"I think I've seen this film before, so I'm leaving out the side door"
- Exile - Taylor Swift feat. Bon Iver
Leaving out the side door...the fire escape, the wings, the side stairs. These are the places where you'll see us hide, see us pray, see us worry or freak out about possibly not being able to remember the words or hear the drummer. The place where you run when an audience chewed you up and spat you out on the floor with your life's work in a pile of scraps. Worn out jeans and sweaty Stetson over your eyes. The place where you smoke a cigarette watching your heroes make some kind of love to an accepting audience. The place of one last gear check and one last deep breath. It's the place where you sit down after a show with your only company a hundred miles of stage wiring and a warm festival beer.
I miss the stages, big and small. I miss playing live but I don't miss the silence thieves. The ones that drive for miles just to talk about their day at your show. The landscape for all forms of art has changed forever and true to form artists adapted and used the limitations and restrictions of pandemic induced lockdown to their advantage. Suddenly, performing became at once detached and extremely intimate. Livestreaming allows your audience to have you perform in their living room, no concern about babysitters, drunk drivers or corrupt cops. They can catch your show at a convenient time that suits them and enjoy it in the comfort of their own homes. They can also directly communicate with the artist via several social media channels. They can encourage, share and donate towards art they find meaningful.
This concept is working well for me and I've got a few shows coming up in the summer. It would be lovely if you could come out to the venues or tune in for a livestream. Send me your requests. Say hi. It means a lot. Invite me to play for you and your friends or family. I'll come to your house, or your venue and share my stories. I'll bring a guitarist, a band or myself. Im busy getting my merchandise, content and music in order and for someone as technologically challenged as I am it's quite an endeavour. Keep an eye on my Facebook John Barnard Music and Instagram @johnbarnardmusic for more news.
Support local art and venues. Be good to one another and let's change the world with one act of random kindness at a time.
Thanks
JB