Photo credit: Miguel Arenillas
Pre-pandemic many Hamiltonians had the pleasure of seeing The Vaudevillian perform their unique 1930’s Ragtime and Blues jug band music in many local venues. Their lively banter, Norah Spades’ outstanding washboard and spoons skills and Jitterbug James’ guitar playing and playful singing made each of their performances memorable. The duo were used to a high energy performing pace which took them across Canada, performing 200+ gigs a year. And then Covid-19 hit, turning their world upside down as it has with many other local performers.
Recently Monkeybiz.ca writer Juan Zambrano interviewed Norah to find out how she and James have reinvented themselves and how they are surviving mentally and economically during the pandemic.
After a serendipitous meeting years ago when James was busking at a flea market on the beach in Port Elgin the duo quickly fell in love and began playing together.
Fast forward to 2020 and the duo are now exploring new and creative ways to keep body and soul together.
MB: Gigs aren’t as reliable sources of income as they used to be. What are some alternate ways you’re making sure you’re still getting income?
Norah: We had over 220+ gigs scheduled this year and we lost ALL of them due to COVID. Most of them were at festivals, in theatres, and at private events. Then in July we scheduled five gigs that were strictly enforced to be COVID safe that were all outdoors, socially distant and with a smaller capacity than usual. So we went from 220 gigs this year to five.
We have a small business called Woodstove Leather Goods (WLG) where we make custom, hand crafted leather goods, such as belts, purses, dog collars, journals, etc. The business has kept us afloat thankfully, though we used to play in our band full time and do our leather craft business part time. That switched and as such we had to invest a lot into our Woodstove Leather Goods to adapt.
MB: Aside from the drop in gig numbers, what has been the toughest adjustment you’ve had to make as a musician in a COVID world?
Norah: We are SO lucky we had WLG already somewhat established with an international customer base, so that we could pivot and focus on leather craft.
Our toughest adjustment has been not only financially, but particularly in a mental health aspect. Without our gigs, we really felt like we lost an intrinsic part of our identity. We both went into a downward spiral in March and April and felt defeated and pretty lost. For both of us our mental health was in a bad place.
Fortunately, we were able to pick ourselves and one another up and pivot our artistic and creative focus into our leather crafting which seemed to breathe life back into us. Having a creative outlet and being creatively fueled was crucial. It’s been difficult to stay in touch with our audience since COVID. We did some online shows, but it’s difficult to have an authentic connection with your audience that way.
We’re currently penning postcards to some of the lovely people who follow our band, and the festivals and theatres we’ve performed at before. We’ve also used the downtime to write a bunch of new tunes, and we’re in the middle of recording our fourth record on 1/2” tape.
MB: What has recording music been like now? Compared to pre-COVID recording?
Norah: Before we used to go into a studio, and record live off the floor with the sound techs nearby. With COVID and social distancing, we’re now recording ourselves in our own space. We’ve invested everything into our band, and WLG. And now we are learning the art form of recording. It’s a wonderful process and we do it as authentically as we possibly can to pay homage to the 1930’s, which inspires so much of our music.
MB: How do you think Hamilton’s music community, and your music career will look like as the pandemic marches on and even when this is over?
Norah: I’m hoping that when COVID is eradicated, that there will be huge celebrations, just like when the Spanish Flu ended. In 1918 when the Spanish Flu was happening, dancing was banned- just like today. When the Spanish Flu ended, people gathered in the streets and danced for days! I’m holding strong on that happening again when COVID is over. When that time comes, we will be playing the entire time, celebrating with people all the while.
While that is our hope, the sad reality is that many of our local music venues are being forced to close. I think our music industry will have to reinvent itself, focusing on festivals and outdoor events as so many of our local clubs will be gone.
Something we just started doing ourselves, and plan to continue come spring is hosting our own socially distant shows. One platform we will offer is RV Rooftop Shows. We travel in our 34 Foot RV dubbed “Norah’s Ark,” (as I’m the driver and we have eight pets) and we will perform on the roof of our RV with the audience in their social bubble on the ground.
The other format we are offering in the spring is contact-free canoe shows. We’ll bring our canoe to someone’s waterfront property and anchor our canoe and perform a show for them. We even have a floating tip jar that is sealed, that we can cast to the shore and reel back in!
The ideas have both been received well, and we have a few tentative gigs for the RV rooftop and canoe gigs booked for spring, depending on COVID cases.
MB: What are your hopes for your music career going forward?
Norah: We’re hoping that when COVID is over that everyone celebrates and enjoys the arts in life fully. Rather than saying, “I’ll catch the gig next time they are in town,” that they come out and enjoy the night knowing that at any moment the arts could be gone again.
MB: I think that’s a lesson we’ve all been learning the hard way recently.
Norah: 100%. We are learning to not take anything or anyone for granted.
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