LOCAL MUSICIANS The Beat Goes On!

by James Coulter

Due to the stay-at-home order brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak, most Floridians have been staying at home. This includes many musicians who rely on performances at local establishments for their income. However, many have remained productive during the lockdown. Here’s how many local artists have been spending their free time:

MARCUS BRIXA Guitarist, Singer-Song Writer, Teacher

When not performing guitar at local venues, he’s either repairing instruments or teaching guitar lessons at Carlton Music Center. Though the outbreak has prevented him from performing in person, it has not prevented him from doing what he otherwise normally does.

Marcus has been hosting lessons via Zoom, and he repairs instruments delivered to him. As for performances, while he cancelled his gigs over the next three months, he’s considering the free time a blessing for his creative output by recording, writing, and composing new music.

Marcus has participated in several jam sessions on-line. However, he misses being able to perform at live venues, especially during this time of year. He loves spring, as it’s the ideal weather for performing at outdoor venues like Bok Tower Gardens. He’s hoping his gigs will continue around the fall, another season with ideal performing weather.

“Not being able to meet with people personally has been a challenge, [as well as] learning how to make the [social] distancing valuable,” he said. “I love playing and interacting with people. I miss doing that.”

DUKE BURR B Haven, T Mike & Duke

Fortunately for him, Duke and the rest of the members of B Haven have other jobs they can work during the outbreak while their gigs were canceled. Glen Carlton owns Carlton’s Music Center, another band member works there, and Duke runs his own printing company.

While his work may have slowed down, he still maintains a consistent daily practice regiment. He has more than 50 years of music memorized, and he owes that ability to practicing every single day. After all, practice makes perfect!

He and his bandmates had recorded one song from their homes and uploaded it to Facebook where it has received well over a thousand views. As for their gigs, while they have been forced to cancel, they still support their local venues by ordering takeout from the eateries.

Duke hopes that things will eventually go back to normal. However, he’s concerned about how eateries and other venues will adapt following the pandemic, and whether the potential changes made will be sustainable enough to pay for a live band.

Moreover, he wonders how much he can trust those in charge to let them know what’s going on in the world, especially with COVID19.

“There are so many narratives spinning out around there you don’t know what to believe,” he said. “You can’t believe anything. You hear these things on the media, and you are wondering what the truth is.”

LAURIE & RUSTY WRIGHT DUO Laurie & Rusty Wright Duo, The Rusty Wright Band

As a traveling duo, Laurie and Rusty Wright have been hit hard by the pandemic. Their first week of cancellations cost them $13,000 alone, Rusty explained. Since then, they’ve shifted their focus to selling merchandise. They have expanded their sales, as well as added new items and services, including personalized songs and a restoration music club.

Recently, the two have hosted carport concerts from their home, entertaining their neighbors who drive up in their golf carts to see them, most of them maintaining social distancing by remaining six feet apart and wearing their masks.

While they have been able to host the occasional live streaming performances, they do not feel it provides the same personal connection as performing before a live audience and interacting with fans afterward.

“We both believe that this is a big part of the future,” Laurie explained. “Live music may not come back for a long time, at least not on a large level. Until there is a vaccine, I think people will be consuming their music in live streaming.”

ADRIENNE RICHARDS Acoustic Dose, Free Whiskey

Her last performance before the outbreak was at Cherry Pocket in Lake Wales on St. Patrick’s Day. She hasn’t performed since then. While other artists have streamed their performances on-line, she hasn’t quite taken that dip into the virtual realm.

Currently, she’s working on a project with Travis Williams to create a new album. She’s

also collaborating with other artists, each of them writing and recording a new song to release on-line.

Otherwise, Adrienne has utilized her free time to try her hands on other hobbies, reading a book here, baking in her kitchen there. Recently, she joined in a virtual baking session with her mother in Canada and brother in Oregon, each of them baking biscuits and trying them out for themselves through video chatting.

While she’s still able to exercise her musical abilities through practicing and songwriting, Adrienne misses being able to connect with people by performing live. Like every other artist, she hopes the outbreak will eventually pass and she will be able to perform again.

