Gigging Musicians and COVID-19?

[happyrat1]

I figure I may as well address the elephant in the room since nobody else so far has mentioned it.

While it's no big deal for all of us retired farts who like to stay home on a Saturday night I'm wondering if anyone out there is cancelling any venues because of the Wuhan Virus?

Doesn't matter if it's a concert hall or just a weekend bar gig.

How well are working musicians dealing with any upcoming cancellations for their gigs?

While I realize is that the cancellations are just beginning to happen, shocking reports like the NBA cancelling the season and the NHL playing unattended games are just beginning to roll out.

Hell, Trump just banned travel to and from Europe!

So what about you guys? Has it started happening to you already and what are your plans if and when it does?

So far the only people that I hear are adapting well to the situation are kids (who think they're immortal) snarfing up cheap flights to cheap resorts since they have no fear of the virus.

But the average attendee at a tribute concert is well into the gray hair and metamucil zone.

Gary

 

[delaware dave]

We spoke about this last night at band practice. We have about 2 dozen gigs booked so far in one of the bands that I'm in. Many of ours (at least 1/2) are outdoors. Not sure if outdoors makes a difference or not. But if the clubs begin to start closing then there is going to be an impact. I don't depend on music for income although the extra change in my pocket is nice to have. There is another thread about it here:

Let's assume there are no more concerts...

I think I know which way this will trend, but I want to throw this out for discussion, because it will--even if only temporarily--change things... Let's assume there are no more concerts... Let's say that coronavirus shuts down all large gatherings for an extended period of time. Or perhaps it's ...

forums.musicplayer.com

 

[happyrat1]

That thread is fascinating Dave and a must read for anyone who visits this thread.

Like you said, if you have alternative income it's no big deal but for those who pay all their bills with music they are looking at a potential 6 months to 2 years of being laid off. This could be devastating for those people.

I mean I don't even know but I doubt that unemployment insurance covers more than 3 or 4% of working musicians who work full time in symphonies and commercial studios and house bands in TV and on cruise ships. And I seriously doubt even those pay anything into UI as they are probably hired on as independent unincorporated contractors.

So what does that mean for the industry? Internet streaming and live studio concerts on broadcasts?

I would hate to suddenly have to be pounding the pavement job hunting right now because so many industries worldwide are going to be shutting down and laying people off in the months to come. Anything in hospitality is going to be nearly impossible in a lockdown that could go on for months.

What does that leave in job openings? The healthcare industry will see a spike in demand for personal support workers to deal with the sick but even they need a 3 or 6 month college diploma to qualify in that profession. They'll probably fast track the programs as demand rises.

This year will not be a pleasant one for most people.

The markets are sinking like a dead whale and nobody is thinking ahead of their next paycheck, but we're going to have to see some radical solutions in the coming months if anyone is going to get thru this.

Gary

 

[Rayblewit]

I wake up early today 5:30 am.
Just hearing the radio news. The Melbourne Grand Prix is about to be cancelled. . . Not confirmed yet but inevitable.

 

[happyrat1]

Breaking news here. NHL is cancelling the rest of the season.

Formula One, Professional Hockey, Basketball, eventually we're all going to have to sit at home eating chips and watching Netflix.

Gary

 

[Biggles]

Just watched Lask (an Austrian team) play Manchester United on TV with no crowd.

There is another match taking place in Greece against another Brit team and again no spectators.

Italy is in total lockdown.

I went shopping for out weekend groceries and those damn Aussies have been over here and raided our stores, no toilet paper, zilch, na da, nothing.

What does Boris the Bad do? Changes the risk level to Delay, whatever the effin hell that is supposed to mean.

Its not just Musicians whose livelyhood is at risk, anyone who is self employed has the potential to be a mobile contagion.

8% of the over 65s who contract Covid will more than likely die and for the over 80s that figure rises to 19%.

 

[happyrat1]

I visited my general practitioner two days ago to renew my prescriptions and my annual checkup.

Posted on the front door when you walk in is a note asking you to wear a mask if you have a cough or a cold.

Inside the waiting room, 30 people sitting there and not a mask in sight.

Surgical masks on Walmart.ca and Amazon.ca? Starting at $20 for a pack of five!!! And they're mot even N95, ergo worthless against COVID-19.

At those prices they can blow me.

Travel sized bottle of Purell? $7 a bottle!!!

At this rate the profiteers will be picking our bones along with the vultures by summertime.

Gary

 

[CowboyNQ]

No government or venue enforced gig cancellations here yet - but clearly it's impacting others around the world.

My touring band is having a meeting tomorrow to discuss strategy if dates on our 2020/21 tour get cancelled. We don't start until July which may/may not work in our favour. Too early to tell at this point.

 

[Rayblewit]

No government or venue enforced gig cancellations here yet

That was 11.39 am my time today when you posted this Paul.
But all that has changed now (4:30pm) as the gov't. just suggested bans of mass gathering of 550+
Concert halls would be in that group.

