-Jeff-
Guys. Let's talk. Let's talk about what we're gonna be doing this year to make the world a better, more livable place. Some of you will be protesting. Good on ya. Others will be taking part in the slow process of representative democracy, by getting informed and staying active.
Others, like me, will be trying to do what we always do. Make better art.
I know, I know. What the hell do artists have to complain about?
I get it. But let me make my case. Artists have to put everything they have, everything they ever were and everything they wish they could be and put it into something that other people get to pick apart and talk about whether it's good enough to hang on their wall, or get a CD pressed, or put t-shirts on store shelves. We make art because we can't not. It eats at us. It demands our attention. It makes us go days without eating. Days without talking to friends or family. It breaks up our relationships and makes us hard to talk to at parties. We run out of money because we had to have that thing that will make a new bit of expression that much more authentic. That much more real.
We give and we bleed and we cry and we suffer that you all may laugh a little bit harder at the end of a hard day. That you might marvel at something you thought you understood but are starting to understand that you barely understand anything. We blow your minds and ease your souls and break your hearts and put them back together again. We don't do this because we think we're better than you. We do it because we can't not do it. We can't stop. We give everything we've got to make it and when we give up, it's because we get tired of not having it valued enough to keep putting in the time.
Some of us will be on the front lines fighting the revolution, whether spiritual or physical. Some of us will be paying attention to the news and staying on top of our shit so we can be there to help people who are in trouble. And some of us, the poor losers at the bottom of the heap and the much beloved celebrities of stage and screen, some of us will keep grinding, keep pushing, and keep striving to make sure all of us have a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
Art makes life worth living. So if any of you are wondering why I'm not out there fighting in the streets, it's because I am giving what I have to the cause of truth and beauty as best I can. Maybe it will inspire someone to stay alive. To keep fighting a little bit longer. And if, god forbid, they find out they're an artist, maybe we can inspire them to keep going just a little bit harder, so eventually they'll be as good as we know they can be.
I'm sorry I didn't do more to stop Trump and these insane Republicans. But I can tell you straight up, I did what I could to energize the debate. Because that's how I express myself.
Alright. Enough defensive, self congratulatory bullshit. Go do something. Be of value to your fellow beings. And for God's sake please don't beat yourself up. You're somebody's favorite person, even if they haven't met you yet. And they'd hate to hear you talking trash about their favorite person. Hang in there.
Much love,
Jeff
P.S. Got a miniepisode coming out in a bit. Me and KC are sleepy and stoned. It's fun.