Days of Rona: Nathan Carson of Witch Mountain & Nanotear Booking
Posted in Features on May 25th, 2020 by JJ KoczanThe 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
Days of Rona: Nathan Carson of Witch Mountain & Nanotear Booking (Portland, Oregon)
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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?
Witch Mountain was in a fortunate position, at first, because we were in a writing phase between tours with no deadlines or responsibilities. But as time went on and the pandemic accelerated we were eventually forced to cancel our June headlining tour. We have more live plans for later in 2020, and of course they’re all in potential jeopardy now. At least we are still able to write remotely, and will probably resume jamming in person once it feels safe to do so.
Personally, we’re all hanging on, but most of us are laid off or out of work. Kayla had a musical canceled that she’d been prepping for months. Justin’s effects pedal company Mr Black is on life support. Rob has been engineering studio sessions and working other side gigs (he’s got more mouths to feed than the rest of us). For me — a tour booking agent by day – -my entire industry has come crashing down. I lost an entire season of income that is likely to stretch into a year of inactivity. The future is a gigantic question mark when it comes to how live music will resuscitate, and when.
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?
Portland is a great place to live overall. The majority of people here want clean air, clean water, and have progressive values. So even though we are sandwiched between two states with some of the larger outbreaks in the country, we’ve done a great job of slowing the spread here.
Nevertheless, there are plenty of people in the grocery stores not wearing masks, and people driving like maniacs on the roads. It’s sad that trusting science has become a partisan issue, or that people who believe a fetus has a soul seem willing to sacrifice the weak and elderly in order to prop up Wall Street and the corporate economy.
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’ve seen some great livestreams, which is not something I was particularly interested in before. Of course I do have a 65” 4k tv with high speed internet, 5.1 sound, and a thumping subwoofer. So that’s helping my enjoyment of watching concerts from home quite a bit.
I’ve been able to use this time to catch up on household and archival projects that seemed like they’d never get done based on my past lifestyle. My aim is to use this time as wisely and effectively as possible. The ultimate goal right now is to write the novel-length sequel to my book Starr Creek that I’ve been planning for years. Even if I had decided to save my money and take six months off from work to write the book, my booking clients couldn’t have just put their bands and tours on hold. But now that we’re all forced to stay home, I will have the luxury of writing full time during daylight hours, instead of just on evenings and weekends. I definitely aim to walk away from this situation with something to show for it.
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 just feel very fortunate to play music with such thoughtful, rational people. No one in Witch Mountain is looking to take unnecessary risks. No one in our band is concerned with conspiracy theories or bucking scientific advice. We love making music, and we’ve had a long term vision from the start. That’s why the band is still around after twenty-three years.
This will all pass and then we’ll find out what that new normal is. In the interim, we are passing files over the internet, slowly working on new material, designing and shipping out merch–like the WM logo face mask that we launched the last time Bandcamp waived fees for a day, etc.
Otherwise, we are taking this one day at a time, slow and steady, just like our music.
www.facebook.com/witchmountain
http://witchmountain.bandcamp.com
www.svartrecords.com
www.facebook.com/svartrecords
http://www.nanotear.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Nanotear/
