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Hi my friends. It's release day! My new song (and silly home video) for "Everything But Loving You" just came into the world, and I wanted to write about it a little since I'm mostly off social media and not doing a traditional promotional blitz where I beg a bunch of media folks to write about it. Instead, I just want to put it out there, give some context to the song, and then not stress out about whether or not people listen to it, but trust that It will find who it needs to find. So, basically shooting my music career in the foot, haha. Small price to pay for mental wellness during a pandemic.  Image Description: Single artwork features a hand-drawn pile of dirty dishes. Artwork by Chad Cavanaugh. Even though it's a love song, I wrote this tune from a pretty scary place. Anxiety dug its claws into me hard a few times this year. While I've lived with that little shithead in my brain for pretty much my whole life, this time, it felt harder to manage. Chalk it up to infertility, a rampant pandemic, ongoing social injustice, national incompetence, you name it. It's a traumatizing time to be alive, even for the most mentally stable people. In those moments, I didn't have or use the correct tools, and the result was an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and helplessness, which veered pretty hard into a land of shame and self-hatred where I started to lose sight of my worth on this planet and value of living life in general. In those moments, my anxiety puts me on trial, unfairly and incessantly asking me, "If you can't fix everything, what's the point of you?" In those moments, the one thing that is stronger than anxiety's prosecution is love's defense. I was able to hang on by focusing on the sense of purpose I feel in loving and being loved by my wife. Writing this song about Audrie, the person that makes me feel calm and sane and steady, provided enough of a glimmer of hope that I needed to be a functioning human again.
Speaking of being a functioning human, this is the first release that I produced, with the help of friends James Staton (bass), Steve Nichols (guitar), Jules Stewart (drums) and Amelia Sarkisian (mixing). It's not perfect or polished, but what feels more important to me than being perfect is: making an effort within my capacity, being proud of any small progress in that effort, being compassionate about any setback in that effort, and letting go of any attachment to other people's perceptions of that effort. It's a good way to fight anxiety. It's also a good way to approach art. And life. In closing, I feel it's important to disclaim as a white person that this song was written in a mental health moment about a mental health moment. In no way do I want to give folks musical permission to ignore injustice in your community and in the world. I must admit, I've worried the song could be perceived in that light. But then, I just gotta circle back to letting go of any attachment to other people's perceptions of my effort. For me "quitting everything" kinda means letting go of the shit that doesn't serve me (sorrow, anger, worry), and focusing on the shit that does (love, love, love, etc.) so I can function with more clarity and serve others with more stability. However, I absolutely would like to quit doing the dishes for the rest of time. ;) **** Spotify (please add to your fav love songs playlist or follow mine!) Youtube (please subscribe while you're there!) Patreon/Lindsay's Corner (be a part of the fam that helps keep creating) Lyrics (for word nerds like me)
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Excited to come to you live from Instagram on 9/3 as a part of Tori Roze's Queer Folx Making Music series. Tune in for my set at 6:30pm on www.instagram.com/lindsaywhitemusic. If you feel like tipping, please direct toward We All We Got SD mutual aid fund at https://venmo.com/gchrg. Here are more details for the full lineup/event: “Queer Folx Making Music” is ONLINE!!! This particular show features performers who all have three things in common: they’re queer, they make music, and that music is Folk/Americana tune into Instagram on Tori Roze’s profile (@torirozebutt) and click on the stories in the top left corner of the profile page (where the circular photo is). Tori will be broadcasting the show from her profile in addition to the performers broadcasting from their own individual Instagram profiles. Line-up: Lauren Leigh @ 6-6:30pm - @lowkeylaurenleigh Lindsay White @ 6:30-7pm - @lindsaywhitemusic Lillian Lefranc @ 7-7:30pm - @lillianlefranc Abby Posner @ 7:30-8pm - @abbyposnermusic All tips will go back to the artists or a charity of their choice Venmo & PayPal links will be listed in the comments during the livestream See you on September 3, 2020!  Image Description: Photo of Lindsay White wearing red coat, jeans and boots, sitting on sidewalk leaning against a wall - green shrubbery grows on the wall to her right. Below photo is white, red, and light blue text that reads: "Lindsay White 6:30PM Instagram @lindsaywhitemusic Queer Folks Making Music." Original photo by Sydney Prather Hey friends! It's been a hot minute since I had a piece of press to share with you, and this one is exciting because my wifey got to join in on the fun. Thanks to Sydney Prather for photographing us and inviting us to be a part of this Pride series! Read more here.  Thanks to my friend Jim for inviting me to be a part of his series, the Kinship Cafe. We had a great chat about all kinds of topics I find fascinating, plus I played a few tunes. Watch the full show below, and don't forget to check out the show's Patreon page if you'd like to support his series further! Hoping to see some familiar faces at Saxon Pub when we roll through Austin during Pride week! Special thanks to Melinda Brooks and Abbye West Pates for sponsoring this showcase! And thanks to The Republiq and Visit Austin for listing the event!    
You can probably see from my blog posts this month how much I enjoy being on podcasts. This one was particularly cool because I actually got to meet/chat in person with the host, Cha Wilde, while I was gigging through Seattle a few months ago. Cha does such a lovely job with branding and stylizing, plus all the guests are great. I highly recommend checking out all the episodes. But maybe start with this one since I'm the guest. Haha.
