Tears slide down my face as I write this. When I’m going through submissions for this site – of course there are going to be songs that move me. Music speaks where so many other forms of communication fail, but Nothing More’s #Iknowjenny – the song “Jenny”, the video and the story have moved me in a way that little else can.
From Eleven Seven Music:
“April 6, 2015 – About 1 in 5 American adults will have a mental health condition in any given year, but only 41% of them will receive services. (source – NAMI) If mental illness is this pervasive in our population, why isn’t it discussed more often? Why are people resistant to getting help?
Texas-based rockers, NOTHING MORE, along with To Write Love On Her Arms, Bring Change 2 Mind, International Bipolar Foundation, The Jed Foundation and Young Minds (UK) will seek to spread the facts about mental health to music fans worldwide. They plan to do this through discussion of vocalist, Jonny Hawkins’ tale of his sister’s struggle with Bipolar Disorder in the song “Jenny.” “Jenny” is also the brand new radio single whose video – directed by Hawkins himself – debuts on Billboard.com today. Funds will also be raised for our charity partners via a new PledgeMusic campaign the band is starting. (Clickable link after the post)
JENNY TOUR 2015 will be the name of the band’s headline tour this summer. NOTHING MORE will bring their acclaimed live show, as well as openers Wilson and Red Sun Rising to select cities throughout the US. Dates below include radio shows and festivals they will be playing along the way. Examiner explains of their live show “These guys are adding a new dynamic to the rock world in form of a lively stage show full of percussive tricks, twists and slips that establishes a new standard of talent and dexterity in the rock world and mentally turns it on its head in the process… their stellar performance likely garners them a brand new fandom.” Tickets for the JENNY TOUR 2015 will go on sale Friday 4/10/15 at 10AM. VIP tickets can be purchased at ticketspin as of Tuesday, 4/7/15. Proceeds from the VIP ticket sales will also be put into the fund being distributed among our partners.
Discussion of “Jenny” will be pervasive throughout social media, using the corresponding social media hashtag #iknowJenny. Facts, quotes and relevant articles will be shared by the band (link below) and on their tumblr, facebook and twitter accounts. “One way or another mental health issues affect us all… As we bring this topic into the light of public discussion and apply ourselves to understanding, we will begin to build a world in which moments like the Germanwings plane crash become a thing of the past,” says Hawkins. “We see the tragedies that sometimes occur as a result of unchecked / untreated mental illness, but what we never see in the media is when tragedy is avoided by compassion offered to those in need and how those moments of understanding and assistance can drastically alter a person’s path. The purpose of #iknowJenny is about extending a hand and teaching people that they need not be afraid to ask for help. My hope is that this song and video can be used to inspire people to learn more about mental health and addiction issues, so that they can make a difference in someone’s life.”
Hailing from San Antonio, NOTHING MORE is a four-headed musical hydra that runs on frenetic passion, unswerving DIY spirit and relentless sonic experimentation. Part schizoid System Of A Down weird-isms, part Mars Volta-esque prog rock freak out, part effortless pop nous; they seamlessly barrel from churning headbang to skyscraping chorus and back again in the blink of an eye. Capable of bombastic bounce that hits as hard as an uppercut to the jaw when they fancy it, the band is equally able to dial down the bluster into deft moments of crystalline beauty when the mood takes them. It’s a gut-punching blend made all the more powerful by a keen lyrical sophistication and philosophical undertone, which both belies their years and marks them out from their contemporaries. Artist Direct goes to the heart of NOTHING MORE’s appeal “(NOTHING MORE) indisputably stand out from their peers, yet they can enjoy mass consumption and unanimous radio play because they write intricately irresistible songs. The trick is they find that delicate balance between technical grandiosity and catchy palatability. That’s why they’re so important to rock music right now. They’re crucial to its future and how it flourishes in the same way that Tool, Deftones, and At the Drive-In were upon first debuting. Simply put, we need Nothing More.””
I ask, how can you read those words and not be moved? Watch the video – and listen to the words to the song, your heart will be touched in a way you may not have known possible, or perhaps you’ll identify with Jenny or her family.
Mental Illness is stigmatized, those who have mental health issues are treated like lepers, ostracized, cast out and told that we should simply “get over it.” It isn’t that easy. We’re damaged, broken and we don’t want you nor need you to fix us or to try to fix us. We want you to tell us, and shout it if you have to, like they do in this song – that “I’ll be with you through it all.” And MEAN IT. Don’t just mean you’ll be with us during our good days, or our not so bad days. No, mean that you’ll be there during the worst day imaginable and that when we finally wake up after we have exhausted ourselves and possibly slept for hours, or off and on for days, we will see your face, hear your voice and feel your embrace. Don’t just let us disappear inside our own minds to waste away.
I’m not bipolar, but I am 1 out of 5 Americans that has mental health issues. I suffer every day from Depression, Panic Disorder and PTSD – even when it lies dormant, I suffer – because I never know when it will re-emerge. I’ve self-medicated so that I can feel something, anything besides pain. I’ve self-medicated because I wanted to feel anything but numb. I’ve self-medicated to feel numb. I’ve self-medicated so that I can just simply fucking exist in a world that acts as if anyone like me (or comparable to me) shouldn’t. (In NO WAY am I advocating self-medication, please don’t. Ask for help from someone, anyone. Because believe me, self-medication is self-harm.)
We deserve to breathe, to smile, to dance, to laugh, to LIVE.
There simply isn’t enough help in place for people who suffer mental illnesses – in the state I reside in, the help for those who are mentally ill is a joke, literally. I have tried without results to get help, and I knew more about my conditions than the trained individuals that were supposed to be “helping” me.
I was accused of “pill seeking”, and being “too intelligent” to have “anything wrong” with me.
If prescriptions are necessary to help manage your condition, then medication appointments take roughly 6 plus months here, unless you want to see a nurse practitioner whose field is not in mental health and the process of getting the proper (often cocktail of) medications to balance you out already takes months. You don’t need to add half of a year or longer on top of that, nor untrained individuals giving you the wrong meds entirely.
For now, most of my mental health issues are manageable. I’m in school to become a psychologist, because I ache to help those like myself, like Jenna, and anyone reaching for an ear to listen and actually hear them, in a world that has turned its back on them. I want to help, to make a change.
I love this band from the bottom of my heart for standing behind this issue and facing the stigma head on. I offer my support to them in any way I can help. ANY WAY. My heart, thoughts, and positive energy goes out to Jenna, and those like her, like us, those that get help, those that don’t – anybody with mental health issues. And to add to that, my heart goes out to anyone who has a kind enough soul, and warm enough heart filled with an insurmountable amount of love to see those with mental illnesses through them, to the light that CAN be on the other side if we are allowed to make it through the darkness. Remember, it’s taxing – but you could be the hand of light that leads us from the depths of pitch black hell, back to the land of the living.
THANK YOU, Jonny. THANK YOU.
Below you will the links so you can access information on #iknowjenny, on how to access the story, video, and tour dates.