Hey, so, without delving too deeply into my own personal life, my summer was much more chaotic than it has been compared to the last two years. I’m bummed out that I didn’t quite meet my own professional music goals this summer, but I’m very excited to have a new album *almost* ready. By *almost* I mean that 9 songs are in the final stage of mix-tweaking and mastering, but I still have to complete artwork and organize the release.

In other words, unless my life becomes absolutely even more insane for me (which I shouldn’t rule out, I suppose), I will have something new ready to release by the end of this year or early next year.

This album has taken me about three years to get this far and is deeply personal to me. To be fair, pretty much all of my music is deeply personal, but this one compresses a lot of my personal growth into one extended listening experience, and, as it relates to my life story, it fills in a few of the gaps that are in my existing discography.

It’s also a step outside of my comfort zone, and it is going to be the beginning of a new project for me outside of The Purge or Nur Black. This is all largely due to the fact that I let myself be influenced by contemporary rap music!

So, yeah, it’s going to sound pretty different!

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for when I’m ready to publish and start sharing it. I’m thinking about running a modest Kickstarter campaign to cover most of my publishing costs. What do you think about crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter? Have you supported a musician or band that way before?

Leave a reply and let me know! ❤

New CDs available for Rain, The Bad Ideas We Build Worlds, and I’m Not Dead!

Links for CDs and T-shirts at www/thepurgemusic.com/merch or click here to go directly to the Bandcamp store!

Without further ado, my new release is available on Bandcamp in its entirety!

The instrumental track “Reality”  is one of the most “GOTH” things I’ve ever written. These songs come from a really confusing and dark time in my life when I was really trying to make sense of reality. I spent a long time letting myself believe that I didn’t have control over my own existence and I let some people into my life that reenforced that with the ideas they put into my head and the ways they played with my self-esteem. 

If you’ve listened to my most recent album, Honesty, you’ve probably sensed a lot of personal growth and change in my lyrics since earlier work. These two songs take me back to a time when I really thought my reality was destined to continue getting worse. 

It’s my hope that those of you who relate can find some solace in the fact that you’re not alone and are inspired to find healthy ways to navigate your pain and grow. To that end (I feel like a broken record about this 😅), I’m donating everything these songs make this year to The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

If you haven’t already, check out my music video for “It Was Worse Than I Thought.”

And before you ask: the narwhals’s name is “Penny.”

 

*ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF THESE SONGS ON BANDCAMP, UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2020, will be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention through their Virginia Beach Chapter.*

Listen to and download the release exclusively at Sounds and Shadows until October 24th! Click here or use the following link:

Release of The Purge “It Was Worse Than I Thought”

These two tracks are a continuation from the album The Purge produced in the Summer of 2017. The story so far has been “Carried Away,” “Is He Alive,” “Hurt You,” and “Damaged If I Don’t Broken If I Do.”

There are nine songs on this “lost album” in total. When all of the songs have been released, there will be a remastering of the old tracks before an album release.

The Purge has recently associated with their local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and will be donating all proceeds earned from this release until the end of the year to the AFSP. Remember that sometimes there’s a lot to say, we are social animals, and, if you are feeling overwhelmed with life or feel like there is no one who will listen, there are people who want to hear from you and you are not alone. Very special thank you to Katherine Martinez for compiling the following resources:

 

Crisis lines (available 24/7)

 

National Suicide Prevention hotline: 1800-273-8255 (veterans press option 1)

 

Crisis textline: text TALK to 741741 – law enforcement can text BLUE to 741741

 

Veterans textline: 838255

 

The Trevor Project (Crisis line for LGTBQ+): 1866-488-7386 or text START to 678678

 

Additional Numbers

 

Translife line support for transgender people from people who are also transgender: 1877-565-8860

 

SAGE LGBT Elder hotline support for older adults: 1888-234-7249 (SAGE)

 

RAINN sexual assault/rape (available 24/7): 1800-656-4673

 

Domestic Violence Hotline (available 24/7): 1800-799-7233

 

