coming to show my face, and I did. So I can leave now. Right? But wait. It seems like there are some pretty interesting people here. I bet there are some folks here who might really “get me.” At least some people who’d be willing to taste this weird little watermelon i’ve brought along.

I mean, I did drive all the way out here,

so I guess I should stay awhile.

Has anybody got a knife? Time to cut this bad boy open.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My new song “Talk About” is out now. Check it out and share it with a friend!

* Subscribe to my youtube channel to listen to me ramble in my backyard while you wait for these newsletters to arrive.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

For the last couple years, I’ve been working part-time jobs to help pay my rent between projects. I’m fortunate enough to have clients, new and old, who trust me to record and mix their songs, a handful of times a year. The rest of the time, I’m recording and mixing my own songs, and working 2 or 3 days a week. Super-part-time you might say. The guys I work work for make it pretty easy for me be to off whenever I want and for as long as I need. They let me and my friends throw shows at one of the shops every other month or so. I get do other little things while I’m working, like read or send emails. This work is a gift, and allows me to work on my music year-round. I’ve tried to do music full time before and quickly found myself working on projects I didn’t love, or that I felt compromised my artistic integrity. Now, sure, I’m not a “full-timer.” But I’m working on stuff I believe in, and i’m writing a lot.

I thought it would be cool to lay out what a “normal” work day looks like for me at the shops, and talk about how I make little strides throughout the day to help prioritize my art. Most people don’t have all the downtime that I do at work. But everybody can control to some degree how they show up in their own thought life. Where my thoughts rest in a string of workdays can have a pretty direct impact on how I show up to my studio later in the week.

I’ve said it before, and I’ve learned now that Annie Dillard said it first, but “how we spend our days is how we spend our lives.” Our mind, body, and spirit are always aching to become in tune with one another. My body cries for rest often from that which I feed my mind. I know I am not alone in this. I’ve heard people recently talk about feeling hungover from doom-scrolling.

I’m here today. Taking inventory. Pivoting where necessary.

Anyways, here’s a day in the life.

7:00 AM - Start some coffee. Pace around the house. First cup. Ripest cup of the day. Not even a whole cup’s worth has hit the pot yet. If you know, you know. It’s ripe.

7:15 AM - Avoid screens at all costs. Step outside a moment. Breathe. Have some first thoughts. Some worthy contemplations. Try not to think too hard though before that first cup hits. Hope will come. Bit by bit. I can be patient. “You are out of bed,” I say to myself. That’s a good word.

7:20 AM - One journal page. That's all I can muster lately. It’s better than nothing though. I’ve done “morning pages” before. But no more. My inner child appreciates that, Julia. I crack the window. Find my place back on the couch. Surrounded by poetry, fiction, scripture, and the like. All purposed and pointed in differing but often parallel directions. I finish a page in my journal, and maybe one more. I’ve likely started a short list by now of to-dos and people to reach out to. Either on a sticky note, or a scratch piece of paper or on the back of some junk mail. The junk mail lists are always the most successful. Without a running list though, I’m basically useless.

8:00 AM - By 8 o’clock, I’m feeling my 2nd cup of coffee hit me. I had a refill at some point in the midst of that meticulously crafted, yet singular journal page. My stomach is not thanking me, but I’m much more awake now, and much less dreadful. I decide (yet again) that I can skip reading for too long this morning because the to-do list is calling. It’d be nice to get in the studio and make some mix revisions so that I can listen to them on the drive to work. So I do that, and have another cup. That’s 3 down now. I gotta shower, eat breakfast, and pack a lunch before 10:30 am. Cup 4 goes down somewhere in there.

10:30 AM - I mix awhile and bounce out new versions of songs until right around 10:30. Maybe throw a record on in the living room fairly loud if the roommates aren’t home. Or recent mix revisions. Hop in the shower around 10:40. Leave the record on. Let it ruminate throughout the house. I’ve got a speaker that runs off the living room stereo into the bathroom. I try to stay centered. Ring God if I can. Take mental notes in the shower. Hop out. Scribble notes. Get dressed. Throw some sandwich stuff in my little igloo cooler. Refill my mug. Fill my thermos with the remaining 7 cups of joe. Grab my guitar, my laptop, a book, and some song scraps, and finally, we’re out the door.

10:45 AM - The vintage store and the t-shirt shop are both about 10 minutes away. I listen to my mix revisions in the car. Have a little more coffee on the drive. Cup 5 or so. One hand on the mug, one on the wheel. Try not to spill. But usually my car or my clothes take a hit.

IMPORTANT: IT IS KEY NOT TO RUMINATE ON GIRLS, POTENTIAL LOVERS, EX-LOVERS, EX-POTENTIAL LOVERS, RECENT FAILURES, OR ANYTHING RELATED TO MONEY WHILE IN THESE PRECIOUS MORNING HOURS. THIS IS SACRED TIME. TIME TO BE PROTECTED AND UTILIZED WITH CARE. THE MORNING ONLY COMES ONCE A DAY. MUCH OF THE REST OF THE DAY IS USELESS FOR CREATIVE GROUNDBREAKING. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING.

11:45 AM - The shop is open. We are pouring cup 6 from the thermos. Tunes are up. My laptop and books are spread out on the table, and ready for my consumption. Feels like it might be a “no-hitter” kind of day. The kind where not a single person comes in all day. If I owned the shop, this would be a bad thing, but since I don’t, I guess it can be a good thing. Ever seen the movie Clerks?

These two guys work at a combined gas station and video rental store. They basically figure out how to do as little work as possible while still getting their jobs done. They occasionally close the store midday to play hockey on the roof. I’m not quite pulling those kinds of antics. I try to have friends stop by. And I convinced one of my bosses to let me mount a TV on the wall in the shop. I don’t know what that makes me. Maybe something like a bum. Maybe a starving artist. Maybe something in between.

1:00 PM - After an hour or so at the shop, I start to chip away at my “Music Chores.” Edit little videos. Try to line up shows. Send out demos to labels occasionally. People don’t really get discovered that way anymore. But I still shoot. I tend to the store. Help customers where I can. Refold and restock shirts. Eventually, I make myself eat lunch and throw together a turkey sandwich. But before that, I’m munching on my Great Value brand oatmeal cookies, and downing a few more cups of that not-so-sweet, but oh-so-deep black joe.

2:00 PM - The thermos is still out. I’m finishing the last few cups of the day. Probably out of snacks by now. Writing. Reading. Watching a little movie, maybe. Leaving room for the spirit to move. Trying not to be too preoccupied or overly stimulated.

5:00PM - I get off around 5 sometimes. From there, I might hit Five Points Pizza after work for the $5 beer and a slice happy hour special. Keep the dehydration station fully operational, ya know? Or I’ll head home and make dinner. I might work on some music after dinner. Or try to do something out in the yard if there’s still daylight. Work on the motorcycle. Organize the shed. Just stay outside while there’s still some daylight. It’s good to just sit sometimes, too. But that’s about it. I might read. Listen to a record. Watch a little show. Shower and hit the sack.

And that,

is a day in the life.

Thanks for being here, and I hope this is encouraging or interesting to you in some way. I put a lot into curating my little life. I’m tryna live “free and clean,” as they say. It ain’t easy, but I think it’s well worth trying.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* I am playing a two solo shows THIS WEEKEND !

* Would love to see you at one of these if you are close by!

* Knoxville, TN - 6/13 @ Pink Moon Sound

* Columbia, SC - 6/14 @ Curiosity Coffee Bar

* My new song “Rug” is out now, You can stream it here.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

About a month ago my buddy Trent asked me if I wanted to ride with him to St. Louis for a work trip he’d be going on. He was riding solo if I said no, and we had never roadtripped together before, so I told him I was down. I had already been solidifying some DIY shows for an upcoming solo tour and St. Louis was (for some reason) on my short list. Some friends in the scene passed along a few contacts and I was able to get a show setup fairly quickly for the night we would be in town.

We rolled into town late Tuesday night and Trent was up and out the door by 7 AM the next morning to get to his job site. He got back around 5 and I watched him input data for awhile, and talk to his co-worker as she helped him log gas and hotel receipts. Then we drove the extra hour into St. Louis, which I had only learned in the car ride up would be how far we were actually staying from St. Louis. All the while, I met a few new friends, played some new songs to a not-so-locked-in bar crowd, and ate a mediocre $14 chicken parm panini. The glow of the signage from the Anheuser Busch plant lit our path back out of town that night. We passed a few parked bikers as they admired the gateway arch, and tried to admire it ourselves from inside the car. It was a short 4 hours in STL. A long morning of existential dread in Farmington.

This is not the “going on a solo tour” I was dreaming of. I applaud my 30 and 40-something year old DIY veterans doing similar things.

This is

Living and learning. Using what i’ve got. Being a friend, and having one. Free room and board. The cold side of a hotel pillow. $80 cash, and no bandmates to pay.…

Trent did all the driving the whole trip. He didn’t want to get in trouble if I wrecked the rental car that the school was paying for. A neon green Hyundai Kona. I asked for the next day off at work because I knew we probably wouldn’t make it back in time for my 11AM shift. There was talk of driving back into St. Louis for the day to adventure, but I think we were both ready to be home. We got Chick-Fil-A breakfast and ended up skating a ditch in town the morning after the gig. That was fun and spontaneous. We hit a few thrift stores and should’ve gotten lunch before hitting the road, but we didn’t, and so we were hungry.

I got to thinking on the way home about how’d id basically taken the week off from work. I am grateful for the flexibility working part-time gives me. I’m working about three days a week at the moment. Part-time at a vintage store, a retail store and running sound at a church. I don’t budget really. I try not to spend frivolously. I don’t have a girlfriend. I keep to myself and to my little projects. I live quite comfortably paycheck to paycheck.

I don’t plan on being broke and single forever. But how do you plan against that?

I told Trent in the car how I haven’t had a girlfriend lasting more than a couple months in over 6 years. I told him I didn’t mind it because it just meant that I know what I am looking for, and that I haven’t found it yet. Do you ever feel yourself convincing yourself of whats coming out of your own mouth? Do you ever listen back to what you’ve just said and think “do I really believe that?” I guess thinking out loud is better than not thinking at all. It’s a privilege to have friends that I feel comfortable sorting things out loud with. People I can say stuff in front of that’s just dead wrong and then they let me take it back. Trent is one of those friends.

But I do think it’s true, that when you learn what you’re made for, you also learn how you might have to wait a very long time to find it. It is a joke and a quite painful dissonance to not know the difference between need and want. In competition with one another, a need which loses to an ever-more-strong want will not satisfy the true need. And so then, dissonance is amplified. We are left thinking that we have fed our most true self, when really, we don’t know our true self at all.

