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James Alex of Beach Slang

Photos courtesy of Rachel Snyder

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Quarantine Diaries: Beach Slang's James Alex quarantine-diaries-beach-slangs-james-alex-making-mixtapes-watching-yellow-submarine

Quarantine Diaries: Beach Slang's James Alex Is Making Mixtapes & Watching "Yellow Submarine" With His Kids

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As the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic continues to rock the music industry, the Recording Academy reached out to a few musicians to see how they were spending their days indoors
GRAMMYs
Mar 25, 2020 - 10:53 am

As the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic continues to rock the music industry, the Recording Academy reached out to a few musicians to see how they were spending their days indoors. Today, Philadelphia-based rocker James Alex of Beach Slang shares his Quarantine Diary in a special format: What he's doing vs. What he WOULD be doing were it not for isolation.

[10:07 a.m.] What I'm Doing: Waking up, in my bed, to [my son] Oliver bellyflopping on my ribs.

[10:07 a.m.] What I Would Be Doing: Waking up, in a hotel bed, stinking of booze, with a half-eaten pizza next to me.

[12:23 p.m.] What I'm Doing: Butchering Beatles songs on the piano with [my sons] Oliver and Asher. 

[12:23 p.m.] What I Would Be Doing: Waking back up in a hotel bed, stinking of booze, with a completely eaten pizza next to me

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[2:05 p.m.] What I'm Doing: Playing full-family, full-contact beachball soccer in the backyard.

[2:05 p.m.] What I Would Be Doing: Hair-of-the-dogging at Cheer Up Charlies.

[4:14 p.m.] What I'm Doing: Scraping last tour's blood off my guitar. I really need to get on with guitar maintenance.

[4:14 p.m.] What I Would Be Doing: Wobbling down Red River to see friends' shows and batting my lashes at their drink tickets.

[6:47 p.m.] What I'm Doing: Getting the goons ready for bed—which means watching "Yellow Submarine"—which really means re-watching the "When I’m 64" scene at least three times then acting out the "Nowhere Man" scene at least twice. After that, very promptly, Ollie volunteers everyone for sleep.

[6:47 p.m.] What I Would Be Doing: Loading into Barracuda for the SXSW Official Showcase. "One foot in the door, the other foot in the gutter," you know?

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[8:12 p.m.] What I'm Doing: Sweating and grunting during my heavy bag workout. Look, in another life, I’m Sugar Ray Leonard or Marvin Hagler. In this one, I’ll take whatever the good-shape gods give me.

[8:12 p.m.] What I Would Be Doing: Strangling my guitar, spitting beer, shrieking into a microphone and falling in love.

[10:01 p.m.] What I'm Doing: Rehearsing songs for an online show I’m doing next weekend. I’m trying to rip out the distance that comes with that kind of thing.

[10:01 p.m.] What I Would Be Doing: Piling my friends together and crashing Adrian's place.

[12:15 a.m.] What I'm Doing: Working on my next mixtape. I’m doing a weekly series during this quarantine mess. And, yeah, I know, but I just can’t come around to calling them playlists.

[12:15 a.m.] What I Would Be Doing: Being Charlie’s responsibility.

[2:03 a.m.] What I'm Doing: Falling asleep while watching an AC/DC documentary.

[2:03 a.m.] What I Would Be Doing: Talking about watching an AC/DC documentary when I get back to my hotel room.

[4:08 a.m.] What I'm Doing: Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

[4:08 a.m.] What I Would Be Doing: Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

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If you wish to support our efforts to assist music professionals in need, visit: https://www.grammy.com/MusiCares/CoronavirusReliefFund

If you are a member of the music industry in need of assistance, visit: musicares.org.  

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Black Pumas

Photo by Jackie Lee Young

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Quarantine Diaries: Black Pumas' Eric Burton Is Working On A New Album & Spending Time In The Garden

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As the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic continues to rock the music industry, GRAMMY.com reached out to a few musicians to see how they were spending their days indoors
GRAMMYs
Sep 29, 2020 - 10:50 am

As the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic continues to rock the music industry, GRAMMY.com reached out to a few musicians to see how they were spending their days indoors. Today, Eric Burton from the GRAMMY-nominated duo Black Pumas shares his Quarantine Diary.

