#19 Stuntmen, Backup Singers, and Research Librarians
an ode to the people behind-the-scenes
Happy Wednesday (It’s Friday),
One of the only reasons I graduated college on time is because a middle-aged university librarian named Connie really believed in me. Connie had her PhD in, I shit you not, Medieval Folklore, and that woman knew her way around an archive let me tell you. My favorite thing about Connie, in addition to having a knack for putting together stellar research guides, was how curious she was about absolutely everything. She didn’t need to share an interest in class critique of British female nurses from 1914-1918 to come up with roughly seventeen hundred research questions about it and point me in three really reasonable directions to take my final paper. I’m also fairly certain she saw me cry like, a fair amount, in the basement stacks Tisch library and generously never brought it up. I am not the only one who has benefitted from Connie’s expertise over the years, for she has helped hundreds of History students try to figure out something new to say for decades at this point, but I do find myself thinking about her more often than maybe most of the other folks I graduated with.
When I think about opening up a bookshop (which I really, really hope to do in my thirties) I don’t think of the booksellers I’ve interviewed in Boston or the editors of the fast-paced indie-press I interned at (and prematurely quit), or even the glamorous authors-turned-shop owners à la Books Are Magic. I think of Connie. I think of her sensible footwear and how she spent most of her days alone. I think of how most of the best papers, journals, and books would have sat in someone’s head forever had it not been for research librarians like Connie, for archivists and people obsessed with microfiche and folktales. I think of the people around us that pull our creativity out just by being around and asking the right questions.
A big lesson I’ve learned this year is how important proximity to these people is. There are certain folks, maybe they are a creative partner or maybe they are just an absurdly curious friend, that I’ve found are of paramount importance to spend consistent time near. Not for what they give you, but for what you share and create together.
Growing up, my parents would attempt to calm my worries with “you’ll find your people one day,” and I spent years looking for them in all the wrong places. The closer I have crawled to my creativity, the more of these people I’ve found, and that is of no coincidence.
I’ll keep this section short and sweet this week, since I may have over-done it in the music section (again). Enjoy.
Yesterday Noah Kahan and the Tiny Habits covered Olivia Rodrigo’s “Lacy” on BBC Radio 1, and I’m losing my mind about it.
This week is an ode to the opener. The little guy. The one who sets up and packs in their own equipment, sleeps in a van, and eats gas station food for months on end (if they’re lucky).
🎵 Tiny Habits (folk/pop) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tiny Habits is a trio of current and former Berklee School of Music students Cinya Khan, Maya Rae and Judah Mayowa who met while living in the dorms in 2021. I came across some videos of them casually singing acapella and the following week they were backing up Noah Kahan on BBC Radio 1. They have a Lizzy McAlpine vibe (who also attended Berklee and for whom they backed up on her Tiny Desk concert last November) and their music does make me nostalgic for that feeling of being fresh into adulthood in Boston, feeding off of the creative energy of others. As I read in The Artist’s Way this week, it is rarely talent that separates artists from those who forever wish to become them: it’s audacity. It’s refreshing to see that Tiny Habits has both. Though their Spotify is chef’s kiss, I highly recommend checking out their Youtube and the Two Tracks that come out of Berklee’s youtube channel. Class…top…as the Brits would say.
And….after providing backup vocals for some of the hottest new folk/indie artists of the past few years, Tiny Habits are heading out on tour! N. America and European dates below.
🎵 Victoria Canal (sad-girl pop / guitar, alt/folk?)
Shout out Lana and Andrew [of Hozier fame] for putting me on to Victoria earlier this year. She recently posted about the realities of being an indie, support act: how, without label money, touring for that long sans proper nutrition, sleep, etc. can be massively challenging. Victoria Canal toured with Hozier for the first leg of his Unreal, Unearth tour and though it was clear that she and Hozier experienced a wonderful creative partnership on the road, she is honest about the mental health struggles she faced while traveling. I think she does an excellent job of acknowledging the immense privilege that comes with ‘being discovered’ as well as the hardships of inconsistent health — both mental and physical— on the road.
The New Yorker recently featured Victoria Canal in their November issue with the sub-headings: A rising star of sad-girl pop talks disability, public personae, and just going for it. 10/10 recommend. Check her out below, singing with second-leg Hozier opener, Madison Cunningham.
Holy smokes… my mind has been blown this fall with some incredible, live, opening acts. Ever since I saw The Wood Brothers in February and fell in deep&ever-lasting love with Taylor Ashton’s music, I have tried not to be late to shows lest I miss out on an incredible opening artist I’ve never heard of. Since my last newsletter I’ve been lucky enough to see Teddy Swims, Hozier, and The Paper Kites live in Oakland, Los Angeles, and Houston, and though those performances were incredible (I nearly blacked out…thrice) I’d love to spend some time highlighting the artists that played before showtime, the ones who sold their own merch out front and had to play before the house lights totally dimmed. Behold! Some musicians you may not have heard of but should definitely be on the lookout for because…they’re on tour!
🎵 Zinadelphia (???) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A drummer was speaking to me recently about having trouble categorizing his sound because so many artists blend genres nowadays, and I hadn’t really thought about it that way before. I’d heard the tired cavils of “x genre is dead” or “nobody makes good y music anymore” and those frameworks had always depressed me. But this framework—that genres are blending and that artists aren’t sticking to just one sound on an album or even one track because they are inspired by so many different influences—feels like a really beautiful way to not only approach discovering new music, but also to listen to individual songs. Like, holy shit, is that a banjo? And oh wow…she’s playing the electric guitar and the kazoo while covering Gloria Gaynor. I think that exact confluence of so many different types of music is what makes artists like Zinadelphia and Teddy Swims (whom she opened for) so exciting to see live. There are still a few more US dates for Zinadelphia’s tour, so definitely try to catch her singing at one!
Zinadelphia’s cover of “I Will Survive” is the most unexpected, most transcendent rendering of that song I have ever heard. She’d discussed a breakup she went through last October and how in the time since, she has had the best year of her life. And I could feel every single emotion, specifically how angry (and righteously so) a person can be when they are healing from a relationship that continues to gnaw at their independence and their worth.
It took all the strength I had not to fall apart
Kept trying hard to mend the pieces of my broken heart
And I spent oh-so many nights just feeling sorry for myself
I used to cry
But now I hold my head up high and you see me
Somebody new
I'm not that chained-up little person still in love with you
And so you felt like dropping in and just expect me to be free
Well, now I'm saving all my lovin' for someone who's loving meGo on now, go, walk out the door
Just turn around now
'Cause you're not welcome anymore
I was lucky enough to see Zinadelphia perform the night after she received news that she’d been signed to a label (though she asked us to keep that on the downlow. Whoops sorry, Zin) and her joy was infectious. She then sung the first song she’d written after getting dumped by “that guy I’ve been singing about all night.” I loved it — it’s called Underdog.
🎵 Madison Cunningham (California folk/rock) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Referred to as one of the most talented “musical minds of my generation” by Hozier, Madison Cunningham is an LA based singer-songwriter whose original track “Life According to Raechel” made me weep at the Hollywood Bowl. If you have ever lost a grandparent…keep the tissues nearby for this one. On stage she has a serious Florence Welch vibe, and reader, I was completely swept up by her soft tornado of hellfire emotion. If you’re in Europe or randomly Colorado, check her out on tour!
🎵 The Cactus Blossoms (old timey country) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
These guys looked like they just stepped off stage with Woody Guthrie, and they sound like it too. Hailing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, this duo opened for The Paper Kites in Houston and wowed me with their cover of Bob Dylan’s “To Ramona.” Volume 1 of their full album of Bob Dylan covers was released last year. On another note, wishing a delightful “Bob Dylan - Joan Baez Winter” to all who celebrate.
🎬 The Boy Who Lived via Max (Documentary, Drama, 2023) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I can’t talk about this one too much without crying, but it is a documentary that Daniel Radcliffe produced about David Holmes, his stunt double and dear friend, who was paralyzed during a pre-production stunt-gone-wrong right before the filming of Deathly Hallows Part 1. Ultimately, this documentary is about friendship, the family we choose and the time we spend with them before, during, and after the hardest days of our lives.
🎬 Payback via Britbox /Amazon (TV Series, Thriller, 2023) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
If there is one place my money auto-debits to each month, it’s Britbox. I’m sorry but the slow-burn dramas of UK crime will forever be my comfort shows. The more glacial the pace, the better. Also, if Peter Mullan is in a n y t h i n g, you best believe I will sprint toward it like college freshman to free pizza. I cannot get enough. I thought the performances were all around great and loved seeing Morven Christie outsmart a bunch of men in each episode.
