Hello there!!! New issue out now. What’s inside? Keep reading.

Golly, this one has been a long time in the making. Life happens, and this niche print media side quest has gotten bigger and more consuming (in the best way) than I ever could have imagined. Taking a step back to reflect as we start our third year, scaling from eight pages and two people to 56 pages and a small team of contributors and artists has been … challenging to integrate into my life, especially since starting my own social media business. Getting your own book off the ground, and maintaining it, is a lot more work than the email job I was holding down at the start of Train Songz. The good news is that, because I’m freelancing, I’m opening a door to controlling my own schedule and actually being less busy and saving a few hours a day for Train Songz, because it deserves that. Soon!!!

Anyway, enough of that. We’ve got a new issue, “Train of Fools,” and I’m so excited for you to get it in your mailbox.

This issue’s title, a play on “Ship of Fools,” packages together seemingly unrelated stories and interviews that all hover around a central theme of a journey:

• Sam Grisman Project’s journey from the road to the studio for their self-titled, debut LP

• The Asheville Mountain Boys’ journey around Japan for their tour — and, more Japan, our very own Promontory Paul’s journey to Tokyo’s Rocky Top

• Maddie Denton (East Nash Grass) and Brenna MacMillan’s (Dear Life) journey around Ireland for their tour

• Kenny Feinstein’s (Water Tower) journey from punk to old-time and Foghorn Stringband

And you and I, the maker and reader, are also on a journey together, not just in Train Songz but in searching for a greater appreciation and understanding of a musical art form and tradition we’re all drawn to. This specific set of vibrations makes us feel human and helps us get by — one could call it “a curse for the bleakness” or “a pill for the day to day.” Welcome aboard the Train of Fools.

BTW: This bad Larry is 56 (!!!) pages, up from 44 which we did all last year. We think this is actually the legal limit of thickness for a letter. I really do like the size of the zine, and I don’t want to make it much bigger. And some issues will be smaller! We’re not guaranteeing maxing out each one. Each issue will get what it’s asking for.

Like and subscribe, baby

The debut post is up on Instagram. Toss it a like, drop a comment, and send it to one friend who would develop a superiority complex subscribing to niche print media about music made by wooden instruments.

📬 How to get this issue

• 📬 Subscribers: If you’re already subscribed, you’re good! Thank you, I love you, we couldn’t do this without the certainty your year-long support provides 💖

• 📬 Become a subscriber: zine.trainsongz.net ($33/$55/$77)

• 📬 Buy a single issue: zine.trainsongz.net ($10–20 sliding scale)

• 📬 We give one away free for every 10 sold: Here

Want to help us out? Forward this email to a friend who might enjoy the zine!

Curious how we spend this money? I break it down here.

When will it arrive?

This is printed and will mail as soon as possible, at the end of this week or early next.

Presenting sponsors

Our sponsors help us keep costs down, give away free issues in the mail and at shows, and invest in the future of the zine. We don’t let just anyone sponsor — everyone here has been selected because we think they are worthy folks to put in front of you. This year, we are debuting “Presenting Sponsors,” which we are maxing out at four per issue. They’ll appear in the first few pages:

• Token Flatpicks

• Bonfire Entertainment / Winter Wonder Grass

• Northbound Coffee Roasters

• California Bluegrass Association’s Fathers Day Bluegrass Festival in Grass Valley, California

We’d also like to thank: The Black Cat Café Cohasset, FourBirdsNest, Folk Ware, Lino Diaz de Villegas Real Estate, IVPR, Turkey & the Wolf, Humble Hippy Designs, Funky ILG, and Do You Even Burn? Candles.

Contributors

This issue wouldn't exist without the 29 artists and crew members (30 if you count me!) who dedicated their time and talents to the zine. Many of them are returning contributors who Train Songz wouldn’t be Train Songz without.

Fitting for an issue about journeys, the contributor map stretches from Asheville to Tokyo, with five artists from Japan helping illustrate this one, since we have two different stories about Japan inside.

Thank you to: Promontory Paul, Liza, Brakeman, Favorite Vegetable, Leonard Mangano, Glow_worm, William T Vennes III, TOON, Masahiro Yata, Katie, Ben Bingham, Aidan Montes, Allisonismyhero, Hog Head, Morganne, Cross-Stitched & Painless Crafts, Logan Walker, Funky ILG, Joe Schorgl, Yusuke Komori, NiNO JAPAN, Shinha, MIKI SAITO, Shrimp, Dr. Nora Flora, Austin Carreño, Michael Jones, AK Esq, Ross the Rail CPA, and Lexi Borb.

Thank you

Thank you all for your support, financially and vibrationally, in making Train Songz a reality. It is the greatest joy and has introduced me to amazing people. Eternally grateful, and I hope this issue reflects the love and care we try to reflect back to you.

–The Conductor

P.S. We’ll be back with another issue by end of June, it’s already in the works :)