I’ve been told before that I “like to keep a girl in my life.” I was told this by female friends of mine. What they meant by it I still don’t fully know, but I decided to take it as a compliment. I sure as hell don’t believe in being alone. And hanging out with dudes one on one can be quite excruciating. The whole “girls brains develop faster than boys” thing is really showing in my early 20’s. I’ve been fighting hard to find people to hang out with who I know are smarter than me. Girls have always seemed to be able to empathize with how much of an emotionally-charged over-thinker I am. I’ve got a new song called “Born Crying” thats about how I cried a lot as a kid and through my teenage years even. How I’ve always been in need of affection and affirmation.

Guys are not always so great at bending a knee to emotional needs. I am lucky enough though to have a few good guy friends. Trent, our fearless leader in the voyage to Missouri, is a most-empathetic friend. He is always reading and writing and sorting out whats in his mind with conviction. I try and do these things as well, and so we relate. I am grateful for his witness in my life, and for the brother he is. When you meet people like this, and they stick around for awhile, it raises your bar on what friendship is supposed to look like. It teaches you what you deserve. It helps you steer clear of people who don’t deserve you and your one true beating heart. These people remind us to carry on. To do our thing. To not wave our white flag. They sustain us. Remind us to keep waiting for the true good that we have not too long ago tasted and seen.

…

My compass is tuned. I need not wander off too far. My path feels not quite safe, but not worthy of crying for help. I’ll stay the course. Walk loosely in the same direction as I’ve been walking for awhile now. Try and take deep breathes. Put one foot in front of the other. Prepare for the best. Call home more. Lean into my gifts.

It’s good to be out of the house.

Lord,

Guide my steps. Tell me something true. Set my course. Let my bets hit. Or tear me down slow.

Good grief.

I love you, and help me love you more.

Ain’t it something,

going to bed,

and waking up.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My new song “Rug” is out this Friday on all platforms! You can follow me on your streaming platform of choice by clicking here.

* I have attached below a demo for aforementioned song “Born Crying.”

* I am playing a few solo shows next month !

* Would love to see you at one of these if you are close by!

* Knoxville, TN - 6/13 @ Pink Moon Sound

* Columbia, SC - 6/14 @ Curiosity Coffee Bar

* Dawsonville, GA - 6/21 @ Because Coffee

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

[ The Following Excerpt Is From last Monday, a few days before my 24th birthday ]

I am 24 this Wednesday. Twice the age I was when I first thought to myself,

“man, i’m getting old.”

I feel a lot like that 12 year old boy when I write like this. I’ve been trying to let him drive more. I stood atop my picnic table table yesterday in the backyard. Surveying the land and the tops of neighboring houses further down the hill. My soil is richening each day. What has been planted I do not know, but the seed has been scattered. God, I feel it. I’ve been uprooted, thrashed and turned back over to the earth. My skint knees have yet to slow my stride. I’ve played on, blood running down me, Just like my younger brother taught me. Pop back up. Rub some dirt in it. He’d act like he’d never fallen in the first place. Only upset because he’d be slown down. No time to hurt.

Ive taught myself a similar thing. To sing a new song. And another one. And then another. I try to suck the marrow out of life. But sometimes it sucks it out of me. Some days I’m bled dry. For what? I don’t know.

To find love? To be less alone? To make a friend? To be one?

I don’t know. But I do feel stronger. I am still laughing about it all. Mosts days at least. Crying too. But it takes a lot more to get me there. I cant afford it as much anymore. Gotta keep rolling.

I am grateful though. I’ve got a little something to show for myself. I think i’ve been honest. And I’ve plead guilty when I’ve had to. Beats the hell out of being a lie.

I feel somebody praying for me. Thats for sure. A good bit of my family has turned religious lately. Maybe they’re praying for me.

I know mama is. Daddy too. I pray for them too. And my brother and my sister. We are all pretty much a mess. Or something close to it. A hard-working, hard-headed bunch. And thats enough, a lot of the time.

Like I said. I’m grateful.

…

It’s Wednesday.

I am

24.

I am

still here.

Well fed. Full of songs. Held by friends. Fighting. (For love and for truth.)

I am,

not yet done.

Still tuning up. Needing sunshine. Still dancing in the rain and

landing on my feet.

…

I’m surprised they let me go this long. I’m surprised i’ve lived to see it.

Exes married. Taxes filed.

Futures forgone. Apologies unmade.

“don’t say sorry less your wrong”

So, I’m not sorry.

For my being here. For my being me. And loving hard. And staying true.

…

Thumpa thumpa thump

goes my achy breaky heart

always needs a fix

but I can always make it start

(Or break it worse.)

(S**t.)

…

This is

24

and some change.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My new song “My Sunshine (Let It Burn)” is out now. Stream it here.

* I am playing a solo show next month in St. Louis on April 23rd! Mark your calendars if you are around and stay tuned for details!

* We played an awesome full band show this past Saturday celebrating the homie Bedon and his new album! I may be sharing some new demos from band practice soon for paid subscribers.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

Be sure to make it to the bottom for a demo of a new song called “First Try ”

I cant deal with whiners. If you wanna give up, go ahead. Especially in art. If you can live without it, then maybe you should. If it feels like work, then maybe don’t do it.

To me, it feels like work and play. It feels like rebellion. Like swimming up stream. I feel stronger because of it. I am wielding my agency, and defying all odds. I am doing a magic trick. Something from nothing. Not just surviving, but “sucking the marrow out of life.” Taking lemons and making lemonade. Staying the course. Praise God.

Like I said, not everyone needs to be an artist. Especially not in the monetized sense. But I think we all need to play. Take ourselves on a walk in the park. Sit in front of a blank page with a fresh box of crayons. We need to learn to laugh at ourselves. At our hardships, our shortcomings and all of the unknowns. We can cry about all of this too. We can write it all down, throw it away, or maybe light it on fire. Whatever is necessary. Not all art is content. Some of it is kindling. And not all worship is sung.

Sometimes we can just be. Maybe thats what’s best for today. To sit in it. Try to name it. Whatever it is. Look around. Take Inventory. Count your blessings. And your curses too. Pen it down. Say it out loud. Let the devil know that you know what he’s been up to. He’ll see himself out.

I’m glad to be here. Still trying. Still learning. Still sharing. I can smile. For no reason at all, and it doesn’t cost me a dime. Just a little bit of my pride.

I can put one front in front of the other. Say no to what isn’t working for me. Keep looking for the love I deserve. Be present to myself and to others. Bear witness.

I can stay alert and of sober judgment. I can tidy up. Prepare a space to dwell. Feed myself. Stand in the sunshine. Go to work. Make money. Spend it too.

I am a man, and a poet and a son.

I am seen, and known, and not yet done.

God help me mind my own (damn) business,

and get back to work.

Amen.

Here is a voice memo of an unreleased song:

This one is called is “First Try (In Awhile)” and it dates back to Oct. 2022.

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* I will be in Greenville, SC playing an acoustic set this coming Saturday, Feb. 22nd at The Splash Pad. I will be peddling my wares (CD’s, shirts and stickers) and singing new songs. I may also sell some used records ? Yeah i’m kinda doing that now. Just bought 300+ used records on FB marketplace… anyways. DM THE SPLASH PAD FOR THE ADDRESS. <3

* My Album “Good Grief” Recently hit 100,000 streams! That is a new milestone! Thanks for listening <3.

* The Next Happy Medium Community Dinner in Nashville will be on March 29th at Talk Nice Vintage in East Nashville! Sign up for the email list HERE to stay in the loop and to RSVP soon. The purpose of Community Dinner is to gather behind a vision of intentional community and artfulness.

* I am for hire for recording, production, mixing, and mastering! Check out a playlist of some of my favorite things i’ve worked on here. You can reply to this email to get on my schedule!

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

Be sure to scroll to the bottom to check out a demo for a new song called “Where Will You Go?”

I’m up before the sun. The coffee pot sizzles in the kitchen. My bedroom is right off the kitchen. I share a wall with my studio—everything I need. I can smell the day ahead. I’ve been waking up early and not being able to get back to sleep. So I use the time. My journal entry is bland. I can’t fill a page. I used to fill multiple each morning, especially as a boy. But I don’t fret. Songs are flowing and touchable. I know what I’m feeling.

I’m home a lot these days. I work some too. I Write. See friends. Go to shows. I’ve told my journal plenty about it. Yet, I still try and put something down. I know it helps. So I take inventory. Maybe the stillness of morning itself is worth praising.

Eventually, I allow myself into the studio, but first, I make myself sit awhile. I freshen my coffee, surround myself with books, and hope for some sort of osmosis to occur. Liturgy, bible, journal, Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Wise Blood. I look up. There is new Wendell Berry on the shelf. It calls to me. But I’ve committed to what’s in front of me. No more shifting gears. No more path of least resistance.

This is mo(u)rning time.

Aiming time. Up Before the devil time. I can’t always have what I want time. I must prove to myself that I am disciplined. It’s time. Wake up, and bow down. Hit my knees and remember, I cant do this alone. Die to myself. Eat crow. Call it what it is. You don’t wanna do it today Jake. You cant do it. But, you will. You will be a vessel. A something. To someone. By showing up. By being you. By staying true. Maybe today you are simply the paint can, not the paint. If it’s all you can be, try and be it well. So Help me God.

Sing me half a new song, I’ll sing the other half.

Stretch out this clenched fist, I’ll clench it right back.

Work is medicine. A burning sensation. A drop in the bucket. A quick fix of getting gone. We know this. And so we love work, even when we say we don’t. Disengage reality. Engage the task at hand. Thank God. Move along.

12 cups of coffee. No medicine. Is this medicine? Is it stillness?

Maybe sometimes, just for a minute, it’s a prayer, when we keep our hands busy.

Is my “I love you” loud enough

through clenched teeth

do you know

just how true it is?

when I say

“I miss you”

when I tell you to come home

that you don’t have to go

and that I’ll be right here

trucking along

till the end of time.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here is a Voice Memo of “Where Will You Go?” a new song that will be out fairly soon! Enjoy, and thanks for tuning in.

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* The Next Happy Medium Community Dinner in Nashville will be on February 15th at Talk Nice Vintage in East! Sign up and RSVP HERE. And sign up for the email list HERE to stay in the loop. The purpose of Community Dinner is to gather behind a vision of intentional community and artfulness. At Community Dinner we share a meal, make crafts, share songs and generally celebrate one another.

* I am for hire for recording, production, mixing, and mastering! Check out a playlist of some of my favorite things i’ve worked on here. You can reply to this email to get on my schedule!

* “Community Not Competition” T-shirts and stickers are available NOW at happymediumtn.com.

* Listen here to a private collection of songs I made this December called “One Night In December.” It’s all unreleased material, recorded live with just myself and an acoustic guitar.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

This year was the hardest year of my life. I struggled to pay rent. I was tired a lot, sad a lot and had lots of relationship problems. But I was chasing my dreams. I played more shows than ever. Cooked more and ate more. Got some new hobbies. Acquired some new skills. Flirted with some new ways of being. Took two steps forward and three steps back, and saw doors open for me when I least expected it.

I kept my head down and my heart open.

I did experiments. I let go of my programming, piece by piece, and noted my findings. I trusted my judgement, then didn’t trust it, and then trusted it again. I learned to slow down and let the story develop.

