We’ve been doing tutorials for people who are at home and want to learn our songs — something we’ve never been able to do — so I’m playing quite a lot. We’re demo-ing some songs, though everyone’s separated, so it’s tricky. But it’s making me learn how to deal with programs and learn how to send everything, so I guess that’s a bright side. I’m learning a little bit.
Last week when it all hit really bad in Spain, we had a lot of international fans asking what was happening, so we did an Instagram livestream between me and Carlotta, because obviously none of the band is together. So we did a livestream so people could ask questions and we could explain what was happening, and why it happened — because no one took it seriously. It feels like it’s been a bit of a domino effect, where Italy started, and then Spain, and now it’s slowly coming to the US and England and Germany. So we tried to explain what was happening so hopefully [everyone else] doesn’t get it as bad as we got it. If you prevent it, it will be easier.
Then that’s where the whole tutorial idea came from. We were like, “What should we do?” and people were like, “Play on acoustic!” or “Show a tutorial!” We’ve never had time to do tutorials properly, so we’ll do them. Basically, each of us recorded ourselves in our bedrooms playing — even Amber, the drummer, found some drums in the house she’s staying in. I think it’s really helpful and easy to follow!
The good thing about now is we’re doing tutorials of the new songs, but also the old songs so we’re doing a lot of work we haven’t done in a while. People are enjoying it — I guess they’re liking it because it gives them something creative. I think it’s good now to keep your mind joyful and to learn things, and I think music is the perfect way to do that. Most people never have time to pick a guitar up because they’re too busy working. But there’s that feeling of, Oh, god, what am I gonna do now? It gives you anxiety. But if you have something in front of you, it can be a bit easier I think.
I’m not really listening to that much, I’m just playing. We’ve been in quarantine for a week now, and I feel like most of the things that I’m doing on my phone, on my computer are passive — watching something, looking at something, hearing something. So I haven’t been actively discovering new things. I’ve been playing instruments, recording things, and it’s actually helping me stay more sane than just listening, so I don’t feel like I’m overdosing on information from the outside world. Actually making something and playing is working better for me.
(Photo Credit: Andrea Savall)
