If You Love Me Stay Away: Music, Life, and Seeing How Things “Pan” Out during the Early Days of the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic
Pop-up concert. Photos/Julie Machado.
By Julie Smyres Machado
As an American living in Nevada, a bluish-purple “Silver State” that has a history of military bases, air races, and atomic bomb testing, I should not have assumed that we would be safe if a world-wide pandemic hit the United States of America. But I did. I thought our government of elected officials would care about us, the people on the ground who work hard for our money. I thought they were one of us. As a veteran of 30 years of government service, albeit as a County Librarian, I have worked even longer as a musician. This year has proven challenging for playing music to an audience, and not just practicing (which is hard enough when you have something to practice for!).
Nevada stopped in mid-stride on St. Patricks’ Day. Casinos closed! Bands around the state had their thousands of gigs cancelled. The Reno Phil cancelled a concert scheduled for the next week. Everything was cancelled. Everything was cancelled through May. That was our reality then.
At first it was hard to slow down. Staying at home is very hard when you are used to going to work, exercise, recreation, libation, “etcetera, etcetera, etcetera…” as The King & I would say. Also we thought it would just be for a few months. I know I got much needed rest. Then, I walked the dog, hiked everywhere, and baked at least a thousand cookies. By April I started making masks. I started finishing all kinds of at home projects. I started my garden a month early. The yard looked fabulous. Everyone’s yards looked fabulous. However, there were shortages of the most used things everywhere around the world: toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer, masks, anything that killed germs, yeast for baking bread, gaming system. There was a rush on online shopping, and people were buying puzzles like crazy. Schools closed and went to online teaching, causing parents to drink heavily and talk about giving teachers raises. (That only lasted until the fall, when parents started talking about having themselves paid to teach their own children. Heavy sigh…) Anything to fill the time while waiting for this world-wide pandemic to run its course and go away. And don’t get me started about all those cruise ships. This was just the start. The politicizing and demonizing of fellow Americans hadn’t even started in earnest yet.
Musicians love camaraderie. We don’t often have many other friends than other musicians, and family members who love us anyway. We love being together for the shared experience of making music together. Well, we love playing together. We think we are being together, but we don’t talk much because we are playing. Then we don’t talk about much except the music interpretation, or mouthpieces (just you crazy brass players), or other musicians, or “how do you fit a bass in THAT car.”
The COVID-19, which is what the “novel coronavirus” is now consistently called, has halted rehearsals. We tried to rehearse outside with weighted stands and clothes-pinned pages. Tried to sing through our masks. We made on-line collaborative videos with little tiles of the people performing (which, it turns out, is really hard to do). It is all entertaining. But not really a money-making venture for the actual musicians.
We watched Italians singing opera favorites together from their balconies and groups from around the world hilariously changing the lyrics to famous songs to reflect “novel coronavirus” realities. One example was the song by The Knack, My Sharona, which was hilariously changed to My Corona, (which is also the name of a beer).
In April the Reno Phil came up with the “Spread Joy” campaign where individual musicians from the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra could record themselves playing, talking a bit about themselves and how the music they chose brings joy, and then submitting it to be posted on the RenoPhil.com Facebook page. I did a solo rendition, singing with my bass, of the Blood Brothers’ Singing in My Car, which I dedicated to everyone self-quarantining.
Around this time, May 18, I wrote the lyrics to If You Love Me Stay Away.
If You Love Me Stay Away: A jaunty 16-bar blues by Julie Smyres Machado
No more toilet paper, no hand sanitizer
Even if we had the money, there’s no place open for appetizers.
I cook and bake like crazy, with the bread a-rize
I’m so hungry for you baby, but
If you love me stay away.
I see you on Facebook, I see you in my dreams
I think of you often, between TV screens,
I text and Zoom, and see you in the clouds.
I long to hold you,
But, if you love me stay away.
The house is perfectly clean
The landscaping is beautiful, but will never be seen.
My garden is lovely, filled with blossoms and shades of green (and things that come up for free)
I long to show you,
But if you love me stay away.
My dog has travelled further than he’s ever gone before.
My sewing room became a factory, filled with masks galore.
At least I’m not teaching 3rd grade! Oh, horror!
I really, really miss you,
But if you love me stay away.
No traffic on the roads, no contrails in the sky,
The wildlife is coming back, everybody’s getting high.
I’m walking the walk to help me get by.
I’ll be strong for you,
But if you love me stay alive.
I love you truly, someday we will be together.
The Reno Phil administration and board were very supportive of the musicians. They obtained a Payroll Protection Program from the Small Business Administration, which helped pay the administrations’ salaries and for lost wages of the musicians who had been hired for the rest of the season through June. Then we did an 80-piece online Reno Phil version of Home Means Nevada, which we had commissioned for the 2014 Sesquicentennial (150 years) of Nevada statehood. This turned out to be breaking ground as many orchestras just stopped, or even went under.