📚The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (nonfiction, writing/creativity 1992) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I am on Week 2 of the 12 week program outlined in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, and have really been benefitting from the structure it has added to my days and the creativity it has allotted time for. I started a series where I post a daily video of readings and check-ins as I make my way through the program that you can follow on Tiktok. But basically, it is a program of creative recovery that gets to the heart of why practicing and potential artists find themselves blocked creatively. I highly recommend to anyone who does anything creative (and to those who only dream of it). Thank you to Lily, Cassidy, and Tessa for encouraging me to read this throughout the years and to Kara who is going to join along for the ride next week.
📚You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson (poetry, 2021) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
There are certain poems, films, and songs that make me so proud to be a queer person, and this is one of them. I used to watch Andrea Gibson on Button Poetry back when I was really into spoken-word, but reading poems I’ve never heard them speak before felt like a really beautiful way to rediscover them. I annotated this copy and wrote secrets in the margins for a friend I knew could cry at all the same parts. (Sadistic, I know). If you like listening to spoken-word, here is a poem of theirs below entitled “Every Time I Ever Said I Want to Die.”
Thanksgiving-edition. This year I spent Thanksgiving alone with a head cold and made myself a mini-feast while watching Love Actually. I paired this with a wild-rice, green apple, celery and current stuffing and a slice of store-bought pumpkin pie. 10/10
🧁 Pastrami Roast Chicken w/ Schmaltzy Onions & Dill (Molly Baz) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A classic that harkens back to my “Wednesday Round-Up” days (RIP to Wednesdays). This recipe is a banger every time, and the only modification I made was that I roasted a 1.75 lb Cornish hen instead of a chicken because I was spending Thanksgiving #alone and don’t like leftovers for days. This recipe is also a really good reminder for me that even though I am by myself, I don’t have to take short cuts in the kitchen or only make “quick and easy” meals for myself. I am worth the time and effort of a gourmet meal, just as any guest in my home would be. I can live and eat well, even if the serving size is one. Lana and I have talked about the loneliness of cooking and eating when you live by yourself on our podcast, and though it can be difficult, I find myself surrendering less and less to the sadness of solitude, and trying harder to romanticize those moments of freedom instead. (Don’t be discouraged — this recipe is actually so “quick” and really “easy”!)
Also, if you want to join Molly Baz’s recipe club or buy her new cookbook, have at it.
📱 Your Fandom Therapist
My dear friend, Lyric, has created a newsletter! They talk about literature, and their hot-takes on all things fandom, disability justice, character arcs, and mental health never disappoint. Subscribe below!
Shout outs to:
All the folks out there protesting, boycotting, shopping local, or crafting this holiday season. I commend you for the distance you are putting between yourself and systems of oppression and hyper-consumerism.
Masha, Bennet, Erin, Pareesa, Kbeebs, Arina, Leo, Kara, Sawyer, Sydney, Greenie, Nicole, Devon, and Lana for a fabulous weekend of reading and crafting in LA — filled my cup!
Alicia and Rob for throwing a fabulous amigosgiving (still thinking about those pomegranate and rosemary margs, Rob)
Devon for sending me the world’s sweetest care package when I was sick
My mother for recovering from hip surgery like a champ
My dad for sharing his stuffing recipe (still a secret, shhh)
Pareesa for taking me on the coolest, gayest date to this super dimly lit, lesbian snack bar. Loved it.
Gem for facetiming with me for 2 hours while I Emminem-ed my bedroom (cleaned out my closet).
Yuli for tagging along to The Paper Kites with me and teaching me about Texas A&M
Julia Cameron for writing The Artist’s Way
The Barnacles groupchat for existing and providing constant love&entertainment
Kara for taking steps to prioritize her own creative ambition
Leo and Devon, friends from separate friend groups who bonded around a shared love of Survivor and thus, warmed my cold heart
Colleen who is growing human life inside of her — still unclear how that even happens
Arina for grappling SO WELL with all the ins&outs of being 22
My cousin who brought her sweet boy home from the NICU right in time for the Holidays (love you baby Wyatt!)
Sina for putting herself first
LA sisters for making sure I wasn’t forgotten on Thanksgiving even though I was quarantining
Nicole for singing in her choir’s holiday performance last weekend!
Ryan for completing his applications!
Lana for having such a successful podfic and also (wisnywb)
Ending Note:
Turn to your poets. Lean on one another. Be safe and love hard. <3
XO,
M