Firstly – how beautiful is this video created by Tnee at Raw Mint!?
The world is continuing to try and push on through this current crazy pandemic situation. I’ve been saturated by health updates, panicked misinformation, offers for a billion different live streamed classes and live-streamed gigs from all my many incredible musician friends around the world. The emails and messages flying into my inbox cancelling all my hard earned and organised performance work have subsided for now. There’s nothing left to cancel. But I’ve been feeling the pressure to get everything organised in a few days. Learn different technologies, re-direct all my energy that was ready to be on and off tour for a few months and spend even MORE time on a screen than I had to previously (which is a lot when you are a sole-trading freelance musician). Needless to say, it’s been a rollercoaster – and I know you are all in a similar boat with different sized waves. SO …
I obviously won’t be holding a house party to celebrate the launch of my Patreon this Sunday. Also, due to restrictions and common sense, I also won’t be live streaming my large bands in my home studio. I am also personally feeling overwhelmed by how live stream has become the new normal and don’t feel the urge to add to the the large pool of screen time everyone is now consuming. I’ll be aiming for a more soft style launch of my Patreon, focusing on music and videos requested by my friends and also students as a starting point to keep us more connected in this strange time of being apart. I’m also taking the time to learn new technologies and set up my home studio for quality recording and videos – which is a daunting and long process. It is frustrating and getting me down more than it normally would and with gig revenue a thing of the past, the costs associated are also a larger burden.
A friend, and music industry professional who I deeply respect, told me yesterday that a lot of us (musicians, artists, event and entertainment professionals) have gone through a trauma with all the hard earned gigs and tours disappearing overnight and that it is ok to stop for a bit and take time for yourself to recover. So I made the decision to move with the whirlpool a little instead of fighting against the tide, and take my time to find the right path through this situation.
I would love you to become part of my online Patreon family. So please check it out!