Features their original songs, Good Times! and Breakfast at the End of the World, in relation to the topic.

Like this show? Please give us a 5 star rating on Apple and leave a review– even one sentence helps! Post a screenshot of you listening on Instagram & tag us so we can thank you personally!

Listen to Season 1’s songs on Bandcamp, Katie on Bandcamp and Karen’s music on Spotify, Apple Music or buy directly at www.karenjoybrown.com.

• 14:37- Katie’s song, Good Times!

• 31.24- Karen’s song, Breakfast at the End of the World

Episode Resources:

• JOURNAL PROMPT: Where can you find some comfort and solace in your “end of the world”?

*Visit us at supernovasupport.com and subscribe to the Supernova Support Substack for our special blog, podcast extras and more!

*Follow us on Instagram and Facebook

IN THE NORTH BAY/SAN FRANCISCO AREA?

Join Katie and Karen at Brew in Santa Rosa for the Not So Open Mic for women performers (and yeah, that means, all women, and femme trans and nonbinary folks who feel comfy being in “women’s spaces”) of original music and covers from 1:30-3:30pm on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month. We want to gather women who have put their creativity on the back burner as well as those who are currently playing out in any capacity, because we believe that songs have the power to transform us regardless of “professional” or “amateur” status.

ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD….

Every Tuesday from 7-8:30 PT, gather with women songwriters around the country and world for Song Salons, an opportunity to share a completed or in-progress song, live or recorded, with curious, enthusiastic colleagues ready to highlight and amplify what’s powerful in your writing and music. Hone songwriting craft skills, get inspired by others, and reconnect with the unique magic you bring through your songs. Meet your long-lost songwriting sisters and get ready to laugh, cry, and keep coming back!

Let Supernova support your songwriting practice with our weekly Songwriting Hour, every Thursday, 9-10am PT. Everyone can write songs! You don’t need to be an experienced singer or even play an instrument. We provide a prompt and resource kit with everything you need to start putting a song together. All you need is a willingness to show up and experiment. New and experienced writers welcome. Open to everyone!

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On Bandcamp Friday all proceeds go directly to artists!

LISTEN & BUY Songs For The Living HERE

When we launched Supernova Support in October of 2024, Karen and I were grieving. Both of our dads had recently kicked the bucket, with Karen’s dad, Joe Ketner in August of 2021, and my dad, Mike Phillips in May of 2022. We were both deep into processing not only their literal absence in the world, but also the intermittent physical and emotional absences they had individually perfected in each of our respective relationships with them. They were both head-strong, addict/alcoholics with a deep affinity for Marty Robbins and avoidant attachment styles. Joe was a Chief Warrant Officer in the Marines and prolific undercover poet, and Mike was commercial painter and Country-Western musician/singer-songwriter who could melt the hardest of hearts with his golden voice and mischievous smile.

Our first season of the Supernova Support Podcast was themed around the concept of Creative Recovery, and the ways in which our emotional and mental health are woven throughout our experiences of family addiction and dysfunction, and how this informs our approach to the craft of songwriting and the creative process as a whole. This was our maiden voyage into producing and engineering the format of our podcast, which features live in studio recordings of our original songs tailored to fit the topic of each episode. You can find the collection songs featured in Season 1: Recovering our Creativity HERE.

For Season two we made the bold choice to face our grief head-on by roughly correlating each episode to a “stage” of the Kubler-Ross model of grieving. We were inspired to tackle this topic not only because of the acute loss of our fathers, but also because of all the shit these deaths had stirred up around other less socially recognized and accepted forms of grief. From the mourning the loss of meaningful friendships to the implosions creative projects, divorce, the sacrifices of motherhood, we challenged ourselves to allow the reality of what it means to be grieving in a culture essentially allergic to grief to flow through us by way of tears, laughter, and of course songs.

Songs For The Living was recorded at Supernova Studios (aka, Karen’s spare bedroom) in Sebastopol, CA, over the summer of 2025. All songs were recorded live, with no corrections or overdubs.

BIG thank you to our families, friends, fans, and Supernova Support participants for all the love and SUPPORT you have given us over these past two years as we continue to build this project.

This collection of songs is lovingly dedicated to our dear dead dads, Joesph Ketner and Michael Phillips.

xoxo

Katie & Karen

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September is a revolutionary month.

A dubious benefit from being a former high school Spanish teacher is knowing that eight Latin American countries launched their independence in the ninth month. What makes it the perfect time to make a change?

October 2026 Cohort

For real change to happen, we have to connect with the reality of endings. As summer lets go of its fiery grip, we’re reminded that nothing lasts forever, and we get a burst of motivation to take action for what we believe in.

We believe in the power of songwriting to change our lives and the world around us.

Like any revolution, creative or otherwise, commitment is necessary. When we schedule time to develop our craft we attend to both our musical and emotional health. Our tenacity, resiliency, and courage to live and write from an honest and well-constructed point of view that is uniquely ours. That’s where exceptional songs come from.

