![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/tom_fisch.jpg\")
For the overwhelming majority of musicians, public performance is at the heart of what they do. But the worldwide pandemic has forced live concerts from the schedules of most all performers. Potential audiences are at home, and many of them have internet access via computers or smart phones. So increasingly, \u201cvirtual\u201d concerts are taking the place of live performances.<\/p>\n
Tom Fisch has released several albums under his own name, but since relocating to Flat Rock in 2004, his musical focus has been live performance. \u201cBefore the pandemic,\u201d I averaged about 40 gigs a month,\u201d he says. But as was the case for musicians across the country, that all stopped in mid-March 2020.<\/p>\n
Fisch sings and plays acoustic guitar. \u201cMy performances are always interactive, with me bantering back and forth with my audiences,\u201d he says. He talks from the stage to the crowd, but it feels more like a conversation. \u201cI\u2019ve always looked at my performances as a group of friends gathered around the living room sharing music,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
When the pandemic hit, Fisch faced a realization. \u201cIt became clear to me that entertaining audiences in person was not coming back any time soon.\u201d He knew about live streaming, but had always been too busy to try it himself. \u201cIt didn\u2019t occur to me to try live streaming until I\u2019d been out of work for a couple of weeks,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
Crises can bring forth creativity. Fisch quickly put together a weekly live concert series he calls From My Home to Yours. Streaming via the video app on his smart phone, he approaches the performances the same way he did before: it\u2019s about connecting with the audience. \u201cWe\u2019re all just relaxing and sharing an evening of music and fellowship together,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n
Other musicians in the region have found live streaming to be worthwhile, too. And many \u2013 like Kelli Redmond of Americana band Letters to Abigail \u2013 share that relaxed, and even playful, attitude. \u201cIf we don\u2019t feel like wearing pants, we can just film from the waist up,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd none would be the wiser!\u201d But most admit that while live streaming is the way to go now, it\u2019s not quite the same as being there. \u201cFor one thing, says acoustic musician Mare Carmondy, \u201cThere\u2019s no one to laugh at my lame jokes!\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though that audience isn\u2019t in the room, Tom Fisch makes a point of providing interactivity. \u201cMy wife monitors the concerts and feedback in another room,\u201d he explains. In real-time, she transcribes names and notes from the comments. \u201cShe writes them large enough for me to read, and then she tapes them up near the phone,\u201d Fisch says.<\/p>\n
Many of his From My Home to Yours viewers are local, but Fisch says that people have \u201ctuned in from as far away as Brazil and Australia.\u201d He plans to continue the weekly shows as long as the pandemic endures, and possibly longer. \u201cI think they will remain a part of what I do,\u201d he says. \u201cLive streaming is a nice addition to the options I have for sharing my music with my audience.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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