Human Trafficking Hotline (available 24/7): 1888-373-7888

 

Child Abuse Hotline (Available 24/7): 1800-552-7096

 

Military One Source (Available 24/7): 1800-342-9647

 

Safe Call Now for First Responders (available 24/7): 1206-459-3020

 

Cop 2 Cop for First Responders (available 24/7): 1866-267-2267

 

Code9 for First Responders: 1929-244-9911

 

National Resources

 

https://rainn.org/ offers support to someone who is a survivor of sexual assault or abuse (RAINN)

 

https://www.halfofus.com/ gives information on mental health conditions

 

http://www.ulifeline.org/ connects college students to mental health services

 

https://connect2affect.org/ connects the elderly who may be struggling

 

http://www.eatingdisordersanonymous.org/ connects persons seeking help for eating disorders

 

http://www.aftersilence.org/ online support group for survivors of rape, sexual assault, or sexual abuse

 

http://breakthecycle.org/ gives information on supporting people ages 12-24 on how to build healthy relationships without abuse

 

https://deafdove.org/ helps those in the Deaf and deaf community who may be in an abusive relationship

 

https://humantraffickinghotline.org/ resource to report human trafficking or seek help if you are someone being trafficked.

 

https://youarerad.org/ helps find free mental healthcare

 

https://adaa.org/ helps give information on mental disorders like anxiety as well as support for those who need it.

 

https://dbasilence.org/ depression and bipolar support alliance that helps people find support groups and information

 

https://www.auntbertha.com/ enter your zip code and this website will show resources in your area ranging from housing assistance, bill assistance, job training, health care, or transportation.

 

https://www.militaryonesource.mil/confidential-help avaliable for veterans and active-duty members to talk to someone who may need help

 

https://www.fisherhouse.org/ Fisher House providing housing assistance to military & veteran families where they can stay for free, while a loved one is in the hospital.

 

https://support.therapytribe.com/teen-support-group/ peer-to-peer support group for teens faced with mental health challenges and/or difficult family dynamcis

 

https://www.opencounseling.com/ helps find affordable counseling in your area

 

Some Apps:

 

Calm Harm – Gives alternatives to self-harm as well as a tracker to monitor your progress

 

What’s Up? – Uses CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) methods to help people cope with depression, anxiety, anger, stress, and more.

 

Recovery Record – Provides goals, coping techniques, and more to help overcome an eating disorder.

Hey everyone! I just made a physical Compact Disc of my most recent album, Honesty, available for purchase on Bandcamp. You can find it here! https://thepurgeva.bandcamp.com/album/honesty

Honesty is a special dedication to the artist Alethea Leventhal, also known as the music producer and songwriter Ships In The Night. The physical version of this CD has that dedication printed on the inside panel.

If you don’t already know who she is, you should. Her music is patiently calculated and hauntingly ethereal. And her voice? Her voice has a ghostly timelessness to it that feels as though it’s reaching out directly to you, guiding you with wisdom, experience, maybe more than a pinch of sorrow, and, well, honesty. I’ve got an extra spoOooOky remix on her most recent release, and her album Myriologues might change your whole life. Find all that at www.shipsinthenight.bandcamp.com

In August, I got involved with a benefit show to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This October, I’ll be participating in the Out of the Darkness Walk to raise additional fund for the organization.

Please consider contributing the the campaign here, and thank you for the support you’ve given my art and music:

https://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.participant&participantID=2020239

I just published a new music video to promote the newest album, Honesty. Honesty and Rain are both strong releases and I’m proud to have released them both within such a short span of each other. Incredible thanks to everyone who has already supported the releases this summer ❤

Check out all the videos and music I released:

I’ve just released another 12-song, full-length, album.

I don’t have a clever meme to go with this release or a flashy music video, and Rain is still very fresh and excellent, but, for my own personal growth, this album represents a milestone, I believe these songs are deeply vulnerable, capable of helping people, and I did not want to wait to release it.

The album is currently available on Bandcamp, but will be rolling out onto other platforms soon.