Hello, and welcome to Volume 50 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.

Sometimes I remember that certain people exist and it makes me want to cry. I have great grief and and great hope inside of me. They share a pillow at night. My grief is worldly. My hope is other-worldly. Otherwise I would have no hope.

This other-worldly hope rings true in song and dance. Poems and prayers. Paint brushes and prose. In tears and long goodbyes. These are all magic. These are all so necessary for survival.

I wanted last year to end so badly. I am so glad it is through. I kept holding on for things to get better. For friends to call. For opportunities to come along. Then, I let go.

I found rhythm in my breath. I sang gratitude, and grievances and “why God why?” I made plans. I wrote scripts. I tore them up. I know now, that I do not know best.

2025 was not a record year by any means. I did not feel prolific during most of it. But I kept things in motion. I played some solo shows out of town. I took a part time job running sound at a church. I put out an EP. I recorded and mixed and mastered a good many songs for friends. I played some full band shows in Nashville. Made a new album for myself and then another Album with my friend Sawyer Norman. I don’t know why I feel like I am falling behind sometimes.

Comparison is such a slippery slope. I found myself on social media way more than I wanted to be at the end of 2025. I try to login, post, and get out — but at the end of 2025, I was taking it all in. I still am now. I will say though, I had my most viral video of my 20’s in December. Fortunately, this set a fire under my butt to take action. My focus on output, gave me less time to focus on what people think of me, or what I haven’t accomplished.

With my next LP wrapped up now, I have been going into label-owner mode, trying to come up with creative ways to promote this album when it comes out. Historically I’ve been tempted to pump the brakes at this point in the process, because to be quite frank, it doesn’t feel very creative. I am trying to combat this feeling by spending the month of January creating as many accompanying elements for the record as I can. This might seem like I am making more work for myself, and thats because — I am. It’s a coping mechanism that I know all too well. Making more work for myself. But hey, having more to share means reaching more people. Right? Well, maybe.

A lot of how I am hoping to promote this record is by creating mixed media. I am excited to be setting myself free in a realm multiple mediums. Happy mediums, if you will. I spent the end of last year cleaning out and prepping an art space for myself independent of my music studio. Truly, it’s just the shed behind our house. But it’s pretty well suited for arts and crafts. It’s seems that someone used to use it as wood shop of sorts. It’s insulated enough and has plenty of outlets.

I am writing from here now, and it’s quite pleasant.

I hear the Stratford High School band outside practicing on the football field. The dishes and the unfolded clothes and the roommates are all in a house of their own less than 100 yards away. I went in the house today to take my lunch, and freshen my coffee, and those were truly the only things I did in there. I am trying to separate my workspace from living space I suppose. Even though my music studio and my bedroom still share a wall, I think my new headquarters is giving me a much needed degree of separation. Which by the way,

I am a firm believer in degrees of separation.

…

I wrote most of the above a good bit ago. Nashville is pretty dormant at the moment. So I am catching up. We are under much ice and snow. My heart is heavy for my neighbors across the state and the nation.

Hold tight ya’ll.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Community Dinner is coming back TOMORROW at out house in East Nashville! RSVP here and it IS a potluck so we would love if you could bring something to share! Subscribe to the Happy Medium Substack to stay in the know about whats to come with dinner, local music and more.

* I am trying to put together a list of resources to help immigrants here in Nashville and across the nation. If you have resources please pass them along. For now, here are a few places you can donate to:

* Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors

* Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition

* Unidos MN is a grassroots organization that builds power with Minnesota's working families to advance social, racial and economic justice.

* I am looking for some helping hands for community dinners, and DIY shows and events this coming year with Happy Medium, TN ! Fill out this form if you are curious about helping out! Thanks!

* My playlist of friends and hero’s “Indie Twang and Beyond” is Now Playing at Happy Medium HQ and you can listen to here.

* Smitty merch is still up for grabs on Bandcamp now! Good Grief CD’s, Binder Clip Tees, and Share A Song Today Tees.

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit legitsmitty.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, and welcome to Volume 49 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.

I once decided that a change would be made. That I would not return. I would move onward and upward. But I don’t think I believe in this anymore. Now, I think it’s just onward really.

Keep trucking. Stay attentive. Learn some things along the way. You might even see yourself change. But all change isn’t good change. Sometimes you realize that it’s time to turn back.

When I was about 13 I told myself I wasn’t gonna worry about what people thought of me anymore. It was obstructing my creative pursuits. About 10 years later, i’m here in Nashville, trying to set myself free all over again. Social ladders reinvent themselves— or better yet, we reinvent them.

We like when success is measurable. A number of RSVPs. An exciting cast. “Well, who’s gonna be there?” we ask. We want a good hang. But deep down we want to be known and accepted for who we really are. If everything is fun or funny, then nothing can be serious. Ive struggled with this. folks who take it too far. Like come on. Just sit with me for a second. Say, “man, that sucks.”

