mad-Life: CATHARSIS

Enter the companion piece, MAD-Life: Catharsis, the film that strives to answer that question. We’re barely three months into 2026, and I think it’s a bit too early to tell if I’m still in crisis mode (I don’t think these things have a set timeline, folks), but I definitely know live music is my pathway to a catharsis.

That is the journey I am on this year and if I ever needed some sort of sign from the universe that I chose the right path to get there, I got it. When you’re drenched in sweat, slamming around in the pit in São Paulo, Brazil, while My Chemical Romance plays “Thank You for the Venom”, and at the end of that song, Gerard Way says performing that song just now was “cathartic”, you bet your sweet ass your girl is right where she is supposed to be.

But I don’t think I’m the only one in need of a sort of “catharsis”, the live, independent music scene has been hit hard over the past few years, and the struggle continues. Iconic venues that catapulted unknowns into superstars are shuttering their doors, some of which I’ve never had the pleasure of patronizing. Yet another tragedy.

So while I’m working on healing myself, it only feels right that I give back to the bands and places that have helped me heal, not just now, but throughout my whole life. Will I reach true “catharsis”? I think I have a decent shot (ha, pun not intended) because I’ll have my dad by my side. How so? Part of 2025 was spent uncovering “artifacts” of my dad’s past, present, and now my future. On the road with me this year is his Polaroid camera, 8mm film camera, Sony Hi8 video camera, and a few of my own more “modern” cameras. While exploring my identity as a creative person in this world, I’ve come to realize how much it’s been shaped by my father, and I can see no better way than to embark on this journey from crisis to catharsis than by looking through the very lenses of my father’s cameras.