Mental Health for Musicians: Jed Elliott of The Struts (Episode 169)

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

One week you are playing to 80,000 people in Paris. The next week you are wearing a sandwich board, handing out dish soap on the street. In Episode 169 of The Career Musician, the first Career Musician Spotlight, Nomad sits down with Jed Elliott, bassist for The Struts, and executive life coach Chelsea Sabo. Together they run The Musician's Journey, a platform for proactive mental health support for musicians.

The Struts have opened for The Rolling Stones, Guns N' Roses and the Foo Fighters. Chelsea has coached for more than 15 years. This conversation is about what keeps a career standing when it grows: mental health for musicians, communication, and the habits that hold it all together.

Every new level needs a stronger foundation

Jed's parents both work in mental health, and he always wanted to be of service offstage too. He has toured since he was 14, and he kept having the same conversation with peers: this is a lot of fun, but it is also pretty hard. Crisis resources exist, and he praised groups like MusiCares. What he wished he had was support before the crisis, when he was doing everything right and still didn't feel aligned.

Chelsea's view from executive coaching: the challenges artists face are the same ones business people face. Same problems, different costume. Most musicians never ask how their communication skills are, or how well they regulate their emotions. But those skills are what hold your success as it expands.

"At every step of expansion, we have to pause and strengthen all of those skills and abilities to hold the expansion."

Chelsea Sabo, 13:42

Pace yourself with regular check-ins

Asked for touring rule number one, Jed didn't hesitate: pace yourself with regular check-ins. Look inward and ask what you are feeling right now. He has meditated every day for ten years, a tool he found while struggling in the early days of The Struts, and he does morning pages.

He also focuses on what he can control. A heavy tour means sleeping in a moving vehicle most nights after giving everything on stage. You can't control that. You can control what you eat and drink, how you work out and how you sleep. Borrow small pieces of your home routine for the road. Micro habits compound.

You missed lobby call. Now what?

Nomad set up a nightmare. You are 22, you just landed a dream world tour, and you sleep through lobby call. Everyone is gone. How do you not lose the gig?

Chelsea's steps:

• Get centered first. Take three breaths, feel your feet, feel your spine. Action taken from panic will not serve you.
• Take full responsibility. Don't slide into blaming stories about who didn't call you.
• Talk to yourself kindly. Comfort yourself the way you would comfort a friend.
• Take the first small step. Call someone. Get in an Uber. Repeat as needed.

"There's a difference between being emotional and taking unsupportive acts while you're stuck in emotion."

Chelsea Sabo, 26:30

That is Objectivity from the ETHOS code. And it is why reliability beats virtuosity: the tour manager remembers how you handled the mistake.

Bands are a democracy with an unwritten hierarchy

Even in an equal band, Jed says, there is usually an unwritten hierarchy, and the singer tends to sit on top because fans and press go to them first. That means extra responsibility for the singer, and extra support from everyone else. His own role, beyond bass, is keeping the lines of communication open. The Struts had a family band meeting the night before this interview just to redirect.

His belief: nobody messes up on purpose. So own it when it was you, and talk early.

On ghosting, Chelsea starts with a check. Is it really ghosting, or does this person just not answer texts? Reach out a few times, try a different method, and find out how they like to communicate. Nomad's protocol: calls build the relationship, emails carry the business details, texts handle quick logistics. Jed adds voice memos, and admits The Struts just found out they are bad at solving things by text. A five-minute call fixed what days of messages couldn't.

How do you fire a band member?

Nomad's daughter and her friends came up with the first question they would ask a rock star: how do you fire a band member?

Jed said his band has agreed non-negotiables. Anything detrimental to the whole project, or unsafe, means you are out. Short of that, have the conversation. You might find out they already want to quit and don't know how to say it. Chelsea added the business piece: set expectations up front so the hard talk is fact-based, and address patterns early with curiosity instead of waiting a year. Whether you talk one-on-one or as a group depends on the person. Sometimes the right messenger is the crew member they trust most.

Be okay with the swings

The Struts spent three or four years playing UK pubs to a few dozen people and nearly packed it in. Their manager had them committing to France, where radio was picking them up. Then came an invite to open for the Stones in Paris, ten days out, after another act dropped. Jed remembers looking up at a plane over the stadium, thinking how tiny they looked, and how his bass was vibrating every seat.

Their song "Could Have Been Me" was the same version they played to 40 people in pubs for three years. It later went platinum and landed a sync in Sing 2, and their crowds now run from six-year-olds to 70-year-olds.

"You have to be okay with those swings and knowing that you can go from super high to being humbled very quickly."

Jed Elliott, 1:02:00

And yes, the rock and roll story: after 18 months touring with the Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins walked into the dressing room and found the band playing Uno. They were not impressed.

The takeaway

Your career will grow in levels, and every level asks more of your foundation. Check in with yourself. Own your mistakes calmly. Learn how your people communicate. Agree on the rules before you need them. That is how you keep the gig. For the career side of the job, start with the free Get the Gig guide, and dig into the mindset side with ETHOS.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

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