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Days of Rona: Willy Rivera of Spiral Grave

The ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the varied responses of publics and governments worldwide, and the disruption to lives and livelihoods has reached a scale that is unprecedented. Whatever the month or the month after or the future itself brings, more than one generation will bear the mark of having lived through this time, and art, artists, and those who provide the support system to help uphold them have all been affected.

In continuing the Days of Rona feature, it remains pivotal to give a varied human perspective on these events and these responses. It is important to remind ourselves that whether someone is devastated or untouched, sick or well, we are all thinking, feeling people with lives we want to live again, whatever renewed shape they might take from this point onward. We all have to embrace a new normal. What will that be and how will we get there?

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

spiral grave willy rivera

Days of Rona: Willy Rivera of Spiral Grave (Stafford, Virginia)

How have you been you dealing with this crisis as a band? As an individual? What effect has it had on your plans or creative processes?

At the moment, Spiral Grave is on hold with everyone focusing on their work responsibilities and trying to stay healthy. We had begun writing new material since the debut full-length is already recorded and we had begun talking to labels for an official release but we had to pump the brakes once the restrictions and curfews came down being that I live in Virginia and the rest of the band resides in Maryland. All things considered, everyone’s in good spirits but itching to get back at it since we were making a lot of process and building some serious momentum for the band prior to the pandemic hitting.

How do you feel about the public response to the outbreak where you are? From the government response to the people around you, what have you seen and heard from others?

I’d say piss poor,at best. They were completely unprepared for what we were dealing with and the magnitude of the effect it would have on the citizens of this country. From the medical supplies,their inability to make effective&competent decisions in a timely manner, providing the public with the right information,being more concerned with the economy than the safety of the American public and the mishandling of the stimulus program… not to mention, how is $1,200 supposed to counteract people’s ever mounting financial issues considering most Americans live paycheck to paycheck and probably had little if any money put away?

The media has also played a hand in not providing the public with the pure facts, choosing instead to sensationalize and push an agenda of fear. Don’t get me wrong, you should respect the power and impact of this virus but choosing to focus on the number of dead and having little to almost no coverage of those who’ve recovered from it surely shakes what little faith I already had in corporate media. On the flipside, I do believe that some on the local and state levels have done more to keep their citizens safe than the Federal government by enforcing restrictions,curfews,social distancing,supplying those in the emergency fields with the required PPE and only having “essential” businesses open but some of the public is still choosing to stretch the rules when they can or try to ignore them completely.

There’s a difference between having your rights stripped and having your privilege inconvenienced. Our actions have repercussions and choosing to be flippant about your safety is one thing but when it endangers the health of those around you, that’s a problem. Trust me, I hate wearing the masks and I want my life back but this is our current reality so we just gotta push through it and do the right thing.

What do you think of how the music community specifically has responded? How do you feel during this time? Are you inspired? Discouraged? Bored? Any and all of it?

It was a serious bummer initially because music AND creativity got tossed aside and all I could do was work. I was working crazy hours and I was trying to take as much overtime as possible because we didn’t know if we’d be shut down as well and we’d have the rug pulled out from under us. You can only keep that pace for so long until it starts to wear on you and you don’t have your usual outlet to channel your angst through. Not to mention,not being able to see my friends, express myself or follow through on building something fruitful with a great girl that I’d just met because everything was put on hold besides work. So all of the things that would bring me joy were traded for working a thankless job… but in hindsight, I’m grateful for the paycheck because I know a lot of people who are struggling right now with greater financial responsibilities than I. I’ve started writing again,now that my head is clear again and I’m getting my chops back up so we can hit the ground running when this blows over finally.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything? What is your new normal? What have you learned from this experience, about yourself, your band, or anything?

I would just ask people to have patience and be kind to each other. Unfortunately,this pandemic has shown both the best and the worst in people as is usually the case but I think what we need right now is a little bit of empathy so that we can think of someone other than ourselves. It’s easy to be self-consumed and get bogged down in feeling sorry for yourself. I was incredibly happy with my life right before this pandemic struck. I had started a new position at work, the band was doing great and I had met an amazing girl and then that all went to pot once this thing struck but compared to what others are dealing with, I can’t really complain. I’ve had a steady check coming in,a roof over my head and my health so once this blows over, I’ll be ready to pick where I left off with everything and live life as fully as I can.

https://www.facebook.com/SpiralGrave/
https://spiralgrave.bandcamp.com/
www.facebook.com/SaltOfTheEarthRec
www.saltoftheearthrecords.com

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