Artists Beating COVID-19 is our new series on how Midwest musicians are dealing with lockdowns, sheltering and the uncertain near-future of live events.
Waukesha Alternative Rockers - The Keystones
Waukesha alternative rocker’s The Keystones new single “Blackheart” describes a noir femme fatale sporting “black jeans, black hair, black teeth”—maybe not exactly the kind of girl to bring home to mother but the attraction is magnetic. The tune features a sly bridge that might just lead into a totally different song.
How has the lockdown affected your creativity?
“The lockdown has affected our creativity both negatively and positively,” says drummer Eddie Curran. “Like most artists, we had a lot of huge shows and big releases lined up for the summer that were cancelled or rescheduled, so that was a massive internal crush at first.”
Curran said the band had a difficult time getting together for the past two months. “Writing has been very difficult—we always would jam ideas together to solidify songs, so that hasn't been possible,” he says.
“However, on a positive note, it has brought out a lot of creativity in all of us as we've been writing a lot of brand new songs on our own and coming together remotely to add to them. It’s been like putting together a puzzle, and we all have pieces to add to it, which has been a fun experience!”
Do you have a routine or schedule for staying in practice or working on new material?
“We definitely do. As lockdowns are being eased a bit, we've been able to get together and begin writing new material all together. Apart from that, though, working on songs remotely has also helped us find a lot of new opportunities for how we approach the writing process.”
Curran says The Keystones are not so much in a rush to release new material any longer. “It’s put a lot in perspective.”
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Are you making plans for when you can resume playing in front of people again?
“Absolutely. We recently gained management with a lot of great connections to booking agents across the United States, so we're excited and looking forward to going on our first tour sometime within the next 6-12 months, depending on how the pandemic plays out,” Curran says. “It's given us a lot of time to plan out everything that we didn't have time to before—and we're definitely beyond excited to get back in front of our favorite fans in Milwaukee, Waukesha and throughout Wisconsin at venues like Cactus Club, X-Ray, The Rave, and of course Summerfest. It’s going to be a blast to play shows again, and we can’t wait!”