For Memorial Day my husband Larry, who is a trumpet player, played a beautiful rendition of Taps to our neighborhood. Several neighbors came out to listen. Some were brought to tears. Our immediate neighbors really liked our rehearsals in the back yard and wanted more.
Larry Machado playing Taps in front of our house on Memorial Day.
July is Artown in Reno, Nevada. We plan music and arts of all kinds for a festival that lasts over 30 days. Almost everything in town is included under an umbrella advertising campaign - Artown. None of us wanted to miss all the events we had planned, but it was impossible to hold an event for a group of people. Even though the spread of COVID-19 had gone down during the first few months, now the bars and casinos were opened, and the COVID-19 count was rising again.
I help plan the Sweet Vibrations Artown series at the Downtown Reno First United Methodist Church. The Pastor (Kris Gallagher) and her husband Ben, along with Andy Sonnemaker came up with a plan to record the groups we had hired to play in the church sanctuary. Musical groups would be alone with no audience, self-distancing, for a limited amount of time. Pastor Kris and Ben would record each song, and intersperse the “live” concert with interviews from the musicians. The concerts would be posted “live” on the church’s’ Facebook page on the day it had originally been scheduled and advertised. Six of the nine groups were willing (and small enough) to perform. They did a fabulous job! The Jazzettes, my jazz trio, would be the first. It was strange to perform in an empty hall. The acoustics were very different, and the lack of an audience made it awkward to some extent. As we went along we pretended there was an audience. For this concert we wrote new lyrics to a couple of the pieces we did. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore seemed like a no brainer to make into a COVID-19 song. Erika wrote the lyrics to the first verse and chorus, I wrote the second verse and chorus, and Cami wrote the final set of lyrics.
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore COVID-19 version lyrics by Erika Paul, Julie Machado, and Cami Thompson
Missed the Saturday dance
Heard they cleared out the floor
Not much fun when there’s COVID
Don’t get around much anymore
Thought I’d visit the club
Got as far as my door
COVID lurking all over
Don’t get around much anymore.
Darling I guess, my mind’s on disease
Nevertheless, we have good memories.
Been invited on dates
Even just to the store
Lost my mask and my rubber gloves
Don’t get around much anymore.
I’ve been invited to Zoom
Several meetings by noon
I’ve got my wine and my baked goods
Don’t share my sugar no more.
I miss the gym and the pool
I’m sewing masks like a fool
It’s awfully different without you
Don’t get around much anymore
When I’m not sheltering in place, I wear a mask on my face.
No need to trace, we haven’t had a case. (knock on wood)
Love to hike with my dog
In both sunshine and fog
Couldn’t bear it without him
Don’t get around much anymore.
I miss some friends in my life
The ones who won’t wear a mask
And they don’t socially distance
So I don’t come around if they ask
I thought I’d go for a walk
Got as far as the door
Can’t seem to trust all my neighbors
So I just drive down to the store
Without all that stress, my minds more at ease
But nevertheless who should I call when I sneeze?
Been invited on dates
But I don’t see what for
Can’t dance or kiss wrapped in plastic
Six feet apart is such a bore.
Awfully different with COVID
Don’t get around much anymore.
Cami Thompson, Erika Paul, and Julie Machado social distancing during our Artown concert at Reno Downtown First United Methodist Church.
Julie Machado and Karen Stout-Gardner, both Reno Phil Musicians, play a Pop-Up concert.
As the summer wore on we could tell the COVID-19 pandemic would be lasting longer than a few months. More festivals were cancelled or postponed, some until 2021 or even 2022. The Reno Phil held surprise “Pop-Up” concerts with one or two musicians playing for about 30 minutes in not-too-populated venues around the Reno/Sparks area. It was fun. Cellist Karen Stout-Gardner and I played cello/bass duets to a few people standing in front of Lake Mansion Arts and Cultural Center. Larry played jazz duets with fellow Reno Phil trumpeter Jef Derderian for a donor in Verdi. In the meantime, the Library of Congress Digital Archives asked to have the Reno Phil “Spread Joy” campaign as part of their collection. I personally think that is REALLY COOL! (That’s the librarian coming out in me. I have actually learned songs from the LC Digital Archives, so it’s doubly cool to be included. Singing in My Car Julie-style is now eternal!)
As everyone got better at social distancing and keeping areas COVID-clean, The Jazzetttes were asked to do the opening concert for the annual Jazz & Beyond Festival held in our capital, Carson City. We were getting better at online concerts. Erika had been performing bi-weekly Sunday morning “Music from Quarantine - Live” concerts on Facebook for a while (and they continue) at a time of day so that viewers from France and Germany could watch live at the same time although for them it was in the evening.
For the Jazz & Beyond Festival we met in A to Zen Thrift Store, a business closed during this time due to COVID-19, and we performed and recorded a live concert. David and Ellie Bugli and friends had cameras set up around the venue, and as well as a roving go-pro to get closeup shots. The show was edited and streamed while we performed. It was very professionally done, and fun to watch! It reminded me a tiny bit of the Austin City Limits concerts on PBS. We were now better at playing to an empty hall. We just pretended it was a very dark hall (which it was), and there were people out there (which there weren’t too many, just the production crew and a couple of women that accidentally wandered in during the concert). Everyone had a blast!
