Kat Says: "I'm Back! And My Justice Vlogumentary Is Now Streaming!"

A little explanation of my extended hiatus, and a promise to give this my all in 2025 :)

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Hey Friends,

It’s been a while, huh? Did you forget you subscribed to this newsletter? I wouldn’t blame you if you did!

When I announced a hiatus on my birthday in November last year, I took the break to focus on finishing my Justice tour vlogumentary. I’m happy to report, I finished that project in early February and published the video on YouTube! You can watch it right now!

FRIENDS! I GIVE YOU, IN ITS GLORIOUS ENTIRETY, NEVERENDER: A JUSTICE 2024 TOUR VLOGUMENTARY

If you haven’t already, I’d love for you to check it out, give it a like and a comment :) I’m extremely proud of this 35-minute mini-dic. I spent 80-plus hours editing it, and the process of finishing it became quite intense.

It was an emotional experience that led me to face a lot of imposter syndrome and self-doubt. The situation was compounded further by the passing of my grandmother two weeks before its publishing. I moved from California back to Florida in 2022 so I could be closer to her. She had dementia, and we had no other living relatives in the area, just my dad (her son) in Alabama, and he had his own reasons for not being more hands on.

This is the last picture I took with my grandma, who we called Maga. I called her that my whole life, lol, imagine how I felt in 2016.

I was with her when she died. It was a very heavy moment, but it was also incredibly beautiful, peaceful and comforting. Still, when I took the next two days off from work with bereavement privileges, I just kept pushing on the video. I felt like I’d already taken way too much time on it, and I was so close.

The next 12 days ended up being hard on me for other reasons. I just kept swallowing my feelings and focusing on the video, because it felt like finishing the video would fix my life and make me happy.

I published the video on February 7, and it did make me very happy for about 24 hours. Then I went on a trip and turned off my phone for a week or so. I figured I’d come home and give it the promotional attention it deserved, which included writing a newsletter about the video and getting back into the swing of things here.

That obviously did not happen!

Instead, I spent February feeling all the emotions I’d up to that point ignored. In March, I tried to get back to work on Super Kat World stuff, preparing another vlogumentary on Winter Music Conference, Miami Music Week and Ultra at the end of that month.

I did film some good stuff, and I even finished the week by hosting a screening of my Justice vlogumentary at Jolene sound room downtown. It felt like I was finally getting the chance to appreciate what I’d done with people who enjoyed it, like I’d always hoped.

A couple weeks after that, I lost my full-time job at a lifestyle magazine company, and that set me off course once again.

Because I no longer have an income, I had to break my lease and move out of my apartment. I used my severance to hire movers and put most of what I own in a storage unit. I packed my car with clothes, my guitars, my work and streaming equipment and my grandmother’s ashes, then drove to a loved one’s apartment where I’m writing this now.

I’m totally fine, I’m supported and I’m extremely privileged. I’m being housed and given a chance to refocus on this newsletter, my YouTube channel and the Super Kat World universe. I ultimately believe in this project, and while I’m not currently making anywhere near enough money to live off of long term, I want to give myself a proper chance to be consistent and do what I love to do. I just wanna see what happens when I really try.

Still, it’s taken me until now to sit down and do it.

It’s me! Wearing a shirt you can buy in my merch store.

I feel like this all sounds a bit whiny and cryptic. There’s a lot I’m not sharing, and it’s because the idea of sharing it all is intimidating. For the past two months, I’ve been working on a long, extremely personal essay about the last year in my life. Every time I start writing it, I cry and feel sick to my stomach. I look forward to finishing it and sharing it with some people close to me, and perhaps one day sharing it here or in another public forum.

I think sharing how we really feel is important, because if this newsletter and all my interviews with vulnerable musicians have taught me anything, it’s that our particular experiences may be unique on a microscale, but our feelings and struggles are universal. I believe I stand to gain a lot from sharing my experiences and feelings with others, because the truth is, I’m not feeling and experiencing these things alone.