I remember finding bands like Mom Jeans and Modern Baseball in high school and thinking “wow, these guys are depressed!” It was powerful. They weren’t telling me how to be — they were just telling me how it is. I didn’t relate to everything they were saying, but I related to the emotion. The intensity. The angst. The abandon.

But maybe it wasn’t abandon. Maybe it was synthesis. Taking pain and disappointment and making it into music. Something I felt far from capable of at the time, but that I knew I wanted a piece of.

A good few years later, i’m learning the dance. Trying to be a truth teller and a friend. A layman and a scholar. A poet and a rock n roller. Praying that some kid a thousand miles away with their headphones in might connect with what i’ve created.

Making music feels a lot like going to the bathroom at this point. I don’t feel the need to do it all the time. But when it’s time to go, it’s time to go. When it comes to making records, there’s not much to it but to do it. Try and make the process sustainable in some way. Try to get better at it and more efficient each time.

Get good people around you. People who get it. Ask for help. Try to enjoy the process. I’ve said it before, and i’ll say it again — while its still true. But I feel i’ve got a lot left to give. A lot left to say and a few good ways to say it.

I’m still getting my head on straight. I’m grateful for the people helping me do so. I’ve been counting my blessings. It’s growing my gratitude. Bringing me back to earth.

Anyways,

holler if you need me,

and be well.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

My new EP “Hellbent” is out now.

You can stream it here on all platforms

Did you hear? I put out an EP a few weeks ago. It’s six songs and nineteen and a half minutes long. Perfect for a commute, a walk, a jog or for laying on your floor. Let me know if you heard it and how you feel about it in an email reply, and i’ll send you something special in return!

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Community Dinner is coming back in 2026! Subscribe to the Happy Medium Substack to stay in the know about whats to come!

* I am looking for some helping hands for community dinner, and DIY shows and events this coming year with Happy Medium, TN ! Fill out this form if you are curious about helping out! Thanks!

* I made a little year end playlist of sorts compiling some of my favorite “Indie Twang and Beyond” from the last year. You can check it out here.

* Some Legit Era Smitty merch is still up for grabs on Bandcamp now! Good Grief CD’s, Binder Clip Tees, and Share A Song Today Tees.

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit legitsmitty.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, and welcome to Volume 46 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.

It’s a sad thing. Our desire for digital confectionary over spiritual sustenance. Dopamine more than knowledge. A quick laugh more than long peace. I am a guilty consumer. And a perpetual perpetrator.

In one hand I wield a flip phone. A signposting of digital abstinence. A practical solution to addiction.

In the other, I wield an ultra-portable super-computer. The iPhone. A tool. But also, a crack pipe.

My dear friends,

don’t we all know this?

It’s hard to tell which direction is up while being thrashed by a wave of this size. But I have found ways to come up for air. Life vests. Life boats even.

I have finished songs, and albums. Poems and Essays. Made friends with neighbors. All the while keeping the algorithm mostly out of my mind. Yet, I have been bred to live in a never ending assessment of my life’s potential for monetization. In my research I have come to find many hard truths. One of which being that art being good does not mean that it will be consumed. This is old truth. But I feel it reigning ever-more-true as I see my quite talented friends lose their spots in line to folks who have simply become greater “players of the game.” I feel, and have been told — without asking — that my work is easily consumable and likely even enjoyable at times. Yet, without continual content creation, I lose my spot in line. If i’m not willing to show up, there are plenty of people who are. Their music might not be half as good. But they’re showing up to try and sell it.

Let me try and put it another way.

Have you ever heard of “yellow meat” watermelon? Probably not. But if you had, you’d know that it tastes a lot like the watermelon you know and love. You’ve just never given it a chance. Not because you’re prejudice towards it. Just because you’ve never heard of it. But say it was offered to you by a trusted friend, and they said to you “try this, it’s quite good.”

You’d probably try it, enjoy it, and pass on the recommendation.

Social media is the one big party that everyones gonna be at for the rest of all time.

I’ve been trying to bring my funny little watermelon to this party for years now. And I still feel a little weird about it. It’s my thing. And some people are down with it. But a lot of people have never even heard of it.

Nowadays, I know better than to stay at the party for too long. It drains me. Starts to make me question who I am, and what i’m worth, and who my friends are. Besides, this was meant to be a drop-in sort of thing anyways. I was just coming to show my face, and I did. So I can leave now. Right? But wait. It seems like there are some pretty interesting people here. I bet there are some folks here who might really “get me.” At least some people who’d be willing to taste this weird little watermelon i’ve brought along.

I mean, I did drive all the way out here,

so I guess I should stay awhile.

