And what about the historic venues such as Small Jazz Club in New York City? They are ...small...if you require there to be a 6 foot separation, then it will take only about 10 people to "pack" the place. Rent prices in NYC are completely ridiculous. How will these places pay the bills? It used to be the idea (and the necessity) to crowd and squeeze together in many of these places...just to be able to break even!

I can speak as a New Yorker. I live in Queens, which was the center of the epicenter. The pandemic was very real here. Everyone knows multiple people who have died or been sick. I was sick myself. So here, I think it will take a long time for bars, restaurants, sports venues etc to open, and thats if they open. They may not have the cash to hold out and re start. Heck, they're talking about not opening the schools here till January!!!

I will say that the heavy anxiety is lifting now, the weather is warming up and people, while still wary, are ready to get back to living normally, so the people will be ready, but I'm not sure that the bars and clubs and all the rest will be. But, this is NYC, and we somehow always land on our feet, so I will hold out hope for a return to normalcy.

It will all come back. We're all gun shy right now because it's still so prevalent. I think once the infection rate drops and the pandemic stops dominating the nightly news every night, we'll start getting back out to doing what we love. Human beings are social animals, and it's not in our nature to hibernate.

I hope so.

But something just seems like it's going to be changed forever. Will this be the way the world handles itself every time? Most of the musicians I know, live paycheck to paycheck and have no savings and are always just barely making it. When the economy shuts down, only those people who can work online or have money saved up, are going to be able to wait it out. A studio apartment rents for $2500 a month around here. Even before the pandemic hit, another local mainstay live music venue had shut its doors forever due to the economy and just plain lack of audiences. A lot of restauranteurs, who were jussssst barely making it before, are going to be too discouraged to reopen. And I also feel as if this will just create another division between groups of people - those who wear masks and those who don't...etc.

I'm hopeful....that my pessimism is wrong.

We need to be optimistic about the future of live shows,our band is on a break for the summer,luckily all of us are retired and have a secured monthly income,we have 35 signed contracts starting in October and beyond ,time is on our side, letshope and pray this passes soon,

I am spending some of my down time catching up on my reading. I thought it was ironic that I am reading the collected Ludwig Drummers book and am on the topic of the Great Depression and the advent of talkies putting the music business in a serious hurt. I am retired but do remember somewhat of a ripple in the drum and music industry when the Linn drum machines and similar disco events put a real (or perceived?) chill in the music industry. Of course that pales when compared to the Spanish Flu of 1918-19. One of the victims of that event was Theobald Ludwig who contracted the flu while trying to do business with the Army. I rent instruments to symphonies and I believe the larger the musical group or the audience (think marching bands and drum and bugle corps) the more damage will be done. I just hope it doesn't kill music in the public schools. I do think we will recover from all of this but it might be an awfully long time. Anyway, stay safe, and this too shall pass.

As a working drummer, acoustic guitar duo vocalist and percussionist, I and many other of my musician friends are taking a major hit here in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, just as I'm sure you all to the south of us are. We are fortunate that we are receiving a $2000 per month government assistanc benefit, as are all other self employed individuals, which is supposed to end by the end of July. At the moment, there is no word from the government to extend that monthly benefit passed the anticipated 4 month shut down. The British government is looking to extend its citizen's benefits until october, but will be asking emloyers to fork up half the bill. If you're self employed like so many are, then we won't be getting much to support ourselves and our families. Fortunately, it's just me and my common law wife, so there aren't any little mouths to feed, but we still have a hefty rent to pay. The world is taking a beating economically, socially, psychologically, and spiritually. Mass depression is a very real situation, and with that comes potential for people harming themselves, something of which i know all too well having a sister with mental illness. I'm a born again Christian and hold strong to my faith and spirituality during these uncertain times, and it helps me tremendously, keeping me calm, at peace, physically and spiritually strong, and level headed. I am currently running and working out every single day, and have even cut down extremely on alcohol intake, seeing as how I've been out of work for the last 2 and half months. Not that I was a heavy drinker anyway, consuming only a whiskey or two the entire night. LoLoLoLo. Whatever the case, I think the world has to focus on being critical in their thinking, not always relying on the mainstream media for vital information, or taking to social media as a distraction, respecting neighbors and their privacy, ( as in not snitching on neighbors or friends) and connecting with family, and friends in a respectful and safe way. If there was ever a time in human history to connect with oneself, and/or their loved ones, and their God on a deeper level other than the empty and vacuous connection of social media or routine/going through the motion of faith service attending, it would be now during this unsettling time of self or forced home quarantine. May God bless and protect us all during this time of adversity. Stay strong my drumming brothers and sisters, and more importantly, stay safe and healthy.

Cheers,

Rob

Well, we had a beautiful day here in NYC yesterday, and everyone was out in droves! Beaches and boardwalks were packed and parks they can't close were also crowded. While there are people that are still afraid of this thing, by and large, people are very ready to go back to normal, and not some kind of "new normal". So I have hope for us.

But our local government is killing us with continuing draconian measures and will not begin opening up the city. Everything is going to go bankrupt here, from our massive subway system, our many bridges and tunnels, real estate, business's etc, yet they don't seem to care.They want a federal bailout! Well, you can't ask for money if your not being at least a little proactive! We have the worst mayor in our cities history at the worst possible time to lead us out of this mess.

The people are waking up and won't stand for it much longer. I'm waiting for the small business's to just open their doors and screw the governor and mayor. We're all adults and can make these responsible decisions without government directive. They have no constitutional leg to stand on. The land of the free and the home of the brave - lets go!

Jimmysticks - Yes, draconian is the word I would use, even the term "new world order". I have tons of family in the eastern U.S., and worry about them. Eventually, people will get fed up of the government's reaction to all this, and defy their rules. Here is a title for a video from a YouTube truther that I follow, discussing this whole situation, the deception in certain aspects of it, the ridiculous, unscientific methods being used, the propaganda from Bill Gates and his numerous foundations, and companies which stand to make billions from this pandemic, the controlled mainstream media narrative, what is happening to society because if it, and what the future potentially holds for society as a whole. May God bless and protect the people of New York, the entire United States, and the world from this tyranny they assume to have over us.

(Youtube search this - The SECOND WAVE: Take a Ride (A Documentary )

Cheers,

Rob