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Days of Rona: Mattia Mazzeo of AyahuascA and Black Gremlin

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

Mattia Mazzeo AyahuascA Black Gremlin

Days of Rona: Mattia Mazzeo of AyahuascA and Black Gremlin (Collecchio, Italy)

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?

First of all, thank you for getting in touch with me. I was in Naples for a show with Black Gremlin (action rock band) a few days before the lockdown (a few places were already locked in the north of Italy) and we were already worried about our near future. With AyahuascA has been the same, the lockdown started on the same day we were supposed to play in Rome, and then all the shows we booked have been canceled including Crystal Mountain Festival which was a great show for us with a lot of great bands (Kadavar, Giobia, Monkey3 any many more). So a lot of hard work vanished into thin air, we were booking two tours with both bands (Black Gremlin and AyahuascA) for November/December but now there are too many uncertainties to book shows, so we decided to focus on new material for the next album. As an individual, I started to write a lot of new stuff, especially for AyahuascA. On this side I’m quite satisfied, isolation helped me to take a trip inside of me, I tried to turn this situation into something positive for me and I knew it could be a good time to write new riffs and lyrics. Everything has changed overnight, all of us started writing new songs on our own at home and now we have enough material for at least two albums and I’m really excited about that, I can’t wait to start to work on it with my bandmates in our rehearsal room, since writing albums is the most intense and beautiful part of the work for me.

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?

Well, Italy was hit hard by the virus, I was afraid especially the first month (my father also took a light form of the virus). Remembering the first weeks of lockdown is like entering in a separate dimension, a very strange moment in the life of all of us. I think there was a lot of fear in general, the media bombed us with numbers of dead and infected people every day. Personally I have sometimes avoided reading the news, not to get too discouraged. Speaking of our government’s response, I think managing something of this magnitude is really difficult. Some members of the government have shown themselves to be ridiculous individuals, without culture and sense of duty. I also believe that others have done more or less what has to be done. But the perception that I have about it is deviated by an aberrant amount of news, fake news, etc. I think this was the main problem of this situation: the almost total impossibility of having a clear idea of what was going on. But on the other hand, I don’t think it could have been otherwise.

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?

I think the music community answered well, our balconies were full of musicians who played for the neighborhoods as you may have noticed hahaha. Apart from this, in Italy, there is no real support for those who work in the music business (I am not only talking about musicians, but about promoters, club managers and other figures). Since the lockdown started, new realities have emerged to protect those who work with music and this could be a good starting point for our future. Despite this, I am really worried about many small clubs that have given us fantastic concerts in the last years. I hope that they will be able to resist in this moment of extreme restrictions and start again asap. Personally, I can’t wait to get back on stage. Now it is unthinkable to organize a punk concert with these restrictions(just to name a couple: everyone must be seated with masks and well-spaced, you can not serve drinks), but maybe it is possible to organize some psychedelic or ritual band and enjoy the show in a different way, taking advantage of the distances. Social distancing has a different impact on everyone of us. Surely this new reality is asking us to look within us, whoever has the strength to do so could come out really changed and more “centered” than before. I think great albums can come out of that. I see this period as a call to arms towards our sensitivity, the perception of what we call our world.

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?

If you have the opportunity to support the bands you love, do it. Buy albums and share the music you love to keep your passion alive, whether you are a musician or a listener. To the bands, on the other hand, I say that this is the best time to dedicate yourself to writing new music and get out of this stronger than before. I believe that from now on the keyword will be “adaptation”, but I believe it is also a good time to create new realities, new projects.

https://www.facebook.com/ayahuasca25/
https://ayahuascatheband.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ayahuascatheband/
https://www.facebook.com/blackgremlinofficialpage/
https://blackgremlin.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/blackgremlin_rocknroll/

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