Honestly don't mind this downtime. My routine really hasn't changed all that much. The only thing that is different is teaching online as opposed to being in the store or someone's house. I didn't have anything big planned, no vacations to brag about, no shows to promote. I am basically invisible anyway, so this whole "social distancing" is nothing new to me.
But I am learning how selfish and rude people really are during this nonsense.
I do my walks when the weather is nice. People don't walk past one another anymore. They go way out of the way, give each other the side-eye, mumble stuff under their breath. Interesting to see everyone's masks fall off, yet now we have to wear one to go food shopping. Warrel Dane was right when he sang "Freedom's never free..."
Everyone's true colours really came through. The veneers are cracked. Unlike 9/11 when everyone seemingly acted genuine to each other, this is very different. Lots of glares, nasty comments, almost like people are verbalizing their own Facebook posts. Do I sound cynical? More than ever. But again, my routine has always been status quo. My life is a lot simpler now and I like that.
I do feel for my friends who had their shows and tours cut. While I do not miss performing anymore, seeing others so glum is definitely not good. This is/was their livelihood. It was only three months ago when Nita Strauss told a bunch of us about hitting the road with Alice Cooper and now that's done. Seeing Steve Vai and Joe Satriani do Facebook/Instagram Live feeds is something I would have never imagined they would do in this lifetime. But musicians crave validation, and social media is perfect. Now is the best time to be a musician, if you ask me. Everyone's comfort zones are rattled so they have to improvise (shouldn't all musicians do that anyway?) Michael Angelo Batio has done some entertaining live feeds, giving guitar lessons. Everything is upside-down, so when life hands you lemons...you write "The Lemon Song", right?
What have I been doing during this supposed pandemic? Teaching online, which is a challenge for both students and teacher. I have to slow down and be more thorough, can't wing things because it's tough to do that through a computer screen. Adapt or die, yes? I have been playing more guitar than ever, whether I am writing/re-writing ideas, or jamming to whatever's on the radio. Seems like everyone are in nostalgic mode, pining for their past. I pine for what could have been, not what I had done already (I'm just weird, you know?) So when I hear Zeppelin, Rush, 38 Special (those guitar solos!!), even the Ramones or Journey, it feels good to get in touch with why I made the lofty decision to be a musician many moons ago. And then when I put the guitar down, I am back to being 50 years old. That's not so bad.
We are all waiting for this storm to blow out to sea. It looks like the end is not in sight for a while. I think this has forced all of us to slow way down, whether we like it or not.
Time to binge on more Led Zeppelin stuff...
