Like the majority of you, all of us in the Philadelphia area are staying at home, learning to adapt to our “new normal.” MAGNET is checking in with local musicians to see how and what they’re doing during this unprecedented time. Photos by Chris Sikich.
Augusta Koch (guitar, vocals): As of this writing, the world has been different for 89 days. I’ve made a running list of things I’m grateful for since COVID hit to remind me of simple pleasures. Reading it back now, it paints an abstract still life of this strange, mundane and yet radical time in history.
A few but not all: potato Salad, plants not dying, 5 p.m. coffee, Matt (Schimelfenig; guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals) watching all of Star Wars for the first time, building forts, a fresh box of ice-cream sandwiches, enjoying reading again, phone calls that last four hours, video of Neil Young playing music to his chickens, finding lost socks, cooking that lasts hours, orange peels, the plants are still alive, not wearing bras, actually taking vitamins, talking to my sister more, recording music with no objective, childlike creativity, mom is safe, cold Dr. Pepper, Bandcamp days, Black educators, access to information, BLM.
I feel grateful for this time to really be able to read, learn, listen and unlearn. Grateful to access a library of information on anti-racism and Black history and the privilege to work to fill in some very, very large gaps in my knowledge. If I could pick one word to describe these 89 days, it would be “learning.”
