Big Announcement!

New YouTube Channel - And Some Good Reasons For An Overdue Goodbye

In the next couple months I’m making some pretty big shifts in my professional life. For reasons big and small, it’s a season of change. I’m excited to tell you about this first new, dare I say it, pivot today. It’s something I’ve been thinking about and working on for quite a while now.

A small reason for change: can we tell the truth about social media?

For years I’ve used Instagram and facebook to tell people about my music and to keep in touch with family and friends. Well, over the past year or two it has really stopped working for both of those things. Those apps now just seem full of AI slop, ads, and random people none of us follow… Not to mention all the stats on depression and loneliness…

It doesn’t work for my business, my relationships or my mental health, so I’m quitting. Going to put that energy in places where I can actually connect with people, learn new things, and close my computer feeling like a better human not a shell of one.

A BIG reason: on (and off) the road again

Since I was 19 I’ve spent a great chunk of every year on the road playing music. Except for the years I thought it was cool to be sad I have loved it, and I know I’ll continue to. But as we are two years in to my wife’s battle with cancer, and as we send a couple kids off to college with just one left at home, it is getting harder and harder to travel and maintain all that is required in these four walls here.

I’ve thought that I was quitting music a few times before, and every time that’s failed. This is not quitting. I’ve got a pile of songs burning a hole in my pocket I can’t wait to record. I’m still planning on going out with Andrew for his Behold The Lamb Christmas tour. But the truth is, the logistics of pulling that off are monumental and the cost back home is higher than ever.

For the time being I have to get off the road as much as possible and find other avenues of generating income while staying flexible enough to be a caretaker and (mostly) solo dad.

I’m incredibly thankful that the Lord has opened a few doors to make that possible in some wild and surprising ways. I will share more about those soon. But, like leaving Instagram, this void is an opportunity…

An unexpected reason: dishwashing, laundry, Airpods and why not?

Most nights, after the family goes to bed and I finish up a little more work, I usually get a little Zen and do some dishes and laundry. It’s been a nightly routine for years now, and over that time I’ve gotten in the habit of throwing in my Airpods and firing up Youtube. I don’t really ever sit and just watch TV. It’s my personal rule to make stuff if at all possible, not consume. But finding some youtube shows to keep me company as I do these chores has been a little guilty pleasure.

A couple years in and the JHS show has basically taught me the entire history of guitar pedals, I’ve watched a hundred TED talks, or conversations with N.T. Wright or historians or scientists or economists or architects or neurologists… For this college dropout, Youtube has been enlightening. Connecting me to a world of knowledge I don’t know how I would have found any other way.

Years ago I started a podcast called The Pivot. None of my musician friends were making podcasts back then. In fact, at that time I didn’t know of any musicians who were doing one at all, in any genre. But I liked podcasts, and I thought if I was to get into it and explore it I might have some fun, learn a lot, and find new ways to connect with people that I wouldn’t otherwise.

It succeeded far more than I could have imagined. That podcast had over a million downloads. By many metrics it was more successful than my music career. (Ouch.) And I really enjoyed doing it. I imagine I’ll enjoy doing it again someday. Hopefully sooner than later.

All that to say, if podcasts were so much fun and helped me connect to people and learn new things, and Instagram is broken and Substack is awesome but not always great for music, maybe I ought to give Youtube a try?

So here it is. A new Youtube channel.

I say new because I’ve had a channel before. I started one for my music like 16 years ago. It had random videos from shows, and stuff with my kids, and one actual music video from Leonard, the Lonely Astronaut and that’s about it. It was tied to a throwaway email address I couldn’t log into anymore and we just thought, “let’s kill it and start over.” So we did.

As of this morning, we’ve got a new channel. It has two videos. This one.

And this one.

Until one of you subscribes it has zero subscribers.

Please fix that.

Muchas Gracias.

I’ve been working hard the past few months creating a bevy of things. Each week we’ll be posting new music and new videos about faith, flourishing and the creative process. Plus we’ll get into songwriting, modern hymns, culture, liturgy, and music business. The kind of stuff I talk about on here and when I get brought in to speak at colleges or churches, and particularly when I work with artists at labels or in the studio. There’s a few more things planned, as well, but this is where we’ll start.

I’m diving into video software, too. It’s super fun, but there is a learning curve! Some of these will look and sound better than others, I know. Thanks for your patience. As my friend Andrew says, “if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.” At some point, you just have to start.

So here we go.

I hope you enjoy. I hope it serves you. I hope we have fun.

I guess this whole post could have just been summed up like this:

Andrew’s new work life: 
No instagram, not much touring. 
More writing, more videos, more music.
Please follow the new youtube. 
You are awesome for supporting. 
Thank you!

Thanks for reading this. Or for not reading anymore and just watching the video.

Your support this past year on the Substack has meant more than you realize. I’m incredibly thankful, and hope this new venture can serve you in an even better way.

Have a great weekend.