For Central Florida musicians and artists such as Andy Matchett, social media has been a parade of colleagues in trouble. “After seeing countless posts about our friends losing gigs and theme park closures, the weight of the impact on the community was on my mind,” said the band leader of Johnny Wild & the Delights.
Matchett, 39, is one of the organizers of “No Days Off,” a streaming telethon set to take place March 21 to benefit working performers who have lost opportunities and pay due to the coronavirus pandemic. Viewers will be able to donate through PayPal and Venmo throughout the show to a fund that will be distributed to the acts and crew.
Closures and cancellations have left artists and audiences separated. While acts from Dropkick Murphys to The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson are sharing performances to keep people’s spirits high, local artists are trying to maintain a connection to their fans.
Shawn Welcome, host of the Diverse Word open mic at Dandelion Café since 2006, is trying to bring the experience online. “The strength of the night is really audience participation,” he said.
Welcome is experimenting with Facebook live. His first digital show on March 17 ran into a couple audio issues. “I take all of that as learning,” he said. “I’m toying with different ideas.”
Moments like this seem what acts such as KitchenKillaz were made for. The duo is a band who has performed live from other people’s kitchens for more than two years, broadcasting on Facebook Live. “We haven’t missed a Friday show since we started this project, crashing over 70 kitchens throughout the state of Florida,” said singer Billy Floyd.
Yet even with such an innovative model, KitchenKillaz have felt the pinch of social distancing. “Currently, we’ve postponed our remote visits until this passes by,” said Floyd. “Above all we want to offer a fun and safe experience.”
An article in the Sentinel about KitchenKillaz last year inspired 70-year-old Bruce Andersen to start his own online broadcast in January. The Sanford resident invites bands to perform in his living room for an online audience.
“As a retired professional musician I can tell you that even the best in town are lucky to get $100 a night in a band and $200 as solo act,” said Andersen. “Try living on that. Try living without that.”
But Andersen understands that jumping online to produce a show isn’t as easy as it sounds. “To set up for such a broadcast is very expensive and time consuming,” he said. “It will be hard for others to try and even harder to charge for. One suggestion is to find a deep pocket sponsor to help.”
Matchett hopes his endeavor will yield some dividends for the artists he features. “To me, this telethon is about taking an unexpected series of events and turning it into an opportunity,” he said. “We could sit at home, isolated and wait it out while we watch the world change from our phones and televisions, or we can take proper precautions, seize the moment and be a part of something bigger than ourselves.”
Below is a list of online performances planned by Central Florida bands, artists and others. All performances are free unless otherwise noted. If you would like to share a performance, please send the details of where, when and what you will be doing to tfraser@orlandosentinel.com.
Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts — Live concerts from the Winter Park venue. Dates and prices vary; bluebambooartcenter.com
Curtis Earth Quaranteam Trivia — Live trivia game. 8 p.m. Wednesdays; facebook.com
Digital Fringe — Recorded shows from the Canadian Fringe Circuit. Available anytime; $7.99 per show or three months of access for $29.99; vimeo.com
Diverse Word — Long-running open mic poetry reading from Dandelion Café. 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays; facebook.com
KitchenKillaz — Band that puts on live performances of original music and covers from people’s kitchens. 9:05 p.m. Fridays, facebook.com
Koncert for the Koi — Live carillon concert streamed from Bok Tower Gardens. 3 p.m. April 2; facebook.com.
Live ‘n’ Kickin’ — Live performances from local bands. 7 p.m. Thursdays; bkandersen.com
Mr. Harley — Live kids concert with dancing, reading and exercise. 11:15 a.m. Mondays-Saturdays; facebook.com
Orlando Game Night — Trivia hosted by Mikey Pelo. 8 p.m. Mondays; facebook.com
Timucua Live in Your Living Room — Rebroadcast and live performances from the residential arts venue. All concerts are at 7:30 p.m. Holly Cordero’s Steamin’ Quartet (live), April 3; Marty and Michiko Morell, April 5; timucua.com
Want to reach out? Email me at tfraser@orlandosentinel.com.
