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

Days of Rona: Adam Kriney of The Golden Grass & Rattlesnake (New York, New York)

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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?

Well the situation has been quite upsetting for my two main groups, The Golden Grass and Rattlesnake. The nature of being collaboratively artistic and practicing regularly are very core to our collective life paths, and so the loss of the regular creative commitments left us with a void. The being said, it is not lost on me whatsoever just how privileged we were to be able to engage in this world of music/subculture/records/touring/festivals etc.

There was a global underground infrastructure that we were both a part of and that supported what we do, but every single element of that infrastructure has been shaken, halted and possibly even shut down, in the worst cases, due to the pandemic. It is surreal, devastating and quite traumatic what we are going through, and I mean ALL of us. It especially pricks deeply in our little subcultural world though because as outsiders to the populace, there is an amazing feeling to be part of this living, breathing, exciting and functioning world of ours, and it was a safe place of sorts, that even when the regular world was falling apart and full of garbage, we AT LEAST had this…but now, everything is frozen, and the delicate fragility of our little world has been revealed, and I don’t have any idea what the future will hold for us weirdos and this secret universe we loved so much…

On a personal level, I am very fortunate the both bands had a very light schedule of live performances planned so far this year, so the cancellations of tours/gigs etc has barely affected us, but i can’t even imagine what all my buddies are feeling, on all sides of the live music world such as bands/booking agencies/promoters/logistics, who’ve had to cancel their plans, especially those whose incomes are significantly connected to the underground music industry, it’s really awful.

And then there is the record labels/album release situation that also affects many friends, and this connects with me a bit more. The Golden Grass was about halfway done writing our new album and Rattlesnake was already about 20 percent done with recording/mixing our debut LP when we had to quarantine, so both of those projects are frozen at the moment. And the Marmalade Knives LP that I produced has just been given a delayed release date on Electric Valley Records due to vinyl plant closures. But these are all slight inconveniences, the situation at large is a bit more worrisome, and last but not least, it really puts in to perspective that maybe all this privileged stuff we do is merely a luxury, and can we really bitch about it when tens or hundreds of thousands of people are about to innocently die because of this? What a mess…

Beyond that, everyone is healthy in the bands but about half of us are unemployed by the situation.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

We are all based in NYC so we’ve been hit first and hardest by this and have been in quarantine on various levels for about three weeks [as of April 5]. Obviously there have been no rehearsals, no hangs, and everyone is just focusing on their own little worlds taking care of their situations. Everyone is in touch on various social media platforms all the time, so we’re all staying connected but the overall mood is solemn.

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

As far as my neighborhood, it’s eerily quiet, and to be in NYC and see this level of constant non-activity only adds to the weird vibe. We’ve been social distancing for weeks now, and for the past week everyone has masks and gloves on, it’s being taken quite seriously here.

The NYC music scene is obviously devastated. I had so many friends active and working in nightlife, as DJs, bartenders, promoters, performers, etc, I can’t even think about what the outcome will be for venues that were already fighting for life in this town, it’s terrifying.

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

I’m frightened. I’m confused. I’m exhausted. I’m getting better with keeping a schedule, and giving myself a plan every day to stay focused. Some days I am super upbeat and others i go very low. I allow myself to go through all of these emotions. This is an absolutely alien traumatic experience. No reaction to this is normal or abnormal, and to be honest I think as a species we’re kinda doin’ OK, so far anyway….

So (mostly) every day I do my stretching and yoga, I eat super well, mostly vegetarian, and am not doing any substances except smoking grass through this. I know it’s LITERALLY a matter of survival, this is the reality sci-fi movie we get, it’s here and now, and wow holy shit, will I be a survivor on this show? will I thrive?!

What about my music? Since the bands are all mostly at a standstill, I am going hard with practicing drum techniques and rudiments every day and actually developing a pretty cool community of drummers who are sharing exercises, posting videos and tips with each other and that’s been a nice warm twist in this chaos. I miss my bandmates and my drum kit (I can only play my pad in my NYC apt) but I just try to stay in musical shape and use the time to get better at things I never had time for before. I’m also trying to use this time for a massive archival digital release schedule, as there are dozens of unfinished, unmixed, or just never finalized albums I’ve made with various bands/projects over the past 10-15 years that I can finally find the time to clean up and issue. This archival project actually started with the release of a 2013 album from Zoned Out, my since-disbanded jazzy, proggy Krautrock group. There’s so much more to come (you can follow my label page at http://www.facebook.com/inforthekillrecords to see the action).

But at the same time, I am constantly faced with the insignificance of this all. Such privilege and luxury to have even in this moment. Is it pointless? Who cares if I finish the album or get really good at flam rudiments? Will there be an other side? what will it look like, are there bands there, or shows, gigs, a scene? Or are we going to be living in bombed out bunkers in some post-WW3-like dystopia, ready to kill anyone/thing that comes near us?! Are all my friends going to die? Is everything going to be fine in two months, one year, 10 years?