“I miss the people,” she said. “I am a people person. I love my friends, I love my town, and it is very strange to ride around downtown and drive by all the places we used to hang out, and everyone was abruptly stopped. It is strange to not be around my friends but in time we will come back.”

MICHEAL LUBECKE LuBeck, Iconic Opera

Micheal “LuBeck” Lubecke performs four to six shows a week, and tours at least once or twice a month. One week, he’ll be performing along the crystal clear waters of the Gulf; the other, along the salty surf of the Atlantic.

However, as soon as the outbreak fell, he was immediately notified by most of his booking agencies that his upcoming performances were dried up, though his prospects remain hopeful, he said.

“I have been assured by at least the east coast people that my schedule will remain the same,” he said. “So as soon as the quarantine, and the people start moving back out, apparently, I will be able to stick with my regular shows and tour schedules, which is fortunate.”

Since then, he’s kept himself busy and productive. He has worked on various albums for other people, and has released seven which he had co-produced.

Otherwise, he’s used the free time allotted to him to finally getting around to repairing stage

and sound equipment. To entertain himself, he’s been watching plenty of his favorite sci-fi flicks, and he’s been organizing and sorting through his antiques collection.

As someone who tours up and down each of the Florida coasts, he misses being able to visit the beach. Whenever he performed at his venues, he’d take the opportunity to visit the sandy shores and surf for fishing and Frisbees.

“I love my beach gigs,” he said. “I am an old sand dog...I look forward to that freedom of using the places that I play at, and when I am at the beach, I am constantly playing there.”

SCOTT HOOKER

While many other musicians rely on their performances for their income, Scott Hooker is an “essential worker” who plays music on the side. Fortunately enough, his normal job has allowed him to continue making a living even during the outbreak.

Many of his performances at live venues were canceled, but he’s still been able to perform with the occasional concert from his living room via Facebook Live. When not performing online, he has used his free time to experiment with music and write new songs.

“I find myself with a lot of free time on my hands,” he said. “It is a great opportunity for a creative outlet, and I have been writing a lot more.”

However, he knows that other musicians are not as fortunate enough as him. He knows that many of them rely on their performances as their meal ticket. As such, he has done his part to help highlight them and show them support and solidarity through these uncertain times.

As with most other artists and musicians, he misses being able to perform before an audience and interacting with the people. He misses being able to visit local establishments like Swan Brewery in Lakeland, and he hopes to do so again soon.

“Just getting out there and performing again, getting back and not only performing but patronizing them,” he said. “I plan on hitting as many local businesses as humanly possible because I know they are suffering right now and hurting.”

GEERT D’HOLLANDER Carillonneur, Bok Tower Gardens

Unlike other musicians, Geert D’hollander is always far from his fans. The player’s cabin is located at the top of Bok Tower Gardens’ Singing Tower, and he plays to listeners 205 feet below. The Gardens closed to the public in mid-March a few short weeks before the Easter Sunrise Service. Working collaboratively with his colleagues, he quickly began making plans to broadcast concerts to the public using Facebook Live. “The first concerts were a bit of disaster,” he said. “We had to learn an entirely new way to share our carillon concerts.” After much experimentation and several failed attempts, he is now sharing three concerts a week to audiences around the world. He is also performing the first ever-musical game show on Fridays that provides an opportunity for those at home to try to name that Tower tune. While these concerts are providing a distraction, “I miss the visitors who greet me after my daily concerts the most,” he said. The Bok Tower Gardens team was able to broadcast the 94th Annual Easter Sunrise Service via Facebook Live. More than 60,000 people have viewed the service, making it the largest concert in the history of the Gardens. “It was incredible to see how many people were impacted by our message of hope,” he said. He has also been instructing an aspiring carillon musician during the quarantine. “I have plenty of time now for mentoring and arranging,” he said. “I have to arrange more music now to keep our concerts fresh and exciting for people at home.” “If we cannot get the people to the Gardens, we have to get this beautiful music to the people,” he said. “I am now playing for squirrels.”