Dear Listeners, supporters & future investors,
The Art of Asking has never been easy for me.
In most cases, i would rather climb to the top of this mountain alone & pull up my own funds & savings for my upcoming musical EP & self-published memoir, titled BLAZING STAR, which I am planning to release this Fall, as a creative bundle & masterpiece. The plan is to release both of them, so listeners of the music can also read the memoir & have a deeper understanding of who I am : my journey & struggle from being raised a Jehovah's Witness to becoming a massage therapist & sexworker, as well as my disease of alcoholism & drug addiction to present day recovery.
When I released my debut musical album titled, Sacred Secret, 10 years ago, I was not in a position to honor & support its release into the world. I was heavily struggling in the rock bottom of my alcoholism & meth addiction. I even had a musical manager tap out & quit on my mission to help promote & tour the release of Sacred Secret, because my alcoholism, mental health & unstable behavior was becoming evidence that i would not be able to tour & promote my music, while struggling with my disease.
Currently, with 5 years of recovery underneath my belt, I have never felt more ready to stand up to the plate of this new musical release & memoir, as well as invest in my future as a recovery advocate & trauma/addiction counselor.
I am currently in the last phase of my memoir, gathering all of the essays I have written the past 6 years, (when i began writing this beast) & working alongside an editor & writer, who is helping me piece together & structure it, successfully.
This Summer, I am headed back to the UK (Wales) to produce & finish the recording of the music & songs that have accompanied the memoir writing & as I sang them to myself, alone on the piano, have guided me through the process of recovery & healing.
Welsh Singer & Songwriter, Steve Balsamo (best known for playing the lead role of Jesus in the West End revival productions of Jesus Christ Superstar during the mid-1990s, as well as being the lead singer of the Welsh band, The Storys) will be helping me produce this new record, alongside sonic magician, Tim Hamill - a producer, engineer and musician based at his Sonic One Recording Studio in South Wales. There has also been mention of an orchestra from Prague, which will surround my songs, alongside a slew of other friends & musicians from the UK area.
Initially, I was going to pull up the funds on my own, by doing what I've always done (the past 20 years) which is massage work, but at this stage in my journey - my body is warning me of an impending burnout. As my right hand & wrist is burning & numb from carpal tunnel (from the 20 years of constant massage giving) I am also heading into Heart Surgery, to fix a "loose lead" in the pacemaker/defibrillator inside of my chest. I have a heart condition that the doctors have been monitoring since i decided to get sober.
This being said, I am not able to take the next 3 months & pull up my own funding by doing massage work, alone. This has also pulled me into a new understanding of what I need to do right now, to adjust to my future & how I support myself financially. I am currently looking into going back to school to be an addiction & trauma coach/counselor. This has been one of my callings (to help other addicts & trauma survivors SEE & understand that recovery is possible) ever since I decided to fight for it & then ALLOW it, myself.
You, supporting this fundraising campaign, is not only helping me record, produce & release the new album & memoir, but it is in fact, supporting & investing in my future as a recovery & addiction coach.
I firmly believe 2025 is the year that all of us are stepping up to the plate of our SACRED CALLING & PURPOSE.
This campaign will be the helping force that pushes me into this new reality.
So much LOVE & thank you from the bottom of my heart, for helping me push these dreams, into reality.
Gratefully & with a pirate smile,
Joshua Bley
PS. Here's a sneak peak of a demo/single from my upcoming musical release, recently recorded in Wales, where I will be recording the new EP, this summer :
soundcloud.com/joshuabley/lantern-demo-w-steve-balsamo-1
My Debut Album, titled, SACRED SECRET, by Joshua Bley - can be found on all streaming platforms. I cannot wait to share with you the memoirs of my journey AND the new music that will be the soundtrack to its words.
