We know artists are deeply impacted by COVID-19, both in their artistic career and in side gigs in other industries dependent on social interaction. Can you give us some insight into what has changed for you?
Our whole lives changed instantly. All of our gigs were cancelled. Suddenly facing a very uncertain financial future, we decided to leave California and move back to Durham. We packed up and drove across the country a week later.
The initial impetus for leaving was to escape the exorbitant rent we were paying—but we also quickly realized that it also felt like a call to home, to a place where we made roots, have community, feel safe, and have the time and space to go through our artistic and life processes at our own pace, which is rather slow!
Has your artistic practice been affected?
We had just done the initial recording session for our next album, What to Wear in the Dark, when everything shut down. So after a few weeks of dealing with suddenly moving across the country, resting, and absorbing what’s going on in the world, we are just starting to listen to those tracks and are working on finishing this record.
Do you have any words of hope, or artistic work you’ve found comfort in, that you’d like to share?
This is an unusual and tragic time, but it is also a very rare interruption in the endless forward momentum of modern life. And with that comes the possibility of noticing things about how we’ve been living and why. We can consider whether we actually want to continue on as we were or if we want to go about things differently. So amidst the tragedy, there’s also a chance to reflect and realign ourselves which is good for the soul. It also may be quite necessary to live in what may be very a different world ahead of us.
Livestream Details: Kate Mcgarry & Keith Ganzlivestream details