Hi Pal,
Welcome to Sound Geek Journal, a newsletter where I let you in on major updates from my personal space.
It feels appropriate to begin the year with a Sound Geek Journal. 2022 was an incredible year in the progression of my life as well as this newsletter.
Two major milestones I can speak of are that I got married and the church I Pastor turned two years old — both happened in December. The memory of these events still fills me with joy and I am thankful to God for His grace. I also need to acknowledge how demanding the year was, particularly as we moved closer to the end.
As for SSV, 2022 was the year that I decided that I wanted to do this for the long haul. For those who are new, I started this newsletter in August 2021 and although I had ideas, I wasn’t sure I had it in me to commit to this in the ways that I needed to.
August 2022 was a landmark here and it was at this point that I started to really push things here. Since that time, I have had three conversations with amazing artists here, created new content categories and began experimenting with new ideas. Some of those ideas worked, and others fell flat, but that’s the beauty of a project like this. The bumps in the road and challenges have only made me stronger.
For 2023, I have some plans that I hope you will enjoy but I also have some changes that may take some getting used to. All in all, I hope that you will stick around for all of it.
New Stuff
More Conversations With Christian Artists: I’m really pushing for this and I hope I’ll be able to speak to as many people as I have planned out.
Collaborations With Christian Creatives On Substack: There are quite a number of Christian creatives writing/speaking on a variety of topics here and I plan to collaborate with them both here and on their own platforms as well.
Other Contributors: Starting this year, I will be adding new writers to the roster on SSV to contribute to selected categories.
Begin The SSV Podcast: This has been in the background for quite some time and I’m putting the finishing touches to it. We should have our first episode out before the second quarter.
Writing & Releasing Press Releases: Using SSV as a platform for announcing and speaking about new music releases in the Christian alternative scene has always been a goal of mine. I’m kicking that off this year as well.
Adding a Social Media Manager & Playlist Curator To The Team: My two biggest weaknesses are posting on social media and updating playlists on Spotify. A recent example is how I forgot to post my top 22 albums of 2022 on Instagram after working so hard on the write-up. I hope that I will be able to find folks who can help with these areas.
Changes
Frequency of Posts: Last year, I tried to maintain a post-frequency of 9 per month and it was a daunting task at best. This year, I have reduced my monthly posts to a maximum of 5 (five). Bonus content is sure to come up but my obligation this year will not exceed five.
I have a lot on my plate this year and I want to avoid burning out. I also want to take the time to create the best quality I can deliver for every given post.
Paid & Free Content: Although these divisions exist already, I can’t say I adhered to them in 2022. This was because my primary goal was that people would discover new music that blesses them and new indie artists they can support in the industry.
This goal remains the same, but, it would be unfair to those who are currently paid readers to not give them the benefits that they deserve. Also, with the expansion of the team and the SSV project as a whole, I want it to be able to sustain itself in some way — irrespective of how little it generates. For this reason, I have reduced my free posts to 3 a month while the paid posts will remain at 5. Also, bonus content will also come more frequently to paid subscribers.
I hope that everyone is as excited as I am for the new stuff and is understanding enough to see the reasons for the changes. That’s the best I can ask for.
Lately: I’ve Been Reading
Fiction
The Alloy of Law (Mistborn Era 2, Book 1) by Brandon Sanderson — High Fantasy, Steampunk, Buddycop
This is technically a re-read because I read this book for the first time, back in 2017. I have a pet peeve and a massive bone to pick with authors who write books and claim that they are done with a story, only to announce another instalment at the later date. Especially when I have read the book(s) already at the time of announcement.
I went into this book thinking it was going to be a trilogy and finished the trilogy back in 2017. Only for me to find out that it was going to be a quad. Brandon Sanderson released book four in November, so I went back to book one to refresh my memory so I can catch up to the final instalment.
The Alloy of Law is the first book of Mistborn's second era. The original Mistborn trilogy is still in my top 3 fantasy trilogies of all time and although many people do not like the second era, I happen to like it a lot.
Brandon Sanderson is a master of creating expansive worlds and intricate magical systems which are my two favourite qualities in the fantasy genre.
Non-Fiction
Gospel-Driven Ministry: An Introduction to the Calling and Work of a Pastor by Jared C. Wilson — Church Leadership, Pastoral Theology
I recently started this one and I’ve enjoyed every page, so far. I love reading pastoral books because they remind me of the humility, simplicity and purity that God’s grace makes available to broken beings who are called to shepherd Christ’s folk and help prepare His bride.
I love Jared’s approach and so far, I’m learning a lot from the themes the book is exploring.
Lately: I’ve Been Listening
This section is dedicated to podcasts.
1 Timothy Meditations for Christ’s Servant by Paul Washer
It’s easy to exaggerate when describing the things that you love but I mean it quite literally when I say that these teachings have changed my life. It’s a 10-part lesson and I’m currently on lesson 3. Each lesson is over an hour long and is packed full of Biblical truth for service, ministry and discipleship.
Music Stuff
As always, to end this, here are some albums that have followed me into 2023.
Godspeed (Deluxe) by Dear Gravity (All Links)
Miles & Years by Allie Paige (All Links)
Jubilee by Muntjac (All Links)
That’s it for today.
Happy new year again!
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Pure Julia on Unsplash