Saad: Saad Sheikh (he/him) is a singer-songwriter, theatre maker, and performer from Toronto, Canada. He is currently working on theatre projects that combine his songwriting with narrative storytelling. This November, Saad is songwriting for The Force of Habit, an original musical adaptation at McMaster University. Stay tuned for Saad’s independently released music, which will be on streaming platforms in early 2023. His insta link is: https://instagram.com/saadsheikhx Jesse: Life can be bittersweet. Jesse’s music captures that elusive state somewhere between defeat and resolve, misery and joy. After experiencing disparate moments of bliss and devastation, Jesse reached back into her childhood diary of songs, yanked them from their resting place, and revisited each from a more mature perspective. Now 23, Jesse has well over thirty songs waiting to be produced. After writing her LSATs, Jesse slammed on the breaks, turned toward the beckoning vines, the darkened forest, the moss-covered knot holes where the sun glimmers then retreats teasingly saying, come now. Where is your sense of adventure, courage, commitment to your own life? She looked to her 7 year old self who said, “Go for it you fool” and so she brings you the fool, the lover, impulsive child, wise adult, injured bird, the embittered witch, the princess, the rabbit, and the rabbit hole where you might just find a deck of cards, some tea, and further down the path… Jesse at the piano. Her newest single, Then I Do, is about the crazy things we do when we love someone we shouldn’t. It begs the questions: how far will you go for the slimmest hope? How much will you sacrifice for an unlikely chance at happiness? And how long will you wait. Her insta: https://www.instagram.com/jesse_francesca/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/therealpaulshow/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/therealpaulshow/support