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I’m a working class musician. Have been for my entire adult life. In that time I’ve also been a staunch defender of the artist’s life, and the importance of art in our society.
We need art. We need music. We need movies. We need photographs. Art helps us process emotions and reflects our world back at us in order for us to better understand ourselves, each other, the universe.
We are at a crossroads. COVID-19 has dealt a major blow to performing artists, and will continue to do so. For how long is anybody’s guess. Summer provides some performance opportunities with patios and other outdoor venues, but when fall/winter hit, I feel the realities of the situation are going to start to hit home. CERB comes to an end in September. This is going to be a crushing blow for artists, the self-employed, and for the economy in general. I feel the Canadian government needs to implement a universal basic income through the tax system, or Canada will be in danger of seeing mass evictions and homelessness rivaling, or eclipsing that of the Great Depression.
However, I am skeptical that they will answer the call that history is making.
So, where does that leave me? How do I make a living?
I've been scratching my head, trying to figure out my next move. I'm a live performer. My summer schedule was reduced from 60 shows to 4, pretty much in a blink of an eye on March 17th. The internet has always provided me with very little in the way of income, but I am now faced with the harsh reality that the internet may be my biggest tool in earning an income. This is scary stuff!
The upside of this COVID mess is that I've had a lot of time to be creative. As a DIY musician, I've always spent more time running my business than I would have liked, and not enough time allowing the artistic process to flow unencumbered. These past months, with the turmoil in this world, have provided much inspiration for songwriting, and I am thankful to have a home studio in which to allow my ideas to take shape.
Over the next weeks and months I'll be sharing my creations with you, and I am asking for your support in my efforts by subscribing to my Bandcamp VIP member page ( http://tomsavage.bandcamp.com ). You will receive all my new creative output, exclusive content and merchandise, and help me raise funds for an eventual vinyl release of my next album.
I thank you all for your support of my music over these many years. It is now, in these most difficult and surreal times, that we need to make the internet a viable marketplace for artists and musicians. We need to stop the devaluation of music that started well before, but has now been accelerated by COVID-19.
Join me!
Something Real - words and music by Tom Savage
Flying on the edge of darkness
Straining to get a glimpse of the light
Can you live a life without purpose
Can you give up without a fight
When the enemy is in the shadows
The only thing you feel or see
When the truth is always the wrong answer
When Facts are made by order of decree
We want Love we want life we want liberty
And justice for one and all
Put a business suit on a tyrant
And say prosperity will come to call
Who’s prospering around here? I don’t see much of that. All I see is a hopeless tide
You keep saying work hard it will be alright. I call that propping up an age old lie
Is anything real
Is anything real
Is anything real
The bank says don’t pay until later
But the interest will keep piling on high
Business as usual when nothing is usual
A practice nobody seems to decry
I’m falling you’re falling we’re falling
One way trip down into the abyss
Looking for some kind of sign this ain’t all just a dream
Is anything real
Is anything real
I want something real
Tomorrow is the answer to the questions we all have
Hang onto each other
Hang onto the love
I’m falling you’re falling we’re falling
We pull each other up out of this
I’m dreaming you’re dreaming we’re dreaming
A better day is gonna come
And the change will be real
Yeah the change will be real
I want something real
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