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