I'm sharing this to increase its reach, in the hope that it starts a conversation somewhere.
A lot of the bands I love, and probably that you do too, have had personnel undergoing some serious mental health problems at one time or another. It's often a fact that the parts of your favourite artiste's personality which produce transcendent moments of artistic joy for both you and them (you hope), can occasionally be accompanied by those which have the capacity for causing immeasurable personal damage. Often, you just can't have one without the other. The popular idyllic myth, and it's something I confess that I bought into for years, is that all touring bands are the absolute best of friends who are having the time of their lives while travelling the world playing music. If you're of a similar mindset, this podcast will help to dispel that myth.
On the 6th March 2024, and in mid-tour, Justin appeared on the Mental Health Podcast NL along with Editors' tour manager and professional life-arranging ninja, Felicty Hall. If you know your Editors history, then you'll be aware that Justin has always been candid about his struggles with touring, but this extended chat really gets into the finer details of what it's like. It's a fascinating podcast, because not only do we get to better understand the realities of what a professional musician is expected to contend with day to day, we learn exactly what a tour manager does (I had no idea it was this involved!). The degree of honesty here results in an extremely illuminating conversation. It's like hearing the answers to a series of question you may have had, but felt would be tactless to raise. Well done to everyone involved, and thank you for the insight.
Enjoy the education ;)
brought to you with lots and lots of lemming-love ;) x
