Pentagon Tales * Trasmissioni dal lockdown

David Best (Fujiya & Miyagi)
Hove, East Sussex UK

1. Where are u right now?
At Home in Hove,East Sussex UK.

2. What’s happening in your country/city at the moment? Are there any restrictions?Are venues/shops/bars opened?
Everything other than supermarkets and chemists are shut. I haven’t left my house in 4 weeks other then to put the bins and recycling out so anything could be happening and I wouldn’t know.

3. Did u have any tour/gig planned before this thing started?
A few but not a lot as we are currently writing new songs. Also because of Brexit we hadn’t booked too much as so many things were up in the air.

4. How this situation is reflecting on your everyday life?
I have two young kids so I’ve been home schooling them and trying to keep them entertained. Personally, I prefer to stay in so I can manage it ok. When I get an hour or two to myself I’ve been recording songs in my bedroom. We are fine and are thankful for the sacrifices that the key workers are making.

5. How the Music Community in your country/city is reacting?
It’s tricky because I only see this on Twitter, where my feed is very music/football centric. Everyone is justifiably worried about their situations but, for me, I’m more concerned about the health of my family and friends and society as a whole rather than not being able to play shows and sell records. I do feel sorry for people who organised tours and album releases around this period though. That must be tough.

6. Do u usually have any help from the Government if u’re a musician or a booker in your country?Do musicians / booker get some money or help for the tour they cancelled?
No, but we can apply for grants due to the fact we are self employed. I think it’s up to 80% of your earnings calculated by the last three years income.

7. How the Government reacted?Did they think about the economical loss and disaster the musicians are facing?
I felt that the entertainment industries were low down on the government’s to do list. Same with Brexit. They eventually found their ‘magic money tree’ though, despite Theresa May saying they didn’t have one when it came to Nurses needing an increase in wages.

8) What’s the social situation where u live?How people in general are living these days?What’s the percentage of your friends that right now is not working for this reason?
Many of my friends are musicians so they are in the same boat as I am. A lot of my friends also have children so, although they could work at home, they can’t as the schools are closed. I know the majority of people are in a really precarious position financially due to not being able to work. I feel lucky as it could be a lot worse.

9. How’s reacting the Society and do u think after this will be over something will change in the everyday life?Do u think people will change anything in their life?
It’s hard to say as I haven’t been out but I sense that people are taking it seriously and following guidelines. When this is over I hope people appreciate each other more, whether that be nurses, postmen and women or supermarket workers or just people in general. I also hope that kindness replaces indifference to those around us. I’m not holding my breath, though. I think one of the problems will be that people will get desperate due to their financial situations and that will have a knock on effect with everything else.

10. Is there anything u would recommend to the people of the music world during these hard times?
I’ve found creating music a real escape from all of this. I know not everybody can or are in the right frame of mind to write though. I’ve just been switching on my synth and recording without thinking about what I’m doing too much. When this is over we don’t need a million albums all about being inside, so i find it helpful to concentrate on music rather than writing words. I have also become more grateful for what we have and no longer take the essentials we need to live for granted.

11. Is there any book/lp/movie u read/listened/watched recently that u would recommend ?
Since this began, 90% of the music I’ve listened too has been by Prince. He’s been my coronavirus soundtrack and it’s really lifted my spirits. Mainly from ‘Dirty Mind’ to ‘Sign O the Times’ but other bits and pieces too. I’ve been reading a book about about how he recorded stuff around the Purple Rain era. I’ve recently subscribed to Sight & Sound magazine. I enjoy The New Philisopher magazine too. I like the Islet lp ‘Eyelet’ and have also been listening to Jamaican Deejays like U-Roy, Big Youth, Prince Jazzbo, I-Roy etc. I’ve been watching loads of film noir movies, like The Hitch-Hiker, Detour, Sunset Boulevard, Laura…