Local Musicians Are Re-Tuning Their Work

What’s a poor band to do? 

That became the pressing question for an estimated 50 bands in the Grand Valley when COVID-19 lockdowns began in early 2020. Festivals, events and shows of all kinds that feature live music were being postponed, revamped or outright canceled. Local musicians and performers were left without a critical source of income and no place to play. 

Some bands called it quits while others decided to wait it out and see what would happen. Others took the time to write and record new music or shoot and edit music videos. Some turned to social media sites as an avenue to continue performing live shows until Facebook banned live music streams later in the year. 

So, the question remains: what’s a poor band to do? 

Union Of None (UON), a popular local cover band thriving on live performances, was bound and determined to find a way to continue playing the shows that brought not only much needed income, but also the satisfaction and fulfillment that can only be achieved on the stage. They performed a few live streams on Facebook, getting tips here and there through PayPal, but felt that it wasn’t quite what they were after. There was a notable lack of engagement, and a frustrating inability to interact with listeners.

Drew Fields, Jeff Steele and Peter Rosenthal in the studio preparing for a Union Of None live stream. Photo courtesy of Union of None

One day, a friend mentioned that they were making an extra several hundred dollars a month using twitch.tv, a streaming platform used primarily by gamers. Essentially, a person streams themselves playing a video game and people subscribe to the channel for a small fee. There are various other ways to monetize the channels as well through advertising, tips and donations. 

While the twitch user base of roughly 15 million people is mainly geared toward gaming, there is a small but vibrant music community as well, comprised mostly of individual musicians or duos performing on-demand covers or original music. However, UON found that there was a noticeable lack of full bands streaming on the platform. 

It seemed that this might actually be what they were looking for. Immediate engagement, a simple way to interact with listeners and the possibility of actually making a few dollars in the process, all while being able to continue performing live shows. 

“It was almost like this was designed specifically for us,” says Drew Fields, the band’s guitarist and lead vocalist. “It was exactly what we were looking for.” 

Initially, the band dipped a toe in to test the waters by creating a channel and doing several two-hour streams using a cell phone to see the response. With a little advice from friends and some help from other streamers, the band was soon diving in head-first, investing in a new camera and figuring out how to set up other equipment to get better sound. The response from the twitch.tv community was nothing short of amazing. 

Within a month, the band had begun to build a following and already had some loyal supporters, one of whom makes a business of refurbishing and reselling government computers. Because the laptop the band was using to manage the stream was old and slow, the supporter offered the band a significantly better system at a price that simply couldn’t be refused. So, it was out with the old and in with the new. 

Early on the band realized that this was very different from setting up at a location, playing a show, loading equipment and heading home. This was truly becoming a community where friends, old and new, could gather in a very casual virtual environment, enjoy some music and connect with like-minded souls. It also offered UON the opportunity to be as silly, creative and ridiculous as they wanted to be with people all over the world. 

In short order, the band began streaming twice a week with one night being a practice session, where viewers can watch the process of learning new songs, and the other being a show night, where songs the band already knows can be requested. Not long after that, a third night was added, but instead of playing music, the members of the band just sit and talk about whatever happens to be on their minds, play silly games or interact with the people in the chat. On one particular “just chatting” night, a challenge was offered to the band and each one of them ended up shaving off their mustaches live on stream. 

Through all of this, the new online community the band is fostering continues to grow, and with it a completely new and different perspective. 

“We’ve been lucky to make new long-lasting friends across the globe and create an incredibly supportive community around these awesome people who not only care about us as musicians, but as people, and who also care about and support each other through our streams,” says Peter Rosenthal, the band’s bass player and stream manager. 

They eagerly look forward to returning to live performances at bars, festivals and other events but are forever grateful for the opportunity and support borne of a pandemic lockdown. 

And that is something a poor band can do! 

You can find Union Of None live streams at twitch.tv/unionofnone. Streams are live every Wednesday (practice day), Thursday (just chatting day) and Sunday (show day) from 6 to 9 p.m. MST. You can also visit their website at unionofnone.com.

Originally published in the Spring 2021 issue