Artist of the Day | GONE COSMIC
ARTIST OF THE DAY
17.07.2020
GONE COSMIC
LOCATION
Calgary, AB
GENRE
Heavy Psych
CURRENT MEMBERS
Abbie Thurgood
Brett Whittingham
Marcello Castronuovo
Devin 'Darty' Purdy
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 were all in Calgary and ironically had gigs within the first couple weeks of the announcement of the provincial and local state of emergency which of course were cancelled. Like others I don't think any of us realized the extent to which the pandemic would have a dramatic change to our lives.
How has that affected your plans for the coming months? Did you have a tour planned, upcoming album release?
Gone Cosmic had a ton of gigs lined up for Spring and Summer, including some festivals which would have been our biggest gigs ever for the band. We also have studio time booked at OCL Studios in September to record our sophomore album, so it was really unfortunate to lose those gigs as they were our primary fundraising opportunities. That said we are all healthy and happy, so we really can't complain about missing some gigs in a time like this as there are much more challenging situations our world is facing at the moment.
What have you been doing to fill/make the most of your new-found free time at home?
As we still have our September studio dates booked, the vast majority of our free time has been spend writing and recording demo's for the album. We initially were jamming 'online' for the first 3 months and have since moved back to in person jamming with physical distance barriers in place. Aside from the creation of new music we have all been enjoying the more slow-paced lifestyle and have been fortunate to be able to work from home which has been very enjoyable.
What was the first thing you did/place you went to now the country is starting to slowly re-open?
Honestly we haven't really done a lot in terms of participating in the re-opening, however when the province announced you could expand your 'bubble' slightly, we went to a remote cabin with our gear and some recording equipment and got to spend 4 days writing and recording in an extremely isolated environment. It was equal parts laughter and creativity.
Favourite Starlite Room Moment?
Hands down - the opportunity to open up for Brant Bjork and Earthless was a dream come true at the Starlite Room. We knew Earthless already from our other musical projects so it was great to re-connect, but we also got to drive Brant Bjork from Calgary to Edmonton which gave us an opportunity to get to know them on a personal level.
Do you have a message for everyone at home reading this?
First off - be kind to each other and stay safe in these challenging times. We truly are in this together and we should try and keep the mindset of 'we' and not 'me'. On a band note - be sure to follow us on social media channels if you want to stay on top of our upcoming studio time as we'll be posting regular updates of the recording process.
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