How Musicians Are Coping During COVID-19

Artists and musicians have been in a fuzzy state of confusion attempting to adjust to an entire world flipped on its axis. After all, no one was prepared for the country-wide shutdowns that ensued from the spread of COVID-19. Shows and tours have either been postponed or completely canceled in order to protect public safety. This has forced everyone in the music industry to rethink their immediate strategies, as well as those of the future. Live streams and virtual shows have quickly saturated the internet as the world wide web was deemed people’s last means for interaction. Others, however, have decided to explore opportunities and divert in a completely different and radical direction.

Maddy O’Neal, a Denver local DJ/producer, was initially in shock as her gigs began to be canceled and she felt as if life as we know it was suddenly put on pause. She wasn’t alone. Over the past month, anxiety began bubbling up as people all around her lost their jobs and lack of income. She, like us all, watched as it became a national crisis. For the first couple weeks after the ‘stay at home’ order was put into effect, it felt like everyone was the star of their own Twilight Zone episode, she said. However, O’Neal explained that she is now getting acclimated to this isolated existence and setting new intentions for herself, as well as her music.

“Staying positive and trying only to think about what I can control has been my biggest motivator. I’m trying to build up my arsenal so that I can be ready for when live shows are eventually safe again. I’m so grateful that I have music during this time, it’s kind of prime time for producers and I'm learning a lot of new stuff,” said O’Neal.

O’Neal didn’t dive into live streaming or online lessons right away, as she took some time to rest, recuperate, and process everything going on around her. Although, now, she is ready to start sharing her music with people again, even if it’s on a smaller scale than before. After working on upgrading much of her equipment, Maddy has been teaching online Ableton workshops through a new site called Live Lesson Masters. The site was created by Marc Brownstein, a member of the Disco Biscuits, as a response to the situation. She also took the time to do a live stream of a mix she put together during the quarantine. The live stream was well received and many reached out about how impressed they were, as “Serato” DJ sets are not her usual method. It seems that quarantine is allowing some the opportunity to crawl out of their comfort zone. She does, however, plan to do a live stream with an original set sometime soon. Her first quarantine set is available for you right here via Soundcloud.

Maddy O'Neal · Quaranstream Mix Vol. 1

Social distancing has also given O’Neal an excuse to get back to projects she had kept on the sidelines for months prior. The current goal is trying to get back the energy that being in front of an audience has always given her. One project that O’Neal is most excited about is the long awaited duo project from her and Megan Hamilton. There have been whispers about their combined efforts for roughly a year and fans have been itching to hear what such an iconic collaboration would produce. Maddy gave us the inside scoop that their new project will be called “Housewives”, appropriately named for the circumstances that finally brought their music together. While nothing is quite ready for release, O’Neal hopes that they will be ready to show the world what they have been working on within a month or so.

As for other artists, such as producer and visual puppeteer Soren Peterson, this quarantine may lead to an entirely new life objective. At first, he was completely caught off guard and bewildered by how quickly we were all thrown into this alternate reality. One where everything is uncertain and changing every day. At the same time, he also feels lucky to be working in an industry that has been considered essential, allowing him to keep his primary job. He also described how this experience has given him an opportunity to think about his true motivations and how they can lead him to make a difference!

For example, certain events transpired that led Peterson to become acquaintances with a 96-year-old woman who introduced him to a brand new music technology. As he described it, the technology is a bed that allows an individual to lay down and become immersed by vibrations and frequencies that are transmitted through it. The technology allows someone to truly feel the music like never before, a tangible experience without an overwhelming sound. In other words, the bed allows a person to ride the wave of a track and literally feel connected to sounds as they pass through.

Peterson has been inspired by this technology, hoping to one day create solo sessions with the sonic booth. The intent is to create a deeper emotional state and connection through music, to provide people more sustenance through it. Peterson is confident that his experience as a DJ and producer has led him to this new path, as he has already been hungry for something new and different than just playing live shows. The bed/booth will give him an opportunity to provide a new form of music therapy and even create personalized playlists for an individual. He even hopes that it can even be used for simple recreational enjoyment and has he feels it has real potential to become addictive to people, but hopefully in the best way possible.

It may be hard to comprehend how this technology looks or works until you experience it first hand and while Peterson is still just experimenting, he hopes to share it with others as soon as he can. In fact, down the road, there is even greater potential for ways in which this technology can be utilized. Peterson hopes that he can eventually introduce psychedelics into sessions and use them as a form of treatment as well. We live in a state where psilocybin mushrooms are decriminalized and microdosing has the ability to awaken profound conscious realizations in partnership with music. During a time when society is rethinking what is truly important in life, it may be the perfect time to re-engage our priorities and awaken a deeper sense of ourselves.

Peterson described it like this, “I know the shutdown played an important role in me being able to find and get access to this new technology. I believe that everything happens for a reason and we are all connected somehow. This whole situation has made us rethink our conclusions and attempt to gain more clarity for what drives us. It makes it clear that we are a part of a fragile system and often, an illusion.”

All in all, we are all discovering what we are capable of and finding new ways to cope. If we can take care of ourselves, we can start to take care of one another and allow optimism to ripple out. There is a lot of bad news circulating every day, but it is so important to stay educated, productive, and remember that there is still so much to be grateful for.