 

[Biggles]

Now Eire has introduced many restrictions yet free mobility over the border into Northern Ireland and back still has no limitations.

Aussie F1 GP cancelled.

One Football match off in the UK as Arsenal Manager has tested positive.

Canadian PM’s Wife is positive hence both are self isolating for two weeks.

Boss of our UK National Health Service expects the peak not to be reached until May/June

 

[CowboyNQ]

That was 11.39 am my time today when you posted this Paul.
But all that has changed now (4:30pm) as the gov't. just suggested bans of mass gathering of 550+
Concert halls would be in that group.

Yep.

 

[happyrat1]

Entering "covid-19" into google this morning produces 8 billion hits.

Is it too soon to name a band after it?

Seriously though, 10 hours ago Canadian scientists announced they have isolated and cultured the virus individually, hopefully the first step in producing a vaccine.

Canadian research team isolates novel coronavirus behind COVID-19 | Globalnews.ca

The two Ontario universities with researchers on the team are McMaster University and the University of Toronto.

globalnews.ca

Canadian research team isolates novel coronavirus behind COVID-19

Researchers from Sunnybrook Research Institute and two Ontario universities have managed to isolate and grow copies of the new coronavirus that has caused the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic.

“Thanks to nimble collaboration, the team was able to culture the virus from two clinical specimens in a Level 3 containment facility,” said a news release by Sunnybrook on Thursday.

...snip...

Gary

 

[Keroleen]

Breaking news here. NHL is cancelling the rest of the season.

Formula One, Professional Hockey, Basketball, eventually we're all going to have to sit at home eating chips and watching Netflix.

Gary

...and today ASHL and another local beer league is suspended too.....might as well trade in my hockey stick for an instrument now.

 

[Biggles]

Boris the Bad and his cohorts are rushing through legislation so they can ban gatherings.

Rumour has it that a gathering is an assembly of more than 500 people, and has it happens there are over 650 Members of Parliament so are they in turn going to be banned from The House of Commons?

The Queen has cancelled her engagements, thus opening up a route for Boris the Bad to usurp the throne and regain what his distant ancestors once had.

 

[happyrat1]

The Canadian House of Commons and the Ontario Provincial Legislature have also both decided to take a breather for a few weeks. Schools and Universities and Colleges are all shutting down or going to E-Learning for the next few foreseeable weeks.

Disney and Universal are shutting down in Orlando. Live theater is shutting down. Even television production, any show with a live audience is going on hiatus, including the likes of Colbert, Fallon, Ellen, and even sitcoms.

Westjet, among others, are predicting 50% layoffs.

It's sort of eerie, like The Day The Earth Stood Still.

What comes next? The alien invasion or the zombie apocalypse?

Gary

 

[happyrat1]

Here's a fairly comprehensive listing of how the virus is impacting the entertainment industry in North America...

https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1128448/how-the-coronavirus-is-impacting-hollywood-and-entertainment

Gary

 

[b3maniac]

So far my primary band group has had at least 7 gigs which are cancelled, and many other regional groups are reporting many cancellations as well. Many spring public events are also cancelled (sports, celebrations, etc), even the St. Patrick's Day celebration in Savannah GA has been cancelled. The small town about 23 miles Northwest of me has 7 confirmed cases of the virus , and the next town up from them has 6 confirmed cases.....those are the total cases in our state (South Carolina). My wife and I have eliminated casual trips to town to reduce our potential for exposure (we live 5 miles out of our town , which has no cases yet). Since we live in the range of coastal hurricanes, we stay somewhat prepared for an interruption of normal life , so we are just sticking close to home and waiting. I just wonder why all the emergencies have been declared and what is it that we are not being told?

 

[happyrat1]

According to my brother, millenials are calling COVID-19 "Boomer Remover." Some of my more paranoid friends are insisting it was genetically engineered to kill off the pensioners before we bankrupt the world's economy

Personally I live like a hermit to begin with so not much has changed in my life. I've been buying my groceries online for the past two years now so no change there either. With an unlimited phone plan and skype I keep in touch with friends and relatives around the country and try to help them get over their panic.

My cousin has two sons who have been living in Thailand for the past two years and she's freaking out about them returning home before the borders close and their health insurance is voided.

There's been reports of fist fights in a couple of Costcos back in Montreal who have now resorted to stationing a couple of beat patrol officers out front.

Panic buying continues. How much toilet paper do people think they'll need?

Meanwhile I'm actively trying to rebalance my retirement portfolio to keep from ending up living in a cardboard box next year.

As the military so eloquently puts it, "SNAFU..." (Situation Normal All F***ed Up...)

Gary

 

[happyrat1]

FOR FREE! That is what he says . .
How?

What the hell Ray? Could you possibly BE more off topic?


EDIT >>> Sorry I blew up Ray. After getting a few minutes into the video I saw it actually was Covid-19 related, though it really is just a sleazy marketing gimmick of Korg capitalizing on the free publicity.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

I moved the Korg Kaossilator post to a new thread in the Korg subforum, as I thought it merited its own topic.