Prominent Newcastle covers band Soundabout performed at the Hotel Delany on Sunday, March 8, 2020.

For any passer-by, it was a normal gig – Chiara on the mic belting Mr Brightside and Seven Nation Army, Jamie chugging along on the bass, and the crowd dancing and shouting out requests to play the dreaded Daryl Braithwaite number Horses.

The night was filled with laughter, drinks, and dancing, typical for a Sunday gig.

The band finished up their final set, loaded gear into their cars, and exchanged goodbyes and a “see you at rehearsals”.

That was the last time they played, or even saw each other, for two months.

The Covid-19 pandemic needs to no introduction. It has interrupted the lives of millions of Australians ever since the sudden lockdown on March 23.

And, of course, musicians are no exception.

What many didn’t realise is how the shutdown of all music venues came as writing on the wall to agencies and organisers.

Michelle Crocker, the founder of Newcastle performance agency Heart Music, says she could foresee the impact of the restrictions a full month before they were implemented.

“From the beginning of February, stuff was starting to get cancelled,” Crocker said.

“It’s something that a lot of people didn’t realise.  Pubs and functions, festivals, it was all getting cancelled.”

Helpless to stop it, Crocker could only watch as her predictions came true.

As of March 23, all venues were to be closed, bringing the Newcastle music scene to a screeching halt, and leaving all the passionate musicians jobless.

“I felt like it was slipping away from me… I had no power,” Crocker said.

For the next two months, Newcastle wouldn’t see a single venue hosting a single musician.

Confined to their homes, performers just had to wait, hoping for answers they weren’t sure were coming.

“This has affected us financially,” Chiara Franceschi, Soundabout singer.

Soundabout singer Chiara Franceschi, who also occasionally plays keys, said all of their gigs were “frozen, or outright cancelled”.

“The first gig that we had when the restrictions were implemented was cancelled … This has affected us financially,” Franceschi said.

Because of the insecure nature of the gig economy, it’s common for performers to have other forms of income, and fortunately that was the case for Soundabout bass player and back-up vocalist Jamie Clarke.

Clarke said when he started playing music, he was already working full time.

“I always had this… expectation of myself that the funds are not always there… I can’t rely on them,” Clarke said.

While not dependent on money he makes from music, Clarke said the extra dollars make a difference when it comes to paying bills.

“To give you an idea, the money would cover petrol… groceries … it does make an impact,” Clarke said.

“The creation, the playing for people, the energy that comes from it, it keeps me motivated.” – Jamie Clarke, Soundabout bass player.

Many, including Franceschi, have not been as lucky.

“Total zero,” she says. “Absolutely everything gone. All of my jobs, everything.”

As well as performing, Franceschi gives vocal lessons to young musicians, a job that also came to an end when the restrictions came into effect.

“Everything has been shut down,” she said.

Lizotte’s, a highly prestigious restaurant and live music venue in Newcastle, was among those forced to close their doors, something that owner Brian Lizotte says, “has never happened before”.

“We’d have a staff meeting before service… a little get-together before the gig… the huddle before the gig,” Lizotte said. “We’d go, ‘we’ll get through this, let’s go!’

“No one really knew after that night that they’d be given a phone call saying that we aren’t opening again.”

“No one really knew after that night that they’d be given a phone call saying that we aren’t opening again.” – Brian Lizotte.

Prior to the Federal Government introducing the Jobkeeper scheme, Lizotte committed to paying his full-time employees for as long as he could, but said he had no choice but to let the casual workers go.

While Heart Music didn’t shut down completely, the stream of work trickling in was minimal, with no money attached to it.

“I’ve been getting function inquiries for weddings next year, stuff like that… but the functions don’t actually have a venue!” Crocker said.

“I can’t confirm anything because they can’t confirm a venue. I can’t even quote.”

For musicians, being out of a job is only part of the problem. Not being able to play hits just as hard.

Performance is in the nature of these musicians.  They yearn for the cheers from the audience, the flashing lights, the ringing in their ears after a long night on stage.

It’s not just an income, but an expression of creativity, a lifestyle that they feel connected to.

Clarke says, “The creation, the playing for people, the energy that comes from it, it keeps me motivated”.

And Franceschi says, “The restrictions have affected me in every way. Creatively, socially”.

She said she didn’t see the band for more than a month: “This hasn’t happened… since the beginning of Soundabout!”

Clarke feels the same: “The friends in my band are essentially family members to me.”

Crocker said that, as an agent, she was feeling it emotionally.

“I’ve got venues, I’ve got artists, musicians, asking me ‘what do I do, what I do?’ Stressing, really freaking out,” she said.

“It’s really hard, you’re taking on all these emotions from someone else. You’re trying to help them, you’re trying to suggest things, but there are no answers.”

Although Soundabout did feel bleak, they did not give up.

“All artists have been affected by this… specifically performing artists… but it’s a sink or swim situation,” Franceschi said.

“The artists that are going to try to swim in this period are the ones that are going to have a boom.”

With the inability to perform at local venues, many musicians/bands have taken it upon themselves to livestream performances.

The performers adhere to social-distancing rules while still collaborating to put a show together, and this is streamed live to anyone who wants to watch at home.

Soundabout took up an offer to appear on the newly emerged ‘From A Distance Sessions’ (FAD), a Newcastle based livestreaming service set up in The Gallipoli Club, Hamilton.

FAD founders Joshua Barnett and Allon Silove are determined to keep the music scene alive and healthy.

Soundabout was streamed on May 15, and none of the members knew what to expect.

“It’s like a TV studio, the way they have all the cameras, and everything set up,” Clarke said.

“The lights, the rigs, everything. You set up like a band and play, it’s in a venue, they do all these multiple camera angles.”

Soundabout was the first band to appear in FAD, so all they had were guesses about how successful it might be.

However, everyone’s expectations were blown out of the water.

While a regular gig on a Saturday night at a venue such as the Honeysuckle Hotel may be attract between 100 and 200 punters, the stream was watched by 1,700 viewers.

‘We don’t play a venue with enough room for 1,700 people,” Clarke said.

‘We had people from Italy, Germany, the UK and both sides of Australia.”

The livestream is still up on Soundabout’s Facebook page, and is sitting at close to 3,000 views.

“We had people from Italy, Germany, the UK and both sides of Australia.” – Jamie Clarke, Soundabout bass player.

Lizotte’s too, has experimented with livestreaming.

“Instead of saying a show is sold out, say ‘why not buy a livestreaming ticket’?” said Lizotte.

“We’re going that way, and I’m determined to make sure … it will be feasible,” he said.

This use of livestreaming technology has opened up a dialogue with many musicians on its uses after the lockdown has ended.

Lizotte, for one, hopes to continue it in an attempt at making his shows more accessible to a larger audience.

“Instead of saying a show is sold out, say ‘why not buy a livestreaming ticket’?” – Brian Lizotte, owner of Lizotte’s.

Since Soundabout’s debut on their stream, FAD has evolved their show to include a live audience at The Gallipoli Club, combining the worlds of online service and in-house performance.

They also show signs of continuing operations after the lockdown, as they are still asking for volunteers and new crew members through their Facebook page.

The world of music has not only been shaken by the pandemic but quite possibly changed forever.

Soundabout, though losing all their future bookings, have soldiered into a new medium of musical performance, and prospered from it.

“The artists that are going to try to swim in this period are the ones that are going to have a boom.” – Chiara Franceschi.

Franceschi has had further collaboration with FAD by providing vocals and administrative support, and Clarke has been practising his bass skills and spending time with his family.

But it is safe to say that the band is more than eager to get back out there and even sing the dreaded Horses once more.