Has anybody got a knife? Time to cut this bad boy open.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My new song “Talk About” is out now. Check it out and share it with a friend!

* Subscribe to my youtube channel to listen to me ramble in my backyard while you wait for these newsletters to arrive.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit legitsmitty.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, and welcome to Volume 45 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.

For the last couple years, I’ve been working part-time jobs to help pay my rent between projects. I’m fortunate enough to have clients, new and old, who trust me to record and mix their songs, a handful of times a year. The rest of the time, I’m recording and mixing my own songs, and working 2 or 3 days a week. Super-part-time you might say. The guys I work work for make it pretty easy for me be to off whenever I want and for as long as I need. They let me and my friends throw shows at one of the shops every other month or so. I get do other little things while I’m working, like read or send emails. This work is a gift, and allows me to work on my music year-round. I’ve tried to do music full time before and quickly found myself working on projects I didn’t love, or that I felt compromised my artistic integrity. Now, sure, I’m not a “full-timer.” But I’m working on stuff I believe in, and i’m writing a lot.

I thought it would be cool to lay out what a “normal” work day looks like for me at the shops, and talk about how I make little strides throughout the day to help prioritize my art. Most people don’t have all the downtime that I do at work. But everybody can control to some degree how they show up in their own thought life. Where my thoughts rest in a string of workdays can have a pretty direct impact on how I show up to my studio later in the week.

I’ve said it before, and I’ve learned now that Annie Dillard said it first, but “how we spend our days is how we spend our lives.” Our mind, body, and spirit are always aching to become in tune with one another. My body cries for rest often from that which I feed my mind. I know I am not alone in this. I’ve heard people recently talk about feeling hungover from doom-scrolling.

I’m here today. Taking inventory. Pivoting where necessary.

Anyways, here’s a day in the life.

7:00 AM - Start some coffee. Pace around the house. First cup. Ripest cup of the day. Not even a whole cup’s worth has hit the pot yet. If you know, you know. It’s ripe.

7:15 AM - Avoid screens at all costs. Step outside a moment. Breathe. Have some first thoughts. Some worthy contemplations. Try not to think too hard though before that first cup hits. Hope will come. Bit by bit. I can be patient. “You are out of bed,” I say to myself. That’s a good word.

7:20 AM - One journal page. That's all I can muster lately. It’s better than nothing though. I’ve done “morning pages” before. But no more. My inner child appreciates that, Julia. I crack the window. Find my place back on the couch. Surrounded by poetry, fiction, scripture, and the like. All purposed and pointed in differing but often parallel directions. I finish a page in my journal, and maybe one more. I’ve likely started a short list by now of to-dos and people to reach out to. Either on a sticky note, or a scratch piece of paper or on the back of some junk mail. The junk mail lists are always the most successful. Without a running list though, I’m basically useless.

8:00 AM - By 8 o’clock, I’m feeling my 2nd cup of coffee hit me. I had a refill at some point in the midst of that meticulously crafted, yet singular journal page. My stomach is not thanking me, but I’m much more awake now, and much less dreadful. I decide (yet again) that I can skip reading for too long this morning because the to-do list is calling. It’d be nice to get in the studio and make some mix revisions so that I can listen to them on the drive to work. So I do that, and have another cup. That’s 3 down now. I gotta shower, eat breakfast, and pack a lunch before 10:30 am. Cup 4 goes down somewhere in there.

10:30 AM - I mix awhile and bounce out new versions of songs until right around 10:30. Maybe throw a record on in the living room fairly loud if the roommates aren’t home. Or recent mix revisions. Hop in the shower around 10:40. Leave the record on. Let it ruminate throughout the house. I’ve got a speaker that runs off the living room stereo into the bathroom. I try to stay centered. Ring God if I can. Take mental notes in the shower. Hop out. Scribble notes. Get dressed. Throw some sandwich stuff in my little igloo cooler. Refill my mug. Fill my thermos with the remaining 7 cups of joe. Grab my guitar, my laptop, a book, and some song scraps, and finally, we’re out the door.

10:45 AM - The vintage store and the t-shirt shop are both about 10 minutes away. I listen to my mix revisions in the car. Have a little more coffee on the drive. Cup 5 or so. One hand on the mug, one on the wheel. Try not to spill. But usually my car or my clothes take a hit.

IMPORTANT: IT IS KEY NOT TO RUMINATE ON GIRLS, POTENTIAL LOVERS, EX-LOVERS, EX-POTENTIAL LOVERS, RECENT FAILURES, OR ANYTHING RELATED TO MONEY WHILE IN THESE PRECIOUS MORNING HOURS. THIS IS SACRED TIME. TIME TO BE PROTECTED AND UTILIZED WITH CARE. THE MORNING ONLY COMES ONCE A DAY. MUCH OF THE REST OF THE DAY IS USELESS FOR CREATIVE GROUNDBREAKING. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING.

