When did you first realise that COVID-19 was going to have an effect on your band?
When we got our cancellation call for SXSW in Austin, Texas. We had a kick-ass 2020 planned including two showcases at SXSW, playing festivals with Molly Hatchet, Jefferson Starship, Puddle of Mudd, and Blackfoot as well a tour starting in Chicago. But all got axed due to Covid. That sucked bug time.
Initially, what was that whole situation like, and how did your band overcome/react to it?
No doubt we were all pretty upset. We were practicing really hard for the upcoming gigs. But we all agreed that we needed to continue to grow and evolve even if we’re not playing live. So, we continue to push our album, “New Revolution” (https://open.spotify.com/album/4rgBmqnv7h3p5gYPGjiXfU) which has the guitar-God Vernon Reid from the band Living Colour playing lead on the track “Medicate”. We just released a song and video called “Rich Man Wanna Be King” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehjT9RZdpe4) which provides a scathing lampoon of President Trump. It was just released on YouTube and it’s already racked up almost 120,000 views and climbing. Our video “New Revolution” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY7cm3-1m7E) has already racked up over 60,000 views and climbing. We’re about to release a wicked cover version of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” where we collaborated with an incredible husband/wife team called Che-Val. We’ll be releasing a quarantine video to our song “The Optimist”. And, we’re about to release a podcast called “Music & A Brew” where we crack open a cold one with musical artists including Kenny Aronoff (drummer for John Mellencamp and tons of others), Todd Sucherman (Styx), Vernon Reid (Living Colour) and Daxx Nielsen (Cheap Trick). So we’re staying very active.
How has your creative process changed as a band over the last couple of months?
The downtime has given me a lot of time to observe, create, write as well as think about how to best market and promote the band. We’re working on some new material and we’re working with some great marketing agencies such as Austere in Texas and Factory Underground Studio in Connecticut to develop social media and marketing campaigns to support our songs and continue to build our fan base. It’s really starting to pay dividends. I’m also posting quite a bit on our social media platforms to stay engaged with our fans
What’s been the hardest part about writing/doing music this way?
It actually hasn’t been difficult. There’s so much going on in the United States today and around the world that creates so many ideas and opportunities to write and create. When you distill it down to the basics and just take a look around, you’ll see that life today is so dynamic and malleable. Things develop and change right in front of your eyes every second. The challenge and opportunity is to capture that energy and decide what you want to do with it. It’s literally an open book with so much to write about.
What bands/artists have you been listening to over the last couple of months?
I’ve been spending a lot of time catching up on some bands that I absolutely love (Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin) as well as listening to some great up and coming bands. There’s an indie-rock jam band out of Norwalk, Connecticut called Goose. They are incredible and going to be huge when the apocalypse finally goes away.
So, what do you think you’ve learnt the most from being a band through COVID-19?
Our philosophy is as long as we’re having fun and staying creative then we’re all good. So far we’ve been able to maintain that mindset during the pandemic and we continue to create new music and think outside of the box. It’s actually been a ton of fun!
What kind of effect do you think that it’s had on the music industry all together, and how excited are you to see it return to normal?
To be honest, I’m not sure what “normalcy” means anymore. Are we living in the new normal with the way we interact and protect ourselves and how we work? Or are things really going to go back to what it was before the pandemic. I guess time will tell. I hope and pray that the industry recovers. I know it’s been incredibly tough on clubs and small music venues who have had to completely shut down and some may never open again. That just means fewer venues for bands to play live and build their fan base and exposure. I think music fests will kick back in and we can’t wait for that to happen. Hopefully it will happen in 2021.
What tips/advice would you like to give to other bands who are also going through this?
Of course please stay safe and healthy. And use this time to continue to create and produce great music. And push it out there on your platforms so others can hear it and discover you. Stay engaged with your fan base and build new fans. It’s challenging and requires a lot of diligence but you have to do it.
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