Single Release - "Over Again"

I’m excited to release the title track from my album Over Again. I’ve been sitting on this song for years and finally brought the vision to life. But releasing this song today/this week just doesn’t feel quite right. It doesn’t feel fair.

I’ve had the release date scheduled for a month, and when you work with a third party distributor to release your music, you don’t have a lot of flexibility to change the plan. So even though I would have postponed this release if I could have, I had to let it out in the world.

When I moved to the Twin Cities area, the songwriting community instantly welcomed me like one of their own. I found what I had been searching for tirelessly: driven, kind people in pursuit of making and supporting good music and the musicians who create it. One of the first people I met in this community was Tucker Jensen.

Tucker was full of life, energy, passion, compassion, drive… He was one of those people who just made everyone around him want to be better. He made me want to be a better musician, and he made me want to be a better person. On Monday, he passed away from cancer.

The part that’s been eating away at me is I had no idea he had cancer. I had no idea about the battle he was fighting, and how scared he must have been. All of the ridiculous things I complained about to him, when he was taking on the impossible. He played shows that lifted up the room, when he probably felt tired and drained. In my simple little life I make excuses to not give it my all because I don’t feel like leaving home.

It doesn’t feel fair that I get to release this song, and that I get to keep making music. It doesn’t feel fair that I am releasing a record next month at a release show where he was supposed to be playing bass guitar. It doesn’t even feel fair that I’m sad, when he has an army of friends and family who knew him so much better than I ever had the chance to. It’s cruel and it’s sad and it’s harsh, but he sure did set a high bar for this local scene. Maybe it’s easier for me to write about it because I’m more separated from the reality and impact of his life.. I don’t know.

All I know is my own truth - it was challenging to release a song today, and I’m heartbroken for the community that has treated me so well. My condolences are with everyone grieving, and I am thankful for the chance to briefly get to know Tucker.