What can be a torture for some people, may open new horizons for others. Artists in self-isolation all around the world started exploring the new opportunities life might have opened for them.
The Mercury talked to the members of the popular local folk trio Hook & Nail that, like others, got separated by the distancing recommendations, which in their case meant that Lindsay Arnold and Mike Davis, who are a family, and Jeff Michel, couldn鈥檛 be altogether to rehearse or create. All of Hook & Nail鈥檚 current gigs were also put on pause or cancelled.
鈥淢usic-wise it鈥檚 definitely changed a lot. We can鈥檛 perform live, we had to cancel some gigs and cancel a big trip out to Halifax and Prince Edward Island,鈥� said Arnold.
Earlier this year, the band was nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award as the New/Emerging Artist(s) of the Year. They were planning to perform in Halifax and then go to Charlottetown for the ceremony. The global pandemic ruined these plans, and the awards presentation instead was done online.
鈥淲e had fun with it,鈥� said Arnold. 鈥淢ike and I got dressed up and I had a little piece of red velvet, red carpet.鈥�
Michel was also watching the ceremony from the comfort of his home.
鈥淚 was on my couch with a cat on my lap. It was interesting. It was definitely not like being at the awards show. It was obviously a very different format,鈥� recalled Michel.聽
While Hook & Nail didn鈥檛 receive the award, Arnold was more disappointed that the three of them weren鈥檛 able to celebrate the nomination and the ceremony together.
鈥淚 do miss our band member Jeff and seeing him in person. It鈥檚 not the same having a phone conversation or texting,鈥� said Arnold, noting that they usually used to gather at least once a week.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward if things get lifted, then maybe we can get back together if even only six feet apart,鈥� said Michel laughing.
Arnold also pointed out that the main thing quarantine changed for all of them is public performances, but that also became a source of inspiration for her.
鈥淲hat I鈥檝e really been inspired by is how quickly artists and musicians were to change in how they interacted with their audience. Almost immediately we saw the increase in live streams from home and they just started approaching it differently,鈥� Arnold said.
None of the trio has had the chance to do a live stream from home yet, but they said that they are hoping to do so eventually, even though it is a totally different type of connection with the audience. However, the live performances still remain the dearest.
鈥淚t鈥檚 folk music, which is really about telling a story and interacting with the audience. I know personally I look forward to when we can be in front of a live audience,鈥� said Arnold.
And Michel added that even the band rehearsals are a totally different experience that he also misses.
Hook & Nail currently can鈥檛 work together, so for the time being the musicians turned towards their solo projects. Thus, Arnold and Davis have been focusing on their other folk project, Last Bird, doing some writing, while Michel dedicated more time writing for his individual project
鈥淲e did a home recording and produced a video release 鈥� We are just trying to do what we can to keep the music flowing,鈥� said Arnold.
鈥淚鈥檝e been taking a step back and trying to work on some solo music. I鈥檝e done a solo record that I鈥檓 hoping to keep working on for the rest of this year 鈥� I鈥檝e had a number of songs that I鈥檝e been working on for the last probably four or five years, and then things kind of got put on hold when we started to write the Hook & Nail record. So now I鈥檝e got some time 鈥� We鈥檒l see if it ends up coming out in 2020 or a little bit later,鈥� said Michel.
He also said that big world-shaking changes usually find their way either into his lyrics or music, which has already been reflected in his new record.
鈥淚n the last couple of weeks ... I was feeling a little bit frustrated seeing how people are having difficulties working from home, there is connection issues or things like that, maybe there are more people in your house at the same time鈥� I wrote a song called The Working From Home Blues. It鈥檚 a light-hearted attempt at keeping some perspective during Canada鈥檚 strange times,鈥� said Michel.
All three musicians also have other jobs that they kept going with during these days, but Michel noted that the absence of other distractions opened room for more creativity.
鈥淲hen you are at home, if you鈥檝e got not a lot of stuff left to do, one of the things that you can always do is pick up a guitar or wander into the basement and work on the song,鈥� said Michel.
鈥淎s creative people, we always have more than one project on the go,鈥� said Arnold. 鈥淏ecause we are not performing in public, there is a lot more time for writing songs. Maybe one of the benefits is that you can focus on some different aspects of your creative process,鈥� said Arnold.
Both Michel and Arnold noted that they had a great run with Hook & Nail, and in the future, if there will be more performing opportunities they will be happy to continue as a band, but in the meantime, the quarantine pushed them towards focusing more on their solo projects and they鈥檝e been enjoying that opportunity.
鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 just good timing for us to have that time to work on these projects,鈥� said Arnold.
