In an effort to formalize our Quarantine Blues series a bit, we’ve devised a 5-question quiz to pose to the musicians & other media figures sharing in the Covid-19 stay-at-home orders sweepstakes. There will be new entries every coupla days.
Michah Schnabel isn’t one for sitting still. When he’s not touring the UK with his partner Vanessa Jean Speckman and Frank Turner, he’s probably somewhere between the coasts of the USA telling his stores and asking the questions we’re all looking for answers to as a solo artist or a member of Two Cow Garage. He’s also a published author and one of the best songwriters around. We caught up with Micah in Columbus shortly after his UK tour was cut short by the Covid-19 outbreak.
1) How are you getting your live music fix? Any live streams or Youtube clips that standout?
First, I want to say how much I love the live streams and how everyone is embracing them. I've been keeping them playing in the kitchen where I work throughout the day. It's been really comforting listening to my friends voices and songs while I'm plugging away. My favorite right now is my friend Michael Dean Damron who's doing a live stream every Sunday at 5pm Pacific/ 8pm EST. He's a natural storyteller. Smart, funny, and he writes some of my favorite songs.
I also have his name tattooed on my arm.
2) What else have you been watching, listening to and reading to pass the time?
I've just finished "Here's Your Hat What's Your hurry" by Elizabeth McCracken and "Sundays In August" by Patrick Modiano. I'm getting ready to re-read The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin who's one of my favorite authors. He always inspires me to sit back down and start writing.
Vanessa and I are watching Ozarks right now. We watch about 30 minutes a day. My attention span is awful so sitting and watching isn't something I'm good at.
The new Run The Jewels single "Ooh, La, La" has been my morning wake up song. It goes well with the first coffee and gets the blood flowing. At 10pm I go to "Lido Shuffle" by Boz Scaggs to start my evening. I try and make myself dance to it ( what I call dancing). Both songs feel like the beginning of something new and I like that in these groundhog days we're living in. Fresh starts twice a day.
3) How are you managing (or not) to stay creative / healthy?
It took me a long time to find it but I keep a pretty strict schedule with myself and my work when I'm home. Even before our current situation arrived. It's a mental health thing for me. If I don't stick to my schedule I can go off the rails rather easily. The one interesting turn about has been having to force myself to break from that schedule during the quarantine. It's become more important than ever to put time and energy into Vanessa and I's relationship. I'm working on relaxing my own reigns and putting my energy where it helps the both of us. I tend to pour myself into my work as a way of dealing with stress but that's not a healthy way to make it through this intense situation with someone you care about.
4) You have to pick just 3 records to listen to till this is over. What are they?
Tom Petty's Wildflowers
Run The Jewels 1
The Hold Steady Thrashing Thru The Passion
I'm sorry to be so bold but I'm going to give a short playlist. I hope that's not too out of bounds.
Run The Jewels "Ooh, la la"
Yola "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
Gil Scott Heron "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"
Diet Cig "Who Are You"
Mclusky "To Hell With Good Intentions"
Seu Jorge "Life On Mars"
Harry Nilsson "The Point!" (whole album)
Counterfit Madison "I Hope It's Alright"
Randy Newman "It's Money That I Love"
Adam Lee "Show Folks You Mean It"
Ok. I'll stop there. But that's what our kitchen sounds like.
5) Food Time! Have you been cooking in or carrying out? Favorite recipes or restaurants you're supporting? What's in the liquor cabinet? Share your quarantine eating and drinking habits and changes!
I do the dishes. That's my gig. No one wants me cooking for them. When the cooking is done I do the dishes and clean the kitchen back to new. Vanessa likes to bake around 11 pm. We put on the tunes and she bakes while I sit and tap at the keys here at my desk and then I clean it up.
I miss Baba's and Condado. We've made a big plan to go to Cravings Carryout tomorrow. That will be our first meal out since we got home from the last tour a month ago. I'm really looking forward to that.
The go-to liquor here is currently vodka. A dab at the end of the day to celebrate the passing of time. I prefer tequila but you don't want to drink too much tequila while quarantined, it can lead to bad form.
I'm a stress eater and Vanessa enjoys baking. I've been struggling with it but also trying to not be too hard on myself. The number one goal is to get through this and keep everyone alive. We can deal with the repercussions on the other end.
Thanks! Any final thoughts you would like to share?
I don't claim to know anything. This is just how i'm dealing with a once in a lifetime situation. Touring has been my life blood since I was 19 years old and now that industry is gone for at least the next 18 months and I'm not sure how much of the infrastructure will still be intact when it's safe to travel again. I'm scared but trying not to dwell. There's a new Two Cow record written and I'm working on a new book. Vanessa and I are working on a streaming show we're gonna try and roll out next week. A kind of radio show format. By mid/ end of Summer I'm going to have to look at finding some kind of job and I don't know what that will be. I'm almost 40 years old and the career I've spent the last 20 years building is now gone. That's the first time I've said that out loud and it brings tears to my eyes. It's a scary time but I'm also very fortunate to have gotten this far. I don't know what the future brings. For now I'm going to keep my head down and keep working. I hope everyone is doing ok. We'll figure it all out together when we get on the other side of this thing.