Music Therapy with Jessica Risker
Music:Music Interviews
Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! In the spirit of holiday traveling, we have an episode all about touring.
In October 2022, Isabel Olive (Half Gringa) posted the following on Instagram:
"Hey folks. A photo of me smiling because this is a tough one - I’ve decided to cancel the last four dates of the HG October tour in Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. This was hard to make because I’m both the artist and the manager, but the manager in me looked at the writing on the wall and knew it was time to call it.
Touring is extra expensive and extra hard right now. Whether you’re a band on a support tour playing to sold out rooms trying to make enough on merch to cover expenses or (in my case) trying to win over a few groups of people at a time in 150 cap rooms while paying a band with your job money and hoping to break even, it is harder than it was before and what has happened in the last few years has caught up to a lot of us.
I’m 31, I work full time in a different industry in addition to being a musician to pay the band and make things work as best I can. But I am so sick of people devaluing art to the point that we’re relying on no income to make it. It’s untenable. And it’s why people are canceling tours and in some cases getting out of the industry all together.
I have so much more anger and feelings about this, but for now I’ll say: thanks to my incredible band, to everyone who came and saw us and bought merch, to the fellow musicians I met who commiserated with me and gave me some much needed words of encouragement. You’re the best part of this. To the folks in Boston, NYC, Philly - you can get refunds at your point of purchase and I promise I’ll see you out there again soon."
Josh first noticed Izzy's post and pointed me to it. We thought this would make a great episode. So many musicians are struggling with feeling valued in our culture.
Izzy and I talk about why she canceled her shows, and how this is impacting her music and career. She also shares how she’s adapting her approach to touring from now on.
For anyone else struggling with making touring work, this is a great episode that acknowledges the challenges facing musicians right now.
We also listen to Half Gringa’s brilliant new single “Miranda” off her upcoming EP, out January 27, 2023.
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Visit musictherapypodcast.com for show notes, past episodes, and upcoming events!
Music Therapy Podcast Credits:
Music Therapy is hosted by Jessica Risker, produced by Sullivan Davis of Local Universe, and engineered by Joshua Wentz in Chicago.
Opening and closing music composed by Joshua Wentz.
Episode 81: Group Session! Cordoba Uses the Washer to Hide the Tears, Collaborating as a Sextet, a Dazzling Live Performance, and More!
Episode 80: Babehoven on Dance Mornings, Setting Boundaries, and Winning the Love Lottery
Episode 79: Quinn Tsan on The Vanity of the Arts and Becoming a Film Composer
Episode 78: Jessica Takes a Break Until 2022 for Self Care and the Holidays!
Episode 77: Camilo Medina (Divino Niño) Is Vibing in the Bath
Episode 76: Darien Williams Can‘t Say No / Balancing Work & Creativity
Episode 75: Steve Malden on Comedy vs Music and Moving to NYC
Episode 74: Richard Album‘s Last Show
Episode 73: Savanna Dickhut (Burr Oak) Pours Her Heart Out
Episode 72: Pandemic Burnout - Dealing With Prolonged Stress w Dr. Caroline Adelman
Episode 71: Macie Stewart Needs Some Alone Time
Episode 70: Andrew Sa Is Better With Others
Episode 69: Hausu Mountain Will Dominate the World + live performance by Pepper Mill Rondo
Episode 68: Nathan Graham Keeps His Cool
Episode 67: Jess Viscius of BNNY on Grief and Making An Album Blue
Episode 66: Chris Koltay’s Rock and Roll Fantasy
Episode 65: All about SONGWRITING! with Jean Cochrane of Hard Femme
Episode 64: Girl K Talks Songwriting, Finding Each Other and Crying in The Green Room
Episode 63: Dr Lauren Neaman on Social Anxiety in the Time of Covid & Being A Social Being
Episode 62: Adam Schubert (ULNA, Cafe Racer) Talks Addiction, Recovery, and Staying Sober in the Music Scene
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