I’ve been sorting through the rules. Deciding what to keep and what to throw out. I think I threw out a little too much this year. Walked a little too close to the edge. But now I know.

I’ve walked a foreign land. I’ve liked what I have seen. Yet, I have no maps. No guide. Nor the tools necessary for this kind of Journey. But I will not lose heart. Little by little, I will march on, with what tools I have, and what wisdom I have earned. Holding fast to my notes and my poorly drawn maps, I proclaim “today, is yet another day, to live well, into the questions.”

. . .

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Thanks for being around for my first full year on Substack.

Drop me a line and let me know what your favorite things are that I’ve talked about this year and what you want to see me do more of. Demos of songs? Videos of me talking to the camera? Longform articles? Music related things? More personal things? DIY music things? Craft things? Production? Handyman and car stuff?

Anyways, Peace. Thanks for being here, and Happy New Year!

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Listen here to a new private collection of songs I made this month called “One Night In December.” It’s all unreleased material, recorded live with just myself and an acoustic guitar.

* Community Dinner This Month on January 18th! Sign up and RSVP HERE. And sign up for the Happy Medium Community Dinner email list HERE to stay in the loop.

* T-shirts and stickers are available NOW at happymediumtn.com.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

I got in trouble this week. Real bad. I conducted myself in a way that I shouldn’t have. I felt guilt and shame and conviction. I did what I could to apologize and explain myself. But I didn’t do all that I could. Maybe just enough. In some sense, I felt warranted. I felt justified. I carried on, traveling to the edges of what I might call “acceptable behavior.” You could say I was bootstrapping it in a way, or maybe just self-advocating. I chose not to consider someone else’s feelings in order to pursue what I wanted. Brute force is not always the way. Especially not when peoples feelings are involved.

There is a song by the not-so-critically-acclaimed band, Danielson called “Be Your Wildman.” It goes a little something like this:

“My loins say just one thing to me

but my brain

My brain says another thing to me

but my loins

I deserve to be drop-kicked…

drop kicked by God…”

…

This week, I needed to be drop-kicked. I needed to feel the foot of God in the seat of my pants.

On the way home from work recently I called a friend to make a long overdue apology. This led to an unexpected conversation about my not-so-upstanding character in the eyes of said person. While trying to decide whether or not I agreed with these claims, my new-to-me 1986 ford ranger sputtered to a stop on the side of the road. Being that I was only a mile from home, my roommate Charlie quickly came to my rescue. Red has been known to overheat, so I planned to let her sit awhile before cranking her up and bringing her home.

I sat at the house awhile contemplating my sanctity and my sanity. I tried to recount how many days it had been since I had to tell someone sorry for being the way that I am. It hadn’t been that long. But guilt is no good for anything, and neither is shame. So I took conviction and we went to Little Ceasers. I was quickly dumbfounded once again by the power of putting yourself in front of other people. I recognized some sort of good coded in myself while exchanging my seven dollars and forty three cents for one pepperoni hot-n-ready. The man working the counter showed me a burn on his arm from the pizza oven. I tried to make it out of my self-loathing induced mind fog, but it was tough. I didn’t say much, if anything, in regards to the burn. Yet, I was able to muster a “have a good one” as I walked out, pizza in hand. I needed to eat, yes, I was quite malnourished. But I had missed the invitation towards empathy. I had seen the goal and chosen not to score. Both teams would have won I believe, had I simply showed up. I left the premises, having secured my sustenance, without the slightest gratitude toward this man for reactivating my personhood. My reality — this person, had diffused my inner dumpster fire. He had offset my mental feedback loop and turned it into music.

I got home and was greeted by deer in the front yard. They let me sit with them awhile, and so I let it wash over me. The cool of night. A clear divide between what I do and who I am. Grace. Peace. Forgiveness. Creation. The larger and grander story at play. I had exited my prior desire to be drop-kicked. All the while, knowing I could do better.

Back in the warmth of the house, I was still halfway brainstorming ways to punish myself and/or ward off evil spirits. I remembered the truck had been sitting down the road for awhile now and still needed rescuing. Charlie had told me that he’d drive me back over there, but I was feeling a little like walking in the cold. I started on my way, and pretty quickly found that I was out of energy to put toward self-loathing. I knew I needed to hold on to some conviction. But I was happy to be on a walk, and to have a full belly and to have a project truck and to have friends who are willing to have hard conversations. By the time I got to the truck, I was gleaming with excitement, and laughing to myself about how unnecessary, yet fun having this truck has been. She cranked right up, as I expected, and we got back home.

Just like that, maybe quicker than ever, I was well on my way back to center. Back to deep down, who I know I really am. It takes time to learn about who you are. A lot of long reflection. I am trying to keep showing up and doing this good work in myself. But i’ve also got to remember all of the work that work that’s already been done. It takes a different kind of faith to believe that we can still change. I sure as hell don’t have it figured out. But I think I know a lot more than the devil would have me think I know.

When we choose to, we can in fact, live and learn. If it’s gonna take time, then I think I wanna take it.

God, let nothing be lost on me.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Listen to my newest album “Good Grief” here.

* No Community Dinner This Month! But we will be back soon! Sign up for the Happy Medium Community Dinner email list HERE to stay in the loop.

* The title for this weeks newsletter is pulled from the aforementioned song “Be Your Wildman” by Danielson.

* There is a great documentary about Danielson HERE featuring Sufjan Stevens as an early member of their touring band.

* Here is an unlisted link to footage from the full band Smitty set we played in Nashville last month. It showcases a few new songs.

* T-shirts and stickers are available NOW at happymediumtn.com.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

I started recording and releasing music as Legit Smitty in 2016. 8 years ago at the time of writing this. The first musical project I ever released was called “The Legit Tape” and it was a rap project (if your’e generous enough to call it that.) I chose the name Legit Smitty in middle school as my instagram handle because I was infatuated with the idea of being real. Nobody had ever called me Smitty, I just liked the idea of having a nickname. I knew I was gonna have to blaze my own trail, because my friends were being fake. They would switch up on me at any given moment to make someone laugh. I knew I wanted to do my own thing and that I might lose friends in the process. But I had to heed the call. I had to be legit.

When I started doing YouTube nobody around me was really doing that kind of thing. I didn’t feel very supported by my peers and that was the start of my feeling “other-ized” for being a creative. I trudged along all the while. By the time I started picking up music I had developed a little following online. I was daily vlogging in the age of Casey Neistat and began making beats in class on the side. I was also in a video broadcasting class at my high school where we got to record and edit videos for sometimes more than half of the school day. I felt myself slowly becoming more infatuated with sound while I was editing videos. This eventually got me into music production.

Ironically, my high school had a program for audio production that I was never formally apart of. But when I finally started taking music more seriously, I weaseled my way into the on campus studio. I went to a public school, that was a part of group of other public schools which housed specific “centers” that students could travel to learn about technology or cars or law for part of the day. Our School housed the audio and video centers. So I would get to hang out in the on campus studio with kids from all different public schools almost everyday and we would listen to music and beats we had been working on. Everybody loved rap more than anything else, and it all felt a bit like college in retrospect.I eventually went to college for audio engineering in 2019. But I digress.

I cut vocals for one of the first “real” Legit Smitty songs “Fun” with some peers of mine in this on campus studio. They knew how to operate the console and would let me come in with my instrumentals and play them over the big speakers. We all eventually knew a lot of the same stuff about music production just by paying attention to each other. But everyone was quite insecure and always picking fun. Making art is vulnerable. Even though I had started to feel like I was finding my people, I still felt a bit “other-ized.” I made rap music and beats because thats what these guys were doing. But I liked alternative rock and other small indie bands too. I eventually started to incorporate guitar into my instrumentals and get into more a of rock-sphere after I bought an electric guitar with money I made from editing videos for my church.

My comedy Rap side-project “Jart” blossomed from that same on campus studio. Back then there wasn’t much difference between Jart and Legit Smitty. But I anticipated pretty quickly that i’d want to have a more serious side to the music I was making. So I went ahead and designated myself a joke project. The guys in the recording class would let me freestyle on the beats they made, but would chop out all my good parts and leave only my breath noises and mess-ups looped over and over. I didn’t get to hear my verses back ever. I think I was trying too hard and they wanted to bring me back down to earth and remind me that everything was supposed to be a joke. I always thought if they tried a little harder they could have made something pretty amazing. But all I could do was try hard on my own time, and lean into their jokes whenever it made sense. I still wanted to be around. They’re the ones who came up with the name “Jart.” I literally think it means Jake-Fart, but I really don’t know. It was weird and lighthearted so I leaned into it, and eventually made more raps under that name. If nothing else, those guys taught me not to take myself too seriously and that a lot of things are worth doing if it makes someone smile. We smiled a lot in that little control room.

By this point I was making short films for class, writing songs and writing raps. I was getting into stuff like Alex G and Mac Demarco and early Clairo. “Bedroom pop” was starting to become a thing and there was new sort of DIY emerging in the music scene. Youtube channels like Audiotree Live and David Dean Burkhart put me onto a lot of my favorite bands at the time. Pinegrove, Mom Jeans, Boy Pablo, and Modern Baseball. I hate to say it, but I owe a lot of who I am today to the Internet, and YouTube specifically. Eventually Brockhampton hit the scene, and my mind was blown. I felt like I could do anything that I put my mind to, and that I didn’t have to have one specific sound.

When I was about to move away to college I felt myself realizing that I wanted to have a band. I liked the organic feeling of people in a room together playing their instruments. I felt myself moving away from some of the more electronic elements of recorded music. I knew i’d have to get better at my instruments and meet some new people to make the things I was wanting to make.

One of the first shows I played in college was in Birmingham, Alabama with my friends Billy and John. They were from Birmingham and their band was playing probably one of the last shows they’d ever play together. We had basically just met and they let me open for them and sat in and played my songs with me. Billy’s dad really only gave me one piece of feedback after our set, and that was that I needed to practice my guitar. Go figure. I knew that much.

I had gotten a taste of a different kind of way to play my songs. Time passed. I practiced. I made friends who showed me the ropes and picked up my slack. We listened to records and made them too. I started soaking it all in. I continued to look inward and ask what story I had to tell. I discovered more Americana and indie-rock. I studied analog recording and multi-track tape in and outside of class. I made my first albums with live drums. I started learning how to lead a band and how to sing. I learned the difference in a verse and a chorus. I bought more instruments and microphones. At the time, I thought I was arriving. Now I now, I was just getting started.

I feel like i’ve been climbing out of my chrysalis lately with this whole Legit Smitty project. It’s almost like I started my recording career as a little caterpillar just inching along, and then eventually I started to cocoon. I started to feel the walls harden around me. I knew I was gonna have to spread my wings someday soon, but that they were still growing. My last two projects “Good Grief” and “Yours Truly,” have felt like the beginnings of spreading my wings. In hindsight, Legit Smitty feels like a place where I’ve been able to learn and grow and try on lots of different hats. I hope with music I always continue to learn and grow. But I think I am learning to let some songs die a little sooner now. It’s easier to throw old things out when you know you’ve got new and better stuff to keep. I am writing more than ever, and I ever won’t be able to record everything i’ve written. With all the writing I am doing, I feel the art growing legs of its own. It talks to me, and tells me what it needs. It takes care of itself, whenever I am taking care of myself.

