​This is the third release in a series of mixtapes I am making to help different people who are in need right now. Tapes will be available for only 1 month and at the end of that period of time, all the money made from those sales will go to the person in need. This time all the money is going to Nehei Sage

If you are involved in the queer/underground/rave/dance scene, you have probably met Nehei. She's a beautiful and incredibly supportive part of the community/scene in Phoenix. She is Hinono'eino (Northern Arapaho) / Trans / 2 Spirit and is about to be kicked out of her home at the end of the month, so she really needs funds to secure new housing before then.

If you want to donate directly to her, you can Venmo: m1qua or Cashapp: $miquahjamezart

This mixtape was organized/created with my best friend Emily. It features music from artists we have interviewed on the first 2 seasons of The Best Friends Podcast + artists we really want to interview on our podcast + artists/songs that just mean a lot to our friendship of over 20 years. The artwork/layout was designed and cut+pasted by me (Ryan Avery) and the liner notes were written by Emily.

22 Tracks in total in 62 minutes. This Benefit Mix Tape is going to be done a little differently though because I was only able to make a certain amount and half of those are spoken for already. So If we sell out before then, I can make more but they will not be the cool cut+past two color j-card version. We will see if we even need to go that far.

PS: All Mixtape will come with a giant "Best Friends Podcast" sticker and a thank you card/photo of us.

I'm gonna speak candidly for a bit in this newsletter (ha! as if I am ever not writing every newsletter like a personal letter to a friend or some shit... ANYWAY!)

I hate holidays... all of them, even my birthday most years. BUT some people who are close stressed to me recently that I should take holidays more seriously and as a "business" I could/should use this holiday season to try and boost sales or something. So this newsletter is going to be all about my Related Records holiday gift suggestions.

And the reason this email is going out when it is, is because if you want to ensure you get something before "the holiday" you need to place your order before I go to the post office next on December 5th. 

I've done this before and people seem to enjoy it! So for the rest of the year 2021 I am offering these 3 different sales, which is a fantastic way to find out about new music or introduce someone else to some cool new music. OR maybe you have a loved one who just got a record, cassette and/or CD player and you want to give them a cool boost for their brand new collection!
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Or maybe you have that one super weird friend that has an 8-track player and you want to surprise them with a new (as in made in 2015) 8-track! Check out this hidden/under rated gem. VARIOUS ARTISTS "Dick" 8-TRACK

I feel like the distro​ page is overlooked a lot and there is a ton of great stuff in there.
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Maybe there is only 1-2 artists on Related Records that you like, when was the last time you checked out their artist page to see if maybe I have added something related to them for sale? The artists that have the most items to choose from are

Did you know that there is a "Send as a Gift" feature on bandcamp? Well there is, and it's great! i've used it a handful of times to send friends a single or an album that I think they would like and tomorrow (12/03/2021) is the last Bandcamp Friday of the year and possibly ever. on Bandcamp Friday, bandcamp waves all of their fees and gives 100% of the money to the artists. It rules, and it has really helped a lot of artists get through the last 2 years because so many governments all over the world have done such a shit job of taking care of their citizens during the pandemic (Which is still a thing by the way, what the fuck?!) Anyway, I pay out the artists on Related Records twice a year for digital sales and the next time I pay everyone is coming up later this month, so if you already own something digitally, this is a great way to support your favorite artists and get them some money this month. ​

Anyway, here is what people are listening to on the RR bandcamp

My best friend Emily and I have been working on a secret project for the past few months and it’s finally a reality! @thebestfriends.podcast is here! Please go follow and listen. The first episode is up now and new episodes are coming out every 1st and 3rd Friday.

For those of you that do not know, Emily and I have been making art/performing together for almost 20 years now. She was a part of the foundation for many of the bands/projects I am known for like Fathers Day, Locking Your Car Doors, The Good Shows…etc since 2005 we have had this on again/off again performance art project called “The Best Friends” and this podcast is an extension of that. We are interviewing people we admire about everything but more specifically how their relationships effect the art they make and the lives they live.

Podcast is currently available on SoundCloud and Bandcamp but will soon be available everywhere else people listen to podcasts.