In her song The Perfect Fit, Amanda Palmer sings, I could fix a lot of things / but I'd rather not get into that.
The song, which originally appeared on her band The Dresden Dolls' first album, was one of a handful that Palmer sang solo to a packed venue of Berklee students, kicking off a raw and honest conversation about coping with issues of mental health while pursuing a career as an artist. So it wasn't hard to sense some slyness in that line's delivery, since getting into that was the very reason she had come to campus.
As an artist who always has her audience in mind, Palmer said she took to social media on the way to Boston: I went on Twitter and said, I'm talking about mental health-what do I play? So, this is a crowd-sourced playlist.' She then sat down at a grand piano and kicked into The Perfect Fit, followed by the dizzying Runs in the Family, from her solo record Who Killed Amanda Palmer, a song she says she had mostly forgotten about but was the most requested by her fans when she put out the call. When the song finished she gulped down a miniature bottle of water, then sat down to take questions from the audience and from Leah Driscoll, director of Health and Wellness Programs and coproducer of the events sponsor, the Reach Out Initiative.
After the talk, she closed with a voice-and-ukulele rendition of In My Mind, ending with a resounding delivery of the line, I am exactly the person that I want to be.
The following is an edited collection of the advice and reflections she shared with the audience.
On the Importance of Habitual Self-Care For Palmer, discovering yoga in her twenties was critical to finding the space for self-care. It allows you the chance to step outside yourself for a moment, she said, adding that it was tough at first to make it a habit. Her solution? Just go. Always. No matter what you have to do, unless it is an emergency, go to yoga instead. If you don't go because you have other sh-t to do, you're never going to go.
It took me 28 years to even have the thought that in this moment I had the option of just taking care of myself. Without why,' without I'm going to beat myself up about last night,' without anything. I credit my yoga and meditation practice for all these small moments, like, this where I had the chance to confront myself and my patterns of thinking.
If there's no space, there's not going to be any reflection. And if there's no reflection, there's not going to be any growth.
-Amanda Palmer
On Balancing Vulnerability and Self-Protection Much of Palmers music is predicated on intense personal vulnerability. While this may make some artists nervous, Palmer thrives on it. I protect myself by opening myself up. I protect myself by baring my neck. People don't expect you to be open and vulnerable and up-front about things.
But how does she go about preparing herself to go there so many nights in a row? I think it's a lot of little, subtle micro-decisions that when you're on tour, you just know, and you start shutting down certain systems. I'm sure athletes do it too by cranking up what's necessary and cranking down what's not.
On Knowing When to Put Your Phone Away There's nothing less inspiring than being about to go on to a stage and play music and to look over and see your collaborator doing this [she mimes texting on a phone] when you're about to go connect with a bunch of people, because this [phone] is totally disconnected.
One of the things I worry about in general with our mental health these days-and I'm just as bad as anyone-there's so little space because we all have phones. And especially if you're an artist or a musician who's constantly hustling for a gig, there's this addictive pull that you could always be more productive.
So, for Palmer, it all comes down knowing when to pause everything else and create some space. If there's no space, there's not going to be any reflection. And if there's no reflection, there's not going to be any growth.
Related categories:
News
Related Reading
Young Bluegrass Virtuosos Berklee Today
Fall
2018
Volume
30
Number
2
Night School at Wally's Berklee Today
Fall
2018
Volume
30
Number
2
Bollywood Star Shreya Ghoshal Reflects on Residency at Hogwarts of Music Shreya Ghoshal describes her six-day residency at Berklee as a magical experience, and the students she worked with agree.
More from Berklee Now
Most Popular
Six Berklee Alumni Recognized at Latin Grammy Awards Six Berklee alumni took home Latin Grammy Awards across three categories at the November 15 ceremony.
Latest
Amanda Palmer Says Youre Exactly the Person You Want to Be The singer stopped by Berklee for a candid and empowering discussion on mental health.
Mediterranean Music Unites Artists Across Cultures in Madrid Concert In celebration of Spains multicultural heritage, a small group of musicians from around the world, led by Javier Lim n, took the stage at Madrid's National Auditorium, blending sounds from across the Mediterranean and beyond.
Tom Oren Wins 2018 Thelonious Monk Jazz Piano Competition Berklee student Tom Oren is the winner of this year's Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Berklee Blogs
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
Snapchat
Soundcloud
Spotify
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...
26/04/2024
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x
Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century
In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages
By Matthew Corrigan
Publi...
26/04/2024
Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries
...
26/04/2024
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
26/04/2024
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. & NEW YORK Mattel has announced a deal to launch its first three 24/7 free ad supported streaming (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Samsung...
26/04/2024
PORTLAND, Maine Viewers here can now receive the NextGen TV signals of five local stations with the launch of ATSC 3.0 service from host station WPFO, which is ...
26/04/2024
TORONTO Rogers Communications has signed a 10-year agreement with Comcast to bring the latest Xfinity products and technology to Canadians....
26/04/2024
Calrec is very pleased to announce the benefits of its highly flexible approach to customer service has been recognized with a third award for the Argo range. T...
26/04/2024
New Adobe Photoshop with Advanced Generative Fill and Generate Image Brings New ...
26/04/2024
Trends And Takeaways From NAB Show 2024
Melanie Ciotti April 25, 2024
0 Comments
NAB's Eric Trabb (right) awards SNS with two NAB Show Product of ...
26/04/2024
Sony's Ci Media Cloud Keeps NHRA Moving
Brie Clayton April 25, 2024
0 Comments
Cloud-Based Media Asset Management and Collaboration Platform Accel...
26/04/2024
Capitol Broadcasting & Leadership Triangle Collaborate for Third Year
Capitol B...
26/04/2024
The staff at CBC Radio have been hard at work creating several new features for listeners and viewers. Several debuts are taking place this spring.
I have nev...
26/04/2024
26 Apr 2024
Cricket Finds Its Digital Home in Bangladesh: VEON's Banglalink...
26/04/2024
NBA Playoffs 2024: ESPN Rolls Out Huge Production Operation for Busy First Round Tech deployments include miked on-field personnel, shot-distance tracking, AR g...
26/04/2024
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: ESPN Ops Team Navigates Both Sides of the Border With ...
26/04/2024
Behind the Scenes at the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit (Photo Gallery) After just the first round, the 2024 NFL Draft has already made quite an impression in Detroi...
26/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Van Wagner Powers Onsite Entertainment Experience for Record Cro...
26/04/2024
Rohde & Schwarz presents spectrum dominance in all domains at AOC Europe Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates the next generation of SIGINT/EW systems and sensor fusi...
26/04/2024
MCine Mauritius is to use Qube Wire for all future DCP deliveries across their e...
26/04/2024
Skeem Saam' May Spoiler: Has Lehasa killed Khwezi?The Skeem Saam' May teasers mention Lehasa being apologetic about killing someone. Is it his baby mam...
26/04/2024
Skeem Saam: Thursday's episode, 25 April 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African s...
26/04/2024
Prison Journalism: Some issues to considerWesley Leong was incarcerated at the age of 15 in 1996 at Pollsmoor Prison. He is currently part of Restore's rese...
26/04/2024
Tonight on Scandal: A line is crossed and a mother starts to lose focusDon't miss Friday, 26 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Scandal! o...
In her song The Perfect Fit, Amanda Palmer sings, I could fix a lot of things / but I'd rather not get into that. 
