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.

Tommy Plural is a Lansing, Michigan-based guitarist/singer/songwriter for The Plurals and Drinking Mercury as well as a few offshoots and a solo-artist to boot. He’s also the main-man behind GTG Records - an independent label with an impressive roster and well over 100 releases. Tommy checks in from his roost in Lansing about how he’s coping with the quarantine.

1) How are you getting your live music fix? Any live streams or Youtube clips that standout?

I've largely been getting my live music fix in by learning traditional songs with my girlfriend, who plays fiddle and mandolin. It basically makes the most sense in my mind to strip things back to the foundation of music, pre-record and concert industry. I didn't consciously do this, mind you, it's just what naturally happened. I have a hard time getting excited by livestreams, if we're being completely honest here (I hope!), so recruiting friends and friends-of-friends to do solo videos for the Staying Home With GTG Records daily video series fills that role nicely. I loved the Rolling Stones off-the-cuff feeling "You Can't Always Get What You Want" from that youtube-Live-Aid thing the other week though.

2) What else have you been watching, listening to and reading to pass the time?

For the last two years I've mostly been listening to the Byrds and their respective offshoot bands (Gene Clark, Gram Parsons, Flying Burrito Brothers, Manassas, Desert Rose Band etc etc) and Fleetwood Mac/ Lindsey Buckingham related things. So, there's a huge catalog to get lost in there and I've been enjoying the wealth of live recordings that you can find online. The pandemic inspired me to re-read Max Brooks' World War Z book, which is an entertaining read although maybe less fun with some real world parallels happening around me. We discovered that our roommate had apparently gotten a hold of a Disney+ account so we've been watching the Simpsons from the beginning which fills my heart with joy.

3) How are you managing (or not) to stay creative / healthy?

The Staying Home With GTG Records project is a nice daily "accomplishment" to have, which also has required me and my bandmates to be in touch with each other and our friends, so all of that ticks a creative and mental health checkbox. The two projects that are going to emerge from all of this for sure are a new Plurals EP (the final in our 3 part "BEES" EP series) which we've been finishing remotely and finding creative solutions to varying home recording capabilities, and a remix of the first Drinking Mercury album which Isaac Vander Schuur is doing and I'm overseeing remotely as well. I'm really excited for all of the new and old music that we finally have the time to tinker with. We're basically going to rush-release the Plurals EP as soon as it's done, so look out for that.

4) You have to pick just 3 records to listen to till this is over. What are they?

Given my current state of mind I'd certainly go for Fleetwood Mac Tusk, which I never get sick of as it's total madness with the dream pop feel from McVie and Nicks alternating with Lindsey Buckingham's manic garage weirdo stuff, and The Byrds Untitled album, with its acid-country updates of their ‘60s classics on the live disc and the rough-around-the-edges folk rock on the studio end. Since I cheated and picked two double albums there I can either respectfully bow out or offer that the third slot may be Replacements Let It Be since it would feel weird to not have that, or maybe Abbey Road because I'm a rational person, or maybe, since I was born in the 80s and I'll always have a jones for guitar gloss and angst, Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream. Whoops, I picked 5 records.

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!

We're definitely cooking as much as possible. I take after my father and like to rummage through the cupboards and cook up a big pasta or Mexican dish and then re-purpose it into other meals for days. A few weeks ago we went out and picked wild ramps and made pesto out of that, and by "we" I certainly mean my girlfriend, but I can attest to the tastiness. We've gotta support our local pizza places and Indian restaurants so we're ordering those pretty much every week or so. I started off the quarantine with a bottle of Glenlivet but I have, sadly, moved into getting a liter of Seagram's 7 for the week and pretty much just drinking that with ice. It's always all about coffee for me, though, and the french press gets used at least once a day: that's the same regardless of quarantine.

Thanks! Any final thoughts you would like to share?

I just want to say that I admire the music community for being, across the board, very responsible in dealing with this pandemic. It's hilarious that the people that I've met because I spit beer all over them while playing guitar in my underwear are more rational and empathetic than people that I met in college classes. Music brings people together, it's keeping us together now, and it'll bring us together again. Stay safe out there!