But the truth is, we’re busy people with intense lives- taking care of children, pets, aging parents, and sick partners. We’re working our jobs, trying to exercise to maintain our bodies while doing everything we can to fight the tidal wave of injustice threatening to sweep us all away.

So how can we choose to focus on our love of songwriting in the midst of the turmoil?Really, the question is how can we NOT?

When the reality of what’s at stake in our personal lives and in the world looms heavy we’re reminded of what really matters and what’s worth our time. Creating music and songs that witness and celebrate the real challenges and beauty of life will always be worth it. In fact, it’s what keeps us ALL going- both the creators and the listeners.

There’s still time to sign up for our October Cohort that takes care of all the planning and concern about how to attend to our craft in center of life’s whirlwind.

• Built-in time to write new songs once a week in real time or catch the video session repeat when you have time.

• Weekly Song Salon mini-seminars to focus on songwriting craft secrets and bring new or old work into the hot seat for positive feedback.

• Two 1:1 coaching sessions for personal attention to whatever you’re working on whether it’s an EP, album, your first song, or completing half-finished gems.

You’ll end October with new songs, clarity and confidence in your unique songwriting strengths, and a renewed connection with a supportive creative community.

Get the specifics on this revolutionary event here.

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Resource links:

1. Song/lead sheet template (make a copy and retitle to save in your drive)

2. Songwriting R…

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But first… Supernova Opportunities!

In the Bay Area? THREE great options—

1. As the founders of Supernova Support, Katie and I get to walk the walk and participate in the same growth and challenges we invite songwriter participants to partake in. Come see us perform THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH @THE BIG EASY in Petaluma. We play old and new songs written during our very own Thursday Songwriting Hour sessions.

2. NOT SO OPEN MIC IS BACK! We’re kicking off our reboot after our beloved Coffee & Moore closed its doors at a special event during Santa Rosa’s Railroad Square Music Festival. Come listen to all the great bands and solo acts including some Supernova Support participants and then stop by Mayacamas Home store to listen OR perform a couple of songs! Click here to sign up.

3. Songs for Creative Revolution, Sunday, October 11th, 5-7pm- We’re excited to bring another version of our special songwriter-in-the-round show back to Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Come for the songs, but stay for the inspiration that comes from the behind-the-scenes details behind the songs that will point you toward your own creative revolution!

And now for our feature presentation….

There’s something compelling about the subtle changes of fall. Summer’s welcome, but sometimes oppressive heat shifts and we get ready for something different. When you’ve been caught in a negative loop of avoidance or frustration, it’s just the right help from a power greater than ourselves to make a change.

If you’ve got an EP or album in progress, a pile of half-finished songs, or none at all, we’ve got the perfect way to catch the momentum you haven’t been able to access alone. We’re launching an October Songwriting Cohort that combines just the right mix of group song crafting classes with 1:1 support— with online and in-person options to fit your schedule. Let us tell you all about it!

There’s no way to explain the magic of creating in a group of talented, supportive songwriters- both new and veteran except by experiencing it. We’ve seen and personally experienced the exponential growth in songwriting, singing, and peace of mind that comes when we dedicate a concentrated time period to our art. Click here for more details including the schedule.

See you soon!

-Karen & Katie

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INSPIRATION: Stick with it. “When it is difficult, what keeps me going is the possibility of joy.” -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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Resource links:

1. Song/lead sheet template (make a copy and retitl…

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La ropa sucia se lava en casa. Don’t air your dirty laundry in public….

As a former Spanish language teacher, the similarity of idiomatic expressions in different cultures fascinates me. While the exact metaphor varies slightly, the core social programming remains intact. Seeing how certain expectations persist across borderlines reveals how hard it is to challenge them.

The old “don’t air your dirty laundry in public” proverb hangs on for dear life even in the era of therapists for every man, woman, and child. There’s a musty odor of shame that clings to the troubles that haunt all of us behind closed doors of family life, boardrooms, and romantic relationships. Somehow the one speaking out against their unjust situation is to blame for problems whose origins reach back to the dawn of time.

That’s why songs are such a powerful way of rewriting a new code of social behavior. A compelling story riding on the wings of a killer melody with mesmerizing rhythm and instrumentation cuts through the brainwashing of the ages to deposit a new perspective directly into the heart and mind. The dividing veil of shame disintegrates into a glow of connection and compassion thanks to the miracle of song.

In a couple days, Katie Phillips and me, Karen Joy Brown along with Little Door get to play a show at the Lost Church in Santa Rosa, CA (tickets here for the Friday, August 7th show!) with the express purpose of smashing the “dirty laundry” doctrine. We’ll do a round of three songs each before and after a short intermission that say the words that squeeze the back of all of our throats, but rarely make it out to the light of day. With humor, craft, lullabies, and bangers, we’ll take the audience on a ride to a new social compact where dirty laundry is recognized as something piling up in all our closets that could really benefit from some fresh air.

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