I'm really grateful to my dear friend Susan Lipson for nominating me and to all the folks who have celebrated this news. I am very honored to be seen in this light by folks who know me, particularly by Susan, who has been such a wonderfully supportive friend and fellow artist.

Without wanting to take away from that deep level of gratitude, I naturally have mixed feelings about accepting accolades from the same city that gives my wife wrinkles about job stability, that inflates police budgets while so many areas in the community deeply lack in funding, that arrests my friends at protests, and the list unfortunately goes on. 

I am trying to let the award itself be the honor it is and hope to point any visibility it brings toward Lady Brain Presents and We All We Got SD. If you are even a smidge proud of me, I hope you show it with a small (or huge, it's your life) ongoing contribution toward one or more of these groups. I also hope to connect with and learn more about the work some of the other recipients are doing throughout the community and expand my network of community contacts and resources.

So basically, I'm sitting in the "yes, and" of it all and hoping more people - no matter who you are or what your capacities are or where you are on your journey- find ways to get involved with community care that make sense for the amount of privilege you have - whether that's wealth, time, energy, skill, or any other kind of service to your neighbor.

We all - especially white/wealthy/cis/hetero/able folks -  need to hold both officials and especially ourselves accountable to continually prioritize the folks who are made most vulnerable by systemic oppression and social injustice. My hope is that we can root this work and this accountability in love, without shame. But that's not to say I don't hold space for folks who are rightfully livid and perpetually let down by the folks who are elected and employed to serve the people. If we're making room for "yes, and" we've also got to make space for "no, and."

Freedom and love for all must be the destination, peeps. There are a lot of lanes available on this road. Just gotta get in where you fit in.

PS - The official press release that came out said Lady Brain was a group for women (a common misconception), but our membership is inclusive of any gender marginalized person. For more info, read here.

PPS - I would love to see a gender non conforming/nonbinary awards event from the Mayor if one doesn't exist yet! Break that binary!

PPPS - I would also love to see more trans siblings honored at next year's Women of Distinction event! I'll stay on the lookout for that submission form so I can do my part on the nominating side! ​

Hey there, friends. I've got a brand new single out for ya out today. This one's called "The Rotten Parts," produced by me (!!!), mixed/mastered by Amelia Sarkisian, with drums by Jules Stewart. I wrote this one as a walk-a-mile-in-someone-else's-shoes plea for white folks to consider not only the current, every-day impact of white supremacist delusion on Black and Brown bodies, but the centuries-long trauma caused by hate, fear, greed, and othering based on nothing more than skin color. Sooooo Dummmmmb and Eviiiiiil. What a grave shame it is to still see so many people refuse to acknowledge the simple, unwavering truth that Black Lives Matter. To still value their own comfort and willful ignorance over the actual safety of other humans. To varying degrees, we ALL grapple with these "rotten parts" because we were all brought up within rotten, broken systems. And those rotten parts will continue to poison generation after generation until we confront them individually and collectively. Thank you for listening - hope you'll work to carve out all the rotten you see in yourself - I'll be doing the same on my end.

The song is available now (along with lyrics and art) for direct download in the store, which is by far the best way to support, or on all the streamy thingies. Special thanks to Jules Stewart (drums), Amelia Sarkisian (mixing/mastering), with single art by Shy the Artist using original photography by Sydney Valiente. As always, big, big love to my Lindsay's Corner fam for their continued support.

*Edit 3/24 - I recently was given the opportunity to root out the rotten parts of this very blog, which was not giving proper credit to the Black and Brown folks who inform my very understanding of racial and social injustice and who motivate me daily to hold myself accountable and try to work/create/speak/live in solidarity. Folks whose work I am particularly grateful for and inspired by in this moment are Sonya Renee Taylor, Dr. Tiffany Jana, Sassy Latte, Isabel Wilkerson, Miki Vale, EB of Course, and so, so many of the harmonizers at our local mutual aid We All We Got SD!