A brief note before we get started, there is brief non-graphic mention of suicidal ideation in this

episode.

I was in graduate school, and one night, two of my roommates, Michael and Joe, had their guitars

out, seeing what songs they both knew.

Another friend, Pull, was over, and he picked up a wooden box, started using it as a drum. Lou and I sang.

And Pull worked at a bar and with our like four songs, we booked a gig.

Stupid jerks with feelings. Only ever played that one show, but I loved it. I was hooked.

I loved creating something brand new, brand new band,

brand new songs, and the feeling of belonging to a group. People like to make things with other

people. A couple years later, I team up with Joe again to form free-range chickens, a more

traditional lineup, a bass, a drummer playing drums this time,

and I love it even more. I love being part of a group. People like to make things with other people.

That band lasted for well over a decade, only ended when I moved to Minnesota and eventually

formed a new band here, Math Emergency, another 10 years. Our guitarist moved to

Nebraska last year, and it's been a real ache not being in a room with other people,

creating new things. Hey, do you want to start a band? Me and you? I can't play anything, actually.

I miss that joy. I think my joy was made possible by bands being strictly a hobby. That's what made it joyful. People like to make things with other

people, but it's complicated when the thing you create becomes your work, and then your life, and then your whole life,

and then yourself, and that can happen. Last week's show with Zana Yusuf is a good example.

We talk to more than a few musicians on this show. We talk about bands. We don't do a lot of interviews with

company founders, CEOs, entrepreneurs. But the idea, turns out, is kind of similar. People like

to make things with other people. It's Depression Mode. I'm John Moe. I'm glad you're here.

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