That’s fantastic! Sometimes the best things happen unexpectedly. It sounds like you and Dan have stumbled upon something special with your band, and it’s great to hear that you’re embracing it with enthusiasm.
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So jealous of this setup!
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Enjoyed reading this inspiring post, Jenn.
I’m back in UK last night, after a long trip to Arctic and Eastern Canada throughout most of April. Sadly, a guitar is way too impracticable to tag along on with wildlife tracking trips, but back on the music-stool this week … 
Maybe I should take up Harmonica … 
… much more portable.
That’s quite a journey you have been on in just 2.5yrs; all kudos to you for sticking with it. I am 4yrs in May; a completely different trajectory and happy (mostly) with progress, and still enjoying the journey.
I am sure Dan, and lately DyeV too, have helped you “ride the wave”.
Keep at it with writing original songs, and of course having lots of fun along the way. 
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@Elixir1253 Thank you so much! That sounds like quite the trip! Hope you had an amazing time and are enjoying being reunited with your guitar.
Dan always tells me that I have the gift of being able to stick with something once I start. I’m very glad I’m able to do that. Happy (almost) 4 years to you!
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Jennifer, if you are looking for a great place to learn and jam with others, checkout: http://communityjams.org.
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LL Update July 2024
Hi everyone,
I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflection recently with regard to my time on the guitar and I really felt like I just had to put some of it out there. My LL seemed like a good spot to park these thoughts. It’s a bit more personal than I typically would share, but I feel like this is a safe space to do so. It will be a bit of a long one so grab yourself a drink. Don’t worry, it’s nothing too crazy 
In late 2020, I found myself mentally floundering a bit, as many did during that time in the pandemic. From a very young age, I have always been an artist. The craft I chose went through changes as I got older, but an artist, still. From early childhood to early adulthood, it was theater. I probably spent more of my young adult life on a stage than I did at home 
Some of my most cherished memories come from those times. I did a lot of creative writing when I was in my late teens/early 20s. I even had a roughly 3 year window where I was an online “influencer” of sorts in the beauty space. I have always been at my happiest when I’m creating something.
Dan and I moved to Portland in late 2018/early 2019 after living in northern California for my entire life. Dan had spent some time living in New York for theater school before we started dating, so he already had the experience of living somewhere completely different for a while. I had never experienced that. In the process, I learned that it’s really hard to establish a new life in a new place as an adult. It was also made harder by the fact that I work 100% remote for my day job. I wasn’t forced to go out and meet new people. Though it may seem otherwise sometimes, I’m naturally a very introverted person. I don’t let others into my world easily. And then the pandemic hit.
I stopped doing theater, I hadn’t written anything for many years and the stuff I was doing as an influencer was no longer as fulfilling to me. I was feeling stuck. I was in a new home, in a new and unfamiliar place, without the support system of close friends and family nearby that I was used to having. I also had a family member that was having major medical issues at that time and it was very stressful. As a result, my creativity dried up and I was having a very rough time mentally handling it all. The lack of any kind of purpose and the isolation really took its toll on me.
I distinctly remember one evening where I finally just broke down. Dan noticed that something just didn’t seem right with me and I think I could no longer keep everything bottled up inside anymore like I tend to do. Though it felt awful in the moment, I think I just needed to let it all out. We had a long talk that night about what we could do to get me back into a better headspace.
It wasn’t long after this moment that I found the guitar. I don’t really know that I had any firm goals in mind when I first started- I just wanted to learn to play songs I enjoyed. Probably about a year or so in, I thought it would be fun to have a cover band. Dan had started playing the drums. I was perfectly happy to continue on that course.
As I mentioned in my previous update, that goal was completely turned on its head as I began to write my own music. The more I do it, the stronger I feel that this is actually my intended purpose with this instrument.
I remember the day that Dan and I were filming our footage for the video for Sirens. As we were setting up our lighting and getting ready to film my shots, I just had this wave of emotion hit me. I am supposed to be doing this. I am supposed to make music. I’m supposed to be a rock front woman I am supposed to write songs. It was just a sort of a culmination of everything that hit me all at once.
All of the “art” that I’ve worked on in my life came together in that one instant. My theater experience helps me with my performance and my singing. My writing skills help me when I’m figuring out song lyrics. Even what I did as an influencer plays a roll in helping visually construct scenes that work in music videos. It all made sense to me in that moment.
As I round the corner on nearly 3 years playing guitar (I’ll hit that goal in October) I find myself feeling incredibly proud and grateful for everything this instrument has given to me. I have a band that is working towards recording songs and being able to perform live. I have other musical projects in the works I wake up in the morning so inspired to pick up my guitar and create. I don’t know what if anything will come from any of this and that is ok. The gift the guitar has given to me is more than I ever could have asked for.
I know that people hit plateaus in their playing and may struggle with a lack of direction sometimes. We all do. My hope is that if my story can in any way convince someone to push through it, then it will have been well worth it.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far
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Thanks for sharing that part of your journey with us, Jenn!
It was a real good read and both inspiring and food for thought. Taking our time to reflect on ourselves is invaluable, as it will almost always lead to an outcome that enables our growth. 
That’s a great moment to have! 
All of a sudden all makes sense and comes together. It shows that the experiences we make (good or bad) will be shaping us and in way will kind of benefit our future selves, even if the good twist of going through a rocky time in our lives will not become obvious right away.
To me, your post was really a good push of motivation. And I’m happy to see the outcomes of all the threads in your life coming together so well leading to the “birth” of DyeV and I’ll keep following to see the next turns in your musical paths.
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Jennifer @Jenndye429
That was a very honest review I expect it took some courage to post this.
