Posted — March 20, 2020
Here we are friends, in an unprecedented time to say the least. Never before have we dealt with an issue such as this, and every single one of us has in common both the risk of loss and the responsibility to do what we can to help prevent this scenario from reaching its most damaging potential. Jobs are on the line, family and friends are on the line, and life as we know it is suspended at best. We like to keep things light hearted here at Sheet Happens, and we will always strive to reflect the positivity that we want to see in the world, but sugar coating the issue isn’t going to do anyone any favours. While governments around the globe work to solve this crisis, we as citizens of the world have a very simple mandate to follow. As hard as it is to remove ourselves from the people, places and things we love, the most effective step that we can take is to isolate ourselves from others to help stop the spread of Covid-19. Which is why we are encouraging you all to stay home and play!
This is of course easier said than done, as the financial security of so many is in question. Staying home for many of us has become either an extremely difficult choice, or a choice made for us. Touring musicians for example, have had their livelihoods disappear in a matter of days, and with no opportunity to plan for such a devastating blow. Many of our artists have had to cancel or postpone tours that account for a significant percentage of their income. This reality of course reaches the bands touring crews, managers, booking agents, promoters, venue staff etc, who are all part of an inextricable web, that only works if people are able to come together to enjoy the fruits of their collective labour. This is the case for so many industries, and millions of people are currently staring this existential threat in the face, with no hard answers about how they are going to make it through this pandemic. Whether or not this virus is physically a threat to our life, it is a threat to our way of life no matter who we are, and doing everything in our power to slow the spread of this virus and to support the people who’ve been hardest hit is our duty as human beings.
All of this is to say, that if you are in a position to help your favourite working musicians, whether it’s buying merch online or streaming their songs ad nauseam, then please do so, and please look to those bands for guidance on how best to support them. The same goes for any person or business you care about that is adapting to the situation, and extending an option that allows you to support their work while they do their part in social distancing.
We know that everyones situation is different, and that not everyone can afford to buy merch, or a new tab book for that matter. Which is why we want to stress that working within your means to strive towards as little physical contact with others as possible is priority number one. We’d like to encourage you to do so by sharing some free material, so that you can stay busy, entertained, creative and inspired throughout this trying time. We have a freebies section, with 9 free songs, as well as our columns section which contains a plethora of free tabs, playthroughs, and interviews to occupy your time.
In addition to all of this material, we are expediting the release of our ‘April Freebies', which includes 3 of our favourite songs from some of our latest releases! CLICK HERE to download those. Massive thanks to Propagandhi, The Fall Of Troy, and Protest The Hero for jumping on board with these giveaways so quickly. We will be doing everything we can throughout this time to support our bands, and to support those of you who are in need of a constructive and creative outlet such as this.
Our hope for you as creative and caring fans of the bands that we work with is to use these resources to strive for excellence as musicians and human beings, and to emerge from this dark time having done everything in your power to help while it was asked of you. Having spent that time with the music you love and in the pursuit of your passion is a wonderful bonus.
Here’s to music and the people who love to play it.
Missed the March freebies? Grab them here!
Dance Gavin Dance -Bloodsucker
Misery Index - The Choir Invisible
Bleed From Within - Alone In The Sun
