Covid-19: 5 Constructive tips for your Quarantine

We’re now months into the shutdown of our beloved live industry; it’s an industry which has provided us with friendship, life-changing adventures and perhaps most importantly, food on the table and a roof over our heads.

Our thoughts are always with our friends and colleagues in the live industry; once again our musings turn to what can be done? How can we salvage the time and opportunities lost thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Now could be a great opportunity to use any spare time you may have to your advantage. It’s rare, in this industry, that we get time to focus on training; it’s rare we have the opportunity to perform maintenance duties without being hurried.

We put our collective heads together and came up with a list of the top five things to do during the COVID-10 lockdown. From practical skills through to education, here are our suggestions for the best ways of grabbing success from the jaws of defeat.

1.Learn a new Skill

Ever been frustrated at the cost of pre-made cables and patch panels? Wished you had more of an insight into what your guitar tech friend is up to? Well maybe now is a good time to learn a whole new skill set?

Learning to solder and make-up cables is a hugely valuable skill for live techs. Not only does it allow you to repair damaged connections on tour, it means you can make up custom cables and patch panels, often at a fraction of the cost of “off the peg” solutions.

If you’re a musician, look into ways in which you can expand your knowledge and get more from your craft. For example, if you’re a guitarist, perhaps look into how you can use MIDI to enhance your use of effects and patch switching.

2.Become a Software Guru

We all have a software programme we spend most of our time around; now would be a great time to explore every ‘nook and cranny’ of it. Emerge from lockdown as a master of your chosen speciality.

By the same token, get to know a programme you don’t use much; it might just open up gigs to you in the future you wouldn’t have taken on before.Perhaps you have a friend who’s great with Logic and you’re an Ableton master? Get online and swap tips, and teach other how to master a new software tool.

For a good place to start on-line, our friend, Will Doggett runs the excellent YouTube channel From Studio to Stage. There’s also a wealth of video learning resources out there covering just about any piece of software you can think of.

3.Rebuild/Rethink

Do you have a live rig you use day in day out? Was there anything about it you didn’t like but were always too busy to get around to improving?Has your live rig seen better days? Could it use some maintenance and TLC?

Don’t let your rig gather dust; it might not be earning you money right now but that’s no excuse for letting it gather dust. Have a think if it could be improved; perhaps it could be redeveloped into a web-streaming rig?Use your creativity, time and imagination to make your rig better than it’s ever been...

Backstage at House of Blues - Lucas Sader at the helm.

4.Learn your gear

We’re fortunate to have some real “power users” amongst our friend’s group, but by the same token many of us happily scratch the surface of what’s possible with iConnectivity interfaces.

Take a read through some of our old blog articles, sit down with the gear and prod and poke it in ways it hasn’t been before (always remember kids - consent is important). If you’ve got questions, drop us a line, we’re here to help!

5.Look out for your Friends and Colleagues

We can’t emphasise this one enough; look out for your friends, colleagues and industry cohorts. This pandemic has hit us all really hard, both financially, physically and mentally.

If you haven’t heard from someone in a while, drop them a line, check that they’re ok. If you can offer help you must offer assistance. If you need help, please ask for help.

We’ve created a blog full of resources for those in need; take a few minutes to see if there are support packages out there for you. Contrary to popular misconception, you don’t have to suffer for your art!

Take a look at all the suggestions above and if you can think you can offer a skill-share with any of your friends then drop them a line.

From all of us at iConnectivity: Stay safe, stay alive.