hello.
new substack, 10 years of more eaze, trans rights
After much deliberating, I’ve decided to start a Substack in the hopes of more directly connecting with friends, fans, etc… outside of the usual social media channels. Against my best wishes, I’ll still be posting to Instagram and Bluesky as they continue to have a significant impact on the reach of my music but like many other people, I’ve really been longing to move away from massive corporate platforms lately. This is especially due to the rightward swing of polices from Meta and X (the latter of which I’ve more or less completely removed myself from at this point). It’s baffling to me that we all still put so much stock and faith in the metrics and algorithms of these still nascent platforms when so much music, art, and life exists outside of these extremely mediated apps. I wish there was more of a willingness to look at alternatives or at least imagine a platform that isn’t driven by metrics of likes, followers, and listeners.
I was struck by a conversation with a friend recently about how social media in its purest form leads to connections with artists, labels, and likeminded individuals that you wouldn’t necessarily have access to otherwise (not to mention good memes and cute animals). This is especially important for those of us who do not live in cities or countries with huge scenes for what we are interested in and I know I felt liberated by the access these platforms allowed for when I lived in San Antonio. As these sites trend more towards blatant data farming and promotional competition, it just seems like we’re losing sight of one of the only true benefits of social media. I realize I’m not exactly saying anything particularly new here but all of this is to say: I want to keep in touch with people outside of these large corporatized platforms and focus more on the organic tracing of connection and community.
I thought about all of this a lot while recently on a brief more eaze tour in Europe. Two largely DIY shows in Leipzig and Prague really reminded me of the importance of these cross continental friendships and the beauty and power of true community. This reminded me of two things:
This type of organic community and friendship is what most scares these oligarchs about LGBTQ people.
I have been making music as more eaze for 10 years.
Let me speak to this second point first. This realization was not immediate because this project is so much a part of my life that I very rarely think about it having a beginning or end. Even though I feel this way now, I did not really anticipate this to be the case when I initially started writing and recording music under this name. In retrospect, more eaze at the time seemed both like an escape from the confines and baggage of music I’d made under my own name and a way to deal with an increasingly prevalent gender dysphoria. I truly wanted to disappear within music when I started more eaze as it seemed like the only way I could truly be myself. This is probably why I wrote and recorded at an even more breakneck pace than usual during those first 4 years of the project (26 releases in those years… dear god).
As time goes on, the sort of desperation and workaholism that informed that music has faded significantly but I find myself returning more to ideas that I had on those early records. There’s a foundational core of questioning what “Americana” means to this project as well as a desire to create works that are interconnected both thematically and musically à la Julius Eastman and Arthur Russell’s respective composing methods. The 2015 releases accidental prizes and fine. both prodded at these concepts in ways that I feel like I’ve now refined and focused. Most music I made before 2020 still feels like listening to work made by a ghost of my current self but it’s strangely easy to see a clearer reflection of where I am now in those records(BTW-totally down to talk deluxe vinyl 10 year anniversary reissues with any interested labels lol).
Going off of that, it’s very obvious to see how much my work changed as I transitioned and became able to express something that wasn’t entirely wrapped up in anxiety, self-censorship, and pain. I will forever maintain that transitioning is the best thing I’ve ever done in my life and also the first thing that felt like it was truly for me. Needless to say, it’s been extremely difficult to watch all of the awful anti-trans executive orders come in over the last few weeks. This is a very rough time to be a trans person in the United States but I know that we will continue to thrive and exist long after this just as we always have. These fascists are terrified of us because we represent a break from what society and capitalism tells us we should be. The fact that being trans requires such a rejection of societal norms for the sake of self is a direct confrontation to their pathetically limited worldview so, of course, they want to throttle the progress we’ve made in order to grasp onto their shreds of power. None of these losers’ fortunes have given them even .0000000001% of the happiness that queer joy and genuine community actually brings. Thankfully, visibility is more prevalent than ever and even their feeble attempts to control content on social media and in medical documents won’t be able to stop the dissemination of information online and in person. They will always lose (even though it might take time).
I won’t lie: I don’t love having to think consistently about my transness and fighting for my right to exist and be seen. I long for a world where all trans people are simply allowed to just “be” in the way that is afforded to all cisgender people. In these last few weeks, I’ve spent so much time anxiously wondering what new horror will be implemented on us when I could be spending time thinking about much cooler things like “what is that crazy harmonic move coming out of the chorus in LA by Elliott Smith” or “how did they decide to put a sound post in the violin.” I think everyone should be able to wonder such questions without the fear of your right to exist hovering faintly in the background of your mind. Anyways, I’m here for all of my trans friends right now and I’m grateful to have so many in my life.
I’ll leave y’all with a release schedule, show list and some recommendations ;)
Upcoming Releases
2.12.25-whait-close quarters on Longform Editions
2.28.25-Pink Must- s/t on 15 Love
3.21.25-more eaze and claire rousay-no floor on Thrill Jockey
UPCOMING SHOWS (Feb-early March)
2.11.25-Whait (Wendy Eisenberg and I) at Nightclub 101 with Pleasure Systems and May Rio
2.13.25-more eaze and kaho matsui duo at Union Pool with Wendy Eisenberg and Ryan Sawyer
2.27.25-Pink Must at Nightclub 101 with Cutouts
2.28.25-Trio with Wendy Eisenberg and Laura Cocks at the Stone
3.11.25-Pink Must LP release at TV Eye with Ryan Power and Grant Chapman
Music I’ve been enjoying
I share my last.fm grids every Friday but as my friend Lynn Avery says “the grid is not necessarily an endorsement.” Here are some things I’ve been loving:
The Heart Sutra - Susan Alcorn (RIP)
Box of Dark Roses - Mope Grooves
Without Mercy - The Durruti Column
Weft - Blue Lake
Hometown Girl - U.e.
Katapult - Circle
Henry House - Nate Wooley
watergh0st songs - Chuck Roth
20_14 Øhavet - 20_14 Assembly
Brigitte Fontaine est… - Brigitte Fontaine
Honey for the Ants - Wojciech Rusin
Sentimentos - Pascal Comelade
Silur - Tarwater
Babel - Roger Doyle
True Music - Zach Phillips
Books
I just finished reading Ocean of Sound by David Toop and The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker. Both are fantastic and both are also so much about observing and analyzing. They’ve respectively made me think more about how the everyday world changes and develops in slow yet vast ways. Currently reading The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli.
Films
I write about what I watch on Letterboxd (arguably the best/most harmless social media app of all time) here. Best way to keep up with that-y’all won’t believe how much I love Dune Part II lol.
Ok-thanks for taking the time for reading this! I plan on these being a semi-regular likely monthly thing if time permits <3
Hi <3