Adapting to the New Industry
Musicians Share Their Stories
By Aaron Michael
With shows and events cancelled around the world, have you been wondering how musical artists are adapting to this new strange world?
Bands…how are you making ends meet?
FarBetterCloseBy
Covid19 has been crazy for the both of us! (Band Members) Jared and Hannah are both essential workers, but Scott has been lucky enough to work from home. One good thing about this stay at home order, is that we get to stay at home and write more music! Something we have needed to set time aside for and with the covid 19 we were able to do that!
Colton Jaroma (Kid.Catapult)
I’m lucky enough to be working during this tough time. When I’m not working, I’m at home enjoying quality time with my kids. I saw a couple artists performing live streams and thought it was a great way to be able to give back to the local scene and still have that artistic outlet when it otherwise wouldn’t be possible. So, with a huge help from MusicMondays208 and The Handlebar we were able to get Stay At Home Spotlight started and it’s becoming a pretty popular stream!
Dustin Morris
I’m doing a big push of a video I’m dropping called Going To Make It Through This. It deals with the realization of not being able to shake a stranger’s hand or hug a friend. I miss that a lot and don’t think I’m alone. I guess that would be my statement is I took going places freely. I used to complain about crowds. Now I truly miss it. I miss shaking hands with strangers and hugging my friends.
The Phets
I’ve been writing a lot, playing guitar, playing the drums, and spending time outdoors. It’s been very humbling adjusting to the slower pace of things. I am truly excited to experience live music again and am incredibly thankful for the healthcare workers on the front lines for bringing that dream closer to a reality. – Cam Elgart
I’ve been practicing like crazy, trying to get better at singing melody while playing a bass line. Really honing my craft. And been playing Minecraft. – Hayden McCandless
I’ve been having a lot of time to write more and take more wake and hikes. It’s been actually really nice for me to decompress and just have time to think. Also, I have been playing Breath of the Wild again! – Thomas Salazar
Billie Nimbuson
My experience with the COVID-19 lockdown has been simultaneously a weird and beautiful one. All of this has given me a change in perspective and has in many ways inspired me to continue working on both my music and myself as a person. With bars, restaurants, music venues, etcetera being closed, I have been witnessing everyone’s true colors. I have seen impatience and bitterness come out of many people but I have also seen an overwhelming amount of kindness and support from many more. Overall, people have been more appreciative of what they have, a change in our society I believe has been long overdue and it is breathtaking!
Trevor Villagrana of Young.Planetary
Quarantine for me has been super weird. I’ve been out of work since the middle of March so I’ve had a ton of time to just sit and reflect and try and figure out what life is going to look like after all this. Which is why I was really thankful I got to play the Stay Home Spotlight. The band hadn’t played a show since late January so it was nice to get up there and play some songs, even if it was just by myself. But I’m really looking forward to getting back on stage with the boys. What’s funny is that we have stayed insane busy behind the scenes getting ready to drop our locations I can’t place, EP so this downtime has really flown by.
Darian Renee
The COVID19 shutdown has affected us all in different ways. It has by no means been a vacation for anyone. I was pretty stressed when the first stay at home order hit, I had to cancel 3 months of national touring and lost thousands of dollars in revenue. Fortunately, I have always produced music remotely and have been able to fall back on this. Isolation has been tough but I’ve found a silver lining in creating and honing skills from home.
Lobo Lara
During quarantine I focused on writing music and nothing else, everyday day for 3 weeks I would get up do my morning routine and go straight to music. I would go from 9 to 6 and focus on finishing songs, touching up songs and starting new material. Switching like that allows me to work for a long time. Honestly, I think this time allowed me to forget about my day job and go all out. I feel like some of my best songs on my upcoming album were written during lockdown.
Chase Chandler of Mains and Monitors
Coronavirus shutdown has been mind-numbing and difficult. Recording music with the extra time has been great but performing is such a big part of what I love about music. The shutdown has really made me evaluate what matters to me in life, and if anything, it’s driven me to take music even more seriously and pursue it even further.
He/lium She/lium
Rocky Wing and Ari Wing
We just entered the music scene in August. We love it! From August until the quarantine, we were booking shows every weekend, sometimes 2-3 times per weekend. We were excited that we made the cut for TreeFort and even started booking shows for after TreeFort. And then it all shut down! We have been taking advantage of all the live stream platforms, at the Lounge at the End of the Universe, and even through Pulse Radio at Boise State. Although we love these opportunities, it is not the same. We miss the community, meeting new people, and supporting the other artists. Playing live is one of our favorite things to do in Boise. We cannot wait to get back out there!
Quinn Fillmore of Sportscourt
During quarantine I’ve actually stayed quite busy working as a good and grocery delivery driver. Having the ability to do so, I felt like I needed to play at least some small part in helping out so long as I was taking seriously the necessary precautions to minimize my potential for spreading the virus. A lot of private delivery services have been a super great tool for keeping people fed and small restaurants alive during such wild times. I have actually been pleasantly surprised by the amount of people who have been ordering locally. It’s just nice to know that even when anxiety and tension seems to be at a worldwide peak people are still finding it in there hearts to have some sort of positive impact, even if it’s just ordering takeout from that hometown joint down the street who doesn’t have the corporate dynamic to fall back on.
Taryn Seattle
The shutdown has given me what every artist slightly dreads but deeply loves: solitude. All this quiet has given me this strange opportunity to reflect, dig deep and create. A lot of it has honestly been spent working through inner demons and finding something new. I’ve put off the self-reflection process for so long and this finally forced me to do it. I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for performing too. I didn’t realize how much I would miss connecting with a real audience, all that energy in a room during a show.