Local musicians have got the blues
Like much of the arts community, local musicians are struggling with the impacts of the pandemic on their livelihoods. The venues are shut down, the festivals and fundraisers that hired them are canceled — and there is no relief in sight.
The Sequoia Room is the premier venue in Fort Bragg, so when it shut down in March, 22 shows were immediately canceled.
Many of the scheduled shows featured local musical artists, and North Coast Brewery said it has no plans to hire musicians in the near future.
“We don’t believe it will be
“safe” until sometime in 2021, and doubtful that it would be early in the year, so we have not made plans that far in advance,” said spokesperson Debra De Graw.
The Sequoia Room is just the tip of the iceberg: The bar and restaurant gigs at Heritage House, MacCallum House, Django’s, Noyo Grill, Caspar Pub House, Headlands Coffee House — and many others — are all gone.
The charity fundraisers in the area make up a significant portion of the town’s social calendar, but this year, the Mendocino Music Festival, Bob Festival, Art and Wine, Windsong!, Bluegrass and Brews, Art Center events, the Navarro Inn, Caspar Community Center, Salmon BBQ, and even the
Dystopian Ball — which seems rather appropriate these days — did not happen.
The summer weddings that bring in tourists and new ears have also been reduced in size. Typically, wedding couples keep local bands busy with good-paying reception gigs during the season.
Gwyneth Moreland was raised in Mendocino by two artists and currently works full-time as a musician and music teacher since 2005. She has a solo career and released an album called “Cider” in 2017. She also plays in several band configurations with worldrenowned artists like Gene Parsons and David Hayes, as well as local favorites — like her husband,
Skyler Hinkle; her brother, Morgan Daniel; and Steven Bates.
Moreland said her income has been reduced by 95 percent. She still teaches guitar lessons over Zoom, but has not used the internet to monetize concerts like many artists across the country because it isn’t worth it for her.
“The internet is choppy here,” Moreland said. “The technical side is distracting, and it goes out from time to time.” She also says, “It doesn’t feel natural. It’s not the same experience.”
Moreland said she misses the camaraderie with other musicians, and she fears for local venues’ survival.
The local artist was scheduled
to release her second album, “Country Nocturns,” in May, but that has since been delayed. She is also taking coursework online from the Berklee School of Music in Boston, and is still creating videos for her church’s weekly service.
Having her children home has added another layer to the shutdown. Moreland finds it’s becoming more and more difficult to schedule her creative time.
Morgan Daniel, a luthier and local musician, recently retired from his paramedic job.
“I’ve never made my living with music,” Daniel explained. He has shut down his luthier shop to outside customers, out of respect for the situation, as he does not think his guitar building or repair work is essential.
“I’m focusing on all those personal projects that have been shoved to the back of the workshop,” he said. “I miss performing and playing with other musicians.”
Daniel also misses the opportunity to go out and listen to music with his wife. “It was our favorite date night.”
Steven Bates, another well-known musician, who plays in a handful of bands and can be heard at most coastal events has lost between a quarter and a third of his total income. He has a day job, he says, and that is holding him over until the gigs start coming back.
“If we get to, we will,” he says.
Sharon Garner is a vocalist who performs with the Boonville Big Band, the Dorian May Trio, Blue Velvet and Lounge Noir, among others. She has lost all her performance income, and is concerned about losing her voice, so she’s been practicing daily.
Garner is also a photographer and is leaning heavily on that part of her creativity to get her through. She is selling pieces online and at the Art Co-op on Mendocino. She said she looked into the expanded unemployment benefits but found it too complicated and dropped it.
“It just seems like someone probably needs it more,” Garner added; so she is living on savings. In the meantime, she’s using the extra time to learn to play the piano, ride bicycles and take master classes in photography. She also misses the camaraderie of performing and practicing.
“Beyond the money, it’s the emotional impact,” Garner said.