Desktop Diaries: Early Eyes
Interview & Photos by Athena Merry, Collages by Jade
these interviews were conducted over zoom + email between april and july of 2020. the answers are mostly unedited, offering an honest insight into the headspace of various bands/musicians across the world during these months.
you can read more desktop diaries here.
Early Eyes
★
How have you been, really?
We've been a solid 6/10 for the most part. Most of us are pretty introverted outside of music, so we've been okayyy in terms of being stuck at home, but oh man... The BOREDOM! We've kind of all reached the point of having watched/listened/played/read everything on our respective lists, so its now just a battle to keep ourselves occupied.
How has quarantine affected the way you create? Are there any changes that surprised you? Anything that's remained the same?
Quar' has limited us in a way that we didn't expect. For most of us, music has always been a kind of catharsis to help get away from everyday life. On top of that, we've been realizing that our writing process somewhat relies on personal life experiences to ground our music in honesty and reality. With less life experiences to, you know... experience, its been hard to overcome the executive dysfunction.
Where have you been finding inspiration in isolation? and expanding on that, what's the most random thing that's inspired you?
One place we've been looking to light the music fire has been the past! With so few new significant memories being made, we've all had a lot of time to think about the good memories we made years ago. I've been thinking a lot about my childhood and understanding the cliche, thinking about how much all this shit has really changed since I was 10. As for random places we've found inspo? I guess its not too crazy an inspiration, but to cope with the creative pause, we've all been buying synthesizers to try to stretch out our legs and get some new ideas a-pumpin'. If things keep heading this direction we're about to become an ambient modular synth collective. jk... unless??
What does your typical day look like now?
A typical day at Chateau de Early Eyes usually starts with me (Jake) up first and I'll put on a pot of coffee for the house and we all mill about together for the majority of the morning; hanging out and conversing. by noon we're usually in separate spaces playing video games, working on music, or out with our dog. by mid-afternoon we try to do something musically productive like rehearsing, working in the studio, or writing together! At night, we try to all get together as a house and do something as a group. Lately, we've blitzed through a shit ton of movies, watched a few shows all the way through, played a good amount of house Dungeons and Dragons, and sat around and watched the dog be cute.
Have you picked up any new habits?
I am not sure yet! I'm sure once things move forward and we start touring and whatnot, I'm sure I'll realize that elements of living under Quar' have embedded themselves wayyy deeper into my lifestyle than I've realized thus far.
What do you find important right now?
For us as a band, its important for us to keep plugging away at music-y stuff just to not feel sluggish, lazy, stupid, and unconcerned. (shoutout frank) As people living in the world, we cannot stress the importance of properly socially distancing, being safe, and supporting each other! The sooner we can start to contain COVID, the sooner we can start going to shows, and seeing each other again. Also, its important to check in on your friends! See how they're holding up. Chat about what episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender they just finished! Pls find some time to safely connect with each other, cause we need it!
As a musician unable to play live shows - how do you find yourself connecting with fans now? How do you think this is impacting our experience of and relationship with music?
Social media, ups and downs included, has been a wonderful means of reaching out! We've been chatting in the DMs with our listeners to try to preserve that special connection that comes with live shows. I'm not yet sure how the music landscape has changed from COVID, but I've been noticing some seeds of change. It seems as if people are looking more and more to art in general as a sort of release from the blistering pace of life in 2020. All of us at least, have been more escapist in our art consumption more than anything else. Hopefully when concerts can safely resume, we can all get in a room again and just forget about all the insanity even for just a few hours as a community. I'm hoping the arts coterie will resume stronger and more active than ever after all this!
What was the last selfish thing you did?
Oh Man! I feel like I probably do a dozen selfish things in a day, but I can't remember anything offhand. Maybe yesterday when I took the last string cheese from the fridge? It decimated my inner-Minnesotan.
Tell us about the last time you felt truly free.
The last time I felt truly free was probably at our last show. Performing has always been where I feel truly like myself. Everything just opens up and I find myself always becoming the best version of me onstage.
What's something you're proud of at the moment?
Alright, stick with me lol. In Summer of 2019 I adopted a shy little Australian Shepard named Hazelnut. At first she was this scared, personality-less, husk of a dog. She didn't know how to play, or walk on a leash; all that jazz. With the help of my wonderful caring bandmates and friends, She has become an absolutely perfect, spunky, sweet, tiny, angel. I'm proud of her for how much she has grown into a wonderful companion to all of us! She really has been a huge help in keeping us sane while stuck at home.
What long term effects do you think this will have on you moving forward?
In search of some sort of silver lining to quarantine, I would say that being contained to just my home has reignited my respect and love for nature. I grew up with woods in my backyard and spent a lot of time exploring the wilderness as a kid. Lately, I've been getting to go on a ton of hikes with the dog and it has been lovely to get back out and breathe in that fresh arboreally oxygenated air!
What's one thing you wish you would have done more of? One thing you will do more of after the pandemic has ended?
I wish I would have gone to more arts community events! Overall, I'm an avid homebody. I really feel comfortable being alone and I definitely "recharge" at home, so I never really took it upon myself to get out and support my friends and peers! Now that we can't organize events, I've realized I really miss seeing everybody in one space just supporting each other. When its safe, you'll definitely find me out and about more often!