Join William tomorrow at 12p ET/9a PT (5p London time, 6p Berlin time) for a special 15 minute live stream performance immediately followed by the premiere of “The Astronaut’s Journey”*** all on YouTube! Set a reminder to watch the live stream and premiere at the link in the bio

***“The Astronaut’s Journey” is a fully animated visual-musical story of the “Ready the Astronaut” album, as depicted by director/animator Zach Bell and William Fitzsimmons. It tells the story of the Astronaut (William) as he rises and falls through various beginning and ending points of his life; reaching heights near the sun at times, and, at others, falling into the ocean of grief and despair, only to attempt to rise again. Eternal thanks to Zach Bell for his genius vision, talent, and execution in putting this story into visual form. We hope you’ll enjoy taking this journey with us. ...

“The first moment of the “Ready the Astronaut” record happened while I was living at a farmhouse in Tennessee, separated from my second wife and on the road to yet another divorce, feeling more lost and alone than I ever had been before. In the midst of finding a divorce attorney, trying to come to grips with shared custody, and honestly trying to find any reason to not just want to check out on the whole world, I did the thing that I’ve always done when I don’t know what to do. I started playing music. It sounds cheesy as shit. But it’s the truth. I vamped on a simple chord progression. I wasn’t trying to write. I was trying to escape. And the first words that came out were “ready the astronaut.” It wasn’t meant to be poetic or profound, all I wanted to do was escape. To not be where and who I was. At that moment all I wanted to do was to don a space suit, wave goodbye, and head off into outer space, with the thought of never returning. The following two years weren’t easy. I had to start life over. I’d like to say that I dusted myself off and nailed it. But I didn’t. I had good moments; moments of joy and clarity and direction. But I had just as many moments of falling down gloriously; hurting and being hurt, slamming my head against the same brick walls I had so many times before. I like to think of this record as a chronicle of those two years. Of being so beaten down I didn’t think I could get up again. Of wanting to give up but of hearing my daughters call my name and having one damn good reason to keep trying. This isn’t a divorce record. Heaven knows I’ve done enough of that shit. It’s a record about failing over and over and having no clue what to do. But doing something anyways. My only hope for this album is that you find something in it you need to hear. Hope, commiseration, joy, or maybe just the feeling of knowing you’re not alone. I will always be grateful for your amazing support.

P.S. I have too many people to thank in one post. But eternal gratitude to Rishon Blumberg, Mike Meadows, John Baldwin, Abby Gundersen, Rosie Thomas, and most of all, my producer, Adam Landry.”

“Ready the Astronaut” is out now! Stream/download at the link in the bio ...