But, the process of sharing the whole story is still very daunting, and the guilt I feel not working on anything I can show continues to compound. I get an immense sense of joy and confidence writing this newsletter, making videos and livestreaming interviews on YouTube, and sharing ideas and conversations with all of you. I don’t want to keep putting it off.

TL;DR: I’ve been depressed for a long time, and I know pulling myself out of that depression is linked with getting back to work with Super Kat World, so, fuck it dude. Here goes 🙂

I don’t want to overpromise and underdeliver, but in the hope of holding myself accountable, I’m aiming to get you a newsletter once a week. Let’s start there.

Next week, you’ll get a fresh playlist and some of my favorite songs from the year so far. Honestly, I’ve been listening to a bunch of classics in my off time, and I’m excited to dive into the world of music that I’ve been missing, so it’ll be a fun adventure!

As far as Kat Calls goes, I have been busy! I’m aiming for one a month this year, and I kicked things off in April with Baby Weight. The video was super glitchy, but you can listen to the conversation with the video below :)

I took May off to move and handle my life, but I came back at the beginning of June with my friend, fellow journalist and Billboard Dance director, Katie Bain. That video went incredibly well, no glitches at all, and you can watch it below in full.

This Thursday, I’m chatting with some of the DJs and organizers of FestiVAL, a 24-hour music festival that will go down IRL in Los Angeles while streaming simultaneously via Twitch.

The event is officially sponsored by Twitch, actually, and they'll be projecting the live chats at the rave, while also streaming not just the DJs on stage but partygoers in the audience chatting, pulling Tarot cards, vibin', whatever. It’s an ambitious attempt to bridge the gap between physical and digital, and as a creator who constantly evangelizes about making the most of the free internet-based tools we have on hand, I’m excited to chat with these folks about this interesting frontier.

More details to come on that as I’m finalizing things, but I’ll send info to your inbox in the coming days.

Before I sign off here, I want to say thank you. Thank you for signing up for this newsletter, for reading and sharing your thoughts with me, for watching my livestreams and videos, for helping me to feel a little less alone when the going gets tough.

Making this Justice video was a soul-touching experience. When they play “We Are Your Friends,” I cry, because I know what it feels like to be alone, and I know what it feels like to never be alone again, thanks to the spaces a group of artists can create. I don’t just love music, I need music, and I know you need it too. (It is, in fact, good for you, and we gon’ move. Little Daft Punk joke, because I’m a goof.)

If you’d like to show your support for Super Kat World, the easiest and freest way to do so is just keep rockin’ with me. Watch a stream, subscribe to my YouTube channel, share this newsletter, like a video, etc. etc. I’m very close to being able to monetize my YouTube videos, so if you’re not subscribed there, that’s a huge way to help!

If you want to give monetarily, you can join the paid tier of this newsletter for $5 a month or $50 a year. I will be sharing paid-tier only content on this newsletter in the coming weeks. I have plans to start a monthly radio show, among the unedited interviews I sometimes share and other things.

To sweeten the deal right now, I’m uploading the complete, unedited video interviews from Neverender: A Justice 2024 Tour Vlogumentary. If you sign up, you can check out my full chats with Busy P, Justice, and lighting director Lewis and production manager Manu at the end of this newsletter, below the paywall.

You can also check out my merch website and order yourself something cute :) I’ve got hats, shirts, and a coffee mug. I even made a special Kat Lost Her Job Edition t-shirt that says “Support DIY Music Journalism,” because buying one is doing exactly that!

Of course, I’m not the only one who has recently lost a job, and money is tight for everyone. I will continue to make free content, because I believe in free content whole-heartedly. If I run out of money completely in two months and look like a complete asshole, I’ll figure it out! Everything will work out one way or another. Either way, I’ll still be here, doing what I love most <3

Okay friends! That’s all from me today. I love you immensely.

If you’re a paid subscriber, enjoy the unedited Justice vlog interviews below.

Until next time, see you on the Internet!

Thanks for tuning into my newsletter. Listen to the playlists on Spotify. One is updated weekly with all the songs from each edition. The other is cumulative with all the updates ever!

HMU on Twitter / IG / YouTube