SAGUARO MUSIC 3

COVID MARCH 2020 - JUNE 2020

March 13, 2020.

The day the world stood still, silent, angry, confused... mostly scared. I was on spring break, getting the song ready to release. Rushing it completely (it was honest garbage to the ears). Not knowing what certainty was for the future.

We had planned on working with a lot of bands that summer, kickstarting Saguaro Music Management. Helping bands set up performance dates, even take 2 bands around the desert southwest. On to the other plan, this wasn't going to stop me. Granted the time was devastating however, we wanted to persevere. I packed my bags and went home to chill out for a bit.

"I was happy that we failed..."

Not much came from the songs Andrew and I recorded, just some fun demos. Maybe a few plays online, but nothing that either of us were proud of.

WE FAILED!

And we were happy that we failed. At least I was happy that we failed. I was not a fan of failing, no one is. However, I'm glad I did because I learned a lot.

A quick rundown of the things I learned:

- It takes more than 2 takes to record a song.

- Even if the recording was awesome, take a break and record it again later.

- Mixing is a process, there is no right or wrong answer.

- Your ears lie to you and speakers are not the best source to fully mix your song.

- Use headphones, car stereo, phone speakers, AirPods, the cheapest headphones at target, etc

- And make sure the artist is involved in the mixing process

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/b42bf4_04f762f4283e4a20b70fe7f20e11de6b/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Since I was headed home for the break (and created another quick set up) it was difficult for Andrew to hear the song. Here is my quick hometown set up.

It was a guest room, luckily our luck changed and we got to move the studio in to another place.

APRIL 2020

During that time I was also interviewing for jobs. I had a potential graduation and needed to secure this weird adult task (getting a job). Covid was very rampant, toilet paper out of stock, and everyone was nested in one spot.

I was alone for the beginning of the pandemic. And I was not fine. I started to record myself in my last days at Tucson, most of the footage is cringe (so it's edited down or maybe I'll let you cringe with me).

(Edit and insert video)

Honestly, at the time of writing this it still doesn't feel like I fully recovered from my times alone.

Luckily, there was two more jobs I was able to do. I kept myself isolated for the 2 weeks after spring break. Recorded some music with two awesome flautists and helped my church with some live stream audio.

(Insert photo and video of Kaissy and Ivo)

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/b42bf4_4c9a7b1d95fc4899ad9f859d9aa440ee/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

The last "job" I had was for a live stream service for a church at the university. They helped me out so much while I was at university and I wish I could stay longer to help them out more. Sadly that was the last thing I did, the next day I was headed home.

We still had classes, but due to the pandemic and university going full digital for the remainder of the spring term and was confirmed to be full digital for the fall as well.

I secured a job for the fall (which would help pay off the studio expenses that accrued). I was ready to finish the semester and start my summer off right!

Thanks for reading and until next time!