11:45 AM - The shop is open. We are pouring cup 6 from the thermos. Tunes are up. My laptop and books are spread out on the table, and ready for my consumption. Feels like it might be a “no-hitter” kind of day. The kind where not a single person comes in all day. If I owned the shop, this would be a bad thing, but since I don’t, I guess it can be a good thing. Ever seen the movie Clerks?

These two guys work at a combined gas station and video rental store. They basically figure out how to do as little work as possible while still getting their jobs done. They occasionally close the store midday to play hockey on the roof. I’m not quite pulling those kinds of antics. I try to have friends stop by. And I convinced one of my bosses to let me mount a TV on the wall in the shop. I don’t know what that makes me. Maybe something like a bum. Maybe a starving artist. Maybe something in between.

1:00 PM - After an hour or so at the shop, I start to chip away at my “Music Chores.” Edit little videos. Try to line up shows. Send out demos to labels occasionally. People don’t really get discovered that way anymore. But I still shoot. I tend to the store. Help customers where I can. Refold and restock shirts. Eventually, I make myself eat lunch and throw together a turkey sandwich. But before that, I’m munching on my Great Value brand oatmeal cookies, and downing a few more cups of that not-so-sweet, but oh-so-deep black joe.

2:00 PM - The thermos is still out. I’m finishing the last few cups of the day. Probably out of snacks by now. Writing. Reading. Watching a little movie, maybe. Leaving room for the spirit to move. Trying not to be too preoccupied or overly stimulated.

5:00PM - I get off around 5 sometimes. From there, I might hit Five Points Pizza after work for the $5 beer and a slice happy hour special. Keep the dehydration station fully operational, ya know? Or I’ll head home and make dinner. I might work on some music after dinner. Or try to do something out in the yard if there’s still daylight. Work on the motorcycle. Organize the shed. Just stay outside while there’s still some daylight. It’s good to just sit sometimes, too. But that’s about it. I might read. Listen to a record. Watch a little show. Shower and hit the sack.

And that,

is a day in the life.

Thanks for being here, and I hope this is encouraging or interesting to you in some way. I put a lot into curating my little life. I’m tryna live “free and clean,” as they say. It ain’t easy, but I think it’s well worth trying.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* I am playing a two solo shows THIS WEEKEND !

* Would love to see you at one of these if you are close by!

* Knoxville, TN - 6/13 @ Pink Moon Sound

* Columbia, SC - 6/14 @ Curiosity Coffee Bar

* My new song “Rug” is out now, You can stream it here.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit legitsmitty.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, and welcome to Volume 44 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.

About a month ago my buddy Trent asked me if I wanted to ride with him to St. Louis for a work trip he’d be going on. He was riding solo if I said no, and we had never roadtripped together before, so I told him I was down. I had already been solidifying some DIY shows for an upcoming solo tour and St. Louis was (for some reason) on my short list. Some friends in the scene passed along a few contacts and I was able to get a show setup fairly quickly for the night we would be in town.

We rolled into town late Tuesday night and Trent was up and out the door by 7 AM the next morning to get to his job site. He got back around 5 and I watched him input data for awhile, and talk to his co-worker as she helped him log gas and hotel receipts. Then we drove the extra hour into St. Louis, which I had only learned in the car ride up would be how far we were actually staying from St. Louis. All the while, I met a few new friends, played some new songs to a not-so-locked-in bar crowd, and ate a mediocre $14 chicken parm panini. The glow of the signage from the Anheuser Busch plant lit our path back out of town that night. We passed a few parked bikers as they admired the gateway arch, and tried to admire it ourselves from inside the car. It was a short 4 hours in STL. A long morning of existential dread in Farmington.

This is not the “going on a solo tour” I was dreaming of. I applaud my 30 and 40-something year old DIY veterans doing similar things.

This is

Living and learning. Using what i’ve got. Being a friend, and having one. Free room and board. The cold side of a hotel pillow. $80 cash, and no bandmates to pay.…

Trent did all the driving the whole trip. He didn’t want to get in trouble if I wrecked the rental car that the school was paying for. A neon green Hyundai Kona. I asked for the next day off at work because I knew we probably wouldn’t make it back in time for my 11AM shift. There was talk of driving back into St. Louis for the day to adventure, but I think we were both ready to be home. We got Chick-Fil-A breakfast and ended up skating a ditch in town the morning after the gig. That was fun and spontaneous. We hit a few thrift stores and should’ve gotten lunch before hitting the road, but we didn’t, and so we were hungry.

