In this episode of Come Back to Earth, J.D. reflects on how a familiar melody can suddenly sound different when something within us shifts. He sits down with artist and producer Anthony Church to explore his creative evolution from a background beat-maker to a front-facing artist releasing instrumental music.

In This Episode:

• Finding your voice through the discipline of daily practice.
• Shifting from producer to artist: The journey of creative autonomy.
• Melody-first composition and creating an emotional atmosphere.
• Creativity as resilience and nervous system regulation.
• Why certain songs meet us differently as we move through different seasons of life.

Connect with Anthony Church and his music HERE
Go backstage HERE
Theme music by: Lincoln Parish

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If this episode sparked a memory, a question about the craft, or a story you’d rather speak than type, come sit at our table. You can leave a voice note for the studio or explore our resources for creators at:

https://www.speakpipe.com/FragileMoments

What if music wasn't an escape, but a way to stay present? We explore the joy of making music and how songs build a music community when we need it most.

Not every song is written to last forever. Some are written simply because they feel good in the moment—because they sound like a crowded room when you’re alone, or because they make the silence feel a little less heavy. In this episode, J.D. reflects on the first time music felt like true company: not as a performance to be judged or an escape to another world, but as a grounding presence.

We are joined by New Jersey-based singer-songwriter Eric Harrison to discuss his latest album, Bittersweet. Eric shares the story behind his anthem “Sal’s Place,” a tribute to the sweaty basements and wobbly decks where the joy of music is found in its purest form. Together, they explore the rare honesty that comes from creating art simply because you love it, and how a shared melody can foster a deep sense of music community.

This conversation is an invitation to value nostalgia without bitterness and to rediscover the joy of making music for the sake of the craft itself. Join us as we discuss why some songs don't need to change your life, they just need to keep you company.

Connect with Eric Harrison and his music HERE
Go backstage HERE
Theme music by: Lincoln Parish

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If this episode sparked a memory, a question about the craft, or a story you’d rather speak than type, come sit at our table. You can leave a voice note for the studio or explore our resources for creators at:

https://www.speakpipe.com/FragileMoments

I listen to every note personally during my Friday stewardship hours. No pressure to be polished, just be human.

In this season premiere of Come Back to Earth, host J.D. Murgolo reflects on the early Saturday mornings of his youth, music drifting down a hallway, a house quietly breathing, and the inheritance we don’t recognize until it’s already part of us.

J.D. sits down with Michael Gilas to explore the songwriting inspiration that moves beyond the spotlight and into the lived experience of the listener.

In This Episode:

• The Living Inheritance: How the music of our childhood shapes our internal landscape.
• Beyond the Spotlight: Finding the quiet honesty in Michael Gilas’s creative journey.
• Music as Legacy: Why some songs have the power to outlive their creators.
• Presence in Sound: An unscripted music conversation about the art of listening.

Connect with Michael Gilas and his music HERE
Go backstage HERE
Theme music by: Lincoln Parish

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If this episode sparked a memory, a question about the craft, or a story you’d rather speak than type, come sit at our table. You can leave a voice note for the studio or explore our resources for creators at:

https://www.speakpipe.com/FragileMoments

A new season is arriving.

Come Back to Earth returns this March with a new season of conversations at the intersection of music, memory, and mental health.

Season 3 sits with artists as they reflect on the songs that steadied them, the moments that broke them open, and the music that helped them find their way back to themselves.

These are quiet, honest conversations about creativity as survival and sound as something that holds us when words fall short.

Produced by Not Today Media. New episodes begin this March.

In our Season 2 finale, we sit with D.K. Lyons, a singer-songwriter whose artistic journey has been shaped by personal tragedy, unwavering advocacy, and a fierce commitment to using music as a tool for both healing and social change.

Born in Massachusetts, D.K. began writing songs as a way to process profound loss, discovering that music could hold what ordinary language couldn't carry. But his artistry has evolved far beyond personal expression into something that actively engages with the world's injustices and possibilities.

His upcoming EP Darling Kiss Louder represents an ambitious fusion of influences — drawing inspiration from classical literature while critiquing contemporary digital culture, centering women's voices while tackling systemic issues, creating art that's both deeply personal and broadly political.

This conversation explores how tragedy can become a catalyst for advocacy, how artistry and activism intersect, and what it means to create with both vulnerability and purpose. It's a fitting close to our second season and a powerful reminder that healing work is never just individual — it's always connected to the larger project of creating a more just and beautiful world.

What We Talk About:

• Balancing artistic vision with authentic emotional experience
• The responsibility that comes with having a platform
• Using creativity as a tool for both personal and social transformation
• The ongoing choice to remain engaged with life's full emotional spectrum

Resources:

• Connect with D.K. Lyons and his music HERE
• Support the show: Not Today Media
• Theme music by: Lincoln Parish

A Note from JD: D.K.'s conversation felt like the perfect way to close our second season because it embodies everything this show aspires to be: deeply personal yet broadly relevant, artistically ambitious yet emotionally honest, individual yet collective in its vision.

His commitment to using his platform for advocacy reminds us that creativity isn't separate from consciousness, that healing isn't separate from justice, that the work of becoming fully human necessarily involves working for a world where others can do the same.

If you're an artist wrestling with how to balance personal expression with social responsibility, or anyone trying to figure out how to stay engaged with the world's pain without being crushed by it, I hope D.K.'s story offers both inspiration and practical wisdom.

Come Back To Earth exists to explore these intersections between creativity, healing, and social change. Thank you for being part of this community, for supporting these conversations, and for doing your own work of creating meaning from difficulty.

Season 3 will bring new voices, new stories, and new explorations of what it means to be human in complex times. Until then, keep creating, keep caring, keep coming back to whatever grounds you in hope.

