Rickety Desk: Shows must go on

When I was kid, one of the fun things that might happen when the family was stuck in the house on a snowy day was a "theatrical production." These were usually a one-act play dreamed up by the kids who planned it all out, gathered the props and put on a show for Mom and Dad.

The snow had brought life's big show to a grind-ing halt, so it fell to the kids to put on a little show.

It may have been Plato, some 2,400 years ago, who first articulated that big, show-stopper problems often demanded truly creative solutions. With all the insight of a child, he wrote something like, "Necessity is the mother of invention."

And so it is today that working parents find themselves leading a weekday family nature hike. Dusty old sewing machines are brought up from the basement to stitch together face masks.

"Gilmore Girls" enjoys a massively popular reprise on Netflix. Friends and neighbors check in on one another with more than a token "How's it goin'?"

Yes, the isolation necessitated by the pandemic has challenged every one of us to step outside of our usual boxes, reprioritize and find new approaches to our ordinary lives.

We are reinventing ourselves.

Along those same lines of necessity and reinvention, I have recently come to understand more clearly that the world is a better place with music. Sharing music can be one of life's great joys. Whether re-posting a favorite music video, humming a tune at the kitchen sink, joining in a campfire sing-along, or sitting in an appreciative audience, we have all experienced how music can connect us in near-mystical harmony.

There's a lot of science, math and artistry behind all those "good vibrations," but my thoughts here are about common, accessible technology and the creative people using it to share music with a troubled world.

I asked Diane, my wife, dearest friend and closest musical collaborator, what she thought about all this. She noted that our friend, local musician Lyz Jaakola, recently performed a livestream concert for Duluth's virtual Homegrown Music Festival on Facebook.

Jaakola, or Nitaa-Nagamokwe ("Lady Who Knows How to Sing") in Anishinaabemowin, has done several other family-based concerts and sing-alongs on social media. These performances feature kit and hand drums, guitars, bass, a small keyboard, and the voices of her family members of all ages.

With the ability to stream their own concerts, local musicians are putting their music "out there" and connecting with people who follow them. Their "followers" might be folks who want to support local artists, or who just want to engage with someone they know in a way that seems personal.

Besides those livestream concerts, Diane also pointed out how other local musicians are getting "air time" beyond their personal circle of Facebook friends by creating videos to post to their own YouTube channels. They might then post a link on Facebook or other social media platforms to the YouTube video they've created.

The good news for non-techies is that it's super easy and free to create your own YouTube channel, and the technology needed to produce a video is already familiar to almost all of us. All you need is your smartphone, and a star is born. Add WiFi, a second phone, a free video app, and you've got a multi-camera production.

When used well, your little smartphone can deliver truly impressive, high-definition video and near-studio quality sound. Locally, the Icon Man Trio - yes, this is a shameless plug for my own not-ready-for-prime-time band - provides an example of how easily all of this can be done.

I mean, really, if we can do this, anyone can.

The Trio has created several fun videos using some of this basic technology to add a bit of "production value" to their musical offerings. Not having, or even trying to build, a large following means personal videos get created for families, friends and neighbors that might touch a heart, get a chuckle, or just help the time go by more sweetly.

It's amazing to me how, in the face of all this isolation, music does not fail to connect. And maybe our reinvented musical connections are even better - or simply more appreciated - than ever before.

Out of isolated necessity, performing artists are finding ways to share themselves more meaningfully than as just another act to be seen on a stage. They invite us right into their living rooms and kitchens, or out with them to sit by the river or stand with them in the silence of the forest. Even more wonderful than the connection with their music, we connect with their lives, which are remarkably like our own.

I'd like to highlight more of what the artists, movie makers and musicians of our local communities are doing to connect with us, put on a little show, and help us to pass the time more sweetly.

If you've got a social media video to share, or know someone who does, send me an email at [email protected] with "local artist video" in the subject line. We might share a link, incorporate it into a recommended viewing list or even talk about your show, how you make it, and why. More into appreciating? Let us know what you're watching.

Until next time, be well and stay healthy, friends.

Tim "Mothy" Soden-Groves is a thinker, writer and humorist from Carlton. His blog can be found at http://www.mothygroves.com.