Over the past half year, I have done three gigs. That’s right, three gigs. One was a small audio event for Chris Martin of the band Coldplay, as he did a solo fundraiser in Southampton, NY. For the other two shows, I was hired to play guitar. The audio event took place in mid-August while the other two events took place over the Labor Day weekend. The first date on Sept. 3 was at a bar in Wildwood, NJ. The second playing gig was in bar on Rivington Street in Manhattan. The fundraiser took place in the backyard of one of the wealthy donors, with about 30 attendees. When I advanced the show with the producer, I asked about wearing masks and social distancing and was told that since the event would be held outside, the techs would wear masks, but the invitees would not. It was a strange answer, since I don’t believe that audio techs are more susceptible to the virus than philanthropists, and I let the producer know how I felt. She then assured me everyone would adhere to CDC guidelines. She lied.
The gig in Wildwood was open-air, but on a strip with a bunch of bars, all with bands and solo performers plying their trade. Granted, the live entertainment took place outside, but the indoor bars were quite full, with few people wearing masks; other than the servers and bartenders, social distancing was not observed. The gig in New York was interesting, as we played at an open window from inside the bar to a small crowd on the street sitting on benches where social distance rules were followed, and most people wearing masks. It’s an odd time, to say the least, with unmasked social gatherings being suspect by some and completely embraced by others.
Conspiracies, the Deep State and Beyond
Of course, like everyone else, a major concern of mine is being able to get back to work and, while my little outings were enjoyable, I have to say that three gigs over a six month period is hardly enough to sustain my required intake of 2,000 calories per day. More troubling to me, however are the numerous conspiracy theories and attitudes currently being promoted through social media regarding the virus and how to combat it — or not. Some of these theories gravitate around a central core of a deep state perpetuating a hoax in order to undermine the president of the United States. Propagated by anti-vaxxers, other theories involve Bill Gates, both wanting to profit from the vaccine, as well as using the vaccine to implant chips in everyone. Another notion is that the virus doesn’t exist but is a plot by global elitists to take away our freedoms. In yet another scenario, it’s big pharma manipulating the situation for profit, to benefit the deep state.
Friends of mine have sent me videos and articles that support their belief in these deep state conspiracies, and I have responded by letting them know that none of these theories are novel and are merely reconstituted conspiracy theories that have been floating around for many years. In the past, the theory has been espoused that the Illuminati are the ones secretly running the world and, while there are supposedly millions of Illuminati members around the globe, the elite ruling council is made up of only 13 families.
These supposed families are the Rothschilds, the Bruces, the Kennedys, the Medici, the House of Hanover, the House of Hapsburg, the Krupp family, the House of Plantagenet, the Rockefellers, the House of Romanov, the Sinclair family, the Warburgs and the House of Windsor. Just to give you an idea of the incestuous nature of such family ties, be aware that the Queen of England and her husband are related to the Romanovs. Now that I’ve revealed this important piece of information, I’d like to let you know that every summer they all go for a satanic vacation at California’s exclusive Bohemian Grove to have a little evil fun and get away from all the pressures of running the world and directing (or misdirecting) history, as it might be.
This Bohemian Grove getaway should not be confused with the Bilderberger’s yearly meeting of the rich and powerful from around the world where they openly gather to secretly discuss and manage the new world order. By the way, in 2019 the Bilderberger meeting was purportedly attended by none other than Jared Kushner and Mike Pompeo. Of course, we all know that they weren’t attending to really discuss the new world order, but rather to clandestinely get the goods on the pedophile ring being run by the elites. This cabal of elites will soon be exposed and brought down by the president of the United States as predicted by the deeply embedded Q, who says “the storm” is coming.
“The storm” is the arrest of these elites who are kidnapping children to harvest their blood for adrenochrome to ingest during their satanic rites. This conspiracy is a recapitulation of the theory taken from the debunked anti-Semitic “Zion of Elders” pamphlet written in 1902 by Russian propagandists. This blood libel was spread by the Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer, which is derived from the German word for “storm.” The Nazis venerated Hitler as the one who would liberate the white race from this Jewish plot, and the “storm troopers” helped bring Hitler to power.
The Audio Side
It’s disturbing that our president has not disavowed these theories, and there are now people who stand a good chance of being elected to serve in the U.S. Congress, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who openly embrace the Qanon intrigue. It’s a troubling phenomenon, because all these conspiracy theories trickle down to an everyday distrust of everything, which includes mask wearing and social distancing, both of which could help our industry reopen sooner rather than later. The world of event and concert production has been devastated by the Covid-19 virus, and now we have a tape of the president openly admitting that, while still in its early stages, he knew the pandemic to be worse than portrayed to the public. The president’s excuse is that he didn’t want the public to panic, but his altruism is suspect. Hey Q, is there a conspiracy theory behind this decision?
The real tragedy of that decision is the many deaths and the suffering caused by the sickness, but economic loss has also added to the anguish of many. Seven months into this pandemic, I’m hearing from top players and engineers that their savings are running out and they’re concerned for the future of their careers and our business. One engineer told me that he is now doing computer programming, while others are holding out hope and trying to figure out their next move. Autumn is here, winter is coming, and there is still no relief in sight. Whatever reprieve was afforded by being outdoors will soon disappear. We will now be moving inside, and this implies that we should be even more vigilant in safeguarding the health of others and ourselves if we ever intend to get back to work.
