Is the title a touch dramatic? Sure. But if you don’t get dramatic for Life and Death, what good is drama? I’m sure this past year has been big for a lot of you. For me, I would describe it as stupefying. In the sense that what occurred exceeds my stupid little brain’s ability to comprehend. But one thing I didn’t do last year is release new Strange Weather music, so I haven’t had as much reason to share updates. So, dear reader, I want to tell you a bit about my 2024, and my plans for 2025.

Some of you might remember that back in the beginning of the year, my friend Cat Janice was struggling with cancer. She was initially diagnosed in early 2022, at 29 years old. Cat wasn’t one to wallow, so she chose to make the most of the situation and shared her whole cancer journey on social media. She went through chemo, lost her hair, fought hard, and after about a year she came out the other side with a clean bill of health. It was incredible to watch. During that year she finished her first full length album, Modern Medicine, which is brilliant and bittersweet. Her career started picking up momentum, and it was looking like she was rising from the ashes. And then in late 2023, she took a turn for the worse. The cancer was back, this time in her lungs, and it spread fast. Over the next couple months, she got worse rapidly. Coincidentally, she had already recorded a song, “DanceYou Outta My Head”, that she had scheduled for release in January 2024. Knowing what was coming, she pushed as hard as she could on social media to get her song heard so that she could leave the royalties to her 8 year old son, Loren. Her story went viral, and when the song came out the day before her 31st birthday, it skyrocketed. She landed on the Billboard charts and millions of strangers were cheering her on. She finally got some of the recognition she deserved. And for a few weeks, she was able to bask in it. Then on February 28, she died at home with her family.

It’s difficult to express how big of a loss that was. Cat was blindingly brilliant. She was gorgeous, hilarious, sharp, playful, sensitive, warm, and a fully embodied musician and performer. I’ve collaborated with a lot of people in my life, but so far she’s the only person I’ve ever written and released a song with. When we sat down to write together, we were in immediate flow. It was true synergy, and it was so much fun. We started a handful more songs, and even had plans for a full concept album. But life got in the way, and we never managed to finish anything other than “The Launch Gate”. We wrote that song before she was ever diagnosed with cancer – it was just a cool song about a girl who leaves her boyfriend behind and goes to Mars. But the chorus – Open the Launch Gate, I’m leaving and never coming back again – is both haunting and kinda cheeky. I think when we were writing that, our synergy opened some kind of a channel and we unconsciously received a vision of the future. I both hate it and feel in awe of the magnitude of it. I miss Cat all the time, but I feel so lucky have gotten to be close to her. She truly was a supernova.

Before she died, my wife Callie told Cat that she was pregnant, and asked her to be our baby’s guardian angel. And on September 23, our son was born – Javelin Oso Brennan. Every day, I look at him and I just don’t understand. He’s so damn beautiful and everything is new to him.  And most importantly, he’s perfectly healthy. Things were going a little too well, so yesterday I dropped him on the bathroom floor. Did I do this because I was sick of him getting all of Callie’s attention? You can’t prove a thing.

And while nothing compares to bringing a new person into the world, I’ve had a really productive year musically too. This summer I finished a huge project for EL Education. They make curriculum materials for thousands of schools around the country (maybe even your kids’ school), and they hired me to set their early childhood literacy curriculum to music. They had 26 letter poems, each with a corresponding animal (A Alligator, B Bear ,etc), and they wanted me to turn them into songs. In the end I made 28 – an Alphabet Cha Cha, a theme song called “Incredible Animals”, and one song for each letter of the alphabet. It ended up being my favorite job I’ve ever had – I had a blast with the music and I made up voices for all 26 animals (in the end, we brought in actors to play a lot of them, but I still voiced 7, you’ll have to guess which ones). For now, the music lives on this playlist on YouTube. But I’ll be posting them on a new Instagram page for my kids music moniker – Mr*Sparkle. Follow me. And if you know anyone who works for CocoMelon, lemme know.

But wait there’s more! I also started a new business! I partnered with my friend, Natalie Gregory, to start Audio Monuments. We make personalized audio documentaries to honor the special people and events in our lives. Imagine an episode of This American Life entirely about your Mom, featuring the voices of all her friends and family, telling stories and expressing their feelings about her. I could say more but the best way to understand is to listen to some examples on our website. And then get one for your Mom or Dad, or for your wedding.

And lastly, Strange Weather! I’ve been recording a new album called “Sunflower” and I’ll start releasing songs early in 2025, so stay tuned for that.

XO

Sean