Staying at Home = Staying Creative

I hope you are doing as well as can be expected under these unprecedented circumstances we find ourselves in. After the initial shock, and coming to terms with the fact that I may not be able to perform live for several weeks or months, I've settled into a fairly productive creative time.

Still hoping the government relief is simple and straightforward to access for everyone who needs it(basically the entire service industry, which the live music business falls under), but aside from that I'm finding multiple projects to keep me busy. In addition to music, I've been cooking and baking, and with nicer weather on its way, I look forward to getting out to work on the back garden.

Being a DIY musician for many years, I've often imagined what it would be like to be able to focus solely on the art of making music, and not have to worry about booking and promoting shows, and the additional tasks that come with the job. COVID-19 has provided artists such as myself the opportunity to do just that. 

Check out my girlfriend  @kritchiephoto on instagram to see her beautiful isolation creations - https://www.instagram.com/kritchiephoto/

Before capitalist society came to a grinding halt, my friend and neighbour Kevin Bowers and I had begun to work on a recording project, so we dove right in when the self-isolation guidelines kicked in, and plan to record remotely with collaborators Jason Mercer, Chris Brown, and Pete Bowers to finish up the works.

Have a listen to Alcatraz:  https://youtu.be/uxbw2_dYT_M

This time of self-isolation also gave me the opportunity to go back and take another look at the song, and see where I could take it. Have a listen and share it around.

The song is called "Beach Blanket Bingo Bottle Toke". One of my favourite titles of all time! - http://tomsavage.bandcamp.com

The guitar and vocal for this song were tracked during sessions for my 2014 record "History of a Common Man". Same day as the opening track for that album, "Skinny Kid", and played on the same $40 flea market nylon string guitar (an El Degas for those who are curious). The song didn't quite fit with the mood of that album, at least from a production standpoint. I envisioned something different than the Country Folk sounds on "History". More like Space Folk or something...Blade Runner Folk?

I also worked on this cool video project with Tony Silvestri - https://fundrazr.com/tonystipjar He's raising funds for his long-awaited and soon-to-be-released album!

Stay creative,

Tom