Coronavirus Has taken the wind out of the sails of over 120,000 people worldwide and has proven to have a death toll higher than the seasonal flu that we have all battled an won against. While the virus continues to spread globally and cause panic in certain countries more than others, we here in the United States have been more or less sitting back and watching the news and hoping it doesn’t spread on a massive scale here at home. If you live in New York, California Or Washington you have already begun to see the effects of this newly labeled pandemic right in your own backyards. In any case it can be summed up in one word… SCARY….

Being a musician in these times has suddenly become scarier than ever! How many of you reading this are touring musicians, or have a friend that makes their living as a touring musician? How many have families to support or built a lifestyle for themselves that’s dependent on being on the road and ticket sales to support it? In this article I will do my best to respectfully address the situation and the road that lies ahead for the industry as our world leaders and organizations such as The World Health Organization try to get a handle on the virus and attempt to stifle it’s spread.

Let’s start in Europe. Most would start in Wuhan China where this virus allegedly was unintentionally released from a laboratory. However I have no part to play in that arena. So we’ll begin where we are.. The present. On March 11, 2020 President Trump announced in the Oval Office that the United States will be enforcing an immediate travel ban on flights from Europe to The United States. Specifically from the Schengen Areas. There are exceptions and we will add links belo to get more information on that if you wish to do your own investigations.

There are many other Tavel bans in effect for other countries nearer to the epicenter of the outbreak which ultimately all add up to bad news for traveling musicians from around the world. Let me tell you why I’m giving this specific topic and this specific demographic attention? While others are covering the more morbid and terrifying aspects of this global pandemic. Yes I have been listening. Yes I fear for myself and my loved ones. My wife works for the school district and has contact with hundreds of children a day, along with parents and teachers. I have two stepsons in public school only 10 miles from Ontario Airport where planes full of passengers from near the epicenter can arrive in our own backyard constantly. Just yesterday we had our first case of the virus in a 53 year old woman that just returned from London and had 5 days among the public before catching it and being admitted to KaiserHospital just down the street. It hits close to home on many levels.

https://www.vvng.com/breaking-1st-case-of-coronavirus-confirmed-in-san-bernardino-county/

Aside from that I am also Director of Business for a small boutique guitar company called LSL Instruments based out of Santa Clarita California. We build instruments for more industry professionals than we can count and we’ve been doing it for over a decade. Our list of artists and professionals using our instruments is vast, and we support our artists while on tour if their headstock snaps off and they need a new neck, or a pickup shorts out and they need one sent to their next tour date. But what happens when there is no next tour date? What happens when entire legs of tours are cancelled and the flow of financial stability drops off for our favorite artists around the world? Let’s have a quick look at how much the touring musician will be effected by this fast spreading pandemic.

Just in the last few days since Trump announce the European travel ban on Friday 13th 2020 I have seen one band after another announcing to their tours are being cancelled along with larger festivals such as South By Southwest and even Coachella being cancelled even before the ban was set in place. This is millions and millions of dollars in event revenue lost which effects the employees and affiliates hard. Local shops and businesses such as hotels and restaurants that depend on the tourism cash flow as a yearly event are now left without that heavy flow of customers that would usually come to town to see their favorite touring bands perform.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/touring/9323647/concerts-canceled-coronavirus-list

Billboard has compiled a list that is growing daily of major touring acts and industry related awards and celebration events that are being indefinitely postponed or cancelled and they are some of the biggest events in the business. Please have a look at the link above to get a better grasp on how many big acts are hit by the mass hysteria sweeping the globe.

A band that everyone is familiar with in the rock world (TOOL) had this to say about upcoming shows.

“Tool postpone March 16 show in Salt Lake City, but say their March 14 show at the Ford Idaho Center in Boise is “going on as planned.” In a statement, the group explained, “We are continuing to monitor the evolving situation with Coronavirus and are in continual conversation with local promoters and venues. The health of our fans, bandmates, crew members and all of those that work in and around the venues is what we are focused on… As for the recently announced North American Spring tour, we are taking a day-to-day approach so please continue to monitor our website and social media channels for updates.”

Even Broadway has shut down! See their announcement below….

“Broadway officially sets its closure at 5 p.m. ET Thursday night until April 12 at New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s nearly immediate command. “Our top priority has been and will continue to be the health and well-being of Broadway theatregoers and the thousands of people who work in the theatre industry every day, including actors, musicians, stagehands, ushers, and many other dedicated professionals,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League, said in a press release.”

We could go on and on but what we don’t want to do is give in to the panic ourselves and believe that all hope is lost just yet! We do have the internet still and our favorite bands are still producing amazing music that gets us through the day every day. So we would like to encourage you as fans to support these bands by purchasing their merchandise like CD’s , ITunes releases, subscription services and anything else you can think of to get our fan favorites through these difficult times.

Many of our artists here at LSL Instruments offer lessons online as well. We would be happy to get you in touch with your favorite artists such as Kerry 2 Smooth and others on our roster!

https://unleavenedshred.wordpress.com/2019/04/10/skype-lessons-with-thomas-griggs/

We will be following up on this as much as possible and keep you up to date on our artists needs and intentions for support during this scary transitional period of uncertain times!

Hard Hitting Coronavirus News:

Articles below are the facts and opinions of the authors and do not represent the views and opinions of @unleavened_shred

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/coronavirus-war-words-erupts-superpowers-21706982

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cinemas-close-nationwide-studios-push-135720822.html

https://news.yahoo.com/puerto-rico-first-us-territory-under-24-hour-224602015.html