In short, me!
In long, well…
It’s been a long time coming. Anyone who knows me in person knows I balance my writing with my music, and up until recently, I’ve kept the two separate. My blogs, articles, etc. had all been published under the Jess J. Salisbury moniker, while anything music-related has been released as Jess Joyce. I’ve always maintained a certain degree of separation between the two. I assumed anyone who was interested in the crap I blog about wouldn’t care about my band.
Something struck me, though, as I was thinking of things to write about. Musician-me is such a huge part of my identity, and I’ve kind of been hiding it on here. It’s something I mention in passing at best. But here’s the thing — I’m trying to reach as many people with my music as I can. And I’m trying to reach as many people with my blog as I can. And right now, I have two very distinct audiences for the two without much overlap. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to just combine the Jess Joyce music brand and the Jess J. Salisbury writing brand into one cohesive online identity?
So that’s what I’m doing.
Why Jessa, though? A few reasons. It was my former stage name when I was touring with my old band, and while that stage of life left a sour taste in my mouth, I still feel very attached to the name and want to redeem it in some way. I’ve always pictured Jessa as this badass rock star version of myself, the same way Yami Yugi is looks like a more badass version of Yugi. (Were y’all expecting a Yu-Gi-Oh reference here?) She’s what would happen if I became possessed by the spirit of an ancient pharaoh.
I thought about switching everything over to “Jess Joyce,” since that tends to be the name I use most publicly, and because “Salisbury” is the name I wanted to reserve for more academic pursuits, like when I start publishing research. I don’t want colleagues and students to go searching for studies I’ve conducted on music and autism or queer music therapy, only to instead be greeted by my inane ramblings about whatever it is I blog about on here.
The problem with that, however, is that there is already a Jess Joyce online, and she’s a search engine optimisation expert. I can’t make this up. Basically, barring my music and writing becoming Taylor Swift levels of popular, the Jess Joyce that is me would likely never, ever be the first thing to pop up when you Google me. And if you want to make it as figure in the entertainment business, you have to at least be Googleable. So I adopted my former stage name as a pseudonym for my internet presence.
What does this mean for the blog? Aside from the name change, not a lot. Now that I’m integrating my music into my writing and my writing into my music, expect to see a few more music-related posts on here. I’d love to be more open and transparent about the music business and what being in a band is really like. But I’m not going to stop posting about philosophy, mental health, and wellness. It’s all part of what makes me, well, me.
I know I’ve rebranded several times throughout the years (thanks, ADHD), but I have a feeling this change will stick. I needed a fresh start in both writing and music without entirely erasing everything I’ve done so far. With me turning 30 in less than a week, this feels like the perfect time to adopt a new persona of sorts, although still one that’s unequivocally myself. One of my favorite daily affirmations is “Imagine the best possible version of yourself — then start showing up as her.” That version of myself is Jessa, and in this new stage of life, I want to embrace that side of me.
If you still call me Jess, that’s fine! I won’t be offended. In fact, if you already know me in person, it would be weird if I started having you call me by a different name. Like in 7th grade when I tried to get everyone to start calling me Sophitia like the Soul Calibur character, and only my dad went along with it until my mom made him stop.
Jessa and Jess aren’t different people, and I’m comfortable with people calling me whatever they feel most comfortable calling me. I just wanted a cohesive online presence, and consolidating my music and writing identities into a new identity felt overwhelmingly right. So, welcome to the new jessajoyce.com and a fresh chapter of my story. I’m glad you’re along for the ride.
JESSA JOYCE 