I got to thinking on the way home about how’d id basically taken the week off from work. I am grateful for the flexibility working part-time gives me. I’m working about three days a week at the moment. Part-time at a vintage store, a retail store and running sound at a church. I don’t budget really. I try not to spend frivolously. I don’t have a girlfriend. I keep to myself and to my little projects. I live quite comfortably paycheck to paycheck.

I don’t plan on being broke and single forever. But how do you plan against that?

I told Trent in the car how I haven’t had a girlfriend lasting more than a couple months in over 6 years. I told him I didn’t mind it because it just meant that I know what I am looking for, and that I haven’t found it yet. Do you ever feel yourself convincing yourself of whats coming out of your own mouth? Do you ever listen back to what you’ve just said and think “do I really believe that?” I guess thinking out loud is better than not thinking at all. It’s a privilege to have friends that I feel comfortable sorting things out loud with. People I can say stuff in front of that’s just dead wrong and then they let me take it back. Trent is one of those friends.

But I do think it’s true, that when you learn what you’re made for, you also learn how you might have to wait a very long time to find it. It is a joke and a quite painful dissonance to not know the difference between need and want. In competition with one another, a need which loses to an ever-more-strong want will not satisfy the true need. And so then, dissonance is amplified. We are left thinking that we have fed our most true self, when really, we don’t know our true self at all.

I’ve been told before that I “like to keep a girl in my life.” I was told this by female friends of mine. What they meant by it I still don’t fully know, but I decided to take it as a compliment. I sure as hell don’t believe in being alone. And hanging out with dudes one on one can be quite excruciating. The whole “girls brains develop faster than boys” thing is really showing in my early 20’s. I’ve been fighting hard to find people to hang out with who I know are smarter than me. Girls have always seemed to be able to empathize with how much of an emotionally-charged over-thinker I am. I’ve got a new song called “Born Crying” thats about how I cried a lot as a kid and through my teenage years even. How I’ve always been in need of affection and affirmation.

Guys are not always so great at bending a knee to emotional needs. I am lucky enough though to have a few good guy friends. Trent, our fearless leader in the voyage to Missouri, is a most-empathetic friend. He is always reading and writing and sorting out whats in his mind with conviction. I try and do these things as well, and so we relate. I am grateful for his witness in my life, and for the brother he is. When you meet people like this, and they stick around for awhile, it raises your bar on what friendship is supposed to look like. It teaches you what you deserve. It helps you steer clear of people who don’t deserve you and your one true beating heart. These people remind us to carry on. To do our thing. To not wave our white flag. They sustain us. Remind us to keep waiting for the true good that we have not too long ago tasted and seen.

…

My compass is tuned. I need not wander off too far. My path feels not quite safe, but not worthy of crying for help. I’ll stay the course. Walk loosely in the same direction as I’ve been walking for awhile now. Try and take deep breathes. Put one foot in front of the other. Prepare for the best. Call home more. Lean into my gifts.

It’s good to be out of the house.

Lord,

Guide my steps. Tell me something true. Set my course. Let my bets hit. Or tear me down slow.

Good grief.

I love you, and help me love you more.

Ain’t it something,

going to bed,

and waking up.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My new song “Rug” is out this Friday on all platforms! You can follow me on your streaming platform of choice by clicking here.

* I have attached below a demo for aforementioned song “Born Crying.”

* I am playing a few solo shows next month !

* Would love to see you at one of these if you are close by!

* Knoxville, TN - 6/13 @ Pink Moon Sound

* Columbia, SC - 6/14 @ Curiosity Coffee Bar

* Dawsonville, GA - 6/21 @ Because Coffee

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit legitsmitty.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, and welcome to Volume 43 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.

[ The Following Excerpt Is From last Monday, a few days before my 24th birthday ]

I am 24 this Wednesday. Twice the age I was when I first thought to myself,

“man, i’m getting old.”

I feel a lot like that 12 year old boy when I write like this. I’ve been trying to let him drive more. I stood atop my picnic table table yesterday in the backyard. Surveying the land and the tops of neighboring houses further down the hill. My soil is richening each day. What has been planted I do not know, but the seed has been scattered. God, I feel it. I’ve been uprooted, thrashed and turned back over to the earth. My skint knees have yet to slow my stride. I’ve played on, blood running down me, Just like my younger brother taught me. Pop back up. Rub some dirt in it. He’d act like he’d never fallen in the first place. Only upset because he’d be slown down. No time to hurt.

Ive taught myself a similar thing. To sing a new song. And another one. And then another. I try to suck the marrow out of life. But sometimes it sucks it out of me. Some days I’m bled dry. For what? I don’t know.

To find love? To be less alone? To make a friend? To be one?

I don’t know. But I do feel stronger. I am still laughing about it all. Mosts days at least. Crying too. But it takes a lot more to get me there. I cant afford it as much anymore. Gotta keep rolling.

