Dealing with COVID-19 and Self-Isolation

Many people have been dealing with COVID-19 and self-isolation in many different ways. During the first six weeks I found the best to deal my self-isolation was looking to my love of creating. I began writing a lot more than I had been in the previous months. I was writing poems, and working on my stories for something I wish to publish in the future called "Ukrainian Episodes" and one can learn more about these on my Patreon page. Then I wrote poem which was called Take A Look Around. After a few days that writing led me in a totally different direction, in creating a melody for it. 

Five months has gone by, and here in Quebec we've gone into another 28-day lockdown. In many ways the words I wrote then are still extremely valid. While I am a lover of music, my musical education is limited to a little bit of violin as an exploratory course in my first year of high school under the guidance of someone who really helped me appreciate music - Iwan Edwards, that was followed by two years of music playing trombone. Though throughout highschool I listened to everything from progressive rock to hard rock. So taking something I wrote as text to a melody was a great challenge. Though before I get into that aspect of things let me share the lyrics with you.

Take A Look Around – A COVID-19 Inspiration

Verses 1 & 2

I don’t know how you’re reacting.

I don’t know if you’re all alone.

Reach out to the people around you,

Reach out to all those you know.

Times are hard they’re not going to change fast,

Times are strange giving us some pain.

Look around, do your little part,

For some positive and healthy change.

Refrain

Take a look around.

Aware of your social distance.

Take a look around.

Much better for immune-resistance.

Verses 3 & 4

Stay apart, smile - nod in support,

To your neighbours, the grocery store,

To the human you’ve never met before -

Careful, safe - healthy mind and soul.

Do not fear, you’re really not alone,

Millions like you, alone at home.

Together, there will be a victory, -

Emerging stronger than we were before.

Refrain - as above.

Verses 5 & 6

Take some time to reflect on things,

Take some time for your family.

All this too will really come to pass,

Bide your time and you will see.

So I hope as I send this it out you,

Friends are safe, finding cool things to do.

So be clear that when this is all over,

Simpler things will be part of the glue.

April 15-27, 2020

Even before trying to make music I made my own mask: 

The first thing I did in my creative process was to pull out my two Honer Blues Harps (harmonicas) and I started playing around. When I went for walks I would hum things to myself. Eventually 

I enlisted a good friend and former roommate from my university years in this scheme and need to create to stay sane. I knew he played guitar, and in fact I used to use his guitar to try to teach myself guitar when we lived together back in 1987-88. In some email correspondence he told me he was playing a lot more ukelele and I recalled visiting him in November of 2019 when he showed me his three guitars and his Martin ukelele. So we both did our little thing and with my limited knows of music recording and mixing I came out with something that sounds like this: https://soundcloud.com/vasyl-pawlowsky/take-a-look-around

Unforutnately, when resctrictions were lightened everyone thought we were off the hook, though we are now back on it. Unfortunately, we are back to square one where we were five months ago. My feeling is that the words I wrote back in April still stand. If there are any of my friends who are musicians, please feel free to make this song a message. 

 
Vasyl Pawlowsky 

Independent Consultant

Member of SOCAN
 

Some problems abroad

While on a recent business trip to Spain I was appalled by the fact that in two of the Ukrainian stores I visited I could not find one piece of licensed Ukrainian music. The only Ukrainian music I found was one CD of VV collection on CD in MP3 format, and that I am 100% certain was pirated music. The rest was Russian, and for the most part it was not even top quality contemporary Russian music. I hope to follow up on this in a more detailed article in the next day or two.

In short, even those who claim to be Ukrainian in countries like Spain, don't seem to give a damn about their own culture but rather what they think will sell! But I together with others will be working on changing this. It won't be easy, but at least someone has to make the effort.

The importance of choice

I have previously posted some thoughts on problems in the Ukrainian music industry but some of the thoughts of my director and friend sum it up well on www.sumno.com website.

While he discusses his role as producer of the Telnyuk Sisters, a number of issues are touched upon, including content laws, media access to musicians, and tastes. Have a read, if you can read Ukrainian, I am sure you will find it interesting.

The Flit Gig - Great but not safe

In North America or probably anywhere else where the "Rule of Law" is followed there would have been at least one hundred and fifty fewer people than the three hundred and twenty who paid for tickets, plus the thirty or so who were in on invites. Before the gig even began a friend of mine said, "If there is ever a fire in this place, we are going to die!" Thank God nothing of that nature happened or I would not be writing this right now, but she was absolutely right.

While the gig was full of energy, and great the new Pyvna Bochka on Bohdana Kmelnytskoho could have turned into a tragedy. Why? If anything happened, like a fire for example, with as many people that were in the place, lack of clearly marked exits, and not to mention the imbibing of beer, people could have been crushed to death in their efforts of trying to get out. Thank God that that didn't happen!

One of the problem with Kyiv is the lack of venues that can accommodate between four hundred and a thousand people comfortably. The clubs for example that do exist do little to think of the safety of their clientèle and simply are too small. For the music industry to develop in a healthy manner in Ukraine, not only do Ukrainian content laws need to be developed and adhered to, but there is clearly a need for safe venues that will allow Ukraine's young talents to perform before their public.

Ignorance is bliss

It seems that the industry here is burying its head in the sand. In a conversation I had yesterday with one of Ukraine's best informed music critics, Oleksandr Yevtushenko, I discovered that the Ukrainian group Haydamaky is more appreciated beyond the borders of Ukraine then at home.

At the 20th Womex (World Music Expo) held in Seville Spain last October, the group made it into the top 20 World Music CD's with their album Ukraine Calling, the European release on Berlin-based EastBlok Music of their Ukrainian album Perversii. Ukrainian media was pretty well silent regarding this achievement, not to mention that the band had also made it into the top 100 World Music Albums on the European World Music Charts at 35th place. What surprised me was to see the name Bruce Springsteen at 29th place for an album called The Seeger Sessions. It seems that ignorance is bliss when it comes to the Ukrainian music industry being able to recognize the achievements of their own.

It seems that EastBlok understands how to promote the band, while there is little I can say about the work done by Haydamaky's label here. I just simply wasn't impressed by the way the head of the label presented himself at the release party held at the Warsteiner Pub in Kyiv on December 14, 2005.