Knowing whats good and whats not is becoming a lot more black and white. I feel like asking for peoples attention again, but I need to separate myself a degree or two from the former. The electronic and rap-esq origins of the Legit Smitty project are simply a fact. I didn’t want to start playing revisionist history. After thinking about it for awhile, I thought it might be best to just put a sort of divider in the catalog. So thats what i’m doing. I toyed back and forth with the idea of holding on to the Legit Smitty namesake and taking down the earlier projects. Friends and fans of the project were quite against this idea. I’m starting to see and feel how the things i’ve made in the last 6 years mean something to people. One time a few years back I took my EP “Summer Sampler” off of streaming platforms. I had a fan reach out and tell me that record had helped them keep from taking their own life. They appreciated my putting it back up quickly. If anything I’ve ever done could be helpful to someone in that kind of way, then who am I to not make it easily accessible?

If you can’t tell, I’ve had a lot to think about throughout this whole process. I am grateful for the witness of the Legit Smitty project thus far, and the truth I have been allowed to bear through it. Yet, it feels time to give it a sort of bookend. This way, there is no revisionist history to be done. There is hopefully no more passerby writing off the project as sounding like the name of a rap project, or pop act. I want to be more universally accessible. I want a new start. A shift has occurred in my mind and my heart. I am maturing as a man and an artist and I need to make room. I am calling myself to something higher.

I am happy to finally be able to show my project to a new friend and not have to justify my namesake. Nobody was asking me to. But I felt like I needed to. It didnt make sense to ME, to continue as Legit Smitty. I started to feel more and more uncomfortable hearing my own name come out of my mouth.

Don’t get me wrong. The Legit Smitty brand as a whole will live on. I dont plan on killing it. My instagram handle will stay the same. People will still call me “Legit” like its my first name. And I do still plan on being quite Legit. In part, the heart behind my art has always been to bear witness to living truthfully. As contrary as it may seem, starting the “Smitty” project and leaving “Legit” behind, is what it’s going to take for me to feel that I am staying true.

I don’t mean to be more dramatic than I need to be. But I felt like a few of you might appreciate all of this. So, I hope you did.

Thats all for now.

Thanks for being here, and for listening in.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

(Smitty)

Big Inhale.

Big Exhale.

I give thanks.

Make a little list.

Have a bite to eat.

I’ve had some tidying up to do for about as long as I can remember. Some tasks to attend to. Big and small. Short assignments, as Anne Lamott would call them. Long assignments too. Given to me by others, or myself or God.

I’ve felt a smidge more at home, when i’m at home lately. This is no easy task. In the last five years since moving to Nashville i’ve had four different sets of roommates, across four different houses. I am grateful now to be continually refining my daily habits and finding some peace. I am tilling the soil of my soul. Mulling about, and finding my footing, once again.

God whispers, and I stretch out my clenched fists, ready for a kiss on each palm.

This is no token of rememberance. This is, better yet, affection.

………

I will now, keep house.

Prepare a place for my fellow pilgrim.

Spend time with the energy.

Call purpose to my footsteps.

This is not thriving.

This is not thinking even.

This is preparing.

Setting the table.

Saying our prayers.

Making our lists.

Reclaiming our cares.

This is,

getting back to work.

And all of these, laid end to end

are our lightning rod.

…

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* This morning I read “Think Little,” an essay by Wendell Berry about doing what we can before we starting to talk about what we can do. Thats my paraphrase. You should just read it for yourself.

* If you’ve noticed my songs jumping back and forth off of the Legit Smitty artist page, stay tuned. I will explain soon.

* You can listen to my new album “Good Grief” here.

* Watch the video for my song “Deep End” here.

* T-shirts and stickers are available at happymediumtn.com. The “Share a Song Today” tees are in stock, as well as some Binder Clip tees and New Stickers!

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber or by buying merch!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

We don’t have to be best friends with everybody. I really don’t think we are capable of having more than a handful of friends. There’s only so many hours in the day. You make time or you don’t. You find out who’s family after awhile. Who’s gonna stick around.

In Nashville, everybody’s working. Looking for a gig. The line between friend and coworker is blurred. Sure, we all “know” each other. We at least know of each other. Sharing a stage isn’t sharing a set of truths. Having bandmates ain’t always having best buds.

I am trying to get better at waiting. I am trying to sing a new song or two. (Gods given me a good few. Bless it.) I am learning the difference between what I need and what I want. I don’t have to be stoked on life. I try and keep my hands busy, and let my heart heal. Let time keep on passing, and do it’s good healing work.

I’m tired. Real tired. And sleep ain’t cutting it. I need work. I need a long day. I need to re-commit to the way of the amateur. I need to bask in the good green earth. I need to get outside, get off the computer, and get my hands dirty. I need work that cant be monetized. Thinking, and problem solving. No emotional or romantic end in sight.

Trust me, i’d rather have a lover than a project truck. But you work with what you’ve got.

I’ll tinker while I pray, while I wait, and amen again, and again, and again.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Sign up here for Community Dinner in Nashville on Nov. 9th ! and click here to join the email list for community dinner, and to see a recap of last months dinner.

* Listen to my new album “Good Grief” here.

* Watch the video for my song “Deep End” here.

* Listen to the playlist i’ve been working on for community dinner here.

* T-shirts and stickers are available at happymediumtn.com. The “Share a Song Today” tees are in stock, as well as some Binder Clip tees and New Stickers!

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber or by buying merch!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

There is a phrase I have been saying and not obeying. “Work as little as possible and make your art as much as possible.” Meaning, work enough to pay your bills and survive, and then make art with whatever time you’ve got left. I have scoured the internet but I don’t quite know where I heard this idea. It’s a way of living that I’ve been leaning into for the last few years, but I just more recently received new language for. When we can name a way of being, it makes it easier to lean into. Or lean away from. I don’t know if I agree with the idea of working as little as possible. But I do think a lot of people who are not career-artists could make more art.

A good while ago my buddy Trent gave me this movie “Mutual Appreciation” on DVD. I got around to watching it last night in my ritual of Sunday restfulness. It was a bit like “Frances Ha.” They are both in black and white and about trying to make it in New York. There is this one scene in the movie where the new-to-town rock-n-roller main character says “the goal isn’t to be happy, it’s to have a good story.” Which for a moment, I resonated with, but I eventually came to disagree. I do want to have a good story to tell. I do want to live into my freedom and margin within the “N.I.L.O.M.” principle - nothing is lost on me. But I am feeling a smidge less masochistic lately. I am no longer so much in the business of self-inflicted pain “for the sake of the song,” as Townes Van Zandt once said.

I think good art can come out of many a circumstance. Having margin does not have to mean mundanity. Spare time doesn’t require self sabotage. These are notes to self, of course.

I do want to keep making my art, yet I also just want to invest in community and relationships. I am always trying to find new ways that I could work completely for myself and make a steady income. Coffee comes up a lot when I try and draw the through-line between all of my interests and the interests of my friends. I think i’ve know this for awhile but it’s been bubbling to the surface in more real ways lately. I am no barista, but I am a people person.

A pretty legitimate opportunity to open a coffee cart could be falling into my lap right now. I am trying to go slow and really feel out what it is I want from my life and my days and my future. At the end of the day, I kind of have the margin to try just about anything right now when it comes to my career. I’ve got a lot of years ahead of me and not a whole lot to lose. A lot of people I look up to in life manage small businesses, have a lot of hobbies and passions, and have sort of “lifestyle” careers. While I am in Nashville, I want to be building something to last. It’s something i’ve been thinking about a lot. Even if I don’t stay here forever, I think it’d be pretty amazing to curate a sort of ethos within a coffee spot or something similar, and maybe be able to pass it on eventually.

For now I get to keep dreaming, and let the rubber slowly hit the road. I am trying to go slow, and be grateful, and put one foot in front of the other. In authenticity and craftsmanship and in hope, not fear.

Godspeed, and don’t be a stranger.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Sign up here for Community Dinner on Oct. 19th ! and click here to join the email list for community dinner, and to see a recap of last months dinner.

* Listen to my new album “Good Grief” here.

* T-shirts and stickers are available at happymediumtn.com. The “Share a Song Today” tees are back in stock, as well as the Binder Clip tees and New Stickers!

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber or by buying merch!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

Boy is it good to be back. 30 days off, and a good handful of social-media-benders later. I am officially kicking myself in the pants and trying to get back to it.

I never would’ve thought i’d still be learning so much about life and purpose and what I believe. I surely am “living into the questions” as Rilke puts it. There is not much else I can do. I am giving myself lots of grace, and also trying to hold myself to a higher standard. I make my little to-do lists and rules for myself, but I lose them very quickly. All the while, their contents live on in my head. It’s the thought, mostly, that counts. Even the making of my lists is me demanding something of myself. I am, at least, showing up.

A few weeks ago I hosted “Community Dinner” in my backyard, which I will continue to do once a month for the foreseeable future. It was a really sweet time. I got to feed everyone chili, I set up arts and crafts and we had an open mic! A couple of people read poems aloud or shared songs for the first time ever. My heart was warmed, and I am very excited to continue cultivating community and creativity. If you’re in Nashville and would like to join us, the next Community Dinner is on Oct. 19th!!! Sign up here and mark your calendar.

I have been writing a lot of new music, and making a lot of #content for my record that just came out. My theory is that if I can turn off my emotions and make 20 TikTok’s in one sitting, then I only have to sell my soul for about 10% of the time that I am on the computer in a week. Yeah, Right. Either way, I am trying to make a habit of actively believing in the music I am making…by promoting it. With the times the way they are, the cheapest way for me to gain new listenership is to utilize all possible social media avenues. I am treating it like work, and getting a lot of it done in my downtime at my retail job two days a week.

Anyways, I am also actively believing in my music by getting out and playing it. I played in Florence, AL this past weekend, solo, and it was good. I felt strong about my set and the crowd was receptive. A couple people were actually there to see my set which was pretty awesome. I for sure made a couple new fans, which is what its all about. I was grateful to have my friends Claire and Jesse tag along for the trip. We enjoyed hearing from Zion Goins and Brother Goode, who hosted us at the Lava Room.

I will play a writers round in Nashville this coming Friday, Oct. 4th at City Church in East Nashville. You can get more details by reaching out to myself or Michelle Raybourn.

If you want to host a house show / song share in your home soon or in the coming year, i’d love to put it together, and share a few songs. Just reply to this and let me know and we can get the ball rolling.

