Stay calm and do what you need to to look after yourself and those around you – that’s how.
Since I wrote my last piece about T & H’s pub, the Covid-19 thing has pretty much exploded like the time bomb that experts were warning it was. Their warnings seem to have fallen on deaf ears in a lot of prominent cases. Depending on who/what you listen to/read/watch, we are either (a) headed for a cataclysmic annihilation of most of the human race (b) in the middle of a very grave crisis, but one which we can navigate our way out of, albeit sadly with the loss of many lives or (c) everything’s under control and there’s nothing to worry about, it’s just a flu, get back to work you peasant, me and my friends have more billions that need making.
Personally I am going with (b). I don’t know how long it will take or how many will die but humanity will emerge from it eventually, hopefully with lessons learned, and better prepared for the next one (and there will be a next one, make no mistake). That’s all I am going to say on the matter. I am no expert on such things – I just try to listen to and follow the advice of those who are, and block out the social media noise, political rhetoric, and conspiracy theories.
There are enough people writing about it without me adding to the cacophony. Instead I’m gonna talk about how it is already changing life as we know it. Almost everyone’s daily routine has been affected – globally. Many are under tight lockdowns, forbidden from venturing outside for any reason. Here in Singapore – we haven’t got that far yet, but if people insist on ignoring the advice and continue crowding into places like supermarkets and hawker centres all the time, they will force the government to go to a complete lockdown – and then they’ll complain about it.
For myself – many events that I was due to play at in March and April have been cancelled, and it has also resulted in the temporary closure of all the venues I play gigs at, which means the vast bulk of my work, and thus income, is gone, with no clear indication as to when it might come back. Some venues might not even re-open, depending how it all pans out. The government has announced some assistance for affected freelancers, but as is often the case, a great many of us don’t fit the tight criteria to qualify for it. Now, understand this – there are a lot more self- employed freelancers in the same predicament, and I am still luckier than many of them, so I am not whining about it – it is what it is. And there are many others who have lost jobs and stand to lose a lot more. I still count my blessings.
Anyway on the positive side, it has given me time and pushed me to do something I have been meaning to for a long time, which is to start trying to grow an online presence of some sort. I started with resurrecting this blog, and now I’ve also resurrected my YouTube channel and started recording some song videos at home to put up there. It has a whopping three videos and 10 subscribers. I hope to grow both exponentially. If you feel like joining such an exclusive group, go to this link and click “subscribe”.
Since I cannot go out and play music in the venues until further notice, I have also joined the growing trend of playing live online. Thanks to channels like Facebook Live and YouTube Live, it’s not difficult now to put on a live show from home and people from all over the world can watch, listen and interact with you. The picture shows me being cast from my friends phone to his TV while I was streaming a show – it’s a whole new world 🙂 I am streaming my shows on Facebook Live from my page.
https://www.facebook.com/germythen
The cover photo on my Facebook page shows the days/times when I’ll be streaming a gig. All are in Singapore time. Think of it as online busking – all are welcome to stop by and have a listen, and – without obligation – if you feel inspired to throw a few coins into the virtual busker’s hat, you can do so via PayNow/PayLah to UEN # 53367490E if you are in Singapore, or otherwise via PayPal to PayPal.Me/TheIsolationSessions.com. I stress, doing so is entirely at your own discretion, but it would help offset the income loss a little, and as such would be very gratefully received. But either way – please do join me on one of the live streams and lets enjoy sharing some music in these somewhat joyless times.
Stay safe, stay healthy, look out for each other and if you can, stay at home. I’ll see you in The Cybervenue – all the best 🙂
GM
Ger Mythen 
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