KRIS RODGERS & THE DIRTY GEMS
ARTIST OF THE DAY
09.07.2021
KRIS RODGERS & THE DIRTY GEMS
LOCATION
Portland, ME, USA
GENRE
Rock/Pop
CURRENT MEMBERS
Kris Rodgers - keys
Tom Hall - guitar
Ryan Halliburton - bass
Craig Sala - drums
Justin Wiley - auxiliary keyboards
Jamie Colpoys - trombone
Brian Graham - sax
Susanne Gerry - backing vocals
Gina Alibrio - backing vocals
With the current pandemic, the state of the music and touring industry has dramatically changed. Where were you when everything was brought to a halt?
We had just finished recording the horns and backing vocals for our latest album Still Dirty (which is out 7/23 this year), and we were about to leave for a tour still promoting our last album. We ended up cancelling our tour, and the record was put to a halt as well even though we were about 80-90% finished tracking.
How has that affected your plans for the coming year? Did you have a tour planned, upcoming album release?
We ended up being about a year behind on the release of our album due to not being able to get into a studio to finish it for 7 or 8 months, and cancelled the tour I mentioned before, however it looks like now we may be able to tour again for this new record, so we're being cautiously optimistic. Fingers crossed!
What have you been doing to fill/make the most of your new-found free time at home? How are you supporting your mental health through all of this?
I've turned to YouTube and made a few videos, as well as started focusing more on music videos in general. I initially took a break from playing/writing/recording to decompress when everything shut down, and it was a nice breath of fresh air to get working again a couple months into the pandemic. I started taking a few online Duolingo Spanish lessons to help kill time and keep my mind focused.
How are dealing with the Covid third wave?
I live in Maine where we have been very lucky to not be hit very hard by Covid. I'm able to play shows at a few outside venues, and now many people in Maine are vaccinated so we're slowly but surely getting more and more back to normal up here.
Favourite Starlite Room Moment?
I really enjoyed watching Ayla Brook & The Sound Men stream!
Do you have a message for everyone at home reading this?
I think we've all been through it the last year or so, and I hope this music brings hope, and helps bring people together and dance!
If you would like to be our next ARTIST OF THE DAY please email us at:
JEN@CONCERTWORKS.CA
