Letter from a spank bank sweetie

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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We recently received this missive from Stephanie. Yes, that Stephanie. Stephanie of Stephanie’s Id. Stephanie, who rocks and rocks harder than Jenny on the Block and was a hollaback girl before we even knew what that was.

Anyhoo, Stephanie came across one of our posts from last summer, when we were lamenting an apparent change in the direction of her tuneage. We may have been a little harsh. (Who, us, you say? Harsh? Naw…) Stephanie, we lurve and support you. We understand your process, sweet, and you can get creative on us whenever the hell you like. We need dets on Idfest and the new album, Steph. But we think you rock – so don’t forget it!

hi ash and ashvegas,

though you posted this months ago, i’m just reading for the first time and wanted to respond.

thanks for caring enough to write about us, and for being worried that i’m headed in the wrong direction.

but please understand that my process is my process. those songs mean a lot to me.

my writing is a solitary endeavor (the ocean of opinions about the songs notwithstanding) while playing music live involves lots of other people. this is what i do all the time (not as a hobby); live music circumstances are forever changing, and i’m managing the logistics as best i can, and luckily i have some help now, which is a godsend. meanwhile, the songwriting and arranging is a whole other process, and i believe in it with every ounce of me.

maybe there’ll come a day when your taste and my process are aligned again. until then, we still play a lot of the older material too; and when i see you at a show (idfest perhaps?), i hope to be sufficiently rested and creative due to the valiant efforts of street teamers who have spread the word about the performance so i didn’t have to work so hard.

chuck and i did get married. thanks for the congrats. the wedding was a most memorable and moving experience.

sincerely,
your spank bank sweetie (i’ll tell you how i keep my pipes in shape if you tell me what that means),
stephanie (of stephanie’s id)</blockquote