I am grateful though. I’ve got a little something to show for myself. I think i’ve been honest. And I’ve plead guilty when I’ve had to. Beats the hell out of being a lie.

I feel somebody praying for me. Thats for sure. A good bit of my family has turned religious lately. Maybe they’re praying for me.

I know mama is. Daddy too. I pray for them too. And my brother and my sister. We are all pretty much a mess. Or something close to it. A hard-working, hard-headed bunch. And thats enough, a lot of the time.

Like I said. I’m grateful.

…

It’s Wednesday.

I am

24.

I am

still here.

Well fed. Full of songs. Held by friends. Fighting. (For love and for truth.)

I am,

not yet done.

Still tuning up. Needing sunshine. Still dancing in the rain and

landing on my feet.

…

I’m surprised they let me go this long. I’m surprised i’ve lived to see it.

Exes married. Taxes filed.

Futures forgone. Apologies unmade.

“don’t say sorry less your wrong”

So, I’m not sorry.

For my being here. For my being me. And loving hard. And staying true.

…

Thumpa thumpa thump

goes my achy breaky heart

always needs a fix

but I can always make it start

(Or break it worse.)

(S**t.)

…

This is

24

and some change.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* My new song “My Sunshine (Let It Burn)” is out now. Stream it here.

* I am playing a solo show next month in St. Louis on April 23rd! Mark your calendars if you are around and stay tuned for details!

* We played an awesome full band show this past Saturday celebrating the homie Bedon and his new album! I may be sharing some new demos from band practice soon for paid subscribers.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit legitsmitty.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, and welcome to Volume 42 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.

Be sure to make it to the bottom for a demo of a new song called “First Try ”

I cant deal with whiners. If you wanna give up, go ahead. Especially in art. If you can live without it, then maybe you should. If it feels like work, then maybe don’t do it.

To me, it feels like work and play. It feels like rebellion. Like swimming up stream. I feel stronger because of it. I am wielding my agency, and defying all odds. I am doing a magic trick. Something from nothing. Not just surviving, but “sucking the marrow out of life.” Taking lemons and making lemonade. Staying the course. Praise God.

Like I said, not everyone needs to be an artist. Especially not in the monetized sense. But I think we all need to play. Take ourselves on a walk in the park. Sit in front of a blank page with a fresh box of crayons. We need to learn to laugh at ourselves. At our hardships, our shortcomings and all of the unknowns. We can cry about all of this too. We can write it all down, throw it away, or maybe light it on fire. Whatever is necessary. Not all art is content. Some of it is kindling. And not all worship is sung.

Sometimes we can just be. Maybe thats what’s best for today. To sit in it. Try to name it. Whatever it is. Look around. Take Inventory. Count your blessings. And your curses too. Pen it down. Say it out loud. Let the devil know that you know what he’s been up to. He’ll see himself out.

I’m glad to be here. Still trying. Still learning. Still sharing. I can smile. For no reason at all, and it doesn’t cost me a dime. Just a little bit of my pride.

I can put one front in front of the other. Say no to what isn’t working for me. Keep looking for the love I deserve. Be present to myself and to others. Bear witness.

I can stay alert and of sober judgment. I can tidy up. Prepare a space to dwell. Feed myself. Stand in the sunshine. Go to work. Make money. Spend it too.

I am a man, and a poet and a son.

I am seen, and known, and not yet done.

God help me mind my own (damn) business,

and get back to work.

Amen.

Here is a voice memo of an unreleased song:

This one is called is “First Try (In Awhile)” and it dates back to Oct. 2022.

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* I will be in Greenville, SC playing an acoustic set this coming Saturday, Feb. 22nd at The Splash Pad. I will be peddling my wares (CD’s, shirts and stickers) and singing new songs. I may also sell some used records ? Yeah i’m kinda doing that now. Just bought 300+ used records on FB marketplace… anyways. DM THE SPLASH PAD FOR THE ADDRESS. <3

* My Album “Good Grief” Recently hit 100,000 streams! That is a new milestone! Thanks for listening <3.

* The Next Happy Medium Community Dinner in Nashville will be on March 29th at Talk Nice Vintage in East Nashville! Sign up for the email list HERE to stay in the loop and to RSVP soon. The purpose of Community Dinner is to gather behind a vision of intentional community and artfulness.

* I am for hire for recording, production, mixing, and mastering! Check out a playlist of some of my favorite things i’ve worked on here. You can reply to this email to get on my schedule!

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit legitsmitty.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, and welcome to Volume 41 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.

Be sure to scroll to the bottom to check out a demo for a new song called “Where Will You Go?”

