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.

There are many songwriters I admire but only a few that leave me in awe with their jaw dropping consistent creative output. Sean Woosley is one of those people. Click here to listen to his latest full length record I Hope That You Find Love - Colin G.

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

I have checked out sets from many local artists like Joe Peppercorn, The Secret Life of Houseplants and Parker Paul's karaoke and enjoyed it, but it's not my favorite format.  I also don't feel like I have a ton of free time, although I do have more than I did before lockdown.  Unfortunately, I think it's going to be a long time until we get to be in a crowded bar again to watch a favorite band play.  

I was trying to track down Paul K. since at least January of this year or so (genius songwriter) to see if he was still alive.  I couldn't figure out how to contact him.  As it turned out he had passed away in mid-March.  After all of my searching, I didn't find the obit until a few days afterwards, so the timing was sort of uncanny.  In his honor, I held a wake in my basement and drank all night, watching Paul K and the Weatherman videos on YouTube: https://www.aceweekly.com/2020/03/legendary-singer-songwriter-paul-k-has-died/

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

In the evenings we binge-watched Ozarks and we are currently doing the same with Breaking Bad (so of course Better Call Saul is on deck).  When I wake up at 2:30am and decide to stay up for the rest of the day, it's usually Forensic Files or I flip through news channels and compare/contrast the coverage of various networks. PBS News and The Associated Press are the least biased outlets that I have watched and where to go if you are somebody who thinks the media is all fake news now.

I have not had a lot of time to read, although I used to be an avid reader.  I have to attribute that to too much time messaging on my phone and should look into that.  I have a 6-year old at home and the home-schooling has been a real challenge.  The educational language programs are really top notch but they are long and it's hard to get Stella to stay focused even though she knows the material.  It's a lot of time to ask a 6-year old to work on a laptop at home.  The kid is going stir crazy.  Who can blame her?

I also am fortunate enough to still be able to work my office job (Fiserv) from home.  There are some real upsides to working at home, too: I don't have to get ready for work.  The food is better and already paid for and the cafe & the bathrooms are a lot closer to my desk.  I also don't miss 50 minutes of driving to Dublin and back, 5 days of the week. I miss my friends at my weekend job (I have been a prep cook at Champps Lennox for 6+ years) but I really enjoy having the weekends off, right now.

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

HEALTH: I have been running a lot.  I ran 45 miles last week.  My brother and I run the Cap City Half Marathon every year.  This will be the 11th year.  That was postponed until the end of August but it looks like we are running our own version of it on May 16th, anyways.  Because, who doesn't want to miss out on slowly torturing themselves for 2 hours?

CREATIVITY: I have been working on lots of songs/demos.  I spent 3 days in March working on some lockdown tunes and released 8 songs that are 4-track demos. I titled it, "This Speakeasy Fucking Sucks" and donated all of the proceeds to out-of-work employees at Ace of Cups:  https://woosley.bandcamp.com/album/this-speakeasy-fucking-sucks.

I was recently asked to be on a local compilation with the same idea in mind; proceeds go to a number of local bars and restaurant employees.  There are a million tracks on it and some artists who I had not had the pleasure to check out before so it is pretty neat. Shout-out to the guys from Teratogen for asking me to be a part of it.  This was released on May 1: https://teratogen.bandcamp.com/album/covaid-614-volume-2.

I am also working on a 10-12 song record (will be released as a CD) with a handful of old friends in Phoenix AZ, Orrville, OH and right here in Columbus. They have been sending me tracks they record on Garage Band and then I add tracks and send them back.  I love collaborating with people that way.  Not sure what the band is going to be called.  I think one of the guys had the band labeled as "The Shut-Ins" on his mp4s.  I have everything currently labeled with the band name "You're The Puppet" and album title "The Dangling Tooth and The Stardust Truth."  We'll see.  Two of the guys have been pilots for decades.  One of them, David Nicholas (also known as "Sid Fly" or "The Squeezer"), is flying in to meet with me tomorrow.  He's flying solo in the plane he built in the late ‘90s when he lived in New Hampshire, I believe (little spaz weirdo). 

The track that I submitted for Covaid-614 will appear on it but may be the only acoustic tune.  The other songs are mostly full-band affairs.  I think the plan is to fly to PHX to Bernie Ramcke's  (he is one of the collaborators on the record) Freak City Studios to do a few overdubs and finalize the mix & mastering. Please pray for me if that means that I end up flying to PHX in The Squeezer's Sestina, or whatever his model airplane is.

I am also going to work on some songs with Paul Abbott tomorrow evening (seems really weird to go such a long time without seeing him or Paul Gault).  I should probably post the latest Woosley Band record, too.  I am mailing out a copy tomorrow so PLEASE ORDER NOW SO I CAN SEND THEM ALL AT ONCE (haha): https://woosley.bandcamp.com/album/i-hope-that-you-find-love. CD102.5 has been playing "Courted and Escorted" since the end of 2019 and I can't thank them enough for doing that.  It feels really refreshing to be played on the radio again. It came out at the beginning of the year.  We had some fun shows lined up for April in Nashville, Birmingham, New Orleans, Pascagoula and St. Pete.  It was a real bummer that we were unable to do that.  Maybe we can reschedule in November of 2022, or something.  

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

Only 3?  That's a tough one.  I think I would go with some of my old stand-bys: London Calling, The Clash, Exile on Main Street, The Rolling Stones, and Tonight's The Night, Neil Young.

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 & drinking habits and changes!

I usually make the meals in the evening but not all of the time.  I kind of like coordinating three different things to make for us all of the time.  I'm sure we are all washing a lot more dishes now.  I think we do them daily.  I make a lot of fresh guacamole (the kid loves it) but I am like a short order cook; the menu is all very simple stuff like grilled cheese sandwiches (I love cheese sandwiches, btw), pasta dishes, rice with sauteed veggies, various items for breakfast, etc.  

We just recently tried delivery (tacos tonight!) and I have picked up some food around the corner from the house at Silk Road Asian Cuisine.  The kid is in a pretty picky phase.  It's been great to see her trying some new things. I generally stray from the liquor but my go-to place for beers is right across the street and is fabulous: https://www.wineandbrewemporium.com/. I generally buy lite beers (low alcohol in the evenings means a better day all around with balancing work & family) but this place has an amazing selection if I want to grab some quality beers. Jackie O's Mystic Mama has been my favorite, lately.  The takeaway for me has been that the family is a lot closer now and I realized how much time I was devoting to work.  There have been a lot of unlikely upsides. I don't miss going to the office.  I have been able to work on a ton of new songs with friends.  I have been getting a lot more exercise.