COVID19 is going to end differently for different people and at very different times. On a day when NPR is still touting America’s death toll at “nearing 100,000” (I sort of feel like maybe they should’ve just touted the actual number when it happens, because we’ve been “nearing” for a week now and even that huge number is losing it’s impact), on a day when DC is citing setbacks forcing them to push their reopening clock back – Fox news would have you believe that we’re “post-pandemic” and a friend has written from where he’s been staying in the mountains of Pennsylvania with very little internet where everyone wants to shake hands and is waving their Trump flags – he was one of the first people to express concern about his family’s safety amongst the pandemic but he – he’s written to me to say “hey, now that this is just about over, do you think you’ll keep all the streaming stuff going once you’re running Teavolve again?”
I dunno man, we’ve lost ALL of our gigs. We’re getting gigs scheduling far off so that they can avoid any possible second (or third) waves of COVID19 – I’ve got dates in 2021 and 2022, and bars and restaurants that are pretty clear that if they’re only allowed to operate at one quarter capacity that they’ll a) have NO problem maxing out the room without any assistance from Live music and b) will NOT be making enough to pay musicians (not to mention they’re not going to sacrifice any of their reduced capacity for people who aren’t paying to be there….)
So – with that situation – with the restaurants and bars unwilling (or to be fair, unable) to have Live music, do we all glut into the “real” music venues? If they too are operating at a quarter capacity, do ticket prices go up by 400% to make up for it? That’s never been our world though the few ticketed events we’ve done have been big successes – but for $80 a head rather than twenty? Probably not. House concerts are dead for the foreseeable future, most folk venues aren’t really contemplating a return to their 2020 season. Festivals and outdoor gigs are going to be even more prime than they once were – and IF they are in operation they’re going to be a weird mix of “we’re in operation because we can do so safely” and the dreaded “we’re in operation because we’re legally allowed to, fuck your fears, what do you mean you plan to wear a mask you pathetic piece of… “ well, whatever – maybe I’m overstating things.
But I’m definitely concerned that eventually we’re going to be approached by venues that truly do NOT respect questions like “how will the microphones be cleaned” and “will there be appropriate social distancing possible on your stage.
Let’s set that ALL aside for right now! Set ALL the CAN we book gigs questions aside and ask SHOULD we book gigs? Should we be traveling? Should we be pursuing it at all?
There are a LOT of variables here, not least of which being that the digital disruption of our merchandise is something that even now we’d just been coming to grips with with oddball merch like Hands Sanitizer and pins and things – but we’ve spent a LOT less money in the last 3 months. Combine that with the kind of incomes that Kristen and I have been able to make with our specific skill sets and I finally paid off the credit card I’d been struggling with for a year or so. Not counting my stock portfolio (Jesus, remind me NOT to look at my stock portfolio) I’m in a better financial position than I’ve been in a long time, and it’s potentially more sustainable because it’s kickstarted my growth into industries that are only going to get bigger…
No, there’s no reason to get excited now… I absolutely still want to tour, to travel, to play IN PERSON to fans and friends – but it’s quite possible that we need to change up our paradigm to webcast guerilla shows, and it’s NOT going to break my heart if I start dropping all my late night load outs and interactions with drunk patrons and managers who don’t seem to understand that we’re a FEATURE of the night, not a bug.
I don’t know. And all of this is going to look a LOT different in another month, not even mentioning further out dates like 2021 and the bizarrely futuristic 2022.