Anyways, thanks for being here. Lately, life has felt like I am reaching the edge of a video game map and being catapulted back to the center. Isn’t it funny how we try to be so independent, when we could be relying on each other instead. We need something greater than ourselves, and we need other people. I am grateful today for grace, and provisions beyond my understanding. I feel well accounted for in the midst of my working, wandering and play.

keep showing up, and peace be with you all

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Sign up here for Community Dinner on Oct. 19th ! and click here to join the email list for community dinner, and to see a recap of last months dinner.

* Listen to my new album “Good Grief” here.

* T-shirts and stickers are available at happymediumtn.com. We have the “Share a Song Today” tees back in stock, as well as the Binder Clip tees and New Stickers!

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber or by buying merch!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

Please Enjoy the Video Version of this weeks newsletter above, with overlayed drawings and an original musical score. I did in fact work hard on it.

What do we do when life doesn't feel “normal?” How do we find homeostasis? What are we leaning on? What are we hoping will be the one thing left standing when all else crumbles?

This feels like a point at which I'm supposed to talk about God or relying on a higher power or the power of community. While I do believe God and community can procure joy, I also believe in a good push of the Snowball. I think when I say “Joy is a discipline,” what I really mean is that experiencing the supernatural and getting out of a rut often require a push. Forced-forward motion. To “boot-strap it” means to succeed only by one's own efforts or abilities." Spiritual and Mental bootstrapping it means putting yourself in a posture of readiness to receive your blessing.

Creating habits of mindfulness and self-care is crucial to finding homeostasis as a human and as a creative. Working harder, playing harder, and slowing down — harder. I mentioned it in a previous letter: putting ourselves in front of other people is strong medicine. It can melt a heart of stone…

Solitude and reflection are also strong medicine.

David Dark says, “We become what we normalize.” We become more of whatever we are daily choosing. It all compounds. The snowball snowballs. So we’ve got to keep track of what we are choosing. You surround yourself with certain people — you become more like them. You read more—you gain perspective. You look at your phone — you get addicted to it. You overwork yourself — you do crap work. Where we draw the line directly impacts our longevity in our craft, our relationships, and so on.

“Mental bootstrapping it” means keeping a captain’s log, journaling, keeping lists, and reading. I assess where I’ve been, what’s working, and what’s not. I keep track of what I’ve learned and am still learning. I lay down direction for the immediate and not-so-immediate future. I read and rest and I then take next steps — despite how I feel. Once the wheels are spinning, I start to remember. I have dreams. I want to accomplish things. It all compounds.

We need solitude and reflection in a world where all this boulder-pushing and outside input can feel endless and impossible. If we don’t come up for air once in a while, we’re going to drown.

I do not always meet God, become inspired, or find peace in my morning writing practice, but I do tend to hear things I wouldn’t hear otherwise. And it does tend to help me calm down and be more kind to myself and others. I think we have to at least try to keep track of our days. We have to look back, mark checkpoints, and find things to be grateful for, and things we need to let go of. We have to take inventory. Ensuring that all that we carry is conducive to all that we hope to become.

Stand strong, and let nothing be lost on you my friends.

Godspeed,

and Amen,

again and again.

Yours truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My new album “Good Grief” is out now and you can stream it!

* New shirts and stickers are available at happymediumtn.com. We have the Share a Song Today tees back in stack, as well as Binder Clip tees and New Stickers!

Support this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber or by buying merch!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

I’ve been keeping my hands busy. Charging my credit card for art supplies and tools. Trying to stay in the yard, or the studio, or the kitchen. Shop class as soul craft. Art class as a prayer. Cooking and eating, and washing dishes. Trying to be mindful through it all. Reaching out, looking up, trying to be where my feet are. A lot of days I fail pretty miserably. But let’s call this letter a step in the right direction. Writing has always held me accountable. Sharing my writing adds another layer of accountability. I want to be sure that I am having some healthy inner dialogue throughout the week. I want to mine from my soul something worth sharing with an audience. Getting out a few words helps me rid myself of myself, and makes me a whole lot less upset about being alone.

I spent some time this past few weeks in South Carolina and North Carolina. Hung out and played a few songs in Charleston and saw some sweet friends get married. We got together as a family in Lexington, SC, to mark the one-year anniversary of our tragic car accident in Hawaii. This time last year was something else, to say the least. I didn’t enjoy recounting the hospital and the past year. Honestly, because I live in Nashville, I was sheltered from much of the recovery process. Like I said, I didn’t want to talk about it, but as David Dark says, “there are so many ways to love God.” Mourning is, for sure, an act of love and maybe even worship. Many things that require our discomfort will bring us closer to God, should we learn to sit still long enough.

Then I worked at a summer camp running sound for a week in Weaverville, NC (pictured above.) Everyone working there had been there for at least two weeks longer than I had, and some for months longer. They had already formed friendships and gotten good at their jobs. But they still welcomed me in kindly and I enjoyed getting to do my part. I knew that only being there for a week might make me feel a little psyched out on the relationship side of things. I did find myself wishing I had more time to form deep relationships. I came to terms with my short stay though and I tried to remain attentive to whatever joy might be on the horizon. Sure enough, once I lowered my expectations, little bits of meaning and purpose, and relational depth began to seep in. At that same moment, I found out I had been “playlisted.” (The indie-rock equivalent of being knighted.) The little “G” gods up at Spotify decided to wave their wands in my direction and give me 27,000 new listeners in the last week. This blessing, like most blessings, will only last for so long. My listenership will likely go back down in a few months or weeks even. But for now I get to be very grateful for every day that new people are hearing the songs.

All in all, a change of pace has been nice. I have felt held and comforted by the new souls I’ve met this month who have taken me as I am. Kinda like I was saying in our last letter, sometimes being humanized by strangers is the best way to be humanized. It’s also quite humbling to come back to the place you call home and realize it has lived on without you. Humbling and freeing I suppose.

Anyways, thanks for being here, and for reading this far. Way to be where your feet are. Be praying with me that I find a new place to live in east Nashville near my friends. At the time of writing this, I’ve got 19 days till I have to be out of my current place.

With Love

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My new song, “Tell Me Who I Am,” is out now and on Spotify’s Editorial playlists Undercurrents, New Music Friday, and New Indie as I mentioned above!

* My Album, Good Grief, will be out on July 31st! Become a paid subscriber to hear a new song from it early!

* My new brand “Happy Medium” has officially launched and is housing all of the old Holy Moly Records designs. Visit the website: happymediumtn.com.

* We have some shows coming up soon in Nashville and South Carolina!

* Blythewood, SC - July 21st - House Show

* Greenville, SC July 26th - House Show

* ( see poster below for details)

Support this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber or by buying merch!

(Paid subscribers gain early access to unreleased music, videos, and extra posts.)

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

Thats the Beastie Boys. Did they say it best?

My desire to party is most definitely something I have to stir up. I have to create a habit of exercising my social muscles. My first year out of college I spent far too much time at home, but I got to work on a lot of projects. I was developing my craft and furthering my knowledge in the field of audio. I was glued to the computer, just as I still am now many days. I am trying to shift my focus towards people. It seems that seeing and beholding each other might be some of the most important work we do in a day.

I remember in my last semester of college I only had a few in person classes. I wasn’t on campus that much, and I was in the beginnings of my work-from-home-freelancer post-grad hermitage. Anyways, I would get quite depressed. The house would be so quiet when I wasn’t working on songs. I was grieving the loss of a season and choosing not to exercise my right to party. I needed rest, but not total isolation. I’ve said it before, Joy is a discipline ya’ll.

When I did leave the house to go to campus, I was always relieved to face another human being. Getting in the elevator would often be my first human interaction in days. I was grateful for strangers and their offerings to humanize me, so gracefully, with the question “what floor?” I was held, healed, and made whole even, by a mere “good morning” or some simple eye contact. I had been realized. I was not, in fact, a ghost. The hard work of showing up was done. It snowballs from there.

In that season of my life it was often as simple as knowing that I was not invisible. Here, now, in the thick of my post-grad pilgrimage, getting out of the house is still my days most daring duty. I am learning to exercise my right to party. I am also learning that I like to party one on one, with hand selected humans. At 23, the saying “friends are the family that you choose,” hits a whole lot harder. I also think that our actual family are the friends that we have built in, if we are lucky. Both can serve such great purposes. I am feeling both malleable and grounded in various areas. I am trying to remain open. Being a socialite, just like joy, is a discipline. Like a rubber band, I need a good stretching out every once in awhile, in order to remain useful.

Dear God, let us all stay in practice,

Amen.

Godspeed, and keep on trucking.

Yours truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My new song “So It Goes” is out now and on Spotifys Editorial playlist “Fresh Finds: Folk”

* My next single “Tell Me Who I Am” will be this coming Tuesday at 11pm CST! Paid subscribers can stream it early now!

* I played Friday night in Charleston, SC and we have a few more shows coming up in July. Bowling Green was canceled but we WILL be in:

* Nashville, TN - July 14th

* Columbia, SC - July 21st - House Show

* Greenville, SC July 26th - House Show

Support this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber or by buying merch!

(Paid subscribers gain early access to unreleased music, videos, and extra posts.)

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

“Be where your feet are.”

“Just Show up.”

“We will see who has staying power.”

I feel a further call toward presentness. Towards staying put and widening my eyes. Broadening my gaze. Lengthening my listening. There is so much to take in. There are so many people to be there for. So much will be lost in translation. So many will end their days feeling less than necessary. How can I help it?

Someone out there needs you more than you know. To them, your presence, in whatever capacity, is a sign of hope. Knowledge of your existence, justifies and empowers theirs.

You are on the back of someones mind. Soon to come forward. Or maybe not. And maybe thats alright. Because we exist both within and without our relationships.

Although, our relationships are well-worth pursuing. Our hearts are well-worth sharing. Our time is well-spent deciding how and who to share our hearts with.

We must cast a line out into the void, and see what it returns. We must plant seeds and see what they yield. We must be patient and present and ready to receive the gift.

We must create rhythms of readiness. Stand still and open our hands.

We must get up, hit the day hard on the head, and tell it who’s in charge.

Get out the front door and into the sun, or the rain, or whatever reality awaits us. Decide to smile until we feel like smiling.

Joy is a discipline. Love is a choice. Patience is a practice.

All of these, and more, are a gift which we may live into,

should we choose to lean in.

I hope you can stand this rambling. All the while, I am still recording songs here and there, and sharing them with the world. This week I put out into the world a song called “So It Goes.” It is a song about longing for quick-companionship. It’s contents coincide with the shorthand above a good deal, and only by means of Gods grace. I will say though, the lyrical content of this new song speaks to the side of my heart and brain which do not wish to show up, be present, or be patient. I believe songs are a great place to vent frustration. But I don’t think love takes shortcuts, as it may be assumed that I am suggesting in this song. Maybe this is something I have learned since I wrote the song.

