This past fall I spent two months on tour with the band, The Happy Fits, and performed at Corona Capital Festival in Mexico City. It's been a real whirlwind these last six months. When this year started I didn't know where it was going to take me.
When Ghost Light decided to take an indefinite hiatus I needed time to really reflect on what had happened the year before. We released our second album, The Healing, in October, 2022. In the early months of 2022 we were recording that album, and the band was going through some changes. We got a new bass player and things were feeling bright, exciting. But the final 6 months of 2022 were actually very tumultuous. Things had come to a head with the dynamics of the group and it turned out to be an untenable situation to be in. It all left a wound that I didn't really know how to deal with until after we played that final show in Denver, CO and went home to start the next year.
Bands are very complicated and dynamic relationships to be in. I put my entire life into the music and wanted to see it succeed but it didn't seem to be in the cards for us at that time. I was so increibly proud of the music we created and I loved the difficult work of being in an up and coming band. There's no guide book for how to do things in this industry but you work based on your instincts. You listen to your coworkers when they know something you don't. You ask questions that can have many different answers, right and wrong. I cherish everything that happened in that band because you can't have the good without the bad.
I spent about 6 months trying to get my head on straight. Trying to navigate unknown waters of my career. I wasn't sure what I was going to do next. But sometimes you just have to let it come to you. July came and Ghost Light was playing our last show that we had booked, with a different piano player. During practice for that show, I got a message from a friend asking if I wanted to audition to play with them at Lollapalooza in Chicago. I needed to think about it because it was a completely different type of music than what I had been used to.
I sent in an audition video and got the job a few days later. I happily accepted this new opportunity with The Happy Fits not knowing where it could lead. While we were practicing for the festival I was asked if I thought I might be interested in joining them for their fall tour. After we played our set at Lollapalooza I told Calvin, the lead singer and cello player of the group, that I would love to. The next thing was preparing to leave for two full months with a group of people I barely knew, on a tour bus.
I had the time of my life, playing venues I hadn't played before, or returning to ones I had. I documented the whole thing. During my downtime at the beginning of the year I decided I wanted to work on my Youtube channel. I've been trying to work on my editing skills and I've truly enjoyed sharing small moments, or big ones, with friends online. So, I leave you with this latest vlog of my trip with The Happy Fits to Mexico City. I'll be uploading the rest of the fall tour throughout the winter, and the process of getting a custom guitar made for me from earlier this year. Thank you for being here, on this weird and wild ride of being an independent musician. If you haven't already, please subscribe to my channel, I'd love to see you over there.
Happy Holidays to you and yours. <3
Warmly, Raina