It's time to own that I need to change in order for my circumstances to change. So, after 10 years of long hair, I did the chop.

In all seriousness, last week I found myself being challenged to disrupt my own patterns and cycles of belief. I realized that I was attaching expectations and visions for myself to my hair. I needed to let that go.

So, on Sunday morning, I woke up, sectioned off my hair, braided it, and cut it off on Facebook Live. (Because I'm a stunt queen.) Happy Birthday, indeed.

It's time to go after the things I say that I want and create the world I believe is possible. Let's go get 'em.

Stay wonderful,

Jo Lee

Check out my debut single, 'Sweet Love':  https://jolee.fanlink.to/swtlv 

Theylist: QTPOC - A playlist of dope music by queer and TGNC artists of color:

If you love what I'm doing and believe in the vision, you can sponsor me on Patreon, contribute to my growth, and join my adventure party. 

I am SO happy to be back in the saddle with a new machine and improved workflow. My original lap top finally bit the dust and it's taken me a minute to get all the gears back in motion. I'm looking forward to getting back on the ball with the music and the podcast.

In great news, TONEWALL took home the semi-final trophy at the International Aca-Open Competition. Now we're looking forward to competing at Carnegie Hall with the best a cappella groups and singers in the country. Snagging this trophy was no mean feat.

July also brought a few lessons home. Many of them about my professional relationships and boundaries. I also have to challenge my relationship with money and with life in general. I feel a bit disengaged from actually living my life and being present, not only with the people I love, but with the goals I want to achieve.

I'm finally admitting to myself that I have a tendency to put the cart before the horse and am not the most talented project manager. What are things you do to manage your goals?

 And, yes, I know that Lil Nas X is talking about sports cars, but roll with me, a'right? 

Pride weekend brought the party and the bullshit, y'all. This episode is a little longer than I would normally like, but a theydie had some THOUGHTS.

PrideFest and the march were incredible experiences. I'm disappointed in how much of what was going on behind the scenes was mismanaged and how that affects us as a community. The whole experience was alarmingly saturated with corporate visibility and NYC Pride needs to figure out how to get back to its roots.

On June 28, I had the very special privilege of being fed by and hearing the first hand account from Martin Boyce, one of the Stonewall vets. A very special thank you to Timorell and Steady Mess for a beautiful evening at PrideTable. I won't ever, ever forget it.

As incredible as World Pride and Stonewall 50 weekend was, it's important to remember there's still work to do. On Saturday, the cops forced Queen Amor (a queer person of color) out of Washington Square Park during the celebrations following the Dyke March. On Thursday night, a Black trans woman demanded to be heard to speak about the murders of Black trans women in America. The patrons jeered and threatened to call the cops on her. Among the souls who stood up for her were Leada Stray, who shared her account of what unfolded. Go to jolee.link/week7 to watch the video.

In the next 11 months until Pride 2020, I'm sending you love, joy, and more Pride.

Stay wonderful,

Jo Lee

Managing yourself in general can be challenging. Sometimes it's downright overwhelming. It's easy for me to feel like "Oh, I should be better at this". But, truth of the matter is, no one teaches you that skill. And when things start piling up, that turns into self-neglect. Then the neglect just spirals down toward a depressed episode and you wonder how you got stuck there.

The past several weeks since starting the podcast, I noticed the most significant change for the better in how I manage my energy and my attention.  I'm not suddenly a master, but I think I'm finding systems that work for me.

Special birthday shout outs to my This QPOC Life co-hosts @blasianfma and @tresfabuleux. And props to listener and friend @raffy_regulus for your incredible leadership with NYC Gaymers (@nycgaymers).

Stay wonderful,

Jo Lee

 Listen to my music on your favorite service: https://ffm.to/jo-lee_sweet-love.opr

Become my patron on Patreon and become part of my story: https://www.patreon.com/callmejolee

If the title isn't enough for you to understand where this one is going... Father's Day brings up a tangle of feelings, but nowadays it's for a different reason. I unpack some grieving and it helps me get down to the root of why music matters so much to me.  I also talk about Pose and how the stories of QTPOC are more than enough to create something really excellent.

(I love you, Pop. Thank you for the music.)

Stay wonderful, 

Jo Lee @callmejolee

Listen to my music on your favorite service: https://ffm.to/jo-lee_sweet-love.opr

You can become my patron on Patreon to keep the music going: https://www.patreon.com/callmejolee

It's not a stretch to say that LGBTQ+ Pride Month is turning into LGBTQ+ Wrath. This Straight Pride fiasco is making my skin crawl.

To bring the energy back to a higher frequency, my acapella group, TONEWALL, sold out our Pride/Stonewall 50 concert last Friday and touched lives that night. When music can provide a safe space for even one person, there's no better gift you can give as an artist. I take that a step further and talk about how I believe queer artists making a safe space for each other benefits the whole community. 

Shoutouts to Kisos, Marina, Kotic Couture, and JSTNE!

Stay wonderful, 

Jo Lee @callmejolee

Listen to my music on your favorite service: https://ffm.to/jo-lee_sweet-love.opr

You can become my patron on Patreon to keep the music going: https://www.patreon.com/callmejolee

Happy Pride!

Sometimes the hardest and the best thing you can do is give people the space to show up for you. I'm feeling significantly better than a couple weeks go. I found myself in a funky situation and, no lie, was ashamed to ask for help. I finally did because letting my pride make a bad situation worse was not the look. I find myself sitting with an awesome sense of gratitude.

Stay wonderful, 

Jo Lee @callmejolee

Listen to my music on your favorite service: https://ffm.to/jo-lee_sweet-love.opr

You can become my patron on Patreon to keep the music going: https://www.patreon.com/callmejolee

May hasn't been a friendly month where my mental health is concerned. The game of rent is real and I've been "working on my follow up single" for months. So, I got on a bus to Maryland to see my mom and my brother. When all you know is living in NYC, sometimes the best thing you can do is get the hell out. I feel a bit stuck on a low vibration, feeling almost hopeless. But it was, literally, the voices of other QTPOC who helped get my head back above water.

Listen to the playlist I talked about, Theylist: QTPOC here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5JDSOxMpqXtiShVVSaTqH8

Stay wonderful, 

Jo Lee @callmejolee

Listen to my music on your favorite service: https://ffm.to/jo-lee_sweet-love.opr

You can become my patron on Patreon to keep the music going: https://www.patreon.com/callmejolee

My name is JO! "J" to the "O" Lee. 

Please, call me Jo Lee. I'm a non-binary recording artist, graphic designer, and professional doer of the most. I'm born, raised and living in Brooklyn. Welcome to my new "week-lee" podcast that's more like a blog. 

I needed to create a space for myself away from the music to self-express and get things on my mind out in the open. A simple audio podcast seemed like the best possible idea. It's tough finding fellow non-binary POC to look up to, so I hope that talking about my experiences each week will help my queer, trans, and non-binary siblings out there. You're valued and appreciated. 

Stay wonderful, 

Jo Lee @callmejolee

Listen to my music on your favorite service: https://ffm.to/jo-lee_sweet-love.opr

You can become my patron on Patreon to keep the music going: https://www.patreon.com/callmejolee