[10:05 AM] Good morning! It’s 10:05 AM in my world and trying to ride a vibe. My mornings usually start off with a cup of coffee, and one of my favorite tunes or a new tune that I had yet to have heard.

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[11:20 AM] I love visiting the garden! The squash at my friend’s place is beginning to produce. It’s nice to reflect on the process of growth and it’s very grounding to see it and touch it physically on a daily basis.

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[12:15 PM] One of my favorite things to do is check in with friends overseas. I feel so connected to be able to hear how things are going from their perspective as it pertains to our world and our lives. 

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[1:25 PM] Now I’m sitting down at a piano trying to keep that inspiration going to some degree. I make sure that there’s a lot of equipment or instruments around especially analog. The Black Pumas are working on our new album right now. We’ve got a few handfuls of ideas for material that my bandmate Adrian and I have been trading back and forth.

I think we spend most days really stoked about the opportunity we have to create time and space for ourselves to continue to do what we know and love. I usually am very motivated and competitive with myself to do something better than I did the last time. I tend to stay committed and focused playing music, just jamming out and seeing what I can come up with.

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[3:33 PM] I've moved from the piano to an analog keyboard now. I usually like to listen to music that is very much natural and acoustic and/or listen to music that has a lot of different weird kooky sounds that are more on the digital side, just for the idea. 

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[4:22 PM] The weather in Texas can be ever changing and in a short period of time. In that, it’s nice to observe it and reciprocate some art from it. I’m an autumn baby anyway, so maybe that plays a hand in how I feel at home in the rain today.

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Quarantine Diaries: Lisa Loeb Is Celebrating 25 Years Of "Stay (I Missed You)" & Watching "RuPaul's Drag Race"

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Lisa Loeb

Photo courtesy of Lisa Loeb

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Quarantine Diaries: Lisa Loeb quarantine-diaries-lisa-loeb-celebrating-25-years-stay-i-missed-you-watching-rupauls

Quarantine Diaries: Lisa Loeb Is Celebrating 25 Years Of "Stay (I Missed You)" & Watching "RuPaul's Drag Race"

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The GRAMMY-winning '90s mainstay is also releasing a new music video featuring Michelle Branch, "Doesn't It Feel Good"
GRAMMYs
Sep 23, 2020 - 8:22 am

As the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic continues to rock the music industry, GRAMMY.com reached out to a few musicians to see how they were spending their days indoors. Today, GRAMMY-winning indie-pop/rock favorite Lisa Loeb shares her Quarantine Diary. Lisa Loeb's latest studio album A Simple Trick To Happiness is out now. Watch Lisa's new video, "Doesn't It Feel Good" featuring Michelle Branch and directed by Jessa Zapor-Gray, exclusively on GRAMMY.com below. 

[7:00 a.m.] I start off the day early before the kids get up, to feed my 19-year-old diabetic Tortie cat and give her insulin, drink a strong coffee (Lisa Loeb Wake Up! blend, of course, perfect flavor and strong with milk and sugar), Ezekiel Bread toast with almond butter and super fruit jelly, and a walk outside before the day begins. The sun shines pink through the window at the top of the stairs at my house in Los Angeles. You can see the sunscreen on my nose, because it’s early and I always wear my sunscreen, but was probably too tired to notice I didn’t finish blending.

[7:45 a.m.] I make the kids breakfast, something like bagels or pancakes, fruit, bacon, yogurt, and hope that they eat it before they get into their virtual classes.

[9:30 a.m.] while my 8-year-old, Emet, has a break, I take a tap class—distanced, in the back yard, with masks. I love walking, dance classes and strength training, most of which is happening online, but I finally moved the tap class into the back patio with a couple of like-minded moms. Connecting with humans, safely, set to music, really lightens things up. 

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[1:00 p.m.] After I make lunch, the kids go back to their virtual school. I stay in earshot of my son while trying to scoot into my office to answer a million emails and stay on top of the myriad projects I have going on: a new family friendly children's album, new songs for a new grown-up album, voice-over auditions, fan club vinyl signing of my 25th anniversary no. 1 song, "Stay (I Missed You)," which was also GRAMMY-nominated!