Your voice matters. Your story matters. The work continues.

In this episode, we sit with Jody Cooper, a D.I.Y. artist and full-time father whose music emerges from the intersection of creative necessity and lived experience. Jody's story isn't about chasing musical success in traditional terms — it's about using songwriting as a tool for processing mental health struggles, pandemic reflections, and the complex realities of modern parenthood.

The conversation explores how the pandemic served as a catalyst for deeper reflection on mental health, creativity, and resilience. We discuss the particular challenges of being an independent artist while managing family responsibilities, and how music can serve as both personal therapy and a bridge to others navigating similar experiences.

Jody's approach to creativity is refreshingly honest — he creates not from a place of having answers, but from a need to explore questions. His music reflects the raw, unpolished reality of someone working through life's complexities in real time, without pretense or easy solutions.

What We Talk About:

• How the pandemic forced a reckoning with mental health and creative purpose
• Balancing independent artistry with full-time parenting responsibilities
• Using music as a tool for processing difficult emotions and experiences
• The role of vulnerability and honesty in authentic songwriting
• Finding resilience through creative expression during uncertain times
• The intersection of mental health awareness and artistic practice
• Creating meaningful art outside traditional industry structures

Resources:

• Listen to Jody Cooper's music HERE
• Support the show: Not Today Media

A Note from J.D.: Jody's conversation reminded me why I'm drawn to artists who create from necessity rather than ambition. There's something deeply honest about musicians who use their craft primarily as a tool for understanding and processing their own experience, and who share that work not because they think they have answers, but because they know others might be asking similar questions.

If you're an artist trying to balance creativity with other responsibilities, or someone using creative expression to work through mental health challenges, I hope Jody's story offers you both permission and encouragement. The most necessary art often comes from the least glamorous places — from the daily work of showing up, processing, and choosing to keep creating even when the path isn't clear.

Come Back To Earth exists to honor these kinds of authentic creative journeys and the profound humanity they reveal. If these conversations resonate with you, consider supporting the show.

Your struggles are valid. Your voice matters. Keep creating from wherever you are.

Theme music by: Lincoln Parish

In this episode, we sit with James Snelling, a neurodivergent singer-songwriter whose journey into music began not in youth but in midlife, after losing his job and facing the kind of life upheaval that forces you to reconsider everything you thought you knew about yourself.

James's story challenges conventional narratives about when and how artistic careers begin. His path to sharing his music publicly came through loss and transformation, proving that creativity doesn't follow standard timelines and that some of the most authentic art emerges from life's disruptions rather than its certainties.

We explore how neurodivergence shapes his songwriting, the unique perspective that comes from feeling like an outsider, and the courage required to share vulnerable art when the world has already signaled that you don't quite fit its expectations.

What We Talk About:

• Finding music as a voice for neurodivergent experience and feeling different
• Beginning an artistic practice in midlife after career upheaval
• Writing about mental health, addiction, and social justice from lived experience
• The relationship between neurodivergence and creativity
• Creating art that refuses to be palatable or easily categorized
• The courage required to share vulnerable, honest songwriting
• How difference can become artistic strength rather than limitation

Resources:

• Listen to James Snelling's music
• Support the show: Not Today Media

A Note from J.D.: James's conversation reminded me that some of the most necessary voices in music are those that have been waiting the longest to be heard. His willingness to begin sharing his art in midlife, after experiencing significant life disruption, speaks to something beautiful about human resilience and the way creativity can emerge from unexpected places.

If you've ever felt like you don't fit the traditional mold of what an artist should be — too old, too different, too late to the game — I hope James's story offers you permission to begin anyway. The world needs the songs that only you can write, the perspective that only you can offer.

Come Back To Earth exists to celebrate these kinds of unconventional artistic journeys and the profound humanity they reveal. If these conversations resonate with you, consider supporting the show.

Your difference is not a deficit. Your timing is your own. Your voice matters.

Theme music by: Lincoln Parish

In this episode, we sit with Perfect Cadence, a band whose music serves as a lighthouse for anyone navigating the complex terrain of mental health, isolation, and the ongoing work of healing. Their approach to songwriting isn't about offering easy answers or quick fixes — it's about creating space for difficult emotions and transforming them into something that can be shared, understood, and held.

We explore how their song "Shine" became a lifeline for listeners struggling with depression and isolation, the responsibility that comes with creating art that addresses mental health, and the power of music to bridge the gap between individual experience and collective understanding.

This conversation touches on themes that feel especially relevant in our current moment: how we support each other through difficult seasons, the importance of speaking openly about mental health struggles, and the way that honest art can become a form of connection and healing.

What We Talk About:

• The genesis of "Shine" and its message of hope for those struggling with mental health
• How music can serve as both personal processing and public healing
• The responsibility of creating art that addresses difficult topics
• Building community through vulnerable storytelling
• The role of music in mental health awareness and support
• Finding hope without minimizing struggle
• The power of saying "you're not alone" through song

Resources:

• Listen to Perfect Cadence's music HERE
• Support the show: Not Today Media

A Note from J.D.: This conversation with Perfect Cadence reminded me why music matters so much in conversations about mental health. There's something about melody and rhythm that can carry truths our regular speaking voices might struggle to hold. Their willingness to address depression and isolation head-on, while still offering genuine hope, feels both brave and necessary.

If you're in a season where "just staying" feels like the best you can do, I hope this episode offers you both permission to be where you are and gentle encouragement for the journey ahead. The light returns, but it's okay if you can't see it yet.

Come Back To Earth exists to create space for these kinds of honest conversations about the intersection of creativity and mental health. If these stories resonate with you, consider supporting the show.

You matter. Your story matters. Keep going.

Theme music by: Lincoln Parish