Artist of the Day | DELYN GREY
ARTIST OF THE DAY
01.04.2021
DELYN GREY
LOCATION
Toronto, ON, Canada
GENRE
Alternative
CURRENT MEMBERS
Delyn Grey
Kyle Texiera
Chris Macfarlane
Peter Bloom
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?
I had actually just finished a leg of Bif Naked's Ontarian Acoustic tour when COVID became "mainstream" news. Within weeks after wrapping things up, everything was shut down and we went straight into our first lockdown.
How has that affected your plans for the coming year? Did you have a tour planned, upcoming album release?
There were lots of things on the list. Touring with Bif in the summer and fall, playing as much as I could around town, and releasing my first EP. I've since put the release on hold and put out a few singles with the help of my team and wonderful publicist, Eric Alper and James Moore. Really hoping to get the EP out around summer and get back on the road!
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 actually work full-time for a tech company and have been chipping away at a business and legal studies degree. So filling my time hasn't been much of an issue, ha! Carving out time to reconnect with music has been a priority of mine. Picking up instruments, writing, and singing because I want to, not because I feel I have to for social media growth, etc.. I had completely lost sight of why I was making music for the past couple of years. I'm grateful for the opportunity to disconnect from everything and find the 'why' again. Of course, I'd much rather be on the road doing that...but I'll take it!
How are dealing with the Covid second wave?
It's been really tough. The first wave seems like a piece of cake. Took up a bunch of hobbies, had a wicked at-home workout regimen going, was writing and playing every day, studying, and working. I found a nice balance. Now I'm just missing my friends, missing live shows, missing life as it was. It's a total mind screw. It's feeling like groundhog day! I'm trying to make an effort to be kinder to myself. I'm the kind of person that needs a million things on my plate at once to find purpose and I set really high expectations for myself--most of which are unrealistic in this new social climate. Nonetheless, sticking to a more flexible routine and focusing on the things that keep the creative part of my brain stimulated are keeping me going. I wrote Ghost Town, my latest single, to process the first lockdown...lately I've been getting similar feelings to the ones I had before writing it. Maybe there's another song coming soon. For anyone who doesn't know me (aka everyone reading this), I have a really hard time writing full songs on command. On average, when I have a good life/work balance, I write 10-20 songs a year. They come as full packages, I just need to be in the right headspace to receive them. Lately, I haven't been in any headspace to create which has been frustrating. I'll get back to it soon enough. It's been great to see the response Ghost Town has been getting and interacting with new people as a result. I've been missing that kind of human connection (even though it's virtual for now)!
Favourite Starlite Room Moment?
Being named Artist of the Day! SO rad.
Do you have a message for everyone at home reading this?
Please take care of yourself. Take some of the pressure off, focus on living and finding things that keep you happy, driven, and healthy. Also, go check out Ghost Town ;) My Instagrams DMs are open to anyone who wants to chat about ANYTHING, so give me a buzz (is that something people say for messaging? Yikes)!!
If you would like to be our next ARTIST OF THE DAY please email us at:
JEN@CONCERTWORKS.CA
