We are definitely in the stock up and hunker down group. If the government was testing everyone with symptoms and had quarantine ready for the infected I'd be more inclined to go out but as the US gov't is completely unprepared to do what it takes it's up to business and individuals to protect each other. Thanks to everyone who are self-isolating to limit the impact their choices might have on the more fragile in the community.
I played a show last night and we have another show Tuesday night at St. Patrick's day. We had another St. Patrick's day show cancelled and several venues and bands locally are cancelling. I admit I had reservations about playing the show and I was expecting to play to an empty room. The show was packed and I admit there was a lot of behavior that was not conducive towards disease control. One thing I noted was that the crowd skewed younger. The venue is in one of the more hip neighborhoods of Minneapolis but how the young the crowd was notable with very few people that looked like they were over 40. Continuing to play is a difficult call and I'm following the lead of the venues. I have been getting some pressure from friends and family to cancel but I feel some duty to the venues and to the rest of the band. Also knowing some of the staff at these venues I know that there are many who are living paycheck to paycheck. If some of these venues have to shut down or lose significant amount of business (especially from tips) it will be very hard for them. I don't blame anyone who doesn't feel it is safe to go out and I'm not promoting our shows very much and have told any of my friends if they feel uncertain to not come out. I've played to empty rooms before and if that happens I will understand even though I will feel bad for the staff who are still working.
Thank you. Everyone needs to be less polite and more aggressive about spreading this message. If you’re playing live music shows you are contributing to the spread of this virus and a catastrophic overwhelming of our health care system. Everything RJ cites as reasons to continue to play out are going to be made exponentially worse by continuing to play out. Just stop it.
Wynn and Encore shutting down this week, I’m sure the rest will follow shortly. At this point if you are still going out and fraternizing unnecessarily that’s just plain being irresponsible.
Chances of any significant medical episode for those in the demographic I mentioned are very small. Stay home for the sake of others.
It's a fair criticism. We are contracted by these venues with agreements made months before. We are paid and granted I'm not counting on the money from playing St. Patrick's day for my livelihood there are others who do. That is why I'm not encouraging people to come out and see us and if the venue decides to cancel and if we play to an empty room so be it.
A question to the board and I apologize for sounding defensive but I recognize that we are dealing with serious issues and while I might not agree with all the opinions this is an important discussion. As said we have agreements with the venues and are paid. Do you think that employees of bars and restaurants should voluntarily not go to work to prevent the spread of the virus?
Yes, apparently we’re supposed to go full bunker apocalypse mode but not before you buy up all the toilet paper you can find.
I can understand where you are coming from - other band mates and some of the employees of the venues are dependent on the checks. Until the government can ****ing get off their ass and come up with a strategy, then everyone else can't just sit around and blame individuals of "being" the problem. You personally might have the opportunity to work from home, afford to live without a paycheck for few months, have paid time off, or any other situation, but unless you are actually facing missed payments on your rent, mortgage, and bills - it is not the same. Will landlords and lenders forgive their tenants and borrowers when payments are missed? Or will a bunch of defaults, evictions, occur? Not everyone should just jump on rocketsjudoka and give him ****. This is a very difficult time right now, and not everyone is as fortunate as the rest of us.
I feel like many individuals here on this board are more privileged than they realize, and I don't agree with them thinking it's such an easy decision for you to make. **** the coronavirus. There is on simple solution to this.
Also the absolutely worst part about this - is that if we had plenty of tests out there available and for free WEEKS AGO, then perhaps the government would have actually forced a full quarantine and require businesses to close down and not leave it to individuals of less fortunate situations to make that hard decision. Now it's just a waiting game - will the tests become readily available and give us a better picture of how bad this virus is or will the local, state, and national government start shutting down commercial activity before?
Part of your agreement should include being able to cancel and whatever comes along with that. Given this is a special circumstance ideally people would be responsible and level headed about it and figure out ways to avoid these mass gatherings without burning bridges or causing lasting financial harm to people. The owner of a venue being irresponsible enough to keep that venue open, encouraging people to congregate there, does not absolve you of being responsible for showing up yourself. Did you talk to the management, owner, bookers, etc? Did you voice any concern about contributing to the problem? "We have an agreement" only goes so far in times like this. Like BMJ said, the paychecks of the staff or whoever else are only being MORE endangered by continuing to operate.