[4:00 p.m.] Later, after the kids are done with their school, I change clothes, turn on the bright lights, set up the gear, and start pre-recording events and concerts. There are so many virtual events happening all over the country: from voting events to women’s cancer and lupus, I’m honored to play all of them, and people have been reaching out to musicians a lot. Sometimes the events are live, but often they’re prerecorded, so I’ve become a pro with lighting, makeup, hair and audio, and really trying to get our wi-fi up to speed—literally. 

Sometimes I have fan club events online, watch-alongs, or live concerts, including two concerts in which I’ll be playing my entire Tails album acoustically on Sept. 26 on the LoopedLive app, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its release. Here I am pre-recording a TV appearance for a Ziggy Marley duet that will air on the Kelly Clarkson show, then I’ll finish up with an appearance for a Hallmark special to honor Hero Dogs. 

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There’s usually a number of Cameo shout-out requests that have come in at this point for birthdays, anniversaries, or just uplifting message, and I try to squeeze them in before I make dinner for the kids. Or if I’m smart, order in Thai food!

[7:30 p.m.] After dinner, Emet watches part of an Avengers movie with my husband, Roey. I cuddle with my daughter, Lyla and our aforementioned cat, Sweetie McGee, while we eat ice cream with chocolate chips and watch "RuPaul’s Drag Race." 

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[8:30 p.m.] Then it’s up to bed to brush teeth, get in the PJs and read with each kid, if it’s not too late, and then time to finish up some work, clean the kitchen and get in bed to read. I’m an avid reader, and during the distancing orders, I’ve been able to read more than ever. Then, time for sleep, and to set the alarm for the next day to see what it will bring.

Making Heads Or 'Tails' Of Success: Lisa Loeb Celebrates 25 Years Of Her Major-Label Debut Album

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Chris Conley of Saves The Day

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Quarantine Diaries: Saves The Day's Chris Conley Is Filming A Music Video & Reading James Joyce

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As the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic continues to rock the music industry, the Recording Academy reached out to a few musicians to see how they were spending their days indoors
GRAMMYs
Apr 9, 2020 - 8:53 am

As the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic continues to rock the music industry, the Recording Academy reached out to a few musicians to see how they were spending their days indoors. Today, Chris Conley of emo royalty Saves The Day shares his Quarantine Diary.

Thursday, April 2

[7 a.m.-9 a.m.] Wake up at 7 to "Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?" by the Beatles. Psyched! Immediately sit for a 20-minute meditation in bed while waking up my eyes and breathing into the day. It’s cold in my room but it feels exhilarating and I’m buzzing. Pop up at 7:20 and throw on my burgundy robe and head down the hall to meet my yellow lab Jo as I open the door to my daughter Luella's room where Jo has spent the night. Jo's psyched! Feed Jo and then feed Jade, our long-haired white and grey cat. Head back to my room to shower and get dressed for the day. Grab the tangled white headphones and the green and blue peacock leash and walk out to my black Civic with Jo to head to Bidwell Park for some essential exercise on a three-mile walk to start the day.

Turn on NPR as I drive down Esplanade in Chico and reality comes crashing through the airwaves while I breathe deep and slow to center myself in the midst of the chaos of world events. Park at the park entrance and put on Coltrane and cruise down the first trail that catches my eye. Nature has a way of balancing the emotions. Feel the cool morning air on my face and in my lungs listening to Ascension walking briskly waving and smiling at people as they pass. We’re all closer now that we’re told to stay farther away.
 

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[9 a.m.-11 a.m.] Back at the house Luella is still asleep so I quietly set out her favorite cereal and a bowl and spoon so she can wake up and ease her way into the day while I get prepped for an online all-request concert for Sennheiser. Yesterday was a show on Instagram Live with my old friend Matt Pryor of The Get Up Kids, but today I want to switch things up so I search through the comments on my post from the night before about the event and write down songs and names so I can call out to Saves fans during the live stream today before I play their requests. Notice there are a lot of people asking for a few songs I haven’t played in quite a while. Cue up a song or two to relearn and rehearse and remember how much I like playing these songs and singing those words. Run them again and again and again to get ready. Practice doesn’t make you perfect, it makes you fearless.