This is the fist sing along song I've ever written in my whole life! I was honored to be invited to perform at the 2019 Women's March in San Diego, and while I have a host of politically inspired songs, they all leaned toward rage. And while there's definitely a place for rage in protest marches and in protest music, I wanted to write something specific for the occasion that was also unifying, family-friendly, and very easy to sing along. Still, I didn't want it to be all rainbows and sunshine, so I made sure that the lyrics touched on the strength of women who work together to achieve results, the fact that women have the right to govern their own bodies, the fact that we are becoming more and more fearless in our unity, the fact that we need to be intersectional and fight for the rights of all marginalized people, and the strength of women as a voting body. I managed to get all that in without saying the F-word one time! I'm pretty proud of myself. I do have plans to record this song professionally with a full women's choir. If you'd like to participate or contribute, please reach out or consider making any size donation to Venmo at @lindsayannwhite Lyrics 1. we are the women we have the power to come together to save the day mothers before us sisters beside us daughters to guide us let love lead the way let love lead the way (let love lead the way) 2. we are the women we make our own choices we lift up our voices we are not afraid mothers before us sisters beside us daughters to guide us let love lead the way let love lead the way (let love lead the way) 3. we are the women all colors of skin and we will be voting on election day mothers before us sisters beside us daughters to guide us let love lead the way let love lead the way (let love lead the way)  Here's a little tune I wrote about the frustration I felt after cutting ties with a religion whose followers didn't seem to be embodying the things I felt were most beneficial to being a person of faith (for example, loving everyone, having compassion, not judging people). Somehow I feel like those people get to keep god in the custody battle even though they demonstrate behavior that my idea of god would abhor. Sometimes you just gotta have a stern talk to god and tell her you're worried about the people she's been hanging out with. Lyrics: 1. quit hanging out with those friends they mess with your reputation as long as they keep judging what they think is a sin i just can't stand for them 2. quit letting them spoil your name don't you feel like you're being framed? they shoot you like bullets of blame and i don't like their aim don't you feel the same? 3. i'd love it if you could come back not just airplanes and panic attacks i just don't think that it would last considering our past so i don't even ask 4. they say every day that they serve you they're lying cause they got the nerve to make me feel like i don't deserve you i got no one to turn to god dammit i urge you 5. to quit hanging out with those friends they mess with your reputation i don't like to give ultimatums but i fuckin' hate 'em why'd you even create 'em? quit hanging out with those friends  As we approached Halloween and the midterm elections, I had this thought in my head about how it's felt like Halloween since Trump got elected...just kinda feels like the country's been circling the drain for the past 2 years. I just chuckled and thought it'd make a silly spoof song, but didn't actually write and record it til the administration started bullying the trans community and pipe bombs started going out in the mail addressed to prominent Democrats. Right after I posted this some American terrorist murdered a bunch of elderly Jews in a synagogue. Like I said, scary fucking times. Which is why, even though this is a spoof, I don't look like I'm having very much fun. To the tune of "Lil' Red Riding Hood" by Sam Sham & The Pharaohs.
Lyrics: it's been halloween ever since 2016 trump makes freddy seem like a nice daydream (boo) talk about doom & gloom when you can't afford the emergency room and you're terrified w/ chills cause your wages won't pay the bills what big lies they tell i'd rather live at the bates motel than watch my country slip away to the nra & the kkk what big hypocrites getting rich for the apocalypse i gotta say, it's a scary day now that putting kids in cages is the christian way it's been halloween ever since 2016 trump makes freddy seem like a nice daydream (boo) talk about horrifying putting predators in power and ignoring science when every fox news line sends a shiver up & down my spine (boo) what big lies they have i'd rather jason chase me in a hockey mask than watch rights get stripped away for brown, trans, female, homeless, poor, or gay what big hypocrites placing blame on the journalists aspiring to be like our enemies & conspiring to murder our democracy it's been halloween ever since 2016 trump makes freddy seem like a nice daydream (boo) here's what we're gonna do listen up now i'm talking to you this red's gonna kill us dead so please vote blue 
Not one, but two podcasts featuring yours truly premiered today! Hope you listen to both in entirety, but if you want to skip around, I took the liberty of breaking down each episode for you below. Both The Dusty Futon and Unstarving Musician podcasts are wonderful supporters of local/indie music. Since I always get asked about my beginnings in the music industry, you'll see I talk about some similar topics, but the flavor of each show is totally different, which is what makes podcasts so cool! I definitely recommend subscribing and browsing some of their past episodes!
Dusty Futon
3:54 - When I Started Playing Music 8:06 - Coming Out/Getting Married Young/Therapy 10:05 - Cathryn Beeks/Listen Local San Diego 11:10 - "Surrogate" w/ Commentary 13:38 - Studio Studios/Alex Dausch 15:03 - Boxing 16:06 - Touring/Performing 17:00 - Multitasking 17:18 - Anxiety / Mental Health 19:20 - Winning a San Diego Music Award 21:50 - The Lovebirds 25:20 - "My Beast" w/ Commentary 30:10 - How I Started Playing Guitar / My Writing Process 35:07 - Music Influences 37:30 - Kleenex Jingles and Taxes 41:50 - "Rubber Band Gun" w/ Commentary (& Crying) 
Unstarving Musician
4:50 - Amy & Gary's House Concerts
6:38 - When I Started Pursuing Music 8:22 - Side Hustles 10:40 - Basketball / Boxing 12:26 - More Side Hustles 14:30 - Rye Room Sessions / "Deep Dark Down" 16:20 - Studio Studios / Alex Dausch 20:13 - Tracks vs. Lights Out 22: 55 - Not Giving AF About Genres 24:23 - Gratitude Journaling / Anxiety / Insomnia 31:44 - From Central California to San Diego 34:00 - Basketball vs. Music / Music Therapy 36:20 - New Music / What's Next 37:27 - Writing Faster Than I Can Record 38:40 - Moving Past Grief / Raging Feminism 40:20 - Writing Routine / Songwriting Book Club 43:45 - Songwriting Groups / Peers 46:16 - Folk Festivals & House Concerts 47:30 - Tenacity, Patience, & Resilience 51:05 - Touring 54:38 - "Surrogate" |
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