Interview: Gina Chavez Speaks for Musicians During Covid-19

Austin local and singer-songwriter Gina Chavez discusses the financial and emotional struggles musicians are facing during the pandemic.

Written by Erika Ramirez

Photo courtesy of Austin Chronicle

The cancellation of South by Southwest on March 6th left organizers and creatives empty-handed. The annual festival totaled over 400,000 attendees in 2019, creating revenue and exposure for dozens of rising musicians. Due to the implementation of statewide social distancing policies, independent artists who depend on live performances are facing difficulties making ends meet to pay rent and essentials. Chavez discusses her and her band’s experiences adapting to this new environment. The bilingual folk singer had to cancel her 2020-2021 tour, performing her last show while touring in Virginia on March 6th. 

Before COVID-19 broke out, what were your plans like for 2020? 

I mean, I tour a lot. I pretty much tour every weekend. I got back from tour on March 8th, which was (when the virus was) already kind of starting to hit, but there weren’t any stay-at-home orders yet. So we were taking it seriously, but we were still playing some shows, and also teaching the audience not to touch people. We got back on March 8th, and I think shortly after that South By cancelled. A few days after that, I had about 20 dates dropped off my calendar. So, it’s a very different world right now. On March 8th, I was (at)  the point when I would get on the plane and I had a package of hand sanitizer and wipes, and I would just wipe down every possible thing I could touch. At that point I was thinking it wasn’t worth the health risks. I actually have a part-time job, which right now is a godsend. I’ve been there for about 10 years, so that’s definitely a saving grace because I do have a stable income and the ability to still work from home, but a lot of my bandmates don’t because they’re full-time musicians. This has made it really hard for them to pay rent.

Did you see where this was going while you were touring?

No, I think like everybody here, we didn’t know what was coming. It feels like so long ago. I remember those shows, and I remember thinking “I wonder whether we’re not going to be able to play live shows for a period of time." I play live shows all the time. So it definitely gets to be something that I take for granted — like the ability to get on stage and be in front of a new audience and engage with them in real life. I remember thinking this may not be something that I get to do again very soon, or who knows — we don’t know, right? So I had this moment of appreciating the ability to connect to an audience, see people face-to-face and hear their stories. Now, I think this is going to last longer than anyone of us had expected.

A lot of people relied on SXSW, including organizers, musicians, bartenders, and waiters — and it really hurt our economy when it was cancelled. Did you have any shows that you were going to play for SXSW?

Yeah, we had four shows, and I was supposed to get paired with a songwriter from Universal. But I was really glad that South By made that decision early. It definitely was a shock, and after a certain period of time, even a few days later, other people started cancelling. But I was glad that South By made that call early because it was out of public safety. That is the one time a year when the entire world comes to Austin and to me, it would be irresponsible if they wouldn’t have made that call. At the same time, I knew it was not going to make it any easier for the people that rely on that intercom. It was going to be very hard. It’s potentially going to change our city forever. There’s going to be places that have to close down and people that lose their jobs, like that sucks. So it’s really wild. In that conclusion, unless you’re making money on shows that get paid during Interactive (sessions), or a company hires you to play private parties at South By, you don’t get paid anything. If you have a band and pay your bandmates, you’re losing money during SXSW. Like for me, I saved money because South By got cancelled, and I wasn’t glad because of that but for public safety. South By is really great (...) it’s the one time a year when we have the music industry come to us, which is so important. It’s an incredible opportunity, but as far as money goes, for people like my bandmates, they lost money because I would be out-of-pocket paying them. 

In that case, as a musician, where do you solely get your income? Does it come from the shows that you play?

We make money from our live shows and we’re able to sell merchandise, but the bulk of it is just from live shows. I perform a lot at performing arts centers and they’re able to pay more than, say, a bar downtown. It’s a different kind of income model (...) because they have a subscriber base. So it would be like members from the Long Center here in Austin. They pay into that, they’re patrons of the Long Center. The Long Center then has a different ability to bring in artists and pay for them than, say, Stubb’s. Stubb’s would be selling tickets and that’s called a hard-ticket model. So those types of shows allow me to take a full band on the road, and all of those show dates have just dropped. 

What other things did you have planned for the future? Were you looking into another tour or making more music? 

We had dates set until 2021. The performing arts center world books out far, so basically what’s going to happen is we’re probably going to keep losing shows, because I think everything right now after May is a big question mark — and that’s probably for every industry. None of us really know. Everyone is going to keep looking at the calendar a couple months down the road deciding is it safe or not?

As of right now, depending on the amount of free time you have, do you write music or take the time to focus on writing? 

 I write all of my own music and I’ve been doing a lot of livestreaming on Facebook, and I have some equipment I’ve been kind of playing around with. I’ve got a new album coming out next month, La Que Manda, so I have releases and a single coming out called “Ella.” Definitely trying to pivot and see how to operate in this environment. My music is bilingual, but this album will mostly be Spanish-language, which is kind of a first for me. We’re working on how to still do a tour even without leaving home. Our team is exploring some new opportunities and working on a music video for “Ella.” There’s a spike in domestic violence calls right now because people are called to stay home at a time when home may not be safe. (“Ella”) brings some awareness and highlights survivors. It’s got to be hell for some people right now. 

 During this time, how have you handled the stay-at-home orders? 

 We’ve definitely been cooking at home a lot, but every now and then, maybe once a week, we’ll do a take-out order and support some local businesses and restaurants that we love. But we’re really trying to maintain social distancing and only go out when it’s necessary. We haven’t gone out in a week, and I feel like every week is different, like there are different requirements and stuff. So now, we have masks ready to go and when we get back, we get undressed in the garage and take a shower. We’ll leave the clothes in the garage for a couple of days and have a plan by the time we leave the house. My car was in the shop and I kept forgetting to pick it up for two weeks because I didn’t need a car. So, every other day I would think “oh yeah, my car is in the shop. I need to go get it.” 

Are there any other activities you do at home or anything to keep you busy?

I’ve been really hard on myself to be super productive and it’s kind of a problem with all of us Americans. We’re obsessed with productivity. At this time of our lives it’s exacerbating an obsession that we have, especially as musicians. We’re basically a small business owner. Nobody thinks of us that way, but that’s exactly what we are. You have your own business, and I have people that I pay, contract labor, file taxes, inventory and all that kind of stuff. So my work is never done. I don’t get to clock out at 5 p.m. or whatever. It’s never over. It’s only over when you decide you’re done working on it for the day. At a time when home is work, it feels like you’re always on. It’s kind of like social media — you can always post, people can always see what you’re up to and so it almost feels like you’re obligated to (work). So I feel like, right now, I’m also feeling the blowback of that, and it can be exhausting if you don’t let yourself rest and give yourself a break. It’s not healthy when you’re always “go, go, go, go, go.” I’ve literally been live streaming for about 21 days in a row and I hit a wall. I was exhausted and I would be like “why am I exhausted? I’m just at home, what’s the big deal?” Then I realize I’ve been doing this everyday at 8 p.m. for 21 days straight like a 21-day tour. I’m wiped out. 

This interview has been minimally edited for clarity and length.

Chavez released her latest album Up.Rooted in 2014 and is coming out with a Spanish album “La Que Manda” on May 27. Listen to her music on Spotify  and find her on Instagram and Twitter @ginachavez