All during this time fires are everywhere across the West. A record number of hurricanes has hit the south. Riots in response to the death of George Floyd and others, and to the Black Lives Matter movement have been in many cities; one of the largest was in Portland, Oregon. We had one in Reno after a peaceful demonstration (May 31-June 1) that ended up being started by a right-wing supremist group from out of state. I don’t even want to talk about the large gatherings at rallies with “non-maskers” that contributed to our current double-digit rise in COVID-19 infections in Nevada at the same time our weather is turning cold. 2020 has turned into a disaster-cluster year that no one could have foreseen.
Some musicians rely heavily on teaching to make enough money to pay their bills. Some families rely on music for their children to keep them interacting with the outside world. Teaching in general went online. However, it is hard to change someone’s bow technique for strings or embouchure for singing, woodwinds, and brass, without touching them for these (often) small alignments. Some music teachers are ‘social distance’ meeting with their students in their backyards as weather permits. The Reno Phil went ahead with their auditions for our three youth orchestras, a string ensemble, the mariachi group, and others, by asking students to send in videos of themselves playing the audition material. This can be a lifeline for some youth, especially with the help from Reno Phil players at rehearsals, sectionals, and through individual instruction. The Reno Phil also got funding to help pay for private lessons for these amazing young players. I applaud everyone who is trying to keep music alive whether in the school district, or through private lessons, especially for our young people.
The Reno Phil had moved their current season selections to the following year. We had made some money during our 50th anniversary season the previous year. So some funds were expended to add recording equipment to the Pioneer Theatre, which is where the Reno Phil plays their formal season and some extra, like our holiday “Spirit of the Season” concerts. Our conductor and artistic committee came up with small concerts, so far with strings only, as an interim concert series.
“Out of the Silence” on Oct. 3rd and 4th, the first Reno Phil concert. Photo/David Calvert.
I am proud of my husband Larry who is a trumpet player. We both really miss seeing and playing with our fellow musicians. We have tried to get together with one or two at a time to rehearse live and learn new charts. He manages to practice several times every day. He learns new material and works on his jazz solo techniques. He is an inspiration to me. I keep connected with my bands and ensembles, and I am the Reno Phil Players’ Committee Representative and also on the Reno Philharmonic Board. I find working together to keep ‘live’ music alive rewarding.
As I finish writing this in October, I am self-isolating because I was exposed to a possible COVID infection. Fortunately Larry and I did not catch COVID. Right now the death toll just in the United States, over 250 thousand, is the equivalent of two full airplanes crashing and everyone dying PER DAY. The reality of living in this pandemic is that it has been hard on many; occupations limited, mental health triggers, domestic abuse rampant, political clashes that remind me of our own Civil War. I can attest how hard it has been on musicians. Live performances for and by groups larger than a handful seems a long way off. However, when I play my bass or piano I feel beauty and hope, and a little bit of peace. I am hopeful that those who have the ability to be able to play music realize how lucky they are. Whether playing for yourself, or listening to the radio or player, it is a blessing to have this bright spot of soul comfort.
Click in for some recordings from the pandemic:
https://www.renophil.com/julie-machado-bass/ Julie Machado, Reno Phil bassist
https://facebook.com/events/sweet-vibrations-the-jazzettes/404506406837596/?ti+icl Sweet Vibrations: The Jazzettes in Concert.
https://www.facebook.com/jazzcarsoncity/ Scroll down to the Sept 2nd post. This was their first live streamed concert for this years’ festival. We are The Jazzettes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPKTc06-c2E&list=PLL1AE4An9YN3_kE3NxVNsOcGB7om0TeSn&index=9 Reno Phil “Case Files” created in December 2020. Julie introducing her bass as online Reno Phil outreach for elementary school students.
Julie Machado is a professional musician and co-founder of the Lifescapes Senior Writing Program, which was founded in 2000. She has two grown sons and lives with her husband and beagle in Sparks, Nevada. So far during the pandemic she has enjoyed creating a special “COVID-19 dream” quilt, Disco-A-Go-Go, learned how to knit, and keeps discovering new songs to perform.
Lifescapes Memoir Writing Program was created in 2000 for this growing northern Nevada community. Many families who moved here were later joined by their parents. Lifescapes was designed for seniors, who often did not know anyone here except their busy younger family members, to connect them with other community members in a library setting. Over the last 20 years Lifescapes has engaged over 800 community members in writing, sharing, and publishing their life stories. Over 250 Lifescapes publications, including over 35 anthologies, have been locally and internationally published. The idea of creating camaraderie through reading and discussing literature, writing life stories triggered through literature, and sharing life experiences through reading their stories aloud, has been successful. Lifescapes classes are still being held at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Nevada, Reno, (OLLI), with additional classes in Sparks. For more information see the OLLI catalog at http://olli.unr.edu/ or contact Julie Machado on her Facebook page.
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