So, here we are in 2022 and I’m re-launching my blog!

Wait, what? “Re-launch?”

Yeah . . . so, I did have this blog almost a decade ago, but I let it lag after I got married and became super busy, and I just kind of lost my spark to both make music and shout my thoughts at the world. But lately, I’ve felt more passion to do both things, so here I am (again)!

I took down all of my old posts, so this really is just a fresh take and a clean slate. A lot has changed about me in the last 8 years, and I wanted to start again without having to try and figure out how much of what I wrote before still represents me and what I’d like to change or clean up. I may re-work some of those old posts and bring them back, as some of them represent a lot of effort!

One of my focuses here will be sharing my music, and to that end, please check out the Music page where you can play and download a ton of songs I’ve written and recorded (previously under the band name “Steady On”, but I HOPE to be releasing some new stuff under my own name). All of these songs are free to download and use, so enjoy!  I wrote them to connect with people, and nothing makes me happier than knowing they’ve done that.

Anyway, a brief (too late!) word about who I am, though I’ll certainly be sharing more in the near future: my name is Jeff Sylvester. I live in Georgia with my wife and our 4 children. I write software by trade (which I love, but will NOT be blogging about; that’s a completely different kind of blog), but enjoying gaming and writing music by night (or weekends, or whenever, but you get the idea!).

I am also a Christian, though much distressed with how Christianity has been visibly lived out in the United States. I no longer consider myself an “Evangelical”, but I absolutely believe that faith in Jesus is the most important thing in my life, and that He is still the greatest and only hope for this world.

Musically, I’ve always enjoyed writing and performing music. I started out as a theory/composition major in college, though ended up switching to computer programming for my day job. I had a band in college named “Legacy” (later “Jacob’s Well”), and even recorded a small album (no, none of those songs are available here!).

I got married right after college, and then a few years later I started a new band, “Steady On”, with my wife in San Antonio, TX. We recorded a lot of the music that is now on this site. That band lasted a few years, but had to break up when a work move took me to Georgia.

In Georgia, I went through a difficult divorce that inspired me to both learn and encourage others about abusive marriages, as well as record a new album under the name “Steady On” which I used to process a lot of the emotions that came from my divorce as well as how my church reacted to it.

I got remarried, and with the hustle and bustle of a big new family, both blogging and writing/performing music took a back seat. Also, my faith underwent changes as I began to see more clearly some falsehoods I’d lived with for most of my life. Faith has always been a huge part of my inspiration to write and sing, so I needed some time to simmer before I returned to writing about it. Thankfully, my core beliefs haven’t change, so my older songs still hold up and align with my current thinking, though perhaps some of the topics don’t carry the same weight with me as they once did (no surprise that a song I wrote in college about feeling so eager to get out and DO STUFF doesn’t land the same way now that I’m a computer programmer working at a bank with a family of 6!)

Anyhow, with the present polarization, anger, and hatred in our country, as well as the state of the church and so many Christians feeling hurt and broken (and yet some finding amazing strength), I am inspired to write again. I’ve been recording demos at home and writing some new songs (as well as bringing back a song I wrote for my wife when we were dating- to date my only “non-religious” song; I can’t WAIT to record it).

I am starting a new journey, both blogging and writing music, and I’m not entirely sure how long it will last or where it will lead, but I am convinced that we heal this broken world through connection, and this is the way (written word and music) God has given me to connect with others. Hope you can come along with me and see where this goes!