When the coronavirus shut us down, clubs and festivals ceased, and everyone was essentially forced inside with no definitive end in sight, DJ Times wondered: How is our tribe coping? How are DJs getting by? So, we sent out our “Coronavirus Questionnaire” to DJ/producers from all musical genres to find out.
During the crisis, DJ Times will be presenting the questionnaire responses from talented music-makers from all over the world. Here’s our latest installment, this time from The Big Easy, the multi-talented DJ/musician/producer of the dubstep/riddim variety, Boogie T (aka Brock Thornton).
What’s it like where you are? I’m living in New Orleans, so I’m pretty much locked down as much as everyone else is right now. I leave my house to go get essentials – I love my Coors Light. I’m working on building up my Twitch channel and streaming new shows each week on there – and producing lots of music. Also, I’m taking lots of naps.
What income-producing work have you lost? I lost my whole bus tour, not to mention festival bookings that are uncertain right now. We had been planning the Riddim & Blues Tour for a year – I would play a set with my band, and then right after, do a full DJ set as well for every show. We played the first tour date in Urbana, Ill. – shout-out to Canopy Club – and it was an awesome show. The next day, the word came out that venues were closing due to COVID-19, and we had to shut everything down. So, that was a huge bummer.
Are you doing anything now that can or will produce music-related income? Yes, I have my label Drama Club Recordings and we are putting out lots of music for you guys this year. We’re rolling out Stage Left for Drama Club, plus we’re gonna release some different stuff from myself, dope lo-fi stuff from Animal Drums of BOOGIE T.RIO, and music you can just chill around the house to.
What are you doing now that’s ultimately constructive to your music life/career? I’m working a lot on the DramaClubTV Twitch channel. Learning all of the tech stuff behind streaming and teaming up with Kooz to do art for it. It’s been a big project, but I’m really happy with the response from the fans and glad we can entertain people when everyone is stuck indoors.
What’s the most surprising thing you’ve realized during this period of social distancing? One surprising thing I’ve realized is I’m sort of doing the same thing I’m always doing whenever I’m off the road – staying home and working on music. But I’m not able to see my family and friends like I used to, so I’m expecting it to hit home pretty soon.
What are you doing online? Have you seen anything you like? I’ll for sure be doing a bunch of livestreams on DramaClubTV, and I go live on Instagram at random times whenever I’m working on something I really like. LSDream has a sick streaming setup, and I really like what Insomniac has been doing with their live-streams.
Any theme tunes recommended for the moment? I’m gonna say… “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers, who recently passed. He was one of the greatest.
Any advice on staying sane & relatively positive through this situation? Stay in touch with your family and friends, get some fresh air, listen to the “Remedies” EP on Drama Club Recordings and come hang out with me on Twitch every Friday and Sunday night!
To check out more Life in Lockdown features, click here.
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