I’m in lots of think-tank style conversation groups. I’m on the board of a number of folk entities. I’m in a band. I’m a self-employed business-human who’s trying to see the future and is trying to adapt. We’re surrounded by liars and sensationalists, conmen and politicians and bots and cronies and lunatics.
Covid19 has upset the world in so very many ways and I certainly have Opinions on the subject – but those opinions have to be tempered by reality, remain flexible as to the ever-shifting nature of what’s ACTUALLY happening in the world – and most of all have to be tempered by practicality.
I don’t think folk clubs are coming back. I mean – the scene might recover – someday. But I think that the folk clubs that are just trying to put things on hold and hold their collective breath till the graying folk community feels safe walking through their doors again?
They will die.
A new generation of folkies might rise, but the one that had gotten us all thinking so hard about “how do we entice the next generation while still holding on to our traditionalists” – I think that’s a moot point. We’re not gathering a hundred senior citizens in a rented church rooms to sing “This Land Is Your Land” any time soon – certainly not any time soon ENOUGH that these organizations can hibernate through the Coronapocalypse and the long winter to come. Open mics as well – there’s no way that’s going to be a responsible thing to be doing until there’s a vaccine widely available, and even then – I worry that older individuals will just be too scarred and scared.
The Takoma Park Folk Festival’s excited about the possibilities of running something lavish and virtual – they point to the Northwest Folklife Festival’s website – 6 virtual stages and 30 minute segments of crafters… it looks slick and it’s probably going to be stunning. They’ve got their own font and a KILLER Logo.
I frankly have no one to blame but myself as I’ve shown that as a one-man organization I can present small shows relatively well, smoothly and on a shoestring budget. But now our vision probably outstrips our grasp as our leadership grows inspired by an organization out on the west coast that drawn 50 times our audience with 20 times our budget. I’m sure they’re probably hurting too, but with that amount of money is more than twice an order of magnitude different betwixt what they can field and …well… our literal field.
Institute of Musical Traditions is presenting virtual shows, but they’re nothing fancy yet. They probably won’t be unless we take a more hands on approach, getting artists in-studio and really getting high-end production. At the moment we’re completely at the mercy of each individual’s set up, their skill base, and then most dreaded of all – their ability to communicate and listen and follow directions. I’ve sound-checked dozens and dozens of artists in the last two months, walking them through setups, recommending gear, recommending one thing or another – only to be thwarted a day later when they forget a step, or figure it’s the same thing to just set it all up in another place – or to drop a piece of the much-tested architecture because it was too much trouble. Others took what I knew and ran of it – and their grasp of all this has quickly outstripped my own.
I’ve learned to see the difference between Hewlett-Packard and Powerbook webcams. I can tell audio compression from data compression – and have gotten pretty good at recognizing software noise suppression by brand. I can probably tell you exactly what setting has been missed, and when you tell me that you already pressed that button I can be pretty damned sure you haven’t… because my ear knows better.
And is that my new reality? I can imagine IMT being a crack mobile webcast team – meeting artists at locations based on a map of cellphone coverage and wifi strength, setting up, wiping down, playing and wiping down, breaking down and wiping down again, erasing our footprints and fingerprints behind us, leaving no droplet behind.
I can imagine ilyAIMY touring and only playing outdoor shows, deals with campgrounds and KOA and one-off event insurance policies. I can imagine having to leave every Monday free so that I can run an open mic remotely, Kristen and Heather watching a movie while I swap scenes and host an open mic with artists spanning the world.
There’s some things to be said for the glimmering shape of the Post Coronapocalypse… But we don’t REALLY know what will come lurching out of the distant mists… I mean – if NPR hadn’t mentioned that we’ve reached a hundred thousand deaths in America today, would I know there’s a plague going round? I would not. I’d think more friends than average have died recently, but I wouldn’t know details. It’s why people have a hard time believing it all. They understand being out of work. They don’t understand why. You have to scare them for them to act, but acting means they never see what’s scaring them.
A plague that at the moment has only killed three ten thousandths of the American population really doesn’t seem like a big deal and the average joe and joette will probably never grasp that with exponential growth and a capitalist system that means everything from apple growing to health care is done on the slimmest possible margin – allowing the problem to grow vast enough for everyone to “get it” will mean far too many people are getting it and we could truly collapse into a nation-ending calamity.
I don’t see where the world goes from here, but that’s hardly surprising. As a species we’re not terribly good at looking beyond ourselves or our immediate family. Visionaries wouldn’t be visionary if everyone had vision. The leap of imagination required to understand the concept of “the greater good” is simply far beyond most of us. I understand it – but I’m perhaps not moral enough to care – I just know the math that gets there.
And so I’m brainstorming, woodsheding and making shit up as I go along. I’m hopeful, but I try to OVERthink a lot of the little things so that when it comes to the big ones I’m too exhausted to think too much. The world’s a scary place – and this too shall pass – but I’m not rich enough to sit back and coast.
1 thought on “May 19th, 2020. Think it Through.”
Wow! I need to be getting back to more Journal reading … Because doing so inevitably kickstarts the bus of my brain into some more productive thinking or at least more complex thinking… You are my hero rockstar! I love you and I miss you…