It’s been a bit difficult to get these letters out to you all lately. I’d like to say it’s because I am working so hard at being present in the “real world.” In reality, it’s probably quite the opposite. I am, I think, being more present, but I am also fighting a multitude of darknesses which do not all have names. Fortunately, though, I believe they are becoming frightened and seem to be scurrying off.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My song “So It Goes” is out now wherever you stream music.

* I am playing some shows this summer, mostly solo, across the Southeast and right outside of Nashville. See the poster and dates attached below! (Some dates are subject to change.)

* I learned the phrase “Staying Power” from the solo artist Grandaddy in his “Whats In My Bag” video. He gives great commentary in this video on the possible importance of staying power in the music industry and how he thinks that maybe the lack thereof will help weed out the wannabes. < 3

Support this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber or by buying merch!

(Paid subscribers gain early access to unreleased music, videos, and extra posts.)

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.,

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

Working at the cafe today. I just ate a slightly-stale-chocolate-croissant after getting most of my shift chores done. Lemonade is made, and waffle cones too.

I check in with my mind, top off my presentness, and pray for greater awareness. I am in a slower and less anxious place today than I was a week ago. But I am still behind.

I am taking deep breaths. Denying myself a little more and then a little less. Not reading as much as I’d like, but listening to audiobooks more. I’d say 70% of the time when I’m in the car recently, I listen to an audiobook. 20% of the time, I listen to nothing. And the other 10% of the time, I listen to mixes for clients or myself.

My own songs have been becoming prayers again. I’ve got an album’s worth of works -in-progress that encompasses a range of emotions, questions, and statements. Some remind me who I am, some beg the question, and some depict life around me. I’ve tried to make listening to demos a treat for myself so I don’t get burnt out.

Although, silence beats any audiobook or song by a mile.

The cooing of the earth.

Wind.

Highway.

Cicadas (especially)

sing a song of presentness. Constantly saying, “Here I am.”

I look inward, and all the day long, say

“Here I am,”

in this moment, in this blessing, in this ache.

And here is my prayer,

That I would hold it, all that I bear here today,

and then (quickly)

hand it off to my God,

So that he might

rinse it?

keep it far from me?

Hand it back?

Whatever is suitable, I suppose, will be acceptable

becuase all I know,

is that i know nothing at all

I open up my hands

I expect nothing

but that a weight would be lifted

by keeping them open,

and dreaming

of a life lived good and clean.

…

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My New Song Deep End is out now, along with my song Givin It Up!

* I am trying hard to finish David Dark's book “Life’s Too Short to Pretend You're Not Religious.” (I don’t typically read on-the-nose Christian self-help books. Fortunately, this book has been far from that. It has been so rich and full of perspective. I’ve been listening on Audible and reading my paperback copy.

* I’ve been getting into Klein Tools (Not a paid endorsement)

* Damien Jurado’s life and presence continue to inspire me.

* The Danielson Family band has piqued my interest lately. I just watched this documentary about them featuring Steve Albini and Sufjan Stevens.

* I play on June 8th in Centennial Park here in Nashville at Musicians Corner!

* I downloaded the audiobook version of “Every Moment Holy, Vol. 3” this week. It’s been nice to listen while I drive if I am rushing out the door before having any sort of morning meditation. Liturgy has been a new and good thing for me.

This newsletter is free, but you can support me by becoming a paid subscriber. (You’ll occasionally gain early access to unreleased music, videos, and extra posts.) You can also buy merch!

Shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

You can also email or call just to say what's up.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.,

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

I’ve got this nasty habit of not unpacking for weeks after arriving back in town. I already have two “clothes chairs,” so the floor becomes a third. I also have a hard time unpacking my brain whenever I blow back into town. I can get really disoriented when I lose my routines. Last week, I wrote about letting go. This week, I am writing about picking up.

Both letting go and picking back up are necessary for survival. This week, I pulled it together. I got the clothes off the chair (and the floor.) I did a few loads of laundry. I did the dishes. I vacuumed. Washed my sheets. Had some recording sessions. I visited with friends. Sat outside. Read. Listened to music. Made some phone calls. And started getting some summer shows more solidified.

Now, Sawyer Norman is in town and in the kitchen cooking us eggs. Thank God. His soul blesses mine. We are trying to record four songs this weekend—at least get them started. I told him I’d rather record a handful of songs for him to take home and keep working on than make one super-polished thing. He obliged. I am hopeful to see what additions get made with the folks in Greenville, SC, and wherever else collaboration comes from. We are trying new methods.

I am trying to get my band together for these summer shows. Find a way to fit all our junk in a Subaru Forester. I am making money and spending it. Buying tools and pizza slices mostly. Trying to save some. I am enjoying my days. I have little time to be worrying. I get to just do. This is the season that I am in. I am tilling my garden. Tidying up. Trying to bring order to the galaxy.

Here is an incorrect and unsaintly paraphrase of St. Augustine:

Pray like God will answer.

Work like he wont.

Here is the actual thing:

Pray as though everything depended on God.

Work as though everything depended on you.

…

Godspeed, and take care of yourself.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My New Song Deep End Came out last Tuesday!

* In the spirit of tidying up, here is a Pedro The Lion song called “Clean Up.”

* I saw Andy Squyres play live last week at the Rabbit Room Manor, right outside of Nashville. I got to meet him and buy a CD. He is a nice fellow, quite funny, and full of great songs of hope and lament.

* While at the Rabbit Room Manor, I also picked up a copy of Every Moment Holy: Vol. 3 which has been so rich and life-giving to me this past week.

This newsletter is free, but you can buy me a coffee by becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll gain early access to unreleased music, videos, and extra posts. Or buy merch!

Shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

You can also email or call just to say what's up.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.,

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

It seems we have somehow reached 25 letters together. I am trying once again to glean significance from everything. Is this a trick? A worthwhile investment? A way to quickly exhaust myself? It is a slow fade. I am quickly losing my will to give a s**t. At least in the same capacity as I once did. However, there is a deeper care that rests inside of me, which is giving me permission to let go. Even in my strongest attempts to forget God, I cannot. A wise man once said, “The mere face of a girl, the song of a bird, or the sight of a horizon, are always blowing evil’s whole structure away.” Beauty is inevitable, and so it must be named. I do not mind calling it God.

Two weeks—almost three—have gone by without my writing to you. This shouldn’t be a big deal, except I had been writing to you all for 24 straight weeks. But never mind that. Here we are.

I don’t know if it was Rilke or Lewis who said something about how “Correspondence” is a job and a joy. Keeping in touch. Sharing what we have been up to. What we have been learning. What has been paining us. In my experience, hand-written letters behold a sort of sincerity that an email or text message could never. When I write a letter, I feel the burden of my humanness slightly lifted. I am walking the fine line between journaling and conversing. Things can suddenly become both vulnerable and communal. Unlike journaling, you have a destination in mind for what you are saying. So, you might be asking a little more of yourself. For me, having you all as an audience has been a great motivator and a great set of borders.

I am taking note of my successes and my shortcomings and breathing more easily by doing so. I am learning to celebrate the ordinary while seeking out the extraordinary. I am trying to see how every moment could be deemed holy. I get to look at my life under a magnifying glass a little more without feeling entirely vain about it.

I was trying to write a book before I started this newsletter. I’ve tried to write books before. Most recently, I got further than ever - but still quit - and started this substack instead. A friend mentioned to me recently, in regards to substack, that he felt like this platform had been waiting for me. A place where I could have severity of thought with little to no consequences. At least, that’s what it is for now. I fear that each week, as I am accruing new subscribers, I might be watering down my train of thought. Or that I’m putting too much pressure on myself to be some sort of savant.

Mostly, I have just wanted to keep in touch. With myself. With you all. With the world around me. Asking myself to write a “letter,” each week simply demands that I show up. It is a structure I appreciate, especially post-college. I think we could all use a little deadline here and there. Fortunately, I have been settling into a knowingness of myself outside of occupation and output. I am and will likely always be, in some way, an artist, a person of faith, and a person full of questions. I have yet to write a life’s mission statement. But this seems to be close to one. Maybe it is more of a “present statement.” or a “grounding statement.”

“I am Jake Smith, man of faith, full of questions, ever-artful.

Always learning, distilled in grace, moving in love.”

My forgiveness towards myself and others is multiplying. My s***s left to give are dwindling. I think maybe these things coincide. Sometimes, I feel I can love more when I care less. Letting go of what I can’t control is powerful medicine.

I no longer fear losing God. Only seeing God the wrong way. (unloving, unforgiving, unjust.)

I do not fear losing friends because, historically, I have been able to make them.

Seasons change, it is what it is.

I have kept on living. I have been finding meaning and purpose outside of my work. (this has come out of sheer necessity because I have done some pretty bad work lately.)

A season of drought has been a kiss on the mouth from God. I am malleable. I am a compost heap. I am someone’s someday confidant. Nothing is lost on me.

I am breathing. I am coping. I am mowing lawns. I am working at the coffee shop. I am befriending locals.

I am making my eggs and toast. I am quitting projects which I do not believe in. I am making room for something new and beautiful, which I have no point of reference for. This is hope. No amount of normal will take my heart or my art away from me. I could not be Chad if I tried (God told me this over drinks last week.)

I have NO s***s left to give (zero) (none.) I gotta eat. And make a buck. And find release. I gotta laugh. And hug. And learn and get on with life.

I am humbled and grateful and full of days.

I am despairing and hateful, and unabridged.

I will curse and spit and throw rocks at the darkness.

I will never stop believing in my art or my family or my friends.

Peace be with you all. Do not doze off.

Rise o sleeper.

You were called to so much more. So ask this of yourself

and then ask it again tomorrow,

Amen.

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My new song, “Deep End,” comes out this coming Tuesday, May 7th - Paid subscribers can hear it here now.

* “Being Alive” by Frankie Cosmos

* “Choir Vandals” by The American Analog Set

This newsletter is FREE but you can buy me a coffee by becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll gain early access to unreleased music, videos, and extra posts. Or buy merch!

Shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

You can also email or call just to say what's up.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.,

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

What people say about me when I’m not around is none of my business. The things I haven’t been invited to are also none of my business. The more I get to know myself, the more comfortable I become with not being included. Being left out isn’t always personal. Most people think about themselves a whole lot more than other people. It only makes sense that they might forget to include someone. I know I am quite bad about reaching out. There is plenty to be said about vouching for yourself and expressing that you want to be included. “Making your own luck.” I’d say I am pretty good at making my own luck. And praying for things to come my way. I think hard work and, prayers, and wishes pay off in time. I also think that people who wanna see you will find a way to see you.

Nashville can be a tough place to live. There are a ton of great folks here. But everybody can be quite preoccupied and easily spread thin. Making little records. Doing hot yoga. Walking the dog. Going out. It’s a vibrant place, don’t get me wrong. Although, It’s smack full of people, which is its best and worst feature. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t meet everyone here that I click with. Knowing that to be true, I often feel quite despairing and give up on getting to know anyone more deeply.

