It Can't Be About Winning
Hi, it’s me, Jonah, the baritone saxophonist. Remember?
Right in the middle of my twenties, I paused my life as a full time musician to work as a political organizer for 6 years. From the start, I was shocked to find how similar life in grassroots organizing was to life as a DIY musician. Doing voter ID phone banks wasn’t that different from trying to book a tour, hiring campaign staff was just like contracting a band, and managing a candidate was shockingly similar to playing behind a lead singer (IYKYK).
When I returned to life as a full time musician in 2023, I found that it worked both ways. I came away from grassroots organizing with lots of new skills that were quite useful in the life of a DIY musician. I want to tell you about the biggest lesson I learned from political organizing, one that I apply to my life in music daily.
First though, I would like to remind you that my new duo album with Lau Nau, “A Few We Remember”, is coming out this week! If you’re glad I’m making music this is a chance to spend a little bit of money to make sure I keep it up. All you have to do is buy a physical copy of the album this week. In fact, I asked my label for a 10% discount on vinyl copies of the album for everyone on this email list, and they agreed. So please consider taking a second to help me keep it going.
just use the code “jonahsubstack” at checkout
Political organizing is the art of finding your people. I think many outside of the day-to-day grind of campaigning imagine that it’s about debate, persuasion, or compromise, but that’s not really where the work is. The real work of a campaign is to understand what you believe, become the best possible messenger of those values, and then find every single person who believes the same thing. If there are enough people in your voting zone who share those values, you’ve built a movement and you’ll get elected to represent that movement.
Overly simple? Maybe. But definitely not easy. Temptation is a powerful foe. The allure of debate can make anyone believe they can win over their opponents with the right proof, but we believe what we believe. The seduction of compromise can make you wonder if you should find the middle ground, the majority stance, but it will come at the cost of moral clarity, authenticity, and trust. The catharsis of conflict can tantalize anyone into demonizing those who disagree, but it will just make them fight harder.
No matter how difficult it may be to accept, a successful political campaign cannot be about winning. It must be about one thing and one thing only: connecting. Telling a personal story that can become a collective vision, and hoping for the best. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but in my opinion (obviously not the only opinion), it's the way to go.
When I returned to music in 2023, I began to see that this lesson applied to my career as a performer. Great musicians don’t begin by asking what people want to hear, by lurching towards the most popular trend, or by chastising those with different tastes. They begin with a perspective. This is the foundation, and it has led me to ask these questions of myself every day:
What music do I want to make?
Who wants to hear that music?
How can I do the best possible work as a musician, performer, and organizer to connect with those people.
This is my formula. It’s not the formula to win the most fans. It isn’t the path to make the most money, receive the most attention from critics, or have the broadest possible base of listeners. But I believe it is the most direct path to connecting. To finding my people. It’s how I found you, and that alone makes me sure I should keep on it.
Speaking of which, I’m about to leave on a month-long tour through Europe. Do you know people like us, people who want to hear this kind of music, in these cities? Will you help me spread the word? If you’re in one of these places, I hope I can look forward to seeing you. Here’s all the dates, with details here. Here’s an instagram post, if you want something to share.
I’ve been hearing from lots of you lately. I’m really grateful that you read these emails, and that we can stay connected. Thank you!
Talk soon,
Jonah