“Looking out from my lonely room, day after day.” — “Day after Day” by Badfinger, 1971
Well, it’s not quite that bad, but this situation sucks. The corona virus has turned our world upside down, inside out — pure craziness. (Hey, man, wanna buy some toilet paper?) Times such as none of us have ever experienced.
This really isn’t fair you know. I just finished about 12 weeks of self-quarantine with the throat cancer and was just getting back to the shows and the music and my friends. All three are important, but I really missed my friends. We have that bond, that blues bond. The blues isn’t the most popular style of music, but it is our style. It is what we do. It is us.
The blues, along with the rest of the world, are on hold right now. We are not booking shows until the powers that be turn us loose, open the floodgates, so to speak. Agents are throwing out August and September but no one really knows when.
When they allow us to have shows again, there will be plenty of great acts knocking our doors down to play for us. Musicians need to play as much as we need to hear it. It is in their souls and needs to get out! Plus they will need the money . . . .
So for now we will wait and take care of each other from a distance. For once, I am going to encourage you to pick up your phone. Call — don’t text — one of your blues buddies that you are out of touch with. A friendly voice on the phone makes both your worlds a little better.
We will be producing our monthly “Blues Notes” just as soon as we know when the shows will be starting up again.
All Blues Society of Omaha memberships will be frozen as of April 1, 2020, and extended for as many months as the shutdown lasts.
In the mean time, dig into your music collection. Play some stuff you haven’t heard in years. Think about why it moved you then and the people you were with. Call them and say “Remember this?” We will get through all this together, but separately.
The last verse of Badfinger’s “Day after Day” is:
I remember finding out about you.
Every day, my mind is all around you.
Looking out of my lonely gloom, day after day.
Bring it home, baby, make it soon.
I give my love to you.
We are all looking out from “our lonely room, our lonely gloom,” but it will end.
“Bring it home, baby, make it soon.” They will figure out the vaccine.
“I give my love to you.” Call a friend, share a memory, share a new music link, share your love.
Hoping to see you all very soon,
Mark Grubbs
President of the Blues Society of Omaha
