Frogwater / Via Facebook
During the lockdown Milwaukee duo Frogwater have performed from their home for 12 Fridays and counting. The husband-wife duo John and Susan Nicholson are multi-instrumentalists whose acoustic repertoire spans from Celtic tunes to Delta blues, and original material.
Fixtures of Milwaukee’s Irish Fest, Bastille Days and other outdoor events, the WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) award-winning act will take a hit due to COIVD-19’s cancellations. Susan answered a few questions.
How has the lockdown affected your creativity? How have the livestreams been received?
“We do not have a regular rehearsal schedule. From time-to-time we'll sit down and work out a new tune or song or dig deep into our repertoire to revitalize an old piece of music. We’re going on our twelfth week of “Friday Night Live” and have only done a few repeats. We are stunned by how much material we have. It's like reuniting with an old friend!”
She says the FaceBook Live shows have been very well received, but it is still nerve-wracking to perform to a camera instead of a live audience.
“People are really supportive and kind. Sincerely, it has helped us (monetarily and spiritually) much more than the darned government. It was months before we received our stimulus. We have lost all our gigs, some into the Fall...”
At the suggestion of their daughter Opal, Frogwater will play a Zoom Live performance for a more interactive experience with viewers. Susan also offers gratitude to attorney Linda Benfield, who spearheaded the first "Live" as a means to create a sense of community for her co-workers at Foley & Lardner.
“This was way back on March 20, when Linda and her office mates were beginning their work-from-home experience. Foley’s IT team was on it and we opened up a FaceBook Live event, but anyone could jump on in.”
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She says the live performances have been watched by thousands of people and shared around the world. “It is mind boggling!”
Are you making plans for when you can resume playing in front of people again?
“We’ve been getting feelers to play in public again, but we have to say we don’t know how we'll feel about it once the actual date arrives. It’ll seriously depend on what health leaders are saying at the time. We might not feel safe once that time comes, and worry if we don't take the gig, will we be passed up in the future, or be blacklisted as being unwilling to perform...it’s an unsettling thought.”
A recent outdoor performance for the patients/residents in the St. Francis Seminary, which included homeless/at risk patients (some formerly COVID positive), their care givers, and National Guard members was especially rewarding.
How does this all affect you now that Summer gigs are cancelled?
“Our minds were kind of blown when this all started, and everything cancelled for us—gigs big and small. We watched our hard-sought events disappear. We had weddings scheduled, (now postponed), and lots of events in beautiful places, which is what we always look forward to in Summer. As musicians, we don't take ‘vacations’—this is not an affordable option.
Their coveted Summerfest slot has been rescheduled for September. “When Irish Fest cancelled, that just broke our hearts, and the hearts of many people,” she says. “We totally understood why they made their difficult decision though, with all the visas of foreign performers and their massive population of volunteers.”
Early in the COVID pandemic, she said they we were asked to play for a friend's housebound mom. “It was incredibly rewarding. We’d be open to playing these socially distanced ‘telegrams’ for hire. It would be a way to stay active and make a tiny income. As artists, we’ve always been scrappers and seriously try to live under our means. This current situation really makes things tough for all of us.”
