The latest conversation with Craig Reynolds on the Downbeat podcast features an especially familiar voice. Catching up with his bandmate, Reynolds settled in for a discussion with Drew York, vocalist of the veteran hardcore outfit, Stray From the Path.
After a quick exchange of some subtitles ranging from in-week drinking to coffee snobbery, to missing the unconventional comfort a bunk on a tour bus - the two began digging into the meat and potatoes of their discussion by revealing that York, was now a residence of France.
The vocalist shared that he and his better half recently acquired a place in France together and while the milestone was a big moment, the task of being able to relocate to another country during a pandemic comes with a hefty set of problems. Between the paperwork and the visas and having to prove his relationship with a French citizen, Drew confided the transition has been a bit taxing. All of this in addition to getting acclimated to the nuances of the French culture.
As for how Drew is staying creative during the time off from touring, he shared that he has been working with original Stray From the Path drummer Justin Manas on songwriting and features with some of the artists Manas works with. Drew also shared that he has a solo project that has since evolved from his songwriting efforts. While he remained pretty tight lipped about details, the tone of the conversation suggested that something will be revealed soon.
The touring mates would interrupt their conversation with the occasional fits of friendly banter - joking about Twitch and potentially doing voiceover work - making this week's Downbeat episode feel like a travel day on the bus between bandmates.
Eventually, the guys would get into speculation as to when things might begin feeling normal again. Drew offered a bleak forecast in sharing that he thinks touring and live music won't be a thing until 2022. That talking point segued into a discussion about how musicians' collective mindset has changed in the wake of this extended pause.
Craig explained that the thinking for most musicians for so long was that no touring was essentially a death sentence, but now that it is actually happened, people in bands have adjusted. For so long musicians have gone along with things like merch cuts, double show dates, and grueling travel itineraries because it was the status quo. Now that musicians have seen the worst case scenario unfold, their willingness to bend over backwards to make a buck is won't be what it was before.
Likening the current state of the world mid-pandemic to the beginning of a Black Mirror episode, Drew and Craig spent some time discussing how bizarre reality is now and how certain instances remind everyone of just how much the world has changed in such a short amount of time. Be it watching people on TV hugging and cringing or seeing someone at the dog park with a face mask on, the new normal is something that everyone is still getting used to.
Closing out their catch-up, the guys talked about their dream tour line-up coming out of this delayed live music intermission. With names like Loathe, Counterparts, Every Time I Die, and Architects, all included in the discussion, it was good to hear the bandmates geek out as fans just like the rest of us.
Stream the entire discussion between Stray From the Path bandmates Craig Reynolds and Drew York on the latest episode of The Downbeat.