Dating from such a large pool can also be exhausting. It can be fun though, with the right mindset and with a lot of grace. I have been trying to look at all relationships as learning opportunities. Loving opportunities. A moment to take someone as they are, and to give of yourself in whatever way you are currently available. I have been putting a lot less pressure on outcomes. “Hopeful abandon,” I call it. I try to be hopeful but also not so surprised when things don’t work out. That’s just life. I am less and less surprised by brokenness - but in turn, I am fighting more and more for love, and to be present enough to see the love all around us. Gratitude is a practice. Joy is a discipline. What will we ask of our days? This is what we ask of our life.

My new song, “Givin It Up,” came out on Thursday. Thank God. I have been sitting on this one for a good long while. I recorded it for the first time in October of 2022. And I think I wrote it a few months before that. The recording really didn’t change much after the initial day of tracking. It was one of my first ventures into drumming on my own songs. And it came together quickly. I left it alone for a long time because I really just enjoyed listening to it how it was. When it came time to try and pick songs for a greater project, I knew I wanted this one on there because of its lyrical content and because of the rawness of the instrumental and the vocal take. I felt that I really captured the emotion of the song with poignancy, fresh off of still really feeling what I had written.

For paid subscribers this week I’ve dug up an earlier version of Givin’ It Up that I had not heard in a long time before today. It is from October 11th, 2022. The more official version that is now out on streaming platforms was recorded two days later on October 13th, 2022. You can hear their similarities and differences but I pretty much had the structure in the original demo, which is a cool feeling.

Thanks for being here, and thanks for listening.

Godspeed, and be well.

Yours truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* I made a video for my new song “Givin It Up.” with my good friend Jack Tucker. We hope to make a few more for the rest of the record.

* As I just mentioned, an earlier demo of “Givin it up” is available now as a separate post for paid subscribers. I post unreleased songs each week for my paid subscribers.

* I’ve been enjoying the song “Forget You All The Time” by Cloud Nothings.

* Check out this Silver Jews song with Pavement singer Stephen Malkmus, back from when he and David Berman were close collaborators. Silver Jews - “Advice To The Graduate.”

* T-shirts, stickers, pins, and CDs are available at holymolyrecords.com. Go check em out.

This newsletter is FREE but you can buy me a coffee by becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll gain early access to unreleased music, videos, and extra posts. Or support me by buying merch!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

You can also email or call just to say what's up.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.,

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

We got to play live as a full band this Wednesday with Lighthearted. It was a Great night, and some good times hanging with the band. The night before the show we got to grab pizza at a joint called Diceys here in town. They do a great pie called the “peppy boy.” It’s mostly just a pepperoni pizza with hot honey. We ate our pizza squares and shared stories. I asked the Huffman twins if they ever recall childhood stories in differing ways. God bless.

Playing out has been more appealing lately. As the band feels more and more tight, I feel more and more like playing shows. The songs have begun to feel more sincere and well-executed over the years. It only makes sense that improvement would come with time. I am grateful for each and every individual who comes up after a show and tells me that they enjoyed our set. I am starting to take positive feedback more seriously. A friend of mine asked me to take it more seriously. He reminded me that compliments from strangers aren't a joke. People aren’t required to share their opinion. A friend telling you good job is one thing. A stranger making their way to you in a loud room to say “good set” can take a lot. I am trying to let that set in more. I am trying to carry these moments with me.

I am sitting on a new 8-song project, which I announced a single for last week on Instagram. The song is called “Givin’ It Up,” and we played it at our show with Lighthearted on Wednesday. I have been dealing with the back and forth of trying to wrap up promotional material for this record while also solidifying its release date, album artwork, etc. Doing everything myself can make my head spin. But I’d rather not slow down the release process because I know I’ve got plenty more I’d like to record and release. I am learning that every project serves a different purpose, and I don’t get to decide which albums have a more lasting impact. I only get to decide whether or not I believe in a project enough for it to exist. And then if it needs to be accessible to someone other than myself. I know better than to think I know best. I know all that I have been given is a gift. Yet, I also know that not everything I create is worth sharing. I am trying to trust the process but also become more okay with scrapping songs.

The songs in this upcoming record are a lot about keeping the faith in times when we cannot see or feel the presence of God. It’s about staying true to convictions and intentions even when we can’t see how or if it will impact us positively. It is about being blatantly honest in our prayers. I am excited to begin sharing these songs with you.

My new song, “Givin' It Up,” comes out this Thursday, April 11th at Noon.

paid subscribers hear it now.

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* I had to remove the paywall on the newsletters to make the voiceovers available on streaming platforms. This week, “Givin it up” is available now, a week early, as a separate post for paid subscribers. I post unreleased songs each week for my paid subscribers.

* I am super stoked on the announcement of Pedro The Lion’s upcoming album Santa Cruz, and the single they put out with it this week “Modesto.” There is a strong nod to Modesto based band Grandaddy in the song and it’s video. This is the kind of attention to detail that gets me inspired. All the folks in the YouTube comments applauding these details gives me much hope. God i’m so grateful for music. Especially the smaller kind.

* T-shirts, stickers, pins, and CDs are available at holymolyrecords.com. Go check em out.

This newsletter is FREE but you can buy me a coffee by becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll gain early access to music, videos, and extra posts. Or support me by buying merch!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

You can also email or call just to say what's up.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.,

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

You can click on your preferred platform above to subscribe and (hopefully) stream this week’s newsletter.

Thanks yall.

🫶🏼

Hello and welcome to vol. 22 of The Underground Binder-Clip Society.

The pivot foot in basketball is the foot that remains in contact with the floor once a player has stopped and put both hands on the ball.

From this position, the player may spin or change positions so long as their pivot foot does not move from its initial position or lose contact with the floor.

Once the pivot foot is established, there are three legal ways to free it without committing an illegal “travel.”

* Shooting

* Passing

* Dribbling”

Lately it’s felt as if i’m stopped in place with the ball in my hands. I only have a few options: shoot, pass or pivot. This season has been full of all three. I have been taking shots. I have been handing the ball off when i’m not the right person to take the shot. I have been pivoting, or changing directions, while keeping one foot firmly planted.

I didn’t expect i’d ever be using a basketball analogy to describe my creative personal life, but here we are. It’s springtime here in Nashville and quite beautiful outside. I got to take two nice walks last week at Shelby Bottoms park. Had two recording sessions with clients. Received a piece of mail. Made biscuits from scratch. I am allowing myself to rest more and am trying to focus on whats directly in front of me. I am back on my flip phone — I wanna check out this book called digital minimalism.

I started booking another DIY tour for the summer with a friend. I have been doing email and taking short phone calls at my chill new part-time job in east nashville selling t-shirts. I have said a lot recently that I am in both a reaping season and a sowing season. I can see the fruit of my labor, and the fruit still to come. I am enjoying the process, and perfecting my recipes and my to-do lists. Praise God. The springtime breeze brings life, and peace, despite all unknowns. I do not know what exactly it is that I hope in all the time, but I know that hope is being restored.

I still complain and gripe at times to the right people. I am grateful for those who empathize with me while peppering in an alternative perspective. I am also grateful for those who pick me up by my feet and hold me upside down for a moment. My slowing down hasn’t been scaring me as much as it used to. I can look back at a few solid years now of artistry and the ups and downs that have come and gone. Seasons of drought and seasons of plenty. Seasons where I’ve had my focus in the right places, and seasons where I was chasing acclaim and attention. Now I am just being, mostly. Thank God, my fellow artists and those who I meet along the way encourage me to keep going. General upkeep of the soul seems to be reason enough to remain an artist. You can tell when someone has worked some things out in their morning pages.

Categorizing and streamlining my music business tasks has been a focus for me lately. In seeing some smaller indie labels put out great work, i’ve found a second wind with trying to do my due diligence and get my music in front of new people. This is whats led me to booking another DIY tour, and sending more emails to publications and labels. I am building some “networking” into my daily routine and calling it what it is. It doesn’t feel so superficial when you actually believe in the art you are promoting. I also think I am becoming much less emotional about it. It’s not that hard to send a few emails a day, and see if they turn into a relationship or a show or a bit of press coverage. And hey, if it doesn’t pay off, we all just need a little task from time to time. Right?

Thats all i’ve got for now folks. Hope you can get outside this week and eat something good.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Below the paywall this week is a demo of a song called “Just For a Minute.” I really enjoy this one and have started recording it recently. I attach unreleased songs in every newsletter for my paid subscribers.

* I watched this hour long documentary on YouTube of the band “Flyte” making their new self-titled record. You should check it out.

* I heard the song “Waters of March” by Art Garfunkel in the credits of the film “The Worst Person in The World.” Both the song and the movie touched me.

* I am booking now for April and May if you’d like to record some music.

* If you have info on booking a show or know of a band we could play with in your town, let me know! Also let me know if we could crash at your house! Or play a house show in your backyard!

* T-shirts, stickers, pins, and CDs are available at holymolyrecords.com. Go check em out.

This newsletter is FREE but you can buy me a coffee by becoming a paid subscriber, and gain early access to music, videos, and extra posts. Or support me by buying merch!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

You can also email or call just to say what's up.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.,

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

[EDIT: I REMOVED THE PAYWALL IN THIS POST TO TRY AND GET THIS VOICEOVER ON TO PODCAST APPS. IT IS PROVING RATHER DIFFICULT] [TO HEAR THE SONG FOR PAID SUBSCRIBERS GO TO THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIS POST]

Hello Again. Thanks for being here. If you haven’t already, subscribe below, and consider buying me a cup of coffee by becoming a paid subscriber! And if you enjoy today’s words, forward them to a friend.

Today’s newsletter is read aloud for your listening pleasure. Press play above.

Today marks ten total Underground Binder-Clip Society Newsletters! Wow. And I’ve written a number of other little ramblings along the way. Thanks for tagging along and supporting my art and words.

My screen time is down overall as of recently, but I have still been on Instagram a fair amount. I am grateful for my time in the car recently with my thoughts, my CDs, and the Radio. I’ve also gone to a couple of shows lately without any phone at all. Although my flip phone hasn’t effectively cut down my Instagram usage, I stumbled upon the artist “Half-Handed-Cloud.” I saw his post about a compilation Christmas tape called “The Seasons Glreekins” that he was a part of back in 1998. Composed of 4-track cassette recordings of Chattanooga, TN bands. Let me re-iterate. This was in 1998. His other recordings are great too. And he still releases music. (I’m adding him to my index of lifelong music-makers, as I’ve previously mentioned in these posts.) His Bandcamp bio states, “Tiny, spirited, scrappy investments in melody & arrangement -- homemade pocket-symphony pop sound collage.” I love that.

All of this, paired with the garbage I mentioned last week about Spotify continuing to cut the Achilles of small artists, is leading me down a road of further interest in buying physical music. And distributing it. I bought a 5-disc CD duplicator this week on eBay. It hasn’t arrived yet, but I persisted in using my single-disc burner to make CD copies of my record “Medicine Songs” that I put out last February. I cooked chili and had friends over this weekend and gave away copies. I am going to begin using my good old label namesake Holy Moly Records to distribute more CDs and tapes in 2024. Maybe even some vinyl if I can make it make sense money-wise.