I’m up before the sun. The coffee pot sizzles in the kitchen. My bedroom is right off the kitchen. I share a wall with my studio—everything I need. I can smell the day ahead. I’ve been waking up early and not being able to get back to sleep. So I use the time. My journal entry is bland. I can’t fill a page. I used to fill multiple each morning, especially as a boy. But I don’t fret. Songs are flowing and touchable. I know what I’m feeling.

I’m home a lot these days. I work some too. I Write. See friends. Go to shows. I’ve told my journal plenty about it. Yet, I still try and put something down. I know it helps. So I take inventory. Maybe the stillness of morning itself is worth praising.

Eventually, I allow myself into the studio, but first, I make myself sit awhile. I freshen my coffee, surround myself with books, and hope for some sort of osmosis to occur. Liturgy, bible, journal, Zen and The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Wise Blood. I look up. There is new Wendell Berry on the shelf. It calls to me. But I’ve committed to what’s in front of me. No more shifting gears. No more path of least resistance.

This is mo(u)rning time.

Aiming time. Up Before the devil time. I can’t always have what I want time. I must prove to myself that I am disciplined. It’s time. Wake up, and bow down. Hit my knees and remember, I cant do this alone. Die to myself. Eat crow. Call it what it is. You don’t wanna do it today Jake. You cant do it. But, you will. You will be a vessel. A something. To someone. By showing up. By being you. By staying true. Maybe today you are simply the paint can, not the paint. If it’s all you can be, try and be it well. So Help me God.

Sing me half a new song, I’ll sing the other half.

Stretch out this clenched fist, I’ll clench it right back.

Work is medicine. A burning sensation. A drop in the bucket. A quick fix of getting gone. We know this. And so we love work, even when we say we don’t. Disengage reality. Engage the task at hand. Thank God. Move along.

12 cups of coffee. No medicine. Is this medicine? Is it stillness?

Maybe sometimes, just for a minute, it’s a prayer, when we keep our hands busy.

Is my “I love you” loud enough

through clenched teeth

do you know

just how true it is?

when I say

“I miss you”

when I tell you to come home

that you don’t have to go

and that I’ll be right here

trucking along

till the end of time.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here is a Voice Memo of “Where Will You Go?” a new song that will be out fairly soon! Enjoy, and thanks for tuning in.

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* The Next Happy Medium Community Dinner in Nashville will be on February 15th at Talk Nice Vintage in East! Sign up and RSVP HERE. And sign up for the email list HERE to stay in the loop. The purpose of Community Dinner is to gather behind a vision of intentional community and artfulness. At Community Dinner we share a meal, make crafts, share songs and generally celebrate one another.

* I am for hire for recording, production, mixing, and mastering! Check out a playlist of some of my favorite things i’ve worked on here. You can reply to this email to get on my schedule!

* “Community Not Competition” T-shirts and stickers are available NOW at happymediumtn.com.

* Listen here to a private collection of songs I made this December called “One Night In December.” It’s all unreleased material, recorded live with just myself and an acoustic guitar.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or by streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit legitsmitty.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, and welcome to Volume 40 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.

This year was the hardest year of my life. I struggled to pay rent. I was tired a lot, sad a lot and had lots of relationship problems. But I was chasing my dreams. I played more shows than ever. Cooked more and ate more. Got some new hobbies. Acquired some new skills. Flirted with some new ways of being. Took two steps forward and three steps back, and saw doors open for me when I least expected it.

I kept my head down and my heart open.

I did experiments. I let go of my programming, piece by piece, and noted my findings. I trusted my judgement, then didn’t trust it, and then trusted it again. I learned to slow down and let the story develop.

I’ve been sorting through the rules. Deciding what to keep and what to throw out. I think I threw out a little too much this year. Walked a little too close to the edge. But now I know.

I’ve walked a foreign land. I’ve liked what I have seen. Yet, I have no maps. No guide. Nor the tools necessary for this kind of Journey. But I will not lose heart. Little by little, I will march on, with what tools I have, and what wisdom I have earned. Holding fast to my notes and my poorly drawn maps, I proclaim “today, is yet another day, to live well, into the questions.”

. . .

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Thanks for being around for my first full year on Substack.

Drop me a line and let me know what your favorite things are that I’ve talked about this year and what you want to see me do more of. Demos of songs? Videos of me talking to the camera? Longform articles? Music related things? More personal things? DIY music things? Craft things? Production? Handyman and car stuff?

Anyways, Peace. Thanks for being here, and Happy New Year!

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Listen here to a new private collection of songs I made this month called “One Night In December.” It’s all unreleased material, recorded live with just myself and an acoustic guitar.

* Community Dinner This Month on January 18th! Sign up and RSVP HERE. And sign up for the Happy Medium Community Dinner email list HERE to stay in the loop.

* T-shirts and stickers are available NOW at happymediumtn.com.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit legitsmitty.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, and welcome to Volume 39 of the Underground Binder Clip Society.

