It’s that time of year. Yep, it’s officially “Neither Here Nor There.”

That time of year when it’s just sad if you still have your Halloween decorations up, and those Thanksgiving leftovers are getting dangerously old, and… it’s just way too early to open your Christmas / Hanukkah / Kwanzaa presents. You never had an expression for this time of year before, huh? You’re welcome.

Mark my words, one of you guys is gonna slip this email to Hallmark, and this time next year your mailbox is gonna be filled with grey and beige “Happy Neither Here Nor There” greeting cards, filled with messages like “Have a great Happy Neither Here Nor There, or not… whatever” or “Seriously, you haven’t taken that skeleton off the front lawn yet?” and “You know that Christmas tree you just bought is gonna be dead way before the 25th.”

Then the airline industry’s gonna get in on it, jack up their prices, and… so… just think twice before giving this idea to your pal at Hallmark.

And where is all this going you ask? It’s all about “relatability.”

Don’t like to read? Victoria reads this email to you!

Ever wonder why you like characters on TV, or in a book, way more than you like most “real” people? It’s because they’re “designed” to be relatable. Fictional people have all the annoying personality traits and character flaws that your “real” friends have, but after 45 minutes you can hit a button, or close a cover and… you don’t have to invite them to stay for dinner.

Let’s face it. AliƧin is an annoying little rockstar, but she’s also cool and doesn’t take any crap from anybody. TINK doesn’t take any crap from anyone… ever. And HOOK? HOOK owns his meanness. There’s a lot to be said for just being mean. That’s why we always love the mean characters the most. They just stay in their lane and don’t confuse you with compliments, or trying to say anything nice.

Maybe that’s just me.

Anyway… that’s neither here nor there. The point is, our albums for AliƧin, TINK and Fate Still Rests, and our completely wacky live shows that go with them, are filled with wonderfully relatable characters. Especially the mean ones.

And… they don’t know they’re fictional, and they don’t want to stay for dinner. The actors that *play* the characters will want to come for dinner, but we try and keep that to a minimum.

Relatable right? And absolutely neither here nor there… just like this song from AliƧin called The Best Butter. What kind of title is that for a song anyway? What was I thinking? How is this ever gonna be the song for some newly married couples’ first dance with a name like The Best Butter?

Have a listen. It’s relatable and neither here nor there.

That’s it. I’m not gonna get all mushy.

See ya ~ Kevin

p.s. The website is relatable. The socials are totally neither here nor there.