The Sound of the Pandemic

Adhoc spoke to some artists on how the pandemic really affected them. 

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Neil Smith,  lead singer and rhythmic from Peach Pit, spoke on how down-trodden he was on the cancelled tour: "We were supposed to go on tour on April 23, so that’s kind of a huge bummer but I’m just glad we got to put the album out, " Smith explains.  He also states how he has been more productive while sitting in quarantine. "I think we’ve actually been more productive this pandemic than we ever have before. We’ve been trying to organize live-streaming when we were putting out the album, and we’ve been making guitar tutorials for some of our songs—which we’ve been actually meaning to do for a super long time. I know that when I was younger trying to learn how to play songs from bands that I like, I always wished they would show me exactly how they do it, so that’s been kind of fun," says Smith. 

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Harrison Swan, a band member of Talk Show, shares how drastically quarantine has changed him. " The roll-out has been completely reliant on social media. I never thought I’d say it, but the internet has saved our release. If people weren’t able to buy it or online or stream it, we’d have no chance. As a band, we’ve always been vocal about gigging and doing things the ‘old fashioned way’, but weirdly it’s flipped everything," Swan explains. With nowhere to buy vinyls or CDs, the only way to keep the band going was through social media.  Now, in today's age, especially while having to stay home, everything we need or desire is at the tips of our thumbs. 

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Dana Margolin, songwriter, lead guitarist, and vocalist for Porridge Radio, expresses her thoughts on live streaming and reaching fans from the comforts of her home. "I’ve been doing a lot of live streams and have been able to be online more and engage with people, and it’s been really cool being able to talk to people and hear that people are really loving the album. The response has been really good so far, and I feel lucky to be able to still engage with people even though we can’t meet everyone and play shows in person," explains Margolin. Even though there is nothing like a live experience, Margolin can now reach people she never thought she could reach. 

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Dave Benton, singer-songwriter for Trace Mountains, did not ever live stream, even during the first stages of quarantine. " Releasing Lost in the Country during the Coronavirus pandemic was at first frustrating because we had all these great things planned to promote the record and perform the music live, but obviously everything had to be canceled. I spent a week or two being grumpy about live streaming, but once I came around to it I had a lot of fun connecting with people that way. The record release has given me lots of things to do while I’ve been stuck at home and I’m grateful for that. It’s also been really cool to provide some distractions for people & to share the music we worked so hard on with folks who need it right now," says Benton. Although his outlook on streaming has changed, he still is grateful for not depending on his band for income. Benton shares, "I’m lucky in some respect that I don’t rely on the band for my income, because I probably would feel much differently about all this if I did. Times are tight and I’m definitely concerned about what the landscape will look like after this is all over, but trying to take it day by day & do things that feel good right now."