Read the latest Letter to YVYNYL from VALES:

This isn’t the first time Asa Horvitz wrote to me. About two years ago, he sent me a heart-felt letter about the tough times he was going through. But then things got worst for him, and in search of healing he left his band, spent time at the coast and did a lot of soul searching. Making new music helped him (and time in wild places) put the perspective he needed to get better.

Dear Mark,

…Every day I’d take my old Toyota pickup truck and drive up this canyon, where I’d park, and walk along a tributary of one of the rivers. Dominic had worked on these rivers, counting salmon populations and monitoring water quality, and everywhere I went I felt traces of him — he seemed to be everywhere and missing from everywhere all at once — such a strange feeling! Sometimes I’d walk all day, just letting my feet carry me. I cried a lot. And there was a strange tunnel vision effect… I could only feel out a few days ahead of time, or even a few hours, a few moments… everything was close and dark…

(read more on Medium)