The Club’s New Year Has Officially Started!

Hey,

I hope you’re doing well! It’s Sunday afternoon, and I just finished recording all my audio messages to you since we’re leaving for Hamburg, Germany, tomorrow, delivering parts of the packages. Every package will be shipped this week no matter where you are around the globe! How exciting!

I love this time of the year, it really makes me feel like we’re connected in a unique way. It always humbles me a lot and reminds me of why we’re doing all this, why we decided to stay independent, and why we never wanted anyone to dictate how we should do things, since for Alex and me, this is pretty clear…!

For us, independence isn’t a business choice, it's a lifeline. Remaining free from the music industry’s expectations allows us to create without compromise, to follow the raw intensity of our emotions rather than market trends or algorithms. But that freedom only truly matters because it’s shared with those who carry our music with us, who become family, the community that gives meaning to every note, every word, every silence. 

By rejecting industry molds, we have been able to build a space where the relationship with you all is not transactional but deeply human, a dialogue of trust, vulnerability, and belonging that shapes not just the music but the journey itself.

Welcome to year number 14 of The Club under its new theme, Transcending Time From One’s Heart Gravity.

I was live on Alex’s Facebook page last Saturday, and I wanted to dedicate this missive to this celebration of the new year entirely, as while you’re reading this, most of the packages have already been shipped out your way!!!

🎧 What I’m listening to

I had the huge privilege to share a brand-new part of a song from Alex last Saturday during the live gathering, and I’ve been listening to this song pretty much nonstop ever since! The song is titled In The Valley Of The Sun (Writing Session).

As a member of The Club, you have access to download the song for free if you haven’t done it already…! Here’s a link for you to do so! 

Enjoy it as loud as loud can be!!!! :)  

Download the Song

📖 Reading highlight I’m pondering

This year’s theme has been in the back of my mind for the past week, since we got back from tour. I talk about it in every audio message I send you. To me, there are so many layers to this wonderful sentence, and I’m trying to not only understand it properly or to make sense of it but to make it a lifestyle!

As a starter, since this is an Open Conversation I’d love to have with Alex, to me, this theme, Transcending Time From One’s Heart Gravity, is more than a theme!

Again, in my opinion, it’s the belief that in a world where time often feels like a burden, we can rise above its weight by returning to the gravity of what truly matters: love, connection, creativity, and the courage to be present. 

It’s a reminder that moments of beauty and truth don’t belong to clocks or calendars, but to the heart, and that by grounding ourselves in that inner gravity, we free ourselves to live more openly, more authentically, and more together.

Looking forward to talking about this with Alex! 

📸 My Picture Of The Week 

I was so happy when Alex decided he wanted to join me for the live launching event last Saturday. When Alex wasn’t feeling right during the past few years following his heart surgery, I was always alone introducing the year’s theme and package, which always made me feel weird, as if something truly wasn’t only missing but was clearly not as it should’ve been! 

I had the chance to witness him work so hard over the past few years, doing everything he could to get back on his feet, and walk up the stage, becoming more and more himself as concerts went by since last year’s first appearance at Orange Blossom Special.

As he himself shared in his latest Substack entry last Sunday: “That’s how I felt when I left the stage: transfigured, serene, strangely ‘whole’.” I couldn’t be happier, prouder, and more eager to embrace what’s ahead of us, as this year is just getting started under such a powerful theme and a beautiful package! Everything at this point sounds so promising, finally!

This is why I chose this picture, since normally, Alex doesn’t really like to go live only to speak, especially when it’s in a setup like this one where he feels like he’s kinda selling something or trying to convince someone of something. This time, everything felt different, as everything truly is different, since we’re celebrating who we are, what we stand for, what we believe in, and this is the beauty and the uniqueness of The Club. This is also the reason why we’re doing music, and this has been Alex’s propeller between the surgery room and the stage: Us. We. Now!

This year will be a staple one for us all! This is something I truly have faith in!

🎤 Questions Asked During the Live Launching Event 

Q: Tim - Thanks for the Club Missives! You’re very dedicated, and it means a lot! I also like the new format with the different topics. Is it sometimes difficult to choose what you’ll share? There’s so much happening in your world, so I’m curious!

A: Hey Tim! Thanks for this question, truly nice of you! You’re right, it’s not an easy thing for me to do, especially on a weekly basis. It could be so easy for me to fall into self-branding vibes by sending you things only based on how I would like to be perceived or seen by you all. 

I consume a lot of culture on a weekly basis, and I really like to share and talk about it with Alex and The Long Shadows or whoever I’m surrounded with around the table or elsewhere. I have the huge opportunity to be surrounded by like-minded people, but even so, what I like is to find those fine lines where we can all either disagree, be empowered, learn something, or sometimes really acknowledge where we’re at and the right or wrong decisions we made.

This is what helps me when it comes to sharing with you, as I’ll always take what has been most significant between us all on every level. I like to elevate the conversation and to learn. We’re all in this together! Let’s figure out great ways to inspire and to live life to the fullest while we still can! 

Q: Tim - It’s great that you talk about community like that! What are your thoughts on what happened to Charlie Kirk?

A: Hey Tim! My thoughts on what happened to Charlie Kirk are quite simple and easy. No one should get killed, period. Especially not for what they think, talk about, or believe. Alex and I have been free speech advocates since we started the band almost 20 years ago.

Please, feel free to elaborate on your question by answering this email if you’d like to know more about this topic!

Q: Serge - That song is really cool! Did you write it in Tangier? 

A: Hey Serge! Thank you for asking! At some point this year, I’ll have the chance to sit down with Alex for an Open Conversation about this song, as I always prefer when everything music-related comes from him! Hang in there, buddy! Those answers will come to us all very soon since, for now, this is a writing session version, and we had a few of those in a few different places thus far...!

💬 Shared in the Long Shadows Chat this week 

This past week's chat was loaded with pictures of this year’s package!!! Here are some for you if you haven’t seen them already!!!

Many New School members asked if they could switch to Old School! The answer is yes, of course, and if you want to do so, please send an email here or reply to this message, and you’ll be very well taken care of in that regard!

Hello from Hamburg! Can’t wait to share more about this trip with you next week! 

Let’s be great to one another! 

Your chief operator and friend, 
Jeff 

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