I do get momentarily paralyzed by these thoughts throughout every day lately. But then somehow this energy comes to me from somewhere, I pack my bong, grab my sticks and run through my drum rudiment exercises yet again, taking great care to feel and learn deeper, maybe just to be hot and ready for the next gig when the world is reborn…

http://www.facebook.com/thegoldengrass
http://www.thegoldengrass.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/RattlesnakeBoogie69
https://rattlesnakeboogie69.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/InForTheKillRecords
http://inforthekillrecords.bigcartel.com

Brooklyn-based psychedelic jammers Zoned Out are currently in the process of mixing their debut full-length. The band, which boasts members of La Otracina, Mirror Queen and Titan, have had a couple live recordings get out in the meantime. One, a full show from last December, was posted here before. This week, I managed to get ahold of mp3s of their March 28 performance at Union Pool in their native borough, and once I got the chance to listen, pretty much knew I had to add it to The Obelisk Radio.

Credit where it’s due, the gig was recorded for NYCTaper.com and is available there for free download. The audio sounds great and balanced and natural, and the trio alternate between driving classic solos and trippy prog fusion, their moniker proving all the more accurate for the hypnotic effects of their music. If nothing else, the Union Pool audio raises hopes for how Zoned Out will be able to translate the sound in a studio setting, a song like the later “Smoke Signals” having a bit of ’90s alt rush to it while “Feathers of the Wild Cloud” goes for full-on wah drench. Setting up a dynamic never hurt.

Especially for an instrumental band. For the quality of the recording, the atmospherics Zoned Out are able to pull off in a live setting and the job NYCTaper did in putting it out there for anyone who might be lucky enough to stumble on it, Live at Union Pool, March 28, 2013 makes a great addition to The Obelisk Radio. You can hear it on there now as part of the regular playlist, or check out a sample below with the song “Smoke Signals” and find the free download in mp3 or flac on the NYCTaper site. Either way, enjoy.

Zoned Out, “Smoke Signals” live at Union Pool, 03.28.13

So I guess this pretty much just happened a couple nights ago, but here is the live debut of new heavy jammers Zoned Out, and as we head into a New Year this week, a brand new band seems all the more appropriate. Diggers of Brooklyn psychedelia might recognize drummer Adam Kriney from La Otracina, who brings some of the frantic rhythmic insistence of that band to his excellent fills here in this more spaced-out trio, which also includes bassist Dan Bates and guitarist Phil Ortanez (both ex-La Otracina).

Here’s the complete tracklisting if you want to give names to the tripped out sonics:

ZONED OUT Live at Glasslands 12-29-12

A Kriney – drums / D Bates – bass / P Ortanez – guitar

1. Feathers Of The Wild Cloud 0:00-4:30
2. Eyes Within A Dream 4:30-9:50
3. Gypsy Dance 10:36-14:58
4. Bigger Fun 14:59-21:00
5. Smoke Signals 22:06-26:18
6. Woodland Blues 27:08-34:45

Rumor has it — and by “rumor,” I mean what the band actually said — Zoned Out are going to record in February or March of the coming New Year, so that’s one more to keep an eye on before we actually get there. In the meantime, I should say thanks toKriney for posting these tracks at just the right moment when I was looking for something cool to feature. Timing is everything, people.

And speaking of time, 2012 is almost out of it. Can’t say I’ll miss this year, but it could’ve been worse. I’ve spent the better part of the last week in sundry Xmas celebrations with different segments of the total population of my family, and that’s been somewhat exhausting, but last night I went and saw Clutch at Crocodile Rock in Allentown, PA, and it was great to blow off some steam. I’ll have a review of that up this week, maybe Wednesday, if I actually decide to take tomorrow off. Not sure yet.

Helping in the argument to do so is the fact that I seem to have acquired a cold from sources unknown — actually it’s a combination of kid-germs and The Patient Mrs., who had it first and thus shall absorb her portion of the blame — but it’s okay. I never much liked breathing or not feeling like my sinuses were about to explode anyway. You can go ahead and insert a Scanners reference here. I feel too crappy to handle it.

Also to come this week assuming I have enough energy to set fingers to keys are the Readers Poll results, reviews of Traveling Circle‘s new one, which is also rife with lysergic goodness, and a twofer from Electric Moon, as well as the top five albums I didn’t hear in 2012 — gonna wait for 2013 to post that one, just in case I do some last-minute listening; I won’t — and if I have time to transcribe it, that interview with Arthur Seay of Unida/House of Broken Promises. I seem to suck at getting transcriptions done lately and I also suck at putting together emailers, so kind of a late-year dearth of interviews around here as a result. Perhaps I’ll resolve to be more on top of that shit next year. I’ll see what I can do.

Whatever your New Year’s plans are, I hope you’re safe and that nobody gets hurt or arrested but otherwise that you have a great time. I think maybe I’ll just go back to bed and wait for tomorrow to come so I can say I’ve been sick for a whole year. Fortunately, I can bring my laptop with me.

Happy 2013, y’all. More to come in a bit.