#Jack Williamson

[retroscifiart]

Ralph McQuarrie for The Best of Jack Williamson (1978)

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Undersea City - art by Wally Wood (1958)

[thehauntedrocket]

Vintage Pulp - Startling Stories (July1941)

Art by Rudolph Belarski

Standard Publications

[victusinveritas]

[misforgotten2]

Cover by Hubert Rogers

[detroitlib]

From our stacks: Cover detail from Golden Blood by Jack Williamson. Illustrated by Steve Fabian and J. Allen St. John. Edgewater, Md.: Tamerlane Press, 1978.

[basicallyanotherwitchesthing]

Jack Williamson - Darker Than You Think - Lancer - 1963

[weirdlookindog]

Jack Williamson - Darker Than You Think, (Fantasy Press, 1948).

[monkeyssalad-blog]

Captain Future / Spring 1942 (Vol. 4 #1) by Michael Studt Via Flickr: Captain Future / Magazin-Reihe > Edmond Hamilton / Captain Future: Outlaws of the Moon > Arthur K. Barnes / Guinea Pig > Jack Williamson / The Alien Intelligence (Part 1 of 3) > Graph Waldeyer / The Dummy That Saved Earth cover: Earle Bergey Editor: Oscar J. Friend Better Publications / USA 1942 ex libris MTP www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?256465 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Future en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earle_K._Bergey

[lottithinkingandtanking]

Jack Williamson

Mental health on tour.

Jack Williamson is a therapist, trainer, author, speaker and a former music industry professional. He has worked for some major labels, like Universal and Sony, and with many artists. 

Jack describes the music industry as an ecosystem that isn’t supportive of mental health and well-being, and he is doing things to change that. He spoke about how he is the clinical lead of Warners, and he provides mental health support for the employees. Alongside that, he advocated and campaigned for mental health support in record labels.

In 2019, he teamed up with Lewis Capaldi and his manager to launch a mental health initiative. “Williamson says the team behind Livelive want mental health support at gigs to become an industry standard.�� (Hawthorne, 2020)

During the talk, Jack spoke about his career as a therapist. Currently, he provides mental health support on tours. He spoke about the six main things that can enhance anxiety: bad diet, stress, alcohol, caffeine, lack of sleep and fatigue. When touring, a lot, if not all, of these things are going to happen, and that can increase your chances of having an anxiety attack or a panic attack. 

I think there are many things that come with being on tour that take a toll on the mental well-being of artists. They face a lot of pressure with performances, having to give it their all every time to deliver a good show and satisfy their audiences. I think a lot of anxiety can occur from the fear of not meeting the expectations of their fans and others. Also, the erratic schedules while touring; travelling early in the morning and performing late at night. This can cause bad sleeping patterns and fatigue.

I think, as well, being away and on the move for an extended period of time can cause a sense of isolation. Artists will often be away from family and friends for months, and I can imagine they must get really home sick. I recently read about artist Jennifer Lopez cancelling her US leg of her tour to take time with her children, family and close friends. I think that is understandable, but a lot of artists can’t afford to do that, or simply won’t because they don’t want to disappoint their fans.

Jack said with therapy, he helps people on tour with all sort of problems; personal issues, past trauma, performance anxiety… Sometimes, people struggling with addiction and their journey with sobriety. As mentioned in the last blog post, Mark Richardson’s substance abuse problems started when he was on tour. I think in an attempt to cope with the stress, anxiety and exhaustion that comes with touring, artists often turn to drugs or alcohol as a form of self-medicating. “At all levels, from DIY acts to established indie icons and festival headliners, artists are suffering from mental health struggles vastly disproportionate from the general public”. (Pelly, 2022)

Some things that could help with staying healthy while on tour are having a structured routine, eating well, exercising regularly, and having a good support system, like a therapist. I thought all the topics Jack touched on were really interesting and important, and the work he does now, and what he has done to support people in the music industry with their mental health, is very laudable.

[roundworm1111]

[retroscifiart]

John Berkey for ‘The Humanoid Touch’ by Jack Williamson, (Bantam, 1980)

[lyingfallow]

it's never that serious

[thehauntedrocket]

Vintage Pulp - Startling Stories (Nov1939)

Art by Howard V. Brown

Standard Publications

[hihomeghere]

You could say I’m a bit obsessed with these dumb cowboys <3

[misforgotten2]

Cover by William Timmins