VOICE SITUATION // PATREON // GREEN RIVER
Well folks, it seems I managed to get all the way through April without sending a newsletter, or really piping up publicly in any way. It’s been a strange little run over here since about mid-March, when I suddenly developed an issue with my voice. One day I spent a two-hour drive belting out the Hamilton soundtrack with my daughter as per usual, the next day a significant part of my singing range had packed up and left the building with no forwarding address. Coincidence? We’ll never know, but since then I’ve been on a little odyssey of docs and scopes and voice therapy. The good news is there’s nothing drastically wrong in there aside from some muscle strain, and every day I’m reclaiming new notes from the abyss. In all honesty it’s kind of insane that I’ve made my living as a singer for half my life without knowing anything about how to take care of my voice or use it sustainably, so it’s great to be learning these things even if I had to be forced into it. It’s also pretty lucky that this happened in this moment when I have the time and space to recover, rather than halfway through a tour, or on the first day of a recording session!
I did have to put a few things off because of this situation, including the Blood Test throwback show, and I’ll announce a new date for that soon. In the meantime, I’ll be here working on rehabbing the pipes, which involves spending a couple hours every day making comical and unlovely sounds that freak out the dog and embarrass the kid attending remote seventh grade in the next room. So unfolds the glamorous rock-n-roll lifestyle.
PATREON // I’ve been stalking Patreon for a few years now. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve started to build a page and then gotten distracted with other projects or developed cold feet. But the stars have finally all aligned, and as of today I've launched the ship! My Patreon world will be focused on the creative process - or my own version of it - and all the strategies and practices that go into finding the path to new work. This is some of my favorite stuff to think and talk about, and I’m genuinely looking forward to having a place set aside to focus on it. I’ll be sharing video performances of covers, demos of song experiments and exercises, and little essays on my own process and tangents. Other things may come up! Diversions may occur! Writing is an unruly process, and all I can say for certain is I’ll pipe up on a regular basis with reports from the field.
Making a life as an artist is like one big stage dive; commit to the leap, and hope that the combined strength of many hands will catch you before you hit the ground. So many of you have showed up to keep me airborne over the years, especially through this Covid chapter, which in truth felt more like diving out of an airplane than off a stage. I’m so grateful to everyone who has lent emotional and/or financial support through this time, and I’m excited to have something new to offer that I hope will be of interest to some of you. You can join this excursion right here, for any monthly contribution from $3 upwards - all levels are the same experience, so essentially it’s pay-what-you-like. Check it out and join me if you’re into it. https://www.patreon.com/krisdelmhorst
GREEN RIVER // It felt pretty surreal to sign up for the Green River Festival this summer, but everyone feels cautiously optimistic that by August we just might be able to pull it off! So if all goes well, I’ll be playing a set of songs with Esteemed Spouse Jeffrey Foucault in Greenfield MA amidst a great lineup of friends and heroes. Get vaxxed and get your tickets!
That’s it for the moment. Take some deep breaths of May and I’ll see you out there, be it on a livestream, Patreon, or possibly even an actual stage… *kd
UPCOMING SHOWS
AUG 28 - Green River Festival - duo set with Jeffrey Foucault Tix
