Kevin Barrett COVID Testimonial
Author: Kevin Barrett
[email protected]
Date: March 24, 2021
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Ottawa Jazz Happenings or of JazzWorks Canada.
I’m a freelance guitarist, and have traditionally made my living through a combination of playing live, musical direction, arranging, producing and teaching. Some of you might know me from the time I was on the faculty at Jazzworks, or from times I’ve been lucky enough to gig with some of the great musicians in Ottawa – John Geggie, Gerri Trimble, Roddy Ellias, Peter Woods, Karen Oxorn, and others.
On March 1, 2020, I flew to Edinburgh to begin a UK tour with a great singer-songwriter from the southern USA, Bronwynne Brent and Brazilian-born, Scotland-based bassist Mario Caribe. We rehearsed March 2 & 3, and hit the road early on March 4 for our first gig (that evening, in Southport, England). News was flying fast about the “coronavirus” but no-one really knew what was coming; I was busy getting my ears and fingers around a large repertoire of new music, and happy for three weeks of steady work.
The tour carried on – March 5 in Birmingham, March 6 in Selby…. On Tuesday March 10 we played the famous “Green Note” in London’s Camden neighbourhood. It was a great gig, but numbers were down. We’d sold out in advance, but the room was only at about 80% capacity. People were starting to stay home…..
The next morning, the WHO declared that we were in a pandemic.
Over the next week, the UK government seemed to be taking a very laissez-faire attitude, with talk of “herd immunity” and a lot of confused messaging. The Canadian government was much more direct, appealing to citizens to return home from abroad. As the days (and gigs) went by, I grew more concerned about what to do, but — faced with much contradictory advice, and the prospect that the tour might be my last paid work for a while – I carried on. But after another few days, I started to look at changing my flight and getting back to Canada sooner than my March 25 booking. I didn’t get farther than dead-end holds on Air Canada’s phone line and unsuccessful attempts to log in to their website. Then the tour started to unravel. Before our March 15 gig (Saltaire, England), we learned that one gig the following week was off. As we left the stage following our March 16 show (back in Edinburgh) an email arrived from the agent confirming that everything was cancelled from then on.
That began a flurry of attempts to change flights, including a trip to the Edinburgh airport March 18, where I was refused boarding a flight I had booked. Through some tricky phone work and hours (and hours) of “on-hold” time with Air Canada, I managed to book a Heathrow – Toronto flight for March 20, and was then able to assemble a combination of buses and domestic flights to get there from Edinburgh. Heathrow was jam-packed with bewildered passengers, staff and officials, stress levels were high everywhere, and overall it was an experience I’ll be happy never to go through again. By Friday night, March 20 I was on a nearly-empty bus home from the Toronto airport, and directly into two weeks of quarantine.
By the middle of the following week, more and more of my colleagues were doing “live-streamed gigs” and I decided to try one out. I wasn’t really sure what was involved, but what else to do from the boredom of my one-room existence?
Since March 27, 2020, I’ve been “Live from Lockdown” almost every Friday. (I’ve missed a couple, but this week will be my 50th!) I archive the sessions on my Youtube channel. I’ve moved my (small) teaching practice on-line, and learned how to teach private lessons and Master Classes via Zoom. I’m gotten involved with several innovative platforms exploring on-line live performance with multiple musicians. I’m learning more and more about remote recording and production. I’ve faced some large personal challenges, and relocated my studio several times. I’ve learned a huge amount about software systems, on-line platforms and audio and video gear that I never imagined I’d be into: Logic Pro, OBS, UA Console, Logitech, Focusrite, Blackhole 16ch, Aggregate Devices, EpocCam, Soundflower, Zoom, Teams … anyone reading this has their own list. The learning curve has been as steep as it was unanticipated, but like many of us, I try to do what I can to survive and keep working.
I just got an appointment for my first vaccine dose next week. I’m desperately hoping that it will be a step towards a return to the thing I love the most — making music with other people, in the same room. I hope to play for, and with, many of you again soon!
Kevin Barrett
[email protected]
On March 1, 2020, I flew to Edinburgh to begin a UK tour with a great singer-songwriter from the southern USA, Bronwynne Brent and Brazilian-born, Scotland-based bassist Mario Caribe. We rehearsed March 2 & 3, and hit the road early on March 4 for our first gig (that evening, in Southport, England). News was flying fast about the “coronavirus” but no-one really knew what was coming; I was busy getting my ears and fingers around a large repertoire of new music, and happy for three weeks of steady work.
The tour carried on – March 5 in Birmingham, March 6 in Selby…. On Tuesday March 10 we played the famous “Green Note” in London’s Camden neighbourhood. It was a great gig, but numbers were down. We’d sold out in advance, but the room was only at about 80% capacity. People were starting to stay home…..
The next morning, the WHO declared that we were in a pandemic.
Over the next week, the UK government seemed to be taking a very laissez-faire attitude, with talk of “herd immunity” and a lot of confused messaging. The Canadian government was much more direct, appealing to citizens to return home from abroad. As the days (and gigs) went by, I grew more concerned about what to do, but — faced with much contradictory advice, and the prospect that the tour might be my last paid work for a while – I carried on. But after another few days, I started to look at changing my flight and getting back to Canada sooner than my March 25 booking. I didn’t get farther than dead-end holds on Air Canada’s phone line and unsuccessful attempts to log in to their website. Then the tour started to unravel. Before our March 15 gig (Saltaire, England), we learned that one gig the following week was off. As we left the stage following our March 16 show (back in Edinburgh) an email arrived from the agent confirming that everything was cancelled from then on.
That began a flurry of attempts to change flights, including a trip to the Edinburgh airport March 18, where I was refused boarding a flight I had booked. Through some tricky phone work and hours (and hours) of “on-hold” time with Air Canada, I managed to book a Heathrow – Toronto flight for March 20, and was then able to assemble a combination of buses and domestic flights to get there from Edinburgh. Heathrow was jam-packed with bewildered passengers, staff and officials, stress levels were high everywhere, and overall it was an experience I’ll be happy never to go through again. By Friday night, March 20 I was on a nearly-empty bus home from the Toronto airport, and directly into two weeks of quarantine.
By the middle of the following week, more and more of my colleagues were doing “live-streamed gigs” and I decided to try one out. I wasn’t really sure what was involved, but what else to do from the boredom of my one-room existence?
Since March 27, 2020, I’ve been “Live from Lockdown” almost every Friday. (I’ve missed a couple, but this week will be my 50th!) I archive the sessions on my Youtube channel. I’ve moved my (small) teaching practice on-line, and learned how to teach private lessons and Master Classes via Zoom. I’m gotten involved with several innovative platforms exploring on-line live performance with multiple musicians. I’m learning more and more about remote recording and production. I’ve faced some large personal challenges, and relocated my studio several times. I’ve learned a huge amount about software systems, on-line platforms and audio and video gear that I never imagined I’d be into: Logic Pro, OBS, UA Console, Logitech, Focusrite, Blackhole 16ch, Aggregate Devices, EpocCam, Soundflower, Zoom, Teams … anyone reading this has their own list. The learning curve has been as steep as it was unanticipated, but like many of us, I try to do what I can to survive and keep working.
I just got an appointment for my first vaccine dose next week. I’m desperately hoping that it will be a step towards a return to the thing I love the most — making music with other people, in the same room. I hope to play for, and with, many of you again soon!
Kevin Barrett
[email protected]