Summer 2020: Is it everything you imaged?

So how is everyone’s pandemic summer of 2020 going? This is the summer of physical distancing, mask wearing, and if you’re a musician, unemployment. For those of us who are lucky enough to have additional employment, we are so far incredibly fortunate. 

Remember when we first started hearing about this back in January? I kept saying, Contagion, to my friend Erika, as we were living the hyperreality of watching a beloved family slip away right in front of our eyes. However, not even with all my years of work in the field of infectious disease education, did I see this slipping through the fingers of some of the world’s most powerful and populous nations. 

Add politics to the mix; a seemingly sudden disbelief in science; and the proliferation of misinformation campaigns through social media from both extreme sides of the political spectrum—amplified through foreign actors—and **BAM** welcome to Pandemic 2020. The world may well never be the same again. What a clusterfuck….

Wow, OK, so this is not where I was planning on taking this intro… Let’s get this back on track.

Trying to keep summer 2020, normal?

Since the research on playing saxophone and other wind instruments during the time of COVID is not yet complete, we don’t yet know what our employment is going to look like going forward. There is a new university-based study starting soon that will hopefully provide some much-needed answers.

For those of us who play music with others in front of audiences regularly, Pandemic Summer 2020 is anything but normal, and answers can’t come soon enough. All the musicians I know are doing different things to try and keep engaged. 

Most musicians are practicing 2+ hours a day. As my friend the trombone player said the other day: What else is there to do? 

Now that summer has finally arrived here on the West Coast, groups are getting together and practicing outside. I am hearing of more and more groups taking advantage of outdoor spaces, which allows them to practice proper physical distancing while working on some of their charts.

I just played with a small combo on Thursday. It was my first time playing with a group since March. I must admit it was a nice change. 

I know lots of musicians who are taking their efforts online. As much as I embrace tech, I have never loved the idea of recording anything in my studio. Whatever I record doesn’t sound right. I know it’s more involved than what my efforts have been to date. I just don’t have the time to research what I have to do, nor the time to learn how to use it.

I salute all of you who have mastered the art of home recording. That is one transferable skill I do not have, nor likely ever will.

How I am spending Pandemic Summer 2020

Yes, I am doing some playing, although not nearly as much as my friend the trombone player, or my friend and sometime-sax teacher in Anacortes. These guys are both way more committed than I am when it comes to practicing. 

I knew going into summer that my job was going to be working on getting Matterhorn Music switched over to a point of sale (POS) system, and that POS system integrated with a new e-commerce website. That is what I’m currently doing, which is why I am writing so little on my own websites. I am currently entering our rental inventory into the new database. 

Is the learning curve steep? Yup, it sure is. Fortunately I get to work from home. So my commute takes about 30 seconds, and I get to work in the mornings in my PJs with my hair askew.

Other than that my Summer 2020 is pretty much like my Spring 2020 was: Isolating at home and not going out unless I absolutely have to. We have broadened our social circle by only a couple of families, and still wear masks when in their homes. When visiting with them, we basically do it outside while maintaining proper social distance.

With the Canada/US border remaining closed, I can’t see my dearest friend who is family to me. I am sick about that. I also can’t get together with my friend and mentor in Anacortes. Normally in the summer, I spend a great deal of time in the States. Like for so many Canadians, COVID-19 has upended my travel plans. 

I am grateful that I was asked to play bari in this combo. They’ve been around for years, and recently had their bari player quit. This means, at least for the summer, I will get to play nice in the sandbox with others. OK, so it’s in a backyard by a cornfield, with greenhouses as a backdrop, but you get the idea….  😉 

So in conclusion then

Pandemic Summer 2020 will be one for the record books. Like so many others, I only hope that this doesn’t stay our new normal, and that somehow our world’s scientists find a solution. 

And on that note, where is that damn blender. I need a margarita…