Hello, and welcome to  Overcoming Depression Through Music , a  Hustle and Grind dot page post  that explores how music can affect positive change in our lives and mental health.  This  post  is divided into  3 parts :  Part 1  covers the personal and professional background on the author of this post  Ben Ruppel . We’ll cover Ben’s  struggle with schizoaffective disorder  and, ultimately, how he  overcame the highs and lows  of manic depression and  fought the delusions of psychosis  to find  inner peace and strength through music . Part 2  covers how we can  use Ben’s story in our own lives  to help us  gain control of our thoughts and feelings . By doing so, we will  gain insight into what we can control and what we cannot . We will also discuss how we can benefit from the  shared experience music provides . In  Part 3 , we will go over  techniques to help limi...

Big changes have come to Hustle and Grind shop! I have changed the shop host from Ecwid to Sellfy in order to offer a more streamlined shopping experience. The tees are now printed and shipped by Sellfy. They are also slightly different tee shirts. While still printed on Gildan shirts, the new shirts are Gildan Unisex Basic Softstyle 64000 tees. In case you’re wondering, the photos in the prior modeling posts are the old style of shirts. The prints are designed the exact same, but the shirts are slightly different.  In addition, we got all fancy with a fresh take on spokesperson videos! I also added captions using Veed.io app to the video. Be sure to check it out. Not much else is new here, but hey, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all for visiting and encourage you to share your thoughts in the comments. Let me know what you’d like to see more of here. Until next time, stay shiny.✨ 

  We did a photo shoot at the park again. I photographed the model pictured wearing a variety of different outfits that are available at the shop here . This time, we photographed different colors and designs. The tee shirts came out well. There are a lot of different colors and styles available in the shop. These are just some of the styles available. The shirts are unisex; Anybody can wear them. They are available in sizes Small through 3xl. You can see more info in the shop or reach out at bensprint87@gmail.com to ask any questions you have and learn more. Thanks for your support!

We did a photo shoot at the park to take pictures of some of the shirts that are available on the shop page. There are a lot of different colors available for the shirts but these are just some of them. The shirts are pretty neat in person. Check out the shop  to order a tee shirt today!

Walk into any bedroom studio today and you’ll likely see a laptop glowing with Ableton, Logic, or Pro Tools. But look a little closer, and in more and more cases, you’ll also find something else: a vintage synth, maybe a dusty tape machine, or a piece of retro music equipment that feels like it belongs in another era. Against all odds, and in defiance of convenience, analog gear is making a comeback. It’s not hard to see why. In a world where music can be created entirely on a phone, artists are craving something tactile, something imperfect, something real. Why Analog Gear Still Matters For all of digital’s power, it often lacks the quirks and unpredictability of analog. Vintage synths like the Roland Juno-106 or the Minimoog have a warmth and personality that software plug-ins still chase. Tape machines add hiss, saturation, and that signature “tape warmth sound” producers describe with reverence. Digital tools are infinite, pristine, and endlessly repeatable. Analog is messy. It dr...

From the first time I ever recorded audio so many years ago onto a cassette tape in the early 90’s, there have been many times I’ve played back something I’ve said and thought “I wish I had said that differently.” In those early attempts at hearing my voice and air guitar wails while impersonating Bruce Springsteen, I took my first steps toward what would, in my early twenties, become an obsession: recording the ultimate version of what a song is to me.  Our story starts in a humble time and place: in my parents’ basement in La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA, on a tape recorder held by my sister, Elizabeth. Although I didn’t know how to play any instruments or read sheet music and was, in fact, about 3 years old, I could record what was in my mind music. In part, this was due to the technology of the day and, also, a little bit of ingenuity on the part of my sister and I. Over the years after into my childhood, I did my share of musical exploration in terms of playing the violin and t...