Tucson COVID Tales No. 25: Keeping the Music Alive, by Gary Mackender

I’ve kept a spiral monthly calendar going since the late 1970s, and still have them all stashed away. The last several years have kept me quite busy—my 2019 calendar was chock full of gigs, and the 2020 spiral was looking the same. That book is around here somewhere, but I think it was last seen around March 15th. I somehow managed to go out with a bang since my last gig, on March 14th, was with Nancy McCallion, Danny Krieger, Heather Hardy, and Karl Hoffmann.

Then all jobs disappeared overnight in mid-March, including my standing gigs: a regular Sunday afternoon slot at Borderlands Brewing Company going on five years, along with first Wednesdays at Public Brewhouse, both with Kevin Pakulis; my once or twice a month Meet Me at Maynard’s gig with the Determined Luddites; and scattered work with Don Armstrong. And my band had a standing third Wednesday at Public and a fresh deal with the Hop Shop in Metal Arts Village for a monthly Tuesday residency to begin late March. Strange times, indeed.

I’ve been most fortunate to work with the musicians mentioned above who have developed their own sounds and original material. And my band, the Carnivaleros, has managed to survive (going on 19 years), performing mostly my songs as well. Despite the pandemic, I’ve managed to see these friends for short periods with a couple of live stream events with Don at Petie Ronstadt’s studio, a gig at 17th Street Market with the Luddites, and a session with Kevin at Duncan Stitt’s recording studio, which he’s decked out near total isolation for each player. I’m hesitant to venture out in public much more at this point, however. Thinking about how to navigate new musical realities has been an ongoing challenge, and with the daily political horror show that we’ve seen in 2020, I’ve been reticent to bring out the trumpets and market any new work. 

I will say that after March 14th a series of songs that I had just started to track in my studio blasted into full gear. I managed to solicit various musicians in town (primarily Karl Hoffmann, Connor Gallaher, Billy Yates, Cristina Williams, and Katherine Byrnes) and the Kansas City area (both Kelley J Hunt and Kelly E Hunt, along with brother Greg Mackender) to contribute to the project, and am happy to say that my 7th release is now pressed for your listening pleasure. It’s appropriately titled Waiting For the Big One, and the video below is the first track, called “Life I’ve Led.”

While being on stage satisfies my extrovert side, the other creative half of my life belongs to the visual arts. As a lifelong ambivert, the scales have been tipping quite heavily to the introvert side since March. Being both an avid reader and a visual artist who definitely likes to work alone, it’s been a relatively smooth transition to hole up all day. My wife is now working from home, and we’ve come close to developing a routine that works for us both. I am fortunate that my music and art studio is within walking distance—most of my days are spent there anyway. I made a wee video just for this COVID episode with work mostly produced this year.

Stay safe, be smart, be kind, vote.

Gary Mackender is a Tucson artist and musician. Find his tunes at www carnivaleros.com, and his visual work at www.garymackender.com

Category: TUCSON COVID TALES