B.R.A.T. summer?
bananas, rice, applesauce, toast, and a visit to the ER
First of all, don’t worry I’m fine.
About 3 weeks ago though, I was not fine. IH had just returned from playing Sled Island in Calgary, a city in which we’d never previously played or even visited. Every time I step on stage in a city I’ve never been to before, I’m always blown away when I see a full room full of smiling faces. Like.. how the heck did y’all even hear about us!? I’m honored!!!!! It was a total blast, I ate the best french dip sandwich I’ve ever had, and returned home ready to jump back in the studio.
On Monday, I began tracking an LP with an awesome band who made a long journey post-tour to make their record in LA. The drum sounds were slamming, the band was shredding, vibes were high! After lunch though, a pain began to radiate from below my belly button. Within three hours it went from warm and creeping to full blown violence. Excruciating, unnerving, like someone took an ice pick to the space between my stomach and ribs and jiggled it around. Words I seldom say, “I think I’ve gotta call it early, guys,” left my mouth and suddenly I was dripping in a cold sweat and racing my way through LA rush hour to get home.
Doubled over in pain, I hear through felted fog my wonderful wife mention something about appendicitis and going to the ER before it got late. She set a 20 minute timer. If I was still writhing and groaning and miserable, we were going. And at 830pm, we were winding our way toward gleaming Glendale to visit the emergency room.
Fast forward through morphine, a CT scan, and five hours of waiting around, I left with a colitis diagnosis and instructions to try to stick to a liquid diet. Or maybe some applesauce if I felt up to it. I spent a week totally catatonic on my couch. Two weeks of work were wiped off my calendar. There’s nothing they can really give you for colitis other than tylenol and waiting. I made an appointment with a GI doc and by some miracle after ten or so days, I started to feel better.
Colitis the inflammation and swelling of your lower intestines. It is a symptom that can point to a few underlying causes - anything from a chronic condition like Crohn’s Disease to a freak event like a bacteria or virus. Being that it came on so suddenly, my doctor advised a few tests but otherwise was unconcerned that it meant anything dire. For me though, it felt like a wake up call.
There’s a ton of scientific research about the effects of stress on your body1 and I’m reaching an age where perhaps I need to reckon with an effect or two beginning to show itself based on the way that I run my life. I love to live high-octane - to travel and be busy and be in the studio - I love it more than pretty much anything else. Grinding into oblivion with no breaks isn’t helping me though, and to be honest, it’s not helping the artists I work with either. Artists deserve 100% of the support and collaboration that working with a producer entails, and if I’m backing one project up to another with no time to reset, how is it humanly possible to give anything my all? Medical emergencies aside, of course. The food I eat, the exercise I get, the time to just stare into space and THINK - these are all crucial to not only my personal health profile, but also the longevity of my creative career AND the ability to remain in the present for the artists that roll through. If I can’t prioritize health for just myself, I need to be able to prioritize it for my work, my creativity, the artists who trust me, my family and friends who I owe this whole wonderful life to.
1I have done no further deep dives into specific research on stress but it’s out there!
I don’t mean to be on a self-help diatribe here. All of this is to say, I’m hearing what my body is saying and I’m grateful to be able to have the resources to take care of it. I’m looking forward to the second half of this year - this week I leave for tour with Jimmy Eat World (to celebrate 25 years of Bleed American) and Motion City Soundtrack (I can’t even believe those words are coming out of my mouth!!!! These two bands mean so much to me!!!!!) and when I get back, I plan on taking a beat before jumping into the deep end again. Whew. Check out IH’s summer dates below, and have a wonderful (healthy, pain free, fun-filled) rest of your summer <3
shred on,
Sarah
~
if you’re feeling generous, cheers me!!
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Upcoming Shows
July 17 - Bend, OR at Hayden Holmes Amphitheater with Jimmy Eat World and Motion City Soundtrack
July 18 - Seattle, WA at WAMU Theater with Jimmy Eat World and Motion City Soundtrack
July 19 - Vancouver, BC at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre with Jimmy Eat World and Motion City Soundtrack
July 21 - Sandy, UT at Sandy Amphitheater with Jimmy Eat World and Motion City Soundtrack
July 22 - Sandy, UT at Sandy Amphitheater with Jimmy Eat World and Motion City Soundtrack
July 24 - Concord, CA at Toyota Pavilion with Jimmy Eat World, Motion City Soundtrack, and Mom Jeans