January Newsletter: Blue Jay
“Blue Jay”
Happy 2022!!! And happy 14th hatchday to Georgie! (more on that later)
My hopeful new single "Blue Jay" is now available everywhere! Here's a handy link that compiles all the places you can listen to it. I don't expect any press for this release, so please share it widely if you like it!
I wrote this song after reading Julie Zickefoose's Saving Jemima: Life and Love with a Hard-Luck Jay. It's a must-read if you want to laugh and cry and experience secondhand encounters with the transcendent while learning about Blue Jays.
The track features:
percussion by Mathias Kunzli (drummer for Regina Spektor!!!)
upright bass by Jeni Magana (bassist for Mitski!!!)
trumpet by Jackie Coleman (trumpeter for Solange!!!)
These various parts were recorded remotely in Portland (me), Los Angeles (Mathias), and New York (Jeni, Jackie). It was mixed and mastered in Eugene, Oregon, by Thaddeus Moore at Liquid Mastering.
The single’s gorgeous artwork was created by Rebecca DeMoss. The graphic design is by Chad Lowe.
In other news, Georgie is 14 years old today!! We were both such babies when we met each other in 2008. 😭
And here she is now! If I'm being honest she's not looking her best, thanks to her occasional plucking habit, but she hasn't been doing it recently, so hopefully the patchiness will improve with her next molt. She waved and said "hi" as I took the picture. (No joke.)
ALSO! Remember that Solarpunk Art Contest I entered with my song "Metropolis of Eden"? I WON!!! It'll be released everywhere next month — pre-save it on Spotify here.
If you want a Blue Jay sticker, just let me know and I'll mail you one! Thank you so much for listening. ❤️
Love,
Stephan
a.k.a. Sparkbird