While stages around the world remain empty due to COVID-19, there’s no shortage of bands – such as Adelaide’s Venice Queens – suffering at the hands of the global pandemic.
When social distancing restrictions gave way to mandatory lockdowns back in March, the optimists among us undoubtedly hoped that everything would blow over within a few weeks, with life returning back to normal before we even had a chance to finish a single series on Netflix.
Unfortunately, life had other plans, and while millions are out of work globally, the music industry is rife with stories about artists struggling to get by, with COVID-19 stripping them of a chance to earn a livelihood.
While it’s easy to think of all the acts in big cities around the world who have suffered as a result of recent events, it’s even easier to forget those in smaller cities, where the music scene is often overlooked at the best of times.
One band currently riding it out in such a situation Venice Queens, an acclaimed indie outfit whose immersive tunes have seen them curate a fervent fanbase both in their South Aussie hometown, and further interstate.
To get an insight into just how the current situation has affected the band, Venice Queens’ vocalist Sam Little has penned an essay describing how the group has been impacted, and how they’ve managed to keep on looking ahead when things seemed their bleakest.
Check out Venice Queens’ ‘ROYALTY’:
“Stir-Crazy” with Sam Little of Adelaide’s Venice Queens:
Sick of your house yet? Me too.
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Isolation has been a slog. The wonderful thing about music is its ability to bring people together, but how do you do that when everyone’s stuck at home? Right about now, we’d be somewhere between Wollongong and Byron Bay if it weren’t for all this. It’s a spanner in the works if ever I’ve seen one.
HOWEVER, a lot of people have got it a lot bloody worse, so I’m going to quit my whining and look on the bright side. Adelaide — yep, it’s the one in South Australia; in the middle, down the bottom — wasn’t hit too badly by ol’ mate Corona. We still battened down the hatches for about two months, but I was still able to see my parents and an intimate group of mates.
Still, the pandemic put a great deal of strain on us as a band in terms of our main revenue streams: touring interstate and playing shows here in our hometown. We’re so close to the east coast hubs and not being able to get there regularly is a big blow.
Growing the fanbase has also been tough through this period. How do you reach new demographics and break through to new audiences when there is no foreseeable possibility of playing in front of them? How do you appease existing fans?
It’s been a time of experimentation – of trying to find ways to remain relevant and keep ourselves part of the conversation.
On top of this, Mitch and I lost our day jobs as a result of COVID, Anthony was forced to quarantine himself for about a month as he’s a paramedic, and Mark and Jay both had to work from home. Again, given what a lot of people have gone through, this is getting off pretty lightly, but the uncertainty of it all puts extra stress on us as individuals, thus making it more difficult to focus on this project.
With all this in mind, though, we’ve actually had a productive couple of months as a band. We’re lucky enough to work with some amazing people who’ve helped a great deal throughout this unprecedented challenge. With their ongoing help and support, we’ve created content, played live streams, released a single, ‘ROYALTY’, and engaged with our fanbase.
The single itself was written in 2019, and it’s one that heads down a bit of a different path to our previous releases. All too often we see artists pigeon-hole themselves into one sound. We always want to have our own signature on the music, of course, but experimenting and branching out is not only a whole lot of fun, but a great way to broaden our listener demographic.
‘ROYALTY’ is a more rhythm-driven number rather than a lot of our music which has typically stemmed from a catchy riff or melody. I’ve also always wanted to use our platform to talk about political and social issues, and the punchy instrumentals in this one gave me a great opportunity to air a few grievances. It moves away from the pretty and into the gritty.
It’s been fantastic to see certain areas of the music community pull together (from a distance) and come up with some really innovative and exciting ways to get to our audiences, particularly in a smaller city such as Adelaide. Start-ups like Sunny Side Uploads and Space Jams have given an invaluable avenue for SA artists to perform and connect with people in their living rooms.
Although it wasn’t until about a month ago that we were all able to get together — in a socially responsible fashion, of course — we’ve now managed to write a great body of music. This whole situation may have put us a year or so behind touring-wise, but we’re also looking at it as if we’re about a year ahead writing-wise.
With little else on our individual plates apart from work (and the usual existential crises), it’s created an opportunity to look to the future, collectively. Where to next? Do we just say fuck it and churn out an album? How feasible is a comprehensive national tour in the next 18 months?
We don’t necessarily have answers to these questions yet, but to be able to sit back and ponder them is an absolute blessing. There’s always the fear of stagnating, of plateauing, of dropping out of the aforementioned ‘conversation’; people tend to have this romantic notion that the music industry is all camaraderie. It’s not. It’s competitive as hell.
The big realisation for us, I think, is that during this time, no one else is really getting ahead. Everybody is in the same boat.
There is no prophet; there is no oracle. We don’t know when we’ll be able to get back on the road and share the love with every one of you sweaty animals, but we sure as hell hope it’s sooner rather than later. I just can’t wait to have a bloody pint.
Check out the band’s single ‘Punchdrunk’:
