Connecting Through Music: A Voicemail from Joey Held

On this episode of Art Heals All Wounds, I share a voicemail from Joey Held, who talks about the impact of music on building a sense of belonging and the ability of art to heal. Joey hosts a podcast called Good People, Cool Things but he’s also a member of the band Burning Years. Joey talks about the way he sees music bringing people together during the band’s shows. He also shares an incredible experience with a fan of the band—a recent transplant from Dublin, Ireland, to Austin, Texas where Joey lives. This fan told him that before he left Dublin, he had been in a pub that played one of Burning Years’ songs and that the entire pub began singing along. They knew all of the words!  A reminder that art knows no boundaries, it transcends cultures to create connections.

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• Good People, Cool Things website
•  Burning Years on Bandcamp

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Do you believe art can change the world? So do I! On this show, we meet artists whose work is doing just that. Welcome to Art Heals All Wounds. I'm your host, Pam Uzzell.

[00:00:47] Have you ever been in a strange city like thousands of miles from home and heard a song being played in a bar that you were just listening to back in your hometown? I've had this happen to me, and it always made me feel like I had a way into this new place. Imagine being in the band and having this person let you know that they were listening to your music in a place so far away.

[00:01:18] That would be pretty amazing. Not realizing the reach of your creative work. We live in an amazing time when we can share what we create with so many different places. And it can make us feel more connected on this tiny planet we share together. That's what I learned from this voicemail about belonging from Joey Held.

[00:01:42] Hi Pam, this is Joey, host of the Good People Cool Things podcast. I also play in a band called Burning Years. The music community is such a unique environment because of music's ability to bring people together. Anytime we play a show, I look out at the crowd, and it's just so cool to see the mix of folks out there.

[00:02:02] There are some people who have nothing in common with each other, except for their love of the same songs, and they've got their arms around each other, screaming their hearts out. I've got my concert pals, who I might go months or even years between seeing, but we're able to catch up like it's been no time at all.

[00:02:18] I have a friend I do a staring contest with during the chorus of one of our songs. And throughout the show, I'll share glances with my bandmates. Like, we all know this is such an incredible thing that we get to do. Here's one story that really drove home the power of music for me. At our last show, we met a fan who had recently moved from Ireland.

[00:02:37] Side note, Ireland to Texas, whew, that's a bit of a culture shift. He told us that he was at a pub in Dublin, watching a soccer match. Or, you know, football, for us non Americans. And during a commercial, the pub started playing music. It was one of our songs, and the pub started singing along to our songs.

[00:02:55] We're in Austin, Texas. This was in Dublin, Ireland, and people are singing along. That's amazing. Pam, thank you for all that you do with this show. Art really does heal, and I love hearing people's stories about how it's helped them.

[00:03:08] Thank you, Joey Held. Joey has a great podcast called Good People, Cool Things that I listen to. I'm going to leave a link to his podcast and I'm also going to leave a link to where you can find Joey's music on Bandcamp.

[00:03:49] Do you have a story of belonging? I'd love to share it on my show. Just go to my website, arthealsallwoundspodcast. com and leave me a voicemail. 

[00:04:00] If you like what you've been hearing on this podcast and want to support it, you can do that in so many ways. By following, rating, and leaving a review on your favorite listening app, and if you want to support it or feel that you are able to support it financially, you can click on the Buy Me A Coffee link on my website.

[00:04:23] I So appreciate your listening and I wish you a very happy new year. 

[00:04:28] The music you've heard in this podcast is by Ketsa and Lobo Loco.