Welcome back to part 2 of “I Get By with A Little Help From My Friends” a project inspired by the current semi lockdown situation. As we’re still faced with many uncertainties, we are all experiencing lockdown differently. As you’ve read in part 1 stories from students and people from the entertainment industry, as much as we’re in this together, we’re experiencing this period differently. To kick off part 2 of the project is Frank Keith, a PR from Sweetheart PR and musician.
‘I get by with a little help from my friends’ is a collaborative blog created and organised by Raghad Tmumen. (@rtmumen1)
Frank Keith- Musician & PR
“So, quarantine has been an…interesting time for all of us. As a self-employed music publicist, I was already working from home full-time, so there wasn’t a massive shock to my day-to-day routine. There was – and continues to be, of course – a significant downturn in the amount of work that came my way. Artists can’t tour, so their budgets suddenly became razor-thin, or they decided to hold off on new releases with the world in such a state of uncertainty. No new releases no work for me. I haven’t seen things drop to zero, and have managed to stay afloat with what business we have brought in, so I am 100% counting my blessings being able to continue to make a living through all of this. I realize there are many that aren’t so lucky, and I often find myself struggling with a sort of “survivor’s guilt” with that in mind.
I live with my girlfriend and our cat (Winnie!) and we have, so far, managed to stay sane and keep each other company through quarantine. We love our apartment, which is renovated in an old school building. We’re on the top floor with east-facing windows that let enough natural light in on a sunny day to the point that we needn’t turn on any light fixtures until the sun goes down. I swear, we must have evolved to photosynthesize those UV rays on a daily basis – waking up to the sunrise is a beautiful thing, and if we’re ever feeling glum we’ll spend some time staring out over the eastern Atlanta treeline for a little mental reboot. It’s magic.
Another thing that has kept us sane is cooking every meal of the day. It’s a form of therapy, especially after a long day of work. We were already ace home cooks, but we’ve used the spare time lost from eating out to sharpen our skills even further. Having said that, I can’t wait to feed a large group of friends again when this is all over, let alone simply go out to our favorite bars and restaurants.
Oh, and this goes without saying, but I can’t wait to play a show again with my best friends / bandmates in GREAT PEACOCK.”
Frank Keith’s work:
Great Peakcock: greatpeacock.com/
Sweethard PR: sweetheartpr.com
Fahima Begum – Recent Graudate
Richmond The American International University London.
“Quarantine has caused me as a student to move back home with my family. Even with furlough pay, I wasn’t able to cover the payment of my rent. For a young queer woman more than my social freedom had been taken away. Forcing me back in the closet which is not somewhere I thought I’d ever be again. Therefore, I spend a lot of my time in my room, with nowhere to go and no one to socialise with, it’s best I keep to myself. Through quarantine, I stopped having a reason to get out of bed in the mornings. So my sleep schedule is off. There’s no job to go to, no jobs to apply for. Instead, I binge watch TV series, maybe work out a little, eat food and learn how to play an instrument. Lockdown just feels like a waiting game for when things will get better. In the meantime just do what you can to keep yourself sane in the world of 2020.”
Fibi’s work: fibishoots.wixsite.com/portfolio
Sara Douga- Musician
“This pandemic was shocking at first. I dove head first into a state of “blahh” which actually was a really nice break. I hung inside with my family and essentially did… nothing. However, once we began to realize this was going to be sticking around for more than a couple of weeks, my husband and I quickly rearranged our life, our home, and our schedules to be able to function from home. Since then, I have been uber-productive. Of course, I miss playing music, seeing fans, and being out in crowds, but there has been a huge gift that came with this pandemic; namely, FOCUS. I am grateful. Also, as a mother of two young children, I have loved being able to turn on and off so quickly. I can be totally a mom for a while and then in an instant be back in my little zen space and hard at work on my career. It’s actually quite fabulous. I am ready for this to be over, however, I am grateful for what it has brought. Sending you all BIG LOVE. I hope to see you soon.”
Sara Douga’s work: saradouga.com/
If you made it this far, thanks for your time reading this article. Who knows what the future holds so far in time. But, one thing for certain is to continue being kind, optimistic even when everything around is pessimistic. We’ll get through this, we’ll survive and we’ll all sing and dance again.
Until Next time….