All I can say go for it life is short.
Michael
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@Jenndye429 jenn I’m sorry that I’ve come to your LL late as I’ve been off here for a year whilst the mojo alluded me. But I’m glad you’ve shared the last entry with us and It resonates with me. I lost my wife when she was just 40 and I took up the guitar again then. I guess it was just a distraction but I’m sure it helped me through. Having watched “sirens” I could tell it was meant to be. Keep it up both. Peter
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What a lovely read Jenn.
I’d known about the artistic background and the fact you’d been playing just a few short years but no inkling that you’d hit a dark patch around the pandemic and before you started playing. Certainly no clues in our post OM chats and some courage to share that here. What can I say ? Every cloud has a silver lining must fit the bill. You both came through that time and have definitely launched yourself into the music. The growth in your confidence has been tangible, not only through your recordings but live performances as well. And if Sirens was anything to go by we are in for a treat.
Take care and look after yourself and that Portland posse of yours. Keep doing what you’re doing !
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Jennifer, thank you for sharing 
sending you lots of these: 
I have been lucky enough to work closely with you in recent times and I can say, without a doubt, you were made to do this! 
I continue to be awestruck by your creativity and musical insight, I have to keep reminding myself that you’ve only been doing this for a couple of years! 
You seem like you’ve been doing it all your life! And reading through your update above, that becomes somewhat true. Like a true artist, you pull on all your experiences and meld them into something amazing. Your moment of “awakening” is something that I think a few of us had seen already and were just waiting for you to catch up 
The way you and @DDye (a phenomenally insightful creative himself!) work together produce such engaging performances is something I have found incredibly inspiring. Thank you again for being willing to grant us a window into your wider world and for being the fabulous guitarist/singer/songwriter extraordinaire that you are! 
Here’s to what comes next! 
Take care
Jeff
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Thank you Lisa! I was hoping it would be 
I occasionally see people feeling down about their progress and I was hopeful that by sharing it would serve as some motivation
Thank you! I had written it up and was debating whether or not to post it But I really feel safe and supported in this community, so I ultimately decided it was worth sharing
Thank you for sharing. I think I will always be amazed by the power of music
Thanks, Toby. I definitely don’t put this story out there too much, but I felt like now would be a good time to share Ultimately, I learned a lot of good lessons from that time, so I don’t regret it. I’m in a much better space now
Thank you! You never know what new stuff may pop up soon
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Thank you so much, my friend 
I think you’re right I can remember my parents encouraging me when I told them I wanted to start playing guitar. It was like they already knew it would be something I’d take to and I didn’t see it yet I see it now 
Thank you so much
Excited for what’s to come!
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Jenn.
An influencer you say. Hey, you may be influencing right here, right now.
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Thank you for sharing your journey.
All of us go through such moments, when we don’t feel much positive. You bravely overcame those moments, and applied your experiences as an artist to come up with your new song. Best wishes. We hope we get to hear (and see) new songs written and performed by you. Have a nice day.
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Appreciate you sharing, Jenn. The song with Jeff is amazing. Wish you well as you follow the path, the Muse.
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Aah… I was away from here for so long, far too many threads that I could comment on, but won’t.
Jenn, thanks for sharing. Yes, you were made for this, it’s so clear to see. And “Sirens” … What a phantastic collaboration, video and song.
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@Richard_close2u @audreyplays @DavidP @JokuMuu
Thank you all so much for the kind words I’m definitely going to keep going with that I’m doing
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October 2024
Tomorrow is my 3 year guitaraversary 
The day after is the one year anniversary of the formation of DyeV.
It feels like both a long time and nothing all at once
In thinking about it, I believe I have a lot to be proud of in the last three year window. I thought I’d list out some highlights and accomplishments from my time on guitar so far.
In the last three years I:
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Have formed two bands- One mostly focused on playing live (DyeV) and one doing recording and videos (CounterPlot). Going back to the first post in my log, one of my stated goals was to play with others. I knocked that one out of the park, I think
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Have performed at several community OMs (so many that I actually lost count
) I’ve also done live streams both here on the community and once on Justin’s YouTube channel. -
As a result of all those performances, I have really started to hone in on my skills as a front woman.
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Played two community mini gigs, one pre-DyeV and one with DyeV.
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Recorded 3 music videos with CounterPlot to our original songs that I am endlessly proud of
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Collected a lot of gear- including 5 guitars, 3 amps and a pedal board
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Have become a burgeoning songwriter. I have written about a dozen songs so far between both bands and have more in the works. One of my proudest moments was when one of my DyeV bandmates turned to me during a rehearsal and told me I was good at it
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Have been to a recording studio and did a professional recording of one song with DyeV. I learned a TON in the process.
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Have started to feel like I am well on my way to becoming a competent rhythm guitarist.
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Am also well on my way to being able to record albums and/or EPs with both bands.
And probably a bunch of other things I’ve forgotten
The last three years make me endlessly excited for what the next three (and beyond) will bring. DyeV started the year doing covers and now we are developing originals and working on being able to perform a full set of our own material. Our goal is to play a local festival in Summer 2025. CounterPlot continues to churn out music/videos in the background. The whole thing just totally blows my mind.
Here’s to the next three 
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Congrats on 3 amazing years of learning and accomplishing lots of guitar related stuff, Jenn! Happy Guitarversary! 
Looking back, you can be super proud of all the things you already achieved. Especially during the last year, your progress skyrocketed (is this an existing word? ) tremendously and it was a pleasure following your journey along! That’s an impressive list you shared, but even more impressive was watching all these things actually happen.
I will be thrilled watching what’s up next. On the next three!
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