The 2020 mantra: It’s the end of the world as we know it and nobody feels fine. Live music has been crushed. Has anyone been to a show that would allow for social distancing? What about a mosh pit? With venues closing and performers unable to do more than live stream or make solo videos, the music scene feels grim. And with what has happened in the last three weeks, it’s harder to accept that things will ever feel “normal” again, although hopefully we will end up with a better world, not the end of it.
That doesn’t mean musicians are sitting on their butts, there’s recording, there’s writing, and there’s those aforementioned online outlets. But musicians don’t want to be off the road and music fans don’t want to be sitting in front of their computers and TVs waiting to see when things return. As if there was a choice…
SF Sonic decided to check in with performers to find out how they’re handling these difficult times. This is the tenth in the series, you can find out what’s happening and check out some links to hear some music. And if you can spare some change, support your favorite musicians here through purchasing merch and music.
Concrete (Jon Dorn)
How has the pandemic affected your touring plans?
We had been planning on touring in support of the new record but with Covid-19 restrictions we don’t know when we’ll be able to get out there. We had a bunch of shows get cancelled and that was pretty upsetting but we don’t want people getting sick so we understand. That being said we currently have two shows coming up that as of right now are still on. Upstate Fest put on by Upstate Records and Upstate Black n Blue is Aug.21-23 in Clifton Park, NY, which has a ton of our friends playing everyday and bands coming from as far as the UK. It’s definitely going to be a party and a lot of fun. Then on September 26 we have AHOL fest in Verona, NY. That one we try to do every year because it’s always crazy. Think giant crowded house show.
What are you doing to keep your creative juices going?
Ryan and I have started jamming again just the two of us at the moment, but I think we’re starting full practices in the next week or so. Right now we’re pretty excited about the new record coming out and so that has us pretty eager to keep writing. We’re really proud of the record and can’t wait to get back into the studio to make another one.
How are you keeping your fanbase interested?
That’s been tough. There are important things happening in the world, and voices, particularly black voices, need to be heard. While we’ve created some new merch for the first time in years and put out this single, and we really want you to enjoy our record, we also want to make sure that we support People of Color, the LGBTQ community, the children ripped from their families and being held in cages- there’s a lot of people that need to be heard right now and we have a responsibility to let them be heard and to stand up for them. So yeah, we’re trying to keep our fans entertained with teasers and singles and merch, but we don’t want to oversaturate because there are more important things than us happening right now.
Check out Concrete on their Facebook page.
Watch “Fair Warning” by Concrete on YouTube.
Deathcave (Freiburger)
How has the pandemic affected your touring plans?
It’s been a bummer for sure. With our debut full length album coming out this August, we were a little over half way through booking our full US tour in support of the album when the Covid-19 pandemic hit America. A month or so after that we went ahead and cancelled/postponed the tour until there is a better understanding of how touring will happen in the future.
What are you doing to keep your creative juices going?
Benny has been able to practice in his other jam spot so he has been able to work on tons of technique and exploring different styles to apply to our music down the road when we can get together again. Both Tony and Freiburger have been jamming a bit on their own but find it a bit hard to write music given the current state of things going on in the world. Freiburger has also been spending his time doing some of those quarantine covers with different friends from all over.
How are you keeping your fanbase interested?
We have been trying to stay engaged and share content of what we have been doing. Be it Benny’s drum technique drills, Tony is great with the gear worship crowds and Freiburger has been doing his quarantine covers.
Serpent Omega (Brief)
How has the pandemic affected your touring plans?
Not at all, since we haven’t been touring in this new setting yet.
What are you doing to keep your creative juices going?
We argue in different social forums. No, we just keep going as we always have, share riffs and ideas, a lot of focus and energy has of course been poured into the new album; artwork, layout etc.
How are you keeping your fanbase interested?
We do the occasional post, let the music do the talking. Like said, lots of focus have been put into the new album lately but we’ll shape up when things are finished.
Visit with Serpent Omega on their website.
Listen to “Land of Darkness” by Serpent Omega on Bandcamp.
Gorgatron (Karl Schmidt)
How has the pandemic affected your touring plans?
Well… I’m doing significantly less touring compared to before covid. So there’s that.
What are you doing to keep your creative juices going?
Practicing, working on new music, getting frosted animal cookie blizzards from Dairy Queen.
Find out more about Gorgatron on their website.
Listen to “Imposter Syndrome” by Gorgatron on YouTube.
