Show Notes
Johanna Warren joins LaunchLeft to talk about her new album, Lessons for Mutants, and share her thoughts about the creative process. Johanna is also involved in writing a play, The Buckeye, and will do a live workshop in Bristol, England, in February. In addition, Johanna speaks boldly about how she has found energy and creativity in nature and discusses rebelling against parts of society that put deadlines and expectations on artists and people in general and how that can compromise your well-being. The episode closes with a live performance of her song "Lessons For Mutants" from the Garden Sessions at PULP studio in Gainesville, Florida. Join us this week for a truly inspiring episode.
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LAUNCHLEFT OFFICIAL WEBSITE https://www.launchleft.com
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INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/launchleft/
FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/LaunchLeft
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LaunchLeft Podcast hosted by Rain Phoenix is an intentional space for Art and Activism where famed creatives launch new artists. LaunchLeft is an alliance of left-of-center artists, a curated ecosystem that includes a podcast, label and NFT gallery.
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IN THIS EPISODE:
[00:55] Johanna shares about the time spent in Wales and her childhood.
[09:07] Johanna is working on a musical called The Buckeye.
[10:25] Discussion of what sparks creativity and taking time for yourself.
[23:56] The state of the music industry and how Covid gave Johanna a time of quiet reflection.
[29:40] Johanna describes her collaboration with local farmers and herbalists.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
The effect of losing someone resonates in the art that you create.
It’s essential to be mindful of how you feel and what you spend time on. It’s good to take a break when your body speaks and says slow down, even if it affects a schedule in place. Put your well-being first.
The music industry doesn’t value new talent. Instead, the focus is on those who have become stars; consequently, they get the notice and the benefits.
RESOURCE LINKS
Podcast - LaunchLeft
Album - Johanna Warren
Instagram - Johanna Warren
Facebook - Johanna Warren
Twitter - Johanna Warren
Soundcloud - Johanna Warren
Bandcamp - Johanna Warren
BIO:
As a little kid, I knew who I was: a wild magical creature who delighted in the gifts of the Earth and the mysteries of the universe - feasting on red clover and honeysuckle, grinding berries between stones to make "potions," thatching faerie huts with slabs of damp moss, talking to bugs, singing to birds, drawing channeled images of interdimensional angels, and happily passing long afternoons with my face pressed in the dirt watching golden light dance through blades of grass.
Then, as most of us do, I forgot. The magic was conditioned out of me and replaced with corn syrup, plastic and The Pledge of Allegiance. And I got very sick, and very very sad. I was slapped with a long string of diagnoses, including Type 1 diabetes. My adolescence and young adulthood was a horrorshow of illness and medications that caused side effects for which more medications were prescribed. After ten years of this nightmare, I realized I had no idea who I was without the antidepressants, birth control pills, antibiotics, acne medications, antiandrogens, prescription migraine drugs and insulin injections I had been taking regularly since before I was old enough to question any of it.
I started experimenting with phasing out pharmaceuticals and exploring "alternative" (ancient, sacred) healing modalities: herbalism and folk medicine, acupuncture, Qi Gong, meditation, fasting. I started working on biodynamic farms and learning directly from plants. Getting back outside to be in direct communion with the natural cycles of the Earth, as I did so naturally as a child, has been absolutely vital to my personal healing. Since most of my illnesses were stemming from t
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