Pennsylvania melodic hardcore outfit Earth & Elsewhere recently released their debut EP. We caught up with the group and asked five things they learned, recording new music during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Writing & Practicing
The first challenge of course was the consistency of getting together for writing and practicing. Lance also lives in Ohio with the rest of us being scattered across the western part of PA, so learning to be self-efficient on our own time away from each other was the first obstacle that we needed to cross. We were able to write on our own time and send ideas back and forth ironing out parts till we had a very strong foundation for multiple songs and when we were able to get together, we fine tuned everything with long full day rehearsals.
Booking Shows
As for every artist and band, booking shows was and probably still is the hardest part to overcome post pandemic. We are a very DIY based band so we have been able to use our personal contacts to help book in various areas along with show swapping with people in areas we are not familiar with. Jeff and I (Luke) are part of a booking agency based out of Johnstown PA called “Aftermath 814” so we are able to show swap and help other bands looking to get into a different area along with growing our local scene in our own backyard.
Finances
Financing everything between gas money for a weekend run to recording our album was also a very wearing task. With being a newer band, we were starting at ground zero when it came to financing any and all of our tasks. We were all able to sacrifice our personal finances for the betterment of getting Earth & Elsewhere the proper content and backbone it needed to allow us to continue along a progressive path of development.
Outlook
The pandemic, especially lyrically, had an impact on the way we look at the world. For so long there has been a sense of dread and loneliness on the minds of a lot of our generation and the pandemic only amplified that ten fold. We try to be inspired by what’s going on in world, but in a situation like covid, it was hard for us to shake. The inspiration comes from that amplified feeling of dread and isolation along with the harsh reality that time will leave us all behind. We might never see anything like 2020 again, and for the psyche of a lot of us, we hope that to be the case.
Marketing
The most important challenge to overcome for us, and any band it seems, is how to market yourself now. Music is obviously primarily media based, but it is more so now than ever before along with the industry as a whole being an extremely large pond with many great artists. We’ve been able to build a body of work, reaching other platforms outside of our own and connecting with various peers, through our commitment to constantly work at better Earth & Elsewhere by reaching out to hundreds of platforms, receiving majority of no’s, and hoping for a response giving us an opportunity to showcase ourselves. We are endlessly grateful for every and all opportunities people give to us whether that’s playing a show to two people or releasing a video on DreamBound. We do this for the love of music, and when you do that, every opportunity is taken with great appreciation.
