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Days of Rona: Eric Zann of Plague of Carcosa

The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

plague of carcosa eric zann

Days of Rona: Eric Zann of Plague of Carcosa (Chicago, Illinois)

How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

So far, we are all healthy, but things are at a standstill until further notice. Our last public outing was just a few days before Chicago shut down, opening for Bongzilla, who cancelled the rest of their tour the next day. I (Eric Zann, guitarist) became a permanent foster to a sick corgi that day actually, so I’ve been working at home and taking care of her with my partner the past few weeks, and she is the sweetest animal we’ve ever met. Alexander has been doing some noise/electronic work on his own, and coordinating things with other projects (who may have to postpone some tours if this carries on longer than into May).

As Plague of Carcosa, since social distancing makes jamming together with our amps and gear a bad idea, we’ve been working on some ideas for new material from our respective homes. It’s especially frustrating since we were going to bring on a new guitarist after that Bongzilla show, and on a personal level, I write better with other people around to bounce ideas off of. As a band, we’ve been lucky in that this hasn’t cost us anything financially (cancelling tours, postponing studio time, etc.).

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

In Chicago, things are pretty tight, and getting tighter. All bars and venues have been shut down for close to three weeks now. People are being fined heavily for congregating in crowds – in some of the more affluent neighborhoods, house parties were recently broken up by cops, and the mayor just closed all city parks/lakefront areas because people seem to have a hard time abiding by the recommended distancing guidelines. Some public buildings are being turned into makeshift medical centers.

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

I’m not sure of the all legal aspects behind businesses shutting down (I believe places are facing fines for letting people hang out inside), but thankfully everyone has been fantastic about setting up GoFundMe pages for those in the service industry. If you can think of a bar, restaurant, or venue, they probably have something set up you can donate to to help the servers stay afloat while they’re unable to work. Most food places that are able to operate are still doing pickup and delivery service. Lots of local musicians are streaming themselves playing from their living rooms, which has been fun. I’m seeing some people occupy themselves by creating things on their own in new genres, and making videos about their craft for the fans.

Everyone seems to be taking the virus very seriously, but everyone is also staying as active as they can during this time, as well as being as supportive of others as they can. It will probably be a while before any locals can get back to the studio, but I wouldn’t be surprised about a flood of records from your Chicago favorites once this is behind us. Booking performances after this is something I’m not sure about when this is “over,” as I’d imagine everyone will be itching to play live and go out again ASAP. Venues will probably be getting tons of emails daily. We’ll just have to see how things go on the performance front.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

As a band, we are fine, and lucky to not be terribly impacted by this. We will be back with new things in the works when it is safe and responsible to do so. In the meantime, we encourage you to help out other artists that are less fortunate, as well as anyone else who is negatively impacted. Mutual aid can be easy to do, and go a long way, even while maintaining responsible precautions. Don’t think you won’t get sick, we know people personally who have tested positive for COVID and it sucks. Be safe, if not for your own sake, for those you care about.
https://www.facebook.com/plagueofcarcosa/
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https://thesludgelord.bandcamp.com/
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https://gipsyhouserecordings.bandcamp.com/

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