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Matt Pryor and Chris Conley perform on Instagram Live
Screenshot by @christiegee used with permission from both Matt & Christie

[11 a.m.-1 p.m.] Lu’s up and I’m ready and we chat for a while about her plans for the day. I ask about her online classes. She tells me what she has to work on and I nod and tell her I’m proud of her for being diligent about getting her work done early every day so she can enjoy her free time when she's finished. I'm Principal now as well as Dad, but she’s proving herself to be very responsible even though this new schedule and routine is still changing from day to day. It’s amazing what the teachers and schools are doing to ensure these kids continue to stay engaged in their education. Since she has things covered up front, I head out back to my studio, The Electric Ladybug, where I start to set up for the live stream and organize my thoughts for the show. Find a corner with the most natural light and hang a purple tapestry behind a green chair and set out red and pink flowers so the folks watching later can have something to look at aside from me screaming in a seat with my guitar.
 

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[1 p.m.-3 p.m.] Once I'm fully prepped for the performance, notes scribbled on several leaves of paper, I sit back down for another midday meditation. Another 20 minutes of deep and slow breathing and feeling my body hum as my senses heighten. Unbelievable how bizarre and how beautiful it is to be alive—what a strange and outrageous trip!

Alarm goes off and I’m back up on my feet feeling like I can jump over a mountain. Pick up my beautiful new Taylor acoustic guitar for a quick soundcheck with Sennheiser and then relax for a few minutes before launching into this hour-long all-request set for the Saves family. Ready, set, go! Get off to a quick start so I can cram in as many songs as humanly possible over the next 60 minutes. First up, "The Way His Collar Falls" for my dear friend Max Bemis of Say Anything who requested the song via text message the night before just before I climbed into bed to crash. Blast through about a hundred Saves The Day songs and one Jawbreaker cover stopping to thank each person who requested each song as I make my way through the hour. Come up for air as the live stream cuts off exactly as I finish the final notes of "Jodie" and take a quick breather before having to pop back up again and keep moving like a shark through the rest of my day.

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[3 p.m.-5 p.m.] Check on Lu but she’s busy with schoolwork so I don’t linger for long as I mentally prepare for the next phase of this most long and most productive day. Feels like I’m working overtime during this quarantine with concerts happening now in my backyard and a school operating in my house but I'm excited about the challenge and the opportunity to have more time to focus on projects in the studio and practice acoustic songs for weekly performances online. Clean up the space in The Bug where I set up for the Sennheiser gig and get that corner of the studio ready for a music video shoot happening later this evening for a song we’re working on about the collective experience of quarantine.

My friend Lloyd Vines is living at the house working on an album we’ve been making together with our friend Ced Hughes for the last three months, but when the whole world got turned upside down a few weeks ago Lloyd started writing a song called "Lockdown" over a beat Ced sent which we finished writing in The Bug last week. We’re trying to get it wrapped up with a bow to release with a visually stunning video before the album is finished as a one-off single since it’s a song written for this most unusual and unpredictable moment in time for the world at large.
 

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Colin Cone and Lloyd Vines prep for a video shoot at The Bug

[5 p.m.-7 p.m.] For the last few days and nights we’ve been recording vocals, guitars, keyboards, and drums for "Lockdown" and simultaneously shooting video footage with our friends Colin Cone and Althea Fyfe for a Groundhog Day concept Lloyd came up with to go with the song. I fire up the gear in the control room as I'm turning a riff over and over in my mind trying to hear where it wants to live in the song. By the time the computer is up and running and the microphones and amps are warmed up I’m ready to lay this thing down and hear how it sounds. I start jamming to the track having the time of my life, not stopping to think now, only feeling the music as it breathes and bumps. The guitar part I kept hearing in my head last night as I was trying to sleep was almost classical in nature and it feels cool in one section of the song but seems overcomplicated in other areas where the mood is more quiet and reserved and my part is too busy and bizarre. Not to worry! It works where it works and the other sections have their own character, their own sound. I crack a three-mile smile leaning back to listen to the track. This is cool. This is different. This is new. I’m psyched!

