Artist of the Day | MARIEL BUCKLEY
ARTIST OF THE DAY
26.10.2020
MARIEL BUCKLEY
LOCATION
Edmonton, AB
GENRE
Americana
CURRENT MEMBERS
Mariel Buckley
Luke Breiteneder
Kurtis Cockerill
Ryan Funk
Matt Kraus
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?
About to embark on three separate support tours, as a solo opener / duo. Del Barber and I were supposed to go Winnipeg - Vancouver sharing a band, I was opening for William Prince across Ontario, and The Bros. Landreth were having me support for their '87 Tour, in all of Western Canada's most beautiful theatres. We'd also booked up the summer of 2020 with festivals and showcase slots. Big time bummer!
How has that affected your plans for the coming months? Did you have a tour planned, upcoming album release?
Certainly everything was halted or slowed right down. Ironically, I was diagnosed with a pretty severe vocal polyp in March, and if I'd have toured or performed as much as was planned, I may have damaged my voice significantly. Oddly, I was lucky to have the time and space to heal properly.
What have you been doing to fill/make the most of your new-found free time at home?
Given that I'd spent less than 4 months at home in 2019, I was definitely a bit bewildered with what to do. I moved my stuff to Edmonton, built a desk for a new office, cleaned up my immune system and detox'd hard, quit drinking for a spell, cut back on smoking dope and focused on eating well and creating for a minimum 2 hours a day. Wait a minute... is this what regular people do?!
What was the first thing you did/place you went to now the country is starting to slowly re-open?
I've ventured out for a beer or two but honestly, until the touring market has returned safely I'm keeping my ass distanced as much as possible.
Favourite Starlite Room Moment?
Sharing an evening with Altameda in support of SACE in December of 2017. Sold out room, my first show in there with a full band. Hell of a time, great sound.
Do you have a message for everyone at home reading this?
Do your best to keep yer chin up. Get outside, breathe the fresh air, talk to a counsellor, take medication for mood stability if you need to, keep in touch with friends and family. Enjoy this pause, because guaranteed in 2-3 years we're going to be missing it.
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