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© Jeremy Houtsma
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Tune in to hear how music can be both a mirror and a medicine — helping us feel less alone, rediscover what moves us, and learn to use sound as a coping skill.Welcome to a space where music and mental health meet. Safe in Sound is a podcast with host Jeremy Houtsma, a licensed mental health counselor, that dives deep into the emotional stories behind the songs that shaped a generation — exploring how artists, therapists, and record label owners navigate mental health in the music industry.
Each episode blends raw conversation and reflection, connecting the nostalgia of 2000s emo music with real, modern-day mental health experiences. Whether you’re a longtime fan of bands like Minus the Bear, Further Seems Forever, or Taking Back Sunday, or simply someone who finds healing through music, you’ll find honesty, connection, and hope here.
Tune in to hear how music can be both a mirror and a medicine — helping us feel less alone, rediscover what moves us, and learn to use sound as a coping skill.
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Rachael Dietkus is a social worker, designer, and founder of Social Workers Who Design, an organization that helps and teaches designers to create from a trauma-informed lens. Rachael was also a part of the late 90's and early 2000's Midwest emo scene, as part of the skate scene and playing violin in the band Very Secretary with Braid's first drummer, Roy Ewing. Listen as we talk about Rachael's time in the band and her career as a social worker, designer and how she melded the two into something special.
In this episode, I'm joined by Dan Didier, drummer for the legendary Midwest emo band The Promise Ring. Dan sits down with us for a conversation that’s equal parts funny and refreshingly honest as we dive into drumming, recording, and the creative process behind the kit.
We also get into something deeper — how playing drums became an outlet for managing anxiety and stress, and the role music can play in mental health. Dan opens up about his experiences with vulnerability, creativity, and finding balance both on and off stage, including his work with Maritime.
It’s a conversation full of laughs, real talk, and plenty of insight for musicians, fans, and anyone who’s ever used music to cope.
Ben Jorgensen is the lead singer and guitar player for Armor For Sleep. Ben and I chronicle his journey through his younger years as he was awakened to the NJ punk scene, his journey in vulnerability in songwriting and overcoming failure.
In this episode of Safe In Sound, I’m joined by Andy Squyres for a real, honest conversation about faith, identity, and what happens when the Christian story you were handed starts to fall apart.
We talk about disrupting the Christian narrative, stepping outside of the “safe” version of belief, and what it means to enter the uncomfortable space—the darkness—without rushing to fix it, explain it away, or slap hope on top of it too soon.
This is an episode for anyone who’s felt trapped inside religion, confused by deconstruction, or exhausted by toxic positivity. If you’ve ever wondered “What if I don’t believe the way I used to?” or “Who am I without this framework?”—you’re not alone.
Andy brings insight, humor, and depth as we explore what it looks like to rebuild meaning from the ground up, and how stepping into the unknown can sometimes be the most honest form of faith there is.
🎧 Press play for a conversation that’s raw, thoughtful, and deeply human.
Knox Burnett is a friend and colleague practicing trauma therapy out of Seattle, Washington. In this episode, Knox and I talk about how music and therapy correlate to provide healing in one's own life.
Greg Swinehart, the former drummer of the band the Pale Pacific, has performed with Fair and Rose Blossom Punch. In this episode, we explore Greg's life and music career as well as his journey into finding out what helping people really means.
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Bob Nanna is the lead singer and guitarist behind Braid, Hey Mercedes and the City on Film. In this episode, Bob discusses his childhood in Chicago, his adoption, the search for his birth parents, and how music served as an outlet for his emotions and his journey to therapy.
It is hard to sum up the work of Chad Johnson in a snippet. Chad had an enormous impact on the post-hardcore and emo scene in the early 2000's and therefore the scene even to this day. Band like Underoath, Hopesfall, Further Seems Forever all got their start on either Chad Johnson's Takehold Records or put out songs on splits or compilations under Chad. Chad also did A&R for Tooth and Nail in the early 2000's, helping bands on the label excele. Chad is also the man behind the inception and continuance of Furnace Fest in Birmingham ,Alabama which has created both one of the scenes most iconic festivals and communities.
Chad is known by most musicians and people as one of the most positive people you will ever meet, but this year was a year that almost broke Chad.
Listen as we talk about Chad's story and his struggle with his own mental health in this episode.
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Stacy Hilt is a founding member and bass player for the bands Coalesce and The Casket Lottery, both of which have had a remarkable impact on the music scene.
In this episode, we go over a myriad of topics about his life. We explore his introduction to music and his ventures into Krishna Core, how growing up in a lower socio-economic status affected his life and mental health, his time with the Casket Lottery for over 2 decades, and how it felt to decide to leave the band.
