Hey,

I hope you’re doing well! The second week is already behind me since my arrival in Tangier, but even crazier, I just realized we literally hit the half-year mark. Feels like I just got rid of all the tiny glitters I got thrown at all night on January 1st! Simply unbelievable — until I started to scroll down Alex’s Substack and realized how everyday is pretty much lived to the fullest, which is maybe the reason why I feel like 2026 simply passed by like water in my hands…! 

Alex and I were here in Tangier with a bunch of friends from around the world celebrating the New Year’s passage at a cool place called the El Pescador, where local musicians simply come over and share the stage, all singing a beautiful mix of Moroccan, Andalusian, Arabic, African, and some US/UK rock classics not only from the stage, but from the entire crowd as well!

It truly feels like yesterday, and tomorrow we’ll be back there doing the same thing! But I wanted to use this half-year tribune to share the ups, the downs, and the highlights we’ve already been through as we’re right midway through 2026! 

I’m listening to PJ Harvey’s new single, Voyager! 

The year started with this paragraph:
So, for the first time ever, I’m truly optimistic and hopeful regarding what this new year has in reserve for us, as most of every past year, I was envisioning a year being like a dragon protecting a huge amount of gold we would have to fight against if we wanted to reach this gold, these promises, these dreams, this magic, and the wonders life has to offer so generously to those who have the courage of their convictions. 

Let’s see where we’re at regarding this hopeful vision, which normally goes more like “it will get much worse before it starts being a little better".

THE UPS ⬆ 

JANUARY 

• Starting the year in Tangier with loads of friends! 
• Heading back to keep up the work with the new album 
• Africa Cup of Nations! Alex discovered he liked beer and football (soccer)

FEBRUARY 

• Heading to Virginia with Alex 
• Alex’s 3rd-year anniversary of being resuscitated! 
• Get together around the Open Conversation about 2025
• Alex reaches 100 Substack Entries! 

MARCH 

• Cruise to the Edge! 
• From the City to the Ocean EP and vinyl release being announced 
• Members of The Club could listen to the song ahead of everyone else! 

APRIL 

• Premiere of the From the City to the Ocean video release 
• Exclusive From the City to the Ocean Pre-Sale! 
• We’ve been granted the Angine De Poitrine vinyl pressing job at Drummond Vinyl! 
• Alex shared how revisiting From the City to the Ocean was a complete liberation for him! 
• Trip to Frankfurt to ship the entire European packages and spend a memorable day with our precious Merch Captain Marcus who is dealing with a vicious cancer. 

MAY 

• Release of the From the City to the Ocean EP! 
• Alex receives the best health news and report since 2023! 
• European Tour announcement 

JUNE 

• New song, Springtime, exclusive release
• New video, Springtime, exclusive release
• New lathe-cut vinyl exposed for an upcoming exclusive release! 
• Back in Tangier celebrating a decade of discovering what the word home truly means.

THE DOWNS ⬇

JANUARY 

• It’s been the most rainy month of all time recorded in Morocco.
   

FEBRUARY 

• Alex’s home is still destroyed after a year of plumbing disaster.
   

MARCH 

• Alex is called by his doctor for an emergency visit to the hospital prior to the cruise. 
• Miss Isabel ended up at the cruise ship’s hospital for an entire night after knocking her head off. 
   

APRIL 

• This time with Marcus was truly magical, even if heartbreaking to leave him behind not knowing if we’ll ever see him again. 
   

MAY 

• No tour announced outside of Europe 
• Alex almost deleted his entire record. 
• Two of Alex’s neighbors passed away 
   

JUNE 

• Poor Alex…! He almost broke his ankle while happily walking, sharing about how amazing life has been to him recently! 

I have a glass-half-full personality, generally speaking, always seeking the silver lining in every situation we’re facing, always reminding myself how fortunate I’ve been to meet my true family around Miss Isabel, Ben, Sef, and Alex, of course, after years of drug abuse, hitchhiking to travel, and not being scared of sleeping under bridges for an overnight home..! 

2026 has been incredible thus far, but the good news is I have much higher expectations for its second part to literally outshine the first one! Life is so rich! So much more to come! 

Thank you so much to you all for making this journey something purposeful, meaningful, and magical, as humanity is in a very fascinating part of its history! 

Forever thankful and grateful!

Let’s be great to one another! 

Your friend and Chief Operator, 
Jeff