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We’re about two or three weeks into the great self-quarantine of 2020, depending where you live and when your city/state/country decreed a lock-down, if they did at all, and if & how you chose to personally adhere to it. It’s been a shock to our systems, and the whole “system” in general as we adapt to isolation. I’m certain that it’s affecting us each a little differently depending on our individual psyches, situations, and locations. I’m no expert, that’s for sure, but here’s some of what I’ve learned and how I’m coping and adapting.
While I never felt the coming pandemic was a hoax or a political ploy, I initially brushed it off as something that likely wouldn’t affect me much. I used a phrase I often go to when someone gets uptight about a potentially dangerous situation – “That’s not gonna be what kills me.” Hell, I’ve been through worse – car accidents, serious illnesses, more than a couple sticky situations. I’ve never had a flu shot, rarely get sick, and tend to live for the day. My band drove to Ohio and played a show on March 14th, just as the country was starting to shutter. Never cancel a show. Never.
That Monday morning Michigan was locked down. I watched our governor talk and I stayed focused on the news cycle for the next few days. By mid-week I was suffering from major anxiety and my OCD was out of control. I still felt relatively safe, but we had 22 shows booked for April, May and June. I’d spent endless hours, sent hundreds of emails, spent money on posters & lodging, and endured enough rejection to make a better man quit the music business altogether, but ended up with an impressive spring tour that would take us to several states, some of our favorite rooms, some new ones we were excited about, and with some of our best friends and favorite bands. Everything went from awesome to unknown in a few short days.
Then, perhaps a bit out of order, the bigger picture hit – people are going to get sick and die. Are my parents taking this seriously? My wife? My bandmates? My co-workers? My neighbors? Is it ok to have band practice or recording sessions? Is it ok to even leave the house? Pretty soon all major sports, concert tours and festivals, and public gatherings of any kind & size were cancelled months out. I still can’t find a roll of toilet paper in this town. This is bigger than any of us thought and I better figure out a way to deal with it.
The first change I made was to drastically limit my news intake. I’ll check the headlines in the morning and watch a little national news in the evening to get the big picture, but I can’t take much more than that. The daily White House press conferences should instill confidence and trust, but they do the opposite. The rest of the news cycle is endless speculation and regurgitated headlines. My anxiety decreased immediately, and I’ve since been able to channel my energy elsewhere.
I started spending a lot more time with my guitar. I’ve never had a problem with writer’s block, but I’ve often had a problem finding the time I’d like to write. Shane MacGowan, paraphrasing Christy Moore, once said that songs are just floating around in the air and all you have to do is pluck them down. I’ve always subscribed to that, and they’ve been raining on me for the last few weeks. It’s been a wonderful distraction and outlet, and I hope a few of them are good enough to share someday.
Left to Right: Lydia Loveless, Vanessa Jean Speckman & Micah Schnabel, Shane Sweeney,. James Hetfield, Ricky Rat.
I’ve also done what I expect many of us musician-types and fans have – started taking in the daily barrage of live streams and iPhone-videos of other musicians playing in their homes. I watched Micah Schnabel & Vanessa Jean Speckman from Frank Turner’s apartment in London the day after the last couple shows of their UK tour were cancelled. I tuned in for Shane Sweeney from his home in Columbus, with a guest appearance by his son. I caught a Lydia Loveless StageIt show from her home in North Carolina, Ben Nichols from Lucero going from room to room in his house playing for an hour on Instagram, Ned Hill from Nashville in his living room in Nashville, and many others. Ricky Rat (Detroit punk icon from The Trash Brats and Dead Boys) does a daily cover-song video that’s been super fun, and every Monday night Metallica is showing a full concert from their archives on YouTube at 8 pm. These Metallica videos look and sound incredible and have given me a newfound respect for the current era of the band. And then I’ve been taking in a whole bunch of friends just posting themselves playing songs by themselves or The Beatles, Tom Waits, Rolling Stones, Lemonheads, John Prine, and each other. It seems never-ending, and in different times perhaps a little annoying even, but right now I just can’t get enough and I want more, more, more.
I’ve even stepped outside of my own comfort zone and done a couple myself. I’m proud to be part of the GTG Records family, a Lansing, Michigan-based indie label, and they’re doing a daily video series called “Staying Home with GTG Records.” My contribution was a solo acoustic cover of “Voices” by Cheap Trick. I’ve got a submission in for the NPR Tiny Desk Concerts that has been posted, and on the last two Saturdays I even did the impromptu selfie-vid thing (an old Soul Asylum song and a Watershed cover) that got me out there a bit. I expect there will be more songs coming out of my own living room soon. It doesn’t beat walking into a venue in another state and bellying up with my pals I only get to see once or twice a year before we play a show together, but it’s all we got, and it’s way better than nothing.
As I work my way through this third week of isolation, save a few trips to the grocery store and a couple walks & runs, I find myself settling into a comfortable routine consisting of working, creating, exercise, and watching and listening to music. There some TV in there too (Tiger King is everything it’s cracked up to be!), and the odd home-improvement project. My wife works in health-care technology and while she’s fortunate to not be on the front-lines in hospitals, she’s working endless hours supporting those people through enabling video visits so they can tend to more patients in less time and stay healthy while doing it. She’s also helping to support the establishment of more beds and surrounding equipment in short time for the growing numbers of sick people in Michigan. I wish she had more time to play, but I’m proud of her and I’m grateful that we can be home together.
I still find myself on the anxiety roller-coaster, but I find peace in knowing that there’s not a damn thing I can do about it other than to do my part not to spread it, and maybe share a little music. If you’re suffering from anxiety, turn off the news. If you’re bored, watch some live music or some not-live music. If you want to help, stay home. Go to the website of your favorite bands and order a record or a shirt, or buy some music from them on Bandcamp. I’m talking about indie bands that need the money - Dave Grohl is a good dude, but you have musicians, artists, and venues in your city that are really hurting. A lot of bars and venues have funds set up to help their employees who are laid off. These are good people I was planning on tipping after a post-show shot after our set next month. If you want to do more still, THIS is a good article about many places that could use some help.
In the coming weeks we’ll be asking other musicians and artists how they’re coping & creating with the isolation and quarantine and sharing their responses here on Pencilstorm.
Do something creative today, stay positive, stay safe and keep up the isolation so we can get back to sharing our art, stories, and lives together again!
xx
Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos.
www.thetucos.com
Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
www.facebook.com/jeremyportermusic
Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic
www.rockandrollrestrooms.com