Most importantly, we talk about Stacy's own struggles with his mental health and being diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder later on in life. Stacy provides a candid look at how music has both been therapy and, at times, a hindrance to his own mental health.
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Join us for an exclusive conversation with Jake Snider, founding member, guitarist, and lead singer of Seattle’s iconic indie rock band Minus the Bear. With their groundbreaking sophomore album Menos el Oso turning 20 years old, the band is celebrating with a long-awaited comeback tour.
In this episode, Jake opens up about the legacy of Minus the Bear, their influence on the emo and math rock scenes, and the evolution of their sound over the past two decades. We also dive into his passion for guitar gear, songwriting, and his personal journey toward better mental health.
Whether you were blasting Menos el Oso in your college years or you’re just discovering Minus the Bear now, this episode is a nostalgic yet fresh listen for elder millennials and fans of the indie/emo revival.
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25 Years ago False Cathedrals by Elliott was released into the world. A blend of electronic sampling, swelling, and atmospheric guitar sounds mixed with haunting vocals made the album one of the most regarded and masterful albums of the scene. My guest today is Chris Higdon, the lead singer of the bands Falling Forward, Elliott, and Mirrorless.
In this interview, we start with Chris's background, growing up in Kentucky, and follow his musical journey through his early interest in the Louisville hardcore scene to the start and end of Elliott. We also explore Chris's passion for the music industry, his views on religion and his current band Mirrorless.
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Brian Carley is the lead singer and guitarist for the band Penfold. Penfold started in 1995 in Livingston, NJ, as bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Mineral were making their impact on the scene. Playing shows on weekends while attending college during the day, Penfold's work ethos was unmatched. They were a mainstay in the NJ DIY scene that led to bands like Saves The Day, Thursday, My Chemical Romance and Armor for Sleep receiving commercial success. Penfold released a handful of EP's until their breakup in the early 2000's.
Listen as Jeremy and Brian talk about the formation of Penfold, it's influences, songwriting process and reunification for Best Friends Forever Festival in October.
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Damon Atkinson is a legendary drummer in the mid-west emo scene. Damon started playing for the influential band Braid in 1997 and would go on to help write and record Braid's most critically acclaimed albums in the scene, Frame and Canvas. After Braid's demise Atkinson went on to help form Hey Mercedes with two of the other founders of Braid.
Listen as we got through Damon's time in his youth, where he first discovered his love for the drums at 3 years old, to his 20's touring and writing music with Braid and Hey Mercedes as well as working as tour production office manager for Warped Tour. More importantly we talk about Damon's inspiring story of dealing with anxiety and alcoholism to his current sobriety.
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My guest is Chad Neptune of the legendary hxc band Strongarm and Further Seems Forever. Join us as we dive into the history of both bands as well as the ups and downs of being in two of the scene's most iconic bands. We discuss Chad's relationship with each of the singers on Further Seems Forever 4 albums and how each change brought its unique challenges.
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Jason Trabue has been a drummer for band like Hopesfall, The Casket Lottery and Vedera. He currently is the Tour and Production manager for Jimmy Eat World, Garbage and A Perfect Circle. His music career in the scene is vast. Listen as we talk about his music career with it's ups and downs.
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Joe Marro is the former guitarist and keyboard player for The Early November from 2002 to 2007 and again from 2011-2017. He also played in HelloGoodbye from 2011 to 2018. In this episode, we talk about the fuzzy timeline of The Early November's early formation and its ever-revolving door of musicians at first. Joe also talks about what it was like to be so young and on tour as well as the legal dispute The Early November had with the Getup kids over the song Baby Blue, their reformation and his current band management company.
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Join me as I talk all things Minus the Bear with bass player and founding member Cory Murchy. We talk about Cory's love of ska music, forming Minus the Bear, a painful back injury that threatened to sideline him and what he is doing now.
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Orion Walsh is a solo musician the lead singer of Slow Coming Day. With the bands album Farewell to Familiar turning over 20 years old recently and a string of reunion shows coming in April it only seemed appropriate to have Orion on the podcast. Orion and I talk about the band, his solo career,his journey through grief at the loss of his dad at 15 years old and his personal therapy journey now. This is a candid one so bit back and enjoy.
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Jeff Jenkins is a paranormal enthusiast, believer and also happens to be the lead singer of North Carolina Melodic Post-Hardcore indie outfit Codeseven. Jeff takes us on his journey of musical love from the womb, to the rise , demise and resurrection of his band Codeseven.
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Johnny Smrdel is the bass player for the gone-to-soon band Beloved, as well as the hardcore outfit Advent. Listen as Johnny takes us through his early love affair with music as a kid in a single parent household to his inclusion in the hardcore scene as a teenager. Johnny also talks about his introduction to Beloved, tim touring and the formation of Advent. Johnny's passion for music, his family and life is sure to captivate those who listen.
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