Streaming just isn’t making me psyched about music and art like it did when I was a kid in high school buying tapes, and finding artists through YouTube. I miss making real investments in my peers and my idol’s music. I want to have that back and encourage others to have it for the first time. Involvement in and exploration of your local scene, far away scenes, and their surrounding scenes. An “art tithe,” if you will.

I’ve been discouraged by the lack of quality and the excess of music that is dished to me algorithmically and otherwise in my last 4 years in Nashville. But I am realizing that the “good stuff” is all still out there. If I would just get myself to look for it again, and not solely listen to what I’m working on (although I do love a lot of what I’m doing for myself and my clients!)

I’ve been ENCOURAGED by more and more little labels popping up that distribute tapes and other physicals before they are available digitally! This puts real whole dollars back into the pockets of artists. And is mysterious and stirs the pot. It adds to some great word-of-mouth publicity. It requires involvement, investment, and fandom. Which in turn curates community. I’m here for all of that, if you can’t tell.

Anyways, lean into your local scene, and maybe gift someone a record this Christmas. I’ll leave some Recommendations below in the quick clips if there is any room left for that today. Ha. Thanks for tuning in.

Here are a few “Quick Clips” because I’ve already talked at you a lot today:

* The aforementioned “The Seasons Glreekins.” Christmas Tape from 1998 as pointed out by Half-Handed Cloud.

* Scott McMicken of Dr. Dog runs “Press On Records.” A tape label that seems nothing short of true DIY glory and righteousness.

* “Half-Handed Clouded” is music by John Ringhofer. He does what he wants. And he has been since the late 90s. And that has been encouraging me. As I said earlier, he calls it “Tiny, spirited, scrappy investments in melody & arrangement-- homemade pocket-symphony pop sound collage.” Also DIY glory and righteousness of a slightly more Christian variety.

* “Everything is Free Now” - Gillian Welch. This song seemed fitting to mention alongside all my physical copy media vs. streaming talk.

* I am fascinated by Silver Jews (band) and the late David Berman (frontman) right now. Apparently, he lived in Nashville from 1999 until his death in 2019. The final Silver Jews show was at The Cumberland Caverns, here outside of Nashville. He once said, "We're gonna live in Nashville and I'll make a career/ Out of writing sad songs and getting paid by the tear." Sheesh.

If you enjoy these posts, consider buying me a coffee by becoming a paid subscriber for just $5 a month. You will gain early access to upcoming music, unreleased demos, and extra posts.

As always, shoot me an email or give me a call if you want to work on music together! That’s my full-time gig these days. I am typically available to do remote or in-person sessions, here in Nashville, TN.

You can also email or call just to say what's up. I love to talk about writing, production, faith, and whatever else.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Good morning and happy Monday to us all.

Up before 7 this morning due to my sickness. My throat is so sore. I am having chicken and wild rice soup for breakfast. And tea instead of coffee. Bleh. No fun.

Have you ever taken a bite of hot chicken noodle soup and felt it in your ears? The soup helps with congestion. Do any of you possibly have a digital camera or an iPod classic you'd be willing to part with?

Here’s a photo off my flip phone from last week or so. Billy in the yard next to a 6-foot-high flame at a friend’s house.

If you haven’t heard, I had a couple new songs come out recently. You can listen to them here. I am working on a plan to put out two more to go along with this batch. All in due time. Stay tuned.

Anyways, here are this week’s “Quick Clips:”

* Here’s A Brian Eno quote Jack shared with me. Good grief. - “Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable, and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit - all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided]

* I unlocked the paywall on this subscriber-only post about my favorite free plugins. Maybe i’ll do another post about production soon, possibly in a video format.

* The first few takes of recording a song always seem the most pure. I told someone over lunch this week how I hate comping vocals. It's hard for me. So I don't usually do it when recording myself. I don't think Yo La Tengo comped vocals. That’s what I'm listening to now. God, I need to do more weird stuff in my recordings. But also maybe keep them more simple.

* “I’ve been asking something of my days again,” I told Harry this at the Secondhand Sound show after he asked how I’ve been. A Rainer Maria Rilke quote. At least I thought it was. Upon trying to find a link for it, I realized once again that I may have fabricated this “quote” from a number of different things I’ve read. I’ve been revisiting letters to a young poet, and it is so rich with needlessness. Rilke talks a good deal about being present. Which I know I struggle with. As does my generation as a whole.

* I made enough chili for 20 people this weekend and it wasn’t enough. I have never made that much chili. I was happily surprised to have had 40 people at my house throughout the night to eat the chili I had worked on for half the day on Saturday. The night included improvisational songs, hot dogs on the fire, and an age range of guests from 1 to 27. I originally thought maybe 10 people would show up. I felt like Jay Gatsby, and had a very good night. So many sweet faces, and souls.

* This week behind the paywall is a demo of “Billy Song.” A track that got away from me back in 2021. You can listen to it and other unreleased demos by becoming a paid subscriber. (UPDATE: I had to move the song to its own post to make the voiceover free. Click here to hear it.)

If you enjoy these posts, consider buying me a coffee by becoming a paid subscriber for just $5 a month. You will gain early access to upcoming music, unreleased demos, and extra posts.

As always, shoot me an email or give me a call if you want to work on music together! I am typically available to do remote or in-person sessions.

You can also email or call just to say what's up. I love to talk about writing, production, faith, and whatever else.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

(P.S. - Look at this Grammarly suggestion!?)

It seems that I prioritize comfort over pretty much everything else. With my phone specifically, I can choose to stay constantly distracted. I made the comment to my brother when I got home last week that my Instagram algorithm was showing me such funny posts lately. I sat there while he played Xbox and just kept showing him memes and laughing. Neither of us were very tapped into reality. Both of us, though, were quite comfortable.

I have become dissatisfied once again with having my mind always on vacation. I’d rather be engaged in unpacking, understanding, and creating. In touch with my surroundings and nature. More ready and expectant to hear the voice of God in the wind. With my newfound time away from my iPhone, I would like to do the following:

* Read

* Write

* Draw

* Make Food

* Go Outside

* Listen to CDs in my car (I just got some Third Eye Blind, Beck, and Pedro the Lion CDs at Mcckays yesterday while I was “doomsday prepping.”)

* Call Friends (in the last 24 hours I’ve already done this 10x more)

* Clean the house

* Make Videos

* Sing my Songs

These things may seem small and not that important. But I’ve literally been watching myself prioritize “hitting a fat scroll” on Instagram, as I like to call it, instead of doing these simple, quite-life-giving things.

Anyway, I’ll quit preaching now. If you want a recommendation on a flip phone, or if you are a local to Nashville and want to borrow one of mine, I’d be glad to chat more about it. Give me a call or shoot me an email.

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips:”

* My new Song “Grudges” is out now. I was originally writing in the third person when I started this one. But then it fell into place and became much more than I originally expected. Writing wise and cowbell wise. Give it a listen and show a friend if you haven’t already. I’m pretty much just betting on organic growth with this album cycle. So, every share counts.

* I went home and saw my family last week. Here is what I wrote while I watched half a movie with my sister, her friend, my mom, and my brother.

* I finally finished Bird by Bird by Anne Lamotte on my plane ride back to Nashville from South Carolina. - I could quote that whole book if you let me. I think it took me two years to finish just because I really didn’t want to ever have to finish it. Here’s one good takeaway I enjoyed about writing: “They are not going to buy big houses…as a result of their writing…if they got these things they’d probably end up even more mentally ill and full of stress and self-doubt…I still think they should write with everything they have, daily if possible, and for the rest of their lives.”

* I met a Quaker lady on that same flight home, who helped me find my pen, which I thought I had dropped between the seats, but I had actually just clipped to my shirt. She saw that I was reading Anne Lamotte, and said how she loved her writing. I asked if she was a part of any sort of faith community, and she explained that she is a Quaker. I asked her more and was quite intrigued to learn more about their practices. The lady was so kind and was in town for a 50-year college reunion at Vanderbilt. Her hair was white and looked quite soft. I wrote four sticky notes in bed that night about our conversation and my interaction with her.

* I have been listening to the late David Berman project “Purple Mountains.” And wow. A lot could be unpacked here. He has quite the story, and quite a bag full of songs. I think I’ll keep on listening now.

* “Little-Plate” by Soundtoys is FREE until Dec. 1st! For my music nerds. This is a GREAT plate reverb plug-in that I use quite often. I just upgraded to the expanded version called “Super-Plate,” and frankly, it’s not much different than the free version. So don’t pass this one up.

If you enjoy these posts, consider buying me a coffee by becoming a paid subscriber for just $5 a month. You will gain early access to upcoming music, unreleased demos, and extra posts.

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music together! I am typically available to do remote or in-person sessions.

You can also shoot me an email just to say what's up. I love to talk about writing, production, faith, and whatever else.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Legit Smitty's Underground Binder Clip Society is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Welcome to Vol. 6 of The Underground Binder-Clip Society™️

Grab your coffee Pizza, and take a seat.

(“Trying” by Mercury is out now. I got to record this song with my good friend Maddie Kerr, and I am quite proud of what we made together.

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips:”

* Screwtape Letter Number 14 - I have returned to you again. So Good. So many Good Reminders. The last paragraph or two specifically tends to get me back on my feet. It helps me remember to turn a 180 when necessary. You’ve also just got to check out the formatting on this website where I have linked the chapter. It’s so old-school and awesome.

* Our greatest weapons in this life are a good sense of humor, self-forgetfulness, and hospitality. Just some thoughts from the books I’ve been “Channel Surfing.”

* A good friend of mine has been doing some recording work for me for free, pretty much. New Legit Smitty songs, mostly. I’ve been trying to buy him pizza and beers to let him know how much I appreciate it. That way, we get to break bread together and make art together. I want to start trading food and drink for work more often. Or work for other kinds of work or random gifts.

* I’ve been enjoying the tones on the new Sinai Vessel song “Birthday.” Good Grief, what a beautiful song.

* My new song, “Grudges,” comes out next Friday, Nov. 3! You can Pre-Save it now by clicking here! Or listen to it early by becoming a paid subscriber for just $5 a month!

* I got to record OUTSIDE this week with my homies Harrison and Poly for a little video series that is going to be oh-so-awesome. The clip below is from Narrows of The Harpeth outside of Nashville. I built a pretty cool mobile recording rig out of a knock-off Pelican case from Harbor Freight. It worked great, and I was glad I had it when we started crossing some large streams of water for certain parts of the recording process.

If you enjoy these posts, consider buying me a coffee by becoming a paid subscriber for just $5 a month. You will gain early access to upcoming music, unreleased demos, and extra posts.

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music together! I am typically available to do remote or in-person sessions.

You can also shoot me an email just to say what's up. I love to talk about writing, production, faith, and whatever else.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Legit Smitty's Underground Binder Clip Society is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.