Lloyd and Althea are back from the day shooting with Colin at the abandoned Diamond Match Factory and we watch the footage of Lloyd in a black and red jumpsuit wearing a face mask wandering through a post-apocalyptic landscape filled with blue and yellow graffiti on moss-green brick walls. We can’t believe how cool it looks and we know it will match the haunted production of the track perfectly once everything is synced up and mixed together.

Making art is always an important and worthwhile task but in a time of crisis it can be both cathartic and critical. We want the song to help people feel at ease during this most trying time. We’re reaching out through the words and the music to connect with the world and to be there with them and to help in any way we can. Lloyd put an audio clip of a guided meditation at the end of the track and we can feel the power of its ability to help us calm down every time it gets to that point in playback: "To start with, make a clear change to your posture to wake up the body and create a sense of alertness. Ideally you’ll sit upright and close your eyes. Let yourself become aware. Bring your attention inward. Notice any sensation in your body. There’s no need to focus on particular sensations. Simply be aware." It works. We breathe.

As I exit the studio I see an enormous bright and beautiful rainbow hanging in the sky above the house. Cool!

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Photo by Colin Cone  

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[7 p.m.-9 p.m.] I head upfront to make dinner for Lu with "Lockdown" stuck on repeat in my head. So catchy. So strange. I find Lu on the couch with Jo playing "Animal Crossing" on her Switch. She’s psyched! I ask her what she’d like for dinner and I get started on her current favorite, vegetarian chili with rice. She tells me about meeting with her teachers and classmates on Zoom and then launches into a detailed account of all the things she’s been acquiring and building in the game and tells me that her friends now hang out on each other’s islands exchanging plants and seeds and various items for their houses and homesteads. It seems like a lot of fun, and it’s cool that the kids can connect and visit one another even though it’s only in this virtual environment. Right now that’s all they have.

We eat together and decide what movie or show to watch to end the day. We both love the new show "Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet" and we’re almost done with the season. We decide tonight would be a good night to lean into the last few episodes. It’s nice to sit together and to laugh and to forget for a while that the world outside is not the same one it was only a few weeks before. It will be there waiting tomorrow and it may or may not be worse than it was the day before, so sometimes it’s okay to just be together and to not think.

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Luella and Dad watching "Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet"

[9 p.m.-11 p.m.] Luella is back in her room with Jo chatting with friends on the phone and I’m in my room after a shower and another 20-minute mediation back in bed with a book. I'm endeavoring to make my way through all of James Joyce but I’m currently only about halfway through his first book of short stories, Dubliners. It’s good and I imagine each book will get more and more complex and surreal since he started so young and only grew by leaps and bounds with each new published work. I figure in order to properly understand an artist's output you need to be familiar with their entire body of work since the best artists evolve over time and the journey is fascinating if you take the time to understand their personal growth and transformation. Judging by the last few nights this past week or so I'll be out within one or two stories and back up again to…
 

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READ MORE: Saves The Day's Chris Conley Talks 20 Years Of 'Through Being Cool'

If you wish to support our efforts to assist music professionals in need, learn more about the Recording Academy's and MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.

If you are a member of the music industry in need of assistance, visit the MusiCares website.

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Catholic Action

Photo by Gemma Dagger

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Quarantine Diaries: Glasgow's Catholic Action quarantine-diaries-catholic-actions-chris-mccroroy-sleeping-celebrating-his-bands-album

Quarantine Diaries: Catholic Action's Chris McCroroy Is Sleeping In & Celebrating His Band's Album Release

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As the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic continues to rock the music industry, the Recording Academy reached out to a few musicians to see how they were spending their days indoors
GRAMMYs
Apr 1, 2020 - 10:39 am

As the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic continues to rock the music industry, the Recording Academy reached out to a few musicians to see how they were spending their days indoors. Today, Chris McCroroy of Glasgow-based indie-rock outfit Catholic Action, whose sophomore release Celebrated By Strangers is out now, shares his Quarantine Diary.

Friday, March 27

[8 a.m.–10 a.m.] You've got to be kidding me? There's absolutely no way I was getting out of bed this early. I mean I should have, for some reason getting up early is next to cleanliness, which is next to godliness. Moral point-scoring. Not for me, not today. No.