I got in trouble this week. Real bad. I conducted myself in a way that I shouldn’t have. I felt guilt and shame and conviction. I did what I could to apologize and explain myself. But I didn’t do all that I could. Maybe just enough. In some sense, I felt warranted. I felt justified. I carried on, traveling to the edges of what I might call “acceptable behavior.” You could say I was bootstrapping it in a way, or maybe just self-advocating. I chose not to consider someone else’s feelings in order to pursue what I wanted. Brute force is not always the way. Especially not when peoples feelings are involved.

There is a song by the not-so-critically-acclaimed band, Danielson called “Be Your Wildman.” It goes a little something like this:

“My loins say just one thing to me

but my brain

My brain says another thing to me

but my loins

I deserve to be drop-kicked…

drop kicked by God…”

…

This week, I needed to be drop-kicked. I needed to feel the foot of God in the seat of my pants.

On the way home from work recently I called a friend to make a long overdue apology. This led to an unexpected conversation about my not-so-upstanding character in the eyes of said person. While trying to decide whether or not I agreed with these claims, my new-to-me 1986 ford ranger sputtered to a stop on the side of the road. Being that I was only a mile from home, my roommate Charlie quickly came to my rescue. Red has been known to overheat, so I planned to let her sit awhile before cranking her up and bringing her home.

I sat at the house awhile contemplating my sanctity and my sanity. I tried to recount how many days it had been since I had to tell someone sorry for being the way that I am. It hadn’t been that long. But guilt is no good for anything, and neither is shame. So I took conviction and we went to Little Ceasers. I was quickly dumbfounded once again by the power of putting yourself in front of other people. I recognized some sort of good coded in myself while exchanging my seven dollars and forty three cents for one pepperoni hot-n-ready. The man working the counter showed me a burn on his arm from the pizza oven. I tried to make it out of my self-loathing induced mind fog, but it was tough. I didn’t say much, if anything, in regards to the burn. Yet, I was able to muster a “have a good one” as I walked out, pizza in hand. I needed to eat, yes, I was quite malnourished. But I had missed the invitation towards empathy. I had seen the goal and chosen not to score. Both teams would have won I believe, had I simply showed up. I left the premises, having secured my sustenance, without the slightest gratitude toward this man for reactivating my personhood. My reality — this person, had diffused my inner dumpster fire. He had offset my mental feedback loop and turned it into music.

I got home and was greeted by deer in the front yard. They let me sit with them awhile, and so I let it wash over me. The cool of night. A clear divide between what I do and who I am. Grace. Peace. Forgiveness. Creation. The larger and grander story at play. I had exited my prior desire to be drop-kicked. All the while, knowing I could do better.

Back in the warmth of the house, I was still halfway brainstorming ways to punish myself and/or ward off evil spirits. I remembered the truck had been sitting down the road for awhile now and still needed rescuing. Charlie had told me that he’d drive me back over there, but I was feeling a little like walking in the cold. I started on my way, and pretty quickly found that I was out of energy to put toward self-loathing. I knew I needed to hold on to some conviction. But I was happy to be on a walk, and to have a full belly and to have a project truck and to have friends who are willing to have hard conversations. By the time I got to the truck, I was gleaming with excitement, and laughing to myself about how unnecessary, yet fun having this truck has been. She cranked right up, as I expected, and we got back home.

Just like that, maybe quicker than ever, I was well on my way back to center. Back to deep down, who I know I really am. It takes time to learn about who you are. A lot of long reflection. I am trying to keep showing up and doing this good work in myself. But i’ve also got to remember all of the work that work that’s already been done. It takes a different kind of faith to believe that we can still change. I sure as hell don’t have it figured out. But I think I know a lot more than the devil would have me think I know.

When we choose to, we can in fact, live and learn. If it’s gonna take time, then I think I wanna take it.

God, let nothing be lost on me.

Yours Truly,

Jake Smith

Here are this week’s “Quick Clips”:

* Listen to my newest album “Good Grief” here.

* No Community Dinner This Month! But we will be back soon! Sign up for the Happy Medium Community Dinner email list HERE to stay in the loop.

* The title for this weeks newsletter is pulled from the aforementioned song “Be Your Wildman” by Danielson.

* There is a great documentary about Danielson HERE featuring Sufjan Stevens as an early member of their touring band.

* Here is an unlisted link to footage from the full band Smitty set we played in Nashville last month. It showcases a few new songs.

* T-shirts and stickers are available NOW at happymediumtn.com.

Support me and this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber, buying merch, or streaming my music!

As always, shoot me an email if you want to work on music, remote or in-person, here in Nashville, TN.

I.L.Y.H.M.L.Y.M.

N.I.L.O.M.

<3

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit legitsmitty.substack.com/subscribe