Artist of the Day | SAMWAYS
ARTIST OF THE DAY
14.04.2021
SAMWAYS
LOCATION
Toronto, ON
GENRE
Folk, Acoustic
CURRENT MEMBERS
Nathan Hiltz
Shannon Butcher
Melissa Lauren
Jessica Lalonde
Neil Macintosh
Chris Banks
Mark Fewer
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?
Our last performance was at C'est What in Toronto's St Lawerence Market neighborhood on a Thursday night. By Monday we were locked down. It was a strange time because we were getting cancellations from venues while at the same time getting offers from other venues that were getting cancellations from musicians. That moment of course didn't last very long.
How has that affected your plans for the coming year? Did you have a tour planned, upcoming album release?
The recording was originally booked for May 2020. The pandemic made that impossible, so we used every single last bit of warm fall weather to hold socially distanced rehearsals in my backyard. We then got it done over 3 days in November in the big room at the incredible Noble Street Studios in Toronto. It was extremely hard to wait for me!! I was very lucky to receive a grant from the Toronto Arts Council to record this project and I like things to happen on schedule. Since that time I have been very lucky to be working with publicist extrodinaire Eric Alper. He has been an invaluable asset while navigating these strange times!!! So what would have been a standard fall release has become an April 30 full album release with a couple of singles dropping before to wet our fans appetites!
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?
What a great question! I am very blessed to have a wife (Samways singer Melissa Lauren) and a 5 year old daughter. In normal times I do about 200+ gigs a year, so I have had an extraordinary opportunity to be a stay at home dad which I think many of us will look back on and miss (in some ways!!) Also, there is thankfully a huge body of solo guitar music in the world, so I have been spending my pandemic time practicing. I look forward to performing live again am glad to keep my chops up. I also love to cook elaborate meals and clean our apartment.
How are dealing with the Covid second wave?
I am very focused on keeping my family safe and taking every precaution to care for them. That has meant some sacrifices of course, we have some very loving grand parents near us who have had to remain socially distant while our daughter attends school.
Favourite Starlite Room Moment?
Though I have toured through Alberta few times with my good friend Terra Hazelton, this is my first encounter with Starlite Room. I believe we will be doing an audio interview soon, here's hoping we can create a moment together!!
Do you have a message for everyone at home reading this?
Get ready for an explosion of creativity everyone. The artists have been stuck at home and you should be prepared for a flurry of new works being brought into the world when this all opens up. Let's enjoy this new world and never take for granted our freedom and our ability to be together.
If you would like to be our next ARTIST OF THE DAY please email us at:
JEN@CONCERTWORKS.CA
