In my new-year Samhain readings, I was asked to consider the intentions I have for my life. There have been phases in my life when I could answer this unequivocally. But in the Towerfall phases, when everything I built has…

This month my divinations advised retreat, to give myself time to heal. They acknowledged my financial strain, but said it wasn't a total loss. There's hope for healing, but it will be a slow recovery. 

I wrote out these words…

This past weekend was FilKONtario. I was lucky to get to go, but the reason I got to go (cancelled tour) sucked. Dozens of people said this to me over the course of the convention: "it's so great you're here…

From the event, Saturday March 29 at 8pm Eastern Time: 

S. J. originally planned to share this concert with tourmate Leslie Hudson. Leslie has made the hard decision to postpone all of their US dates indefinitely. S. J. has Leslie’s…

25 songs for 2025's (now-Canadian) Hemlock in the Honey Tour, compiled from 9 albums and the new Toxicity EP (only available to patrons). Plus 2 previously unreleased songs: "Colette" and "Fate is Twisted". Styles range from folk to bar rock,…

Yesterday I made a decision. It wasn't easy and I didn't want to make it, but I have decided to cancel my tour into the US.

This sucks. I have been planning this trip for over a year. Last July…

Welcome, one and all, to something I do for-fun and not for-murder: Periwinkle's Poisoner School. Vinca Periwinkle, at your service. We first opened enrolment for the school back in 2021 when the album Hemlock Honey and Crows was released. Members…

“Underground” from The Redhead League

Reagan enacted the Strawberry Shortcake laws in the 80s, making it legal for the first time to advertise to children. My generation was directly targeted and trained-while-vulnerable to watch cartoons and buy the action figures.…

“Irretrievable” from Reset to Factory Specs

I consider myself to be a good judge of character, especially upon meeting someone for the first time. It used to feel like a failure on my part when a person would later reveal…

“Linger Longer” from 12 Months a Year [a patron album]

Some films have such a specific mood that I hold them in reserve for when I really need them. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is one of those movies I…

“Fate is Twisted” written for FAWM 2025

There’s a reason we keep telling epic tragic romance stories where lovers are thwarted by circumstance, family, social expectation, or some other clever impediment authors dream up. I get it. Especially when I…

“The Witch’s Lover” with Cathy McManamon written for FAWM 2025

My final collaboration of the month turned out to be a lullaby with a dear friend and tourmate. Mandrake is a witch’s plant and has been for centuries and longer.…

“If It Harms None” with Eric Distad written for FAWM 2025

Belladonna demanded this song be written in one of the F keys. My synesthetic brain translates F keys and chords into shades of purple, like the flowers and purple-black…

“Condensation” with Metricula written for FAWM 2025

Sitting on the couch at my friend’s house in North Carolina this past New Year’s we started writing a song we finished for FAWM. We have this dream to do a project together…

“Risus Sardonicus” with sapient & nwhosings written for FAWM 2025 (NSFW)

Since I’m writing songs about poisonous plants for FAWM this year, one of them was bound to involve a murder. There are reasons I didn’t go into law. I’m…

“Driven Me to Madness” with Chasing Andromeda written for FAWM 2025

Datura has been used historically as a psychedelic drug, triggering hallucinations that can last for more than 10 days. But because the dosage varies wildly from person to person,…

“Reset” from Reset to Factory Specs

In 2020 I checked in with myself to the deepest level I could reach. After my mom died, I dyed my hair back to brown and kept it until I was sure the red…

“Engorgia” written as a song-a-week in 2020

Writing fiercely introspective songs means sometimes you confront parts of yourself that maybe you don’t want to explore. When this happens to me as a songwriter, I have learned to let the songs…

“Ask Who I Am” from Keep Left at the Fork

The 13 songs for this album had to follow some very particular guidelines laid out for me by the sídhe (faerie folk of Ireland). Each song represented and explored one…

“Bloodstream” with zecoop and guatecoop written for FAWM 2025

When is the last time I got to rock out hard? When I wrote the lyrics for this song, sent them over to a friend and he banged out the perfect…

“Nature of Truth” from Dance in the Rain (20th Anniversary Release)

More than 20 years ago I stepped into a studio for the first time. I had no idea what I was doing. I’d never played piano to a metronome…

“Locked In” with Quadrivium written for FAWM 2025

I have often characterized the friendship I’ve formed with death as a dance. For as long as I can remember I’ve been wondering about what death is, what it means, and how…

“Spindles and Fingers” chant for the Imbolc season

Although the part of Ontario where I live has been under snowfall for 6 weeks, beneath it lies a blanket of earth where the roots are beginning to stir. Over the next…

“Call the Doctor” from Yeoman on the Bridge

I grew up on Star Trek: TNG. In my 30s I caught up on all the other series (that existed at the time) before finishing my Trek-inspired rock album and including a…