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It's Hard to be a Person: soundtrack to the book

by NEWSKI

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  • Streaming + Download

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  • “When I’m on the road doing comedy, half my job is anxiety. Brett’s book is a great tool for how to use that energy. And the best part is, when I’m too lazy to read, I can just look at the pictures.” -Charlie Berens, Manitowoc Minute

    “I love how easy Newski makes it to plow through the dark stuff with some well placed humor and grit.” -Stelth Ulvang (of the Lumineers)


    BOOK SYNOPSIS:

    Years ago, somewhere on the Internet, I posted a few dumb drawings making fun of my own anxiety and depression.

    The response to them was warmer than anticipated, and people kept asking for more. Blending humor with pure depression seemed to strike a chord with a decent amount of people. So I kept going, and after about three years of drawing, I had enough dumb drawings for a book called It's Hard to be a Person: defeating anxiety, surviving the world, and having more fun.

    Humor has always been a primary mode of therapy for me. I still make fun of my own anxiety and “depresh” as catharsis. I sing about it on tour, talk about it on my podcast, and draw pictures of it here in this book. Putting my formerly-private-feelings out into the world has been tremendous therapy for me, and I wish I would’ve done it sooner.

    Over the span of many years, I’ve been illustrating the “hacks”, “strategies”, or “exercises” that have worked best for me in combating the struggles in my head. More than anything I want this book to be useful for people.

    I’m not a doctor, just a person who spends too much time in my head. The objective of It’s Hard to Be a Person is not to give unsolicited advice, but to hopefully save you some headaches on the long n’ winding road of life in your brain.

    *Newski's PODCAST "Dirt from the Road" also dives into mental health boosts. Guests include The Lumineers, All American Rejects, Dashboard Confessional, Fruit Bats, Guster, Verve Pipe, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Frank Turner.

    Includes unlimited streaming of It's Hard to be a Person: soundtrack to the book via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    At age 13, Brett Newski's dad "The Vin Man" suggested Newski get a job at Mcdonald’s in order to buy his first guitar. Newski was uncertain because his hands were still tiny and square, like goat hooves. But after seeing Barenaked Ladies to a sold out Milwaukee Amphitheatre, Newski felt the fire and walked down to fill out an application at the nearest Mcdonalds. He was hired. 

    At $5.15 an hour, it took a bit to acquire the guitar, but he did, and became obsessed by learning BNL and Better than Ezra songs. Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page became Newski's first musical hero. 

    Last year, Newski uncovered old notebooks of song ideas from two decades ago while still in high school, including early lyrical ideas for the "coming of age" tune "I Should've Listened to Ferris Bueller" which is now the lead track to "It's Hard to be a Person: the Soundtrack to the book." (The book is a collection of Newski’s quirky illustrations making fun of his own anxiety and depression, offering hacks and ideas to feel better in your brain.)

    While Newski and his collaborator Spatola were finishing the song, Newski reached out to Steven Page to see if he would guest-vocal on the track. Page replied within 10 minutes and had vocal parts done within 48 hours. 

    *OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE is 6-22-21 but CD will ship to you early June!

    Includes unlimited streaming of It's Hard to be a Person: soundtrack to the book via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • T-Shirt/Apparel

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  • T-Shirt/Apparel + Digital Album

    Proudly rep your failure to hipsterdom & support arts n culture with this fine Bella Canvas shirt.

    Includes unlimited streaming of It's Hard to be a Person: soundtrack to the book via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

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  • T-Shirt/Apparel

    High quality Canvas style T
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  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 61 NEWSKI releases available on Bandcamp and save 10%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of This Love is a Fluke, FRIEND ROCK, Airplane (feat Ryan Miller of Guster), Chemicals (feat Matthew Caws), Sweat the Small Talk, Theoretical Soul EP, Why Even Bother? (analog tape demo), Why Even Bother? (feat The Verve Pipe), and 53 more. , and , .

    Excludes supporter-only releases.

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about

At age 13, Brett Newski's dad "The Vin Man" suggested Newski get a job at Mcdonald’s in order to buy his first guitar. Newski was uncertain because his hands were still tiny and square, like goat hooves. But after seeing Barenaked Ladies to a sold out Milwaukee Amphitheatre, Newski felt the fire and walked down to fill out an application at the nearest Mcdonalds. He was hired. 

At $5.15 an hour, it took a bit to acquire the guitar, but he did, and became obsessed by learning BNL and Better than Ezra songs. Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page became Newski's first musical hero. 

Last year, Newski uncovered old notebooks of song ideas from two decades ago while still in high school, including early lyrical ideas for the "coming of age" tune "I Should've Listened to Ferris Bueller" which is now the lead track to "It's Hard to be a Person: the Soundtrack to the book." (The book is a collection of Newski’s quirky illustrations making fun of his own anxiety and depression, offering hacks and ideas to feel better in your brain.)

While Newski and his collaborator Spatola were finishing the song, Newski reached out to Steven Page to see if he would guest-vocal on the track. Page replied within 10 minutes and had vocal parts done within 48 hours. 


QUOTES:

"Showcases the unapologetically frank but not overly aggressive nature of 90s alt. rock perfectly." -American Songwriter

"Newski's live shows are part rock n' roll, part stand up, and part therapy. In the end, the room is won over." -Jim McGuinn, The Current, MPLS

"I like the sound and the way he is forcing the world to contend with him." -Brian Ritchie, Violent Femmes

credits

released June 21, 2021

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NEWSKI Milwaukee, Wisconsin

FESTIVAL APPEARANCES: Rolling Stone Festival, Iceland Airwaves, Reeperbahn Germany, SXSW official

BRETT NEWSKI supports and tours: 
Courtney Barnett, Pixies, Violent Femmes, Manchester Orchestra, New Pornographers, Chuck Ragan, Rocky Votolato, Ezra Furman, Better than Ezra
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