[10 a.m.–12 p.m.] Hello world, my eyes crack open and I blink into existence. Draw the curtains, it’s grey and quiet. This is Scotland during a quarantine, what do you expect? First thoughts are to the night before, the whole country was cheering out their windows en masse for our NHS (despite the fact that most of them voted for a party that wants to sell it off). It was heartwarming, wholesome and very much needed–the internet is at its best when it makes people come together.

Also, you don't have an NHS in America. You should try it though, you'd like it.

Oh yeah, and our new album came out today!

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[12 p.m.–2 p.m.] When you release your album during an unprecedented, historical event, where most of the world is in some kind of self-imposed lockdown, you send a lot of texts and emails. My phone throbbed and hummed, threw itself off my desk in protest for me to answer. I did answer. Lots. All positive. All good. Many sighs of relief were exhaled, the album seems to be going down really well and the reaction’s been a lot bigger than we thought it might be given the circumstances.

[2 p.m.–4 p.m.] Total procrastination… I probably showered. If things had panned out as we'd originally planned, I'd just be returning from the U.S. We played New Colossus Festival in N.Y.C., and another show in Philadelphia with our old pals The Dead Kennedys before we had to cut our trip short and come home early. Honestly, it was the quietest I’d ever seen New York City. I think we got there just as folks were starting to realise how serious the situation was, and I’m amazed we got to play the shows we did. The plan was then to head on to SXSW, and after that I was going to stick around and play a couple of solo shows in Texas, rent a car and be a tourist before heading home. It’s a real shame that we had to leave early, we always seem to go down a little better in the U.S. But we’ll be back I'm sure.

[4 p.m.–6 p.m.] It's been interesting to see how folks are engaging with technology during a lockdown, especially bands and artists that usually deal in flesh and blood performance. It also seems that for once, people are using technology almost solely to communicate meaningfully, as opposed to a nervous tick-like distraction, or a hard sell. To that end, we had a little online listening party for the album this afternoon. It’s a nice enough feeling putting your record on the turntable for the first time and playing through it—even more so with fans and friends chatting away throughout. It was good recounting a lot of the stories from making the record, it’s easy to forget how much time and effort you put into it, as well as much you've learned from it.

[6 p.m.–8 p.m.] Maintaining zen garden (cleaning my home studio). I can't work unless my studio is clean and tidy. I’ve had a few late nights in here over the last week so it was due a touch up before I recorded anything else…

Another product of our strange times is online collaboration. This sort of thing has existed for a while of course, but given that everybody is now stuck indoors, folks have no choice but to engage with it. So, in the spirit of the quarantine, I spent an hour recording some keyboard parts for a friend’s project.

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[8 p.m.–10 p.m.] I finished a demo of a new track and I felt grateful for the internet. Can you imagine if all this happened in the 1980s? I know we’re essentially in lockdown, but because of the internet people are coming together like never before. Life IS happening, just digitally, but with more meaning and vigour behind the screen.

I also felt grateful for home studios. I’d really go mad without my little setup and I'm sure a lot of artists are feeling the same. There is going to be a wave of COVID-19 lo-fi bedroom pop albums, I am sure of it. And some of it will be solid gold. It's strange knowing you are living through a historical moment; we're all watching the world as we know it twist in real-time. Creativity feeds off of situations like this.

My mind settled on something though, and it left me feeling good: The world is forever changing, we’re always adapting and life goes on, hopefully, a little wiser than it did before. And I think as long as we’re sensible, considerate, kind and compassionate, we’ll get through this largely unscathed too. Something good must surely come out of the entire world hitting the pause button and reflecting on their actions. Were we really moving in the right direction?

[10 p.m.–12 p.m.] The milk in my mug is warm, the sole candlelight plays upon the wall and my eyes grow heavy as Alexa reads my top ten "Black Mirror" plot synopses… 

If you wish to support our efforts to assist music professionals in need, learn more about the Recording Academy's and MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund.

If you are a member of the music industry in need of assistance, visit the MusiCares website. 

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Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy and its Affiliates. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy and its Affiliates lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy and its Affiliates.