This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/08/nyregion/amy-madden-new-york-musician-quarantine.html
The article has changed 25 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 6 | Version 7 |
|---|---|
| She Just Wanted to Play Bass. That Life Is Gone. | She Just Wanted to Play Bass. That Life Is Gone. |
| (3 days later) | |
| Forty-three years ago, not long after she graduated from Princeton with a degree in art history, Amy Madden turned down an acceptance to Harvard Law School, leaving her mother horrified. If you were the sort of person governed by creative longing, if you defined ambition on your own terms, there was really just one place to be in 1977. Amy Madden went directly from college to New York, moving to the Lower East Side, where she found an apartment on Avenue B for $50 a month. | Forty-three years ago, not long after she graduated from Princeton with a degree in art history, Amy Madden turned down an acceptance to Harvard Law School, leaving her mother horrified. If you were the sort of person governed by creative longing, if you defined ambition on your own terms, there was really just one place to be in 1977. Amy Madden went directly from college to New York, moving to the Lower East Side, where she found an apartment on Avenue B for $50 a month. |
| Art, music, poetry — all of it compelled her. Then, in her late 20s, the man she was living with gave her a bass guitar and her passions found more clarity. A gifted musician growing up, she had turned down admission to Juilliard years earlier as a flutist. But she didn’t actually like the flute; with the bass, she found an instant kinship. | Art, music, poetry — all of it compelled her. Then, in her late 20s, the man she was living with gave her a bass guitar and her passions found more clarity. A gifted musician growing up, she had turned down admission to Juilliard years earlier as a flutist. But she didn’t actually like the flute; with the bass, she found an instant kinship. |
| “I said, You know what? I’m going to lose my life to this because I love it so much,’’ she told me recently. Her art sustained her materially, if precariously, for a long time, until it didn’t. | “I said, You know what? I’m going to lose my life to this because I love it so much,’’ she told me recently. Her art sustained her materially, if precariously, for a long time, until it didn’t. |
| Over the next four decades, Amy Madden built a life as a working musician — through two failed marriages, through two bouts of cancer and single parenthood, the first eight years of which were spent in a studio in the East 60s. | Over the next four decades, Amy Madden built a life as a working musician — through two failed marriages, through two bouts of cancer and single parenthood, the first eight years of which were spent in a studio in the East 60s. |
| There were successes, meaningful, if not commercial — a well-received album, tours with bands that opened for the Rolling Stones or Mötley Crüe, appearances with blues musicians who opened for George Thorogood and Johnny Winter. | There were successes, meaningful, if not commercial — a well-received album, tours with bands that opened for the Rolling Stones or Mötley Crüe, appearances with blues musicians who opened for George Thorogood and Johnny Winter. |
| Even during the long period in which creativity was better supported, making enough money for the essential things was not easy, yet it was unclear then how much more challenging the exercise would become. This particular life was already scarred by the slow burn of the music industry’s technological revolution and the brutal economic realities of New York. The pandemic rendered it to ash. | Even during the long period in which creativity was better supported, making enough money for the essential things was not easy, yet it was unclear then how much more challenging the exercise would become. This particular life was already scarred by the slow burn of the music industry’s technological revolution and the brutal economic realities of New York. The pandemic rendered it to ash. |
| In recent years, Amy Madden had made a meager living playing in bars, most of them the dives that had defined a vanishing cultural style in the city. Now the virus had forced those bars to close. A part-time job she had at an art gallery became another casualty of the national lockdown. | In recent years, Amy Madden had made a meager living playing in bars, most of them the dives that had defined a vanishing cultural style in the city. Now the virus had forced those bars to close. A part-time job she had at an art gallery became another casualty of the national lockdown. |
| Amy had made it through April with a $1,000 check sent to her by John Lee Hooker’s former manager, she told me. He insisted she take it, remembering a favor she had done for him long ago, one she could hardly recall. | Amy had made it through April with a $1,000 check sent to her by John Lee Hooker’s former manager, she told me. He insisted she take it, remembering a favor she had done for him long ago, one she could hardly recall. |
| Playing with Hooker had been a high point in a career distinguished by the respect she had earned from acclaimed musicians. Once, early on, she picked up the phone at home and the person on the other end announced himself as David Bowie. She assumed the call was a prank; it was not. He wanted to talk to her about playing bass in his band. But she felt she wasn’t ready — not good enough yet. | Playing with Hooker had been a high point in a career distinguished by the respect she had earned from acclaimed musicians. Once, early on, she picked up the phone at home and the person on the other end announced himself as David Bowie. She assumed the call was a prank; it was not. He wanted to talk to her about playing bass in his band. But she felt she wasn’t ready — not good enough yet. |
| Amy Madden didn’t really want a solo career, didn’t want to be famous, didn’t want to be Madonna. “I just wanted to play bass,’’ she said. “I embraced the blues because people who played were so sure of who they were. They didn’t want to be rich; they just wanted to play, and when you’re playing, all the parts of your life fall into place; you feel like you are exactly where you are supposed to be.” | Amy Madden didn’t really want a solo career, didn’t want to be famous, didn’t want to be Madonna. “I just wanted to play bass,’’ she said. “I embraced the blues because people who played were so sure of who they were. They didn’t want to be rich; they just wanted to play, and when you’re playing, all the parts of your life fall into place; you feel like you are exactly where you are supposed to be.” |
| Within her circle of fellow musicians, the new realities were bringing devastation. How the month of May will pan out financially, for her, was still uncertain. There was a check coming to her from MusiCares, the Recording Academy’s charitable arm, but she wasn’t sure when it would land. Founded in 1989 to help those in the business living on the margins, the organization opened a Covid relief fund in March, which quickly raised and ran through $14 million. | Within her circle of fellow musicians, the new realities were bringing devastation. How the month of May will pan out financially, for her, was still uncertain. There was a check coming to her from MusiCares, the Recording Academy’s charitable arm, but she wasn’t sure when it would land. Founded in 1989 to help those in the business living on the margins, the organization opened a Covid relief fund in March, which quickly raised and ran through $14 million. |
| “The need is like nothing we have ever seen before,” Harvey Mason Jr., chairman of the Recording Academy, told me. | “The need is like nothing we have ever seen before,” Harvey Mason Jr., chairman of the Recording Academy, told me. |
| After Katrina, the organization helped 3,700 people in and around New Orleans. But in just the past two months, it has processed 14,000 applications from singers, drummers, songwriters, equipment loaders, lighting riggers — people whose incomes are dependent on tours that have been canceled, on cruise ship gigs and hotel-lobby bookings that the current crisis has shuttered. | After Katrina, the organization helped 3,700 people in and around New Orleans. But in just the past two months, it has processed 14,000 applications from singers, drummers, songwriters, equipment loaders, lighting riggers — people whose incomes are dependent on tours that have been canceled, on cruise ship gigs and hotel-lobby bookings that the current crisis has shuttered. |
| Recently MusiCares had to stop taking applications, which were coming in at the rate of 500 to 600 a day, until more money could be raised. | Recently MusiCares had to stop taking applications, which were coming in at the rate of 500 to 600 a day, until more money could be raised. |
| Beginning in the mid-2000s, the clubs that had helped characterize Downtown Manhattan as a place of anarchy and artistry were slowly lost to escalating rents. The Bottom Line closed after 30 years in 2004. CBGB, where Amy had been a regular in the ’80s, closed in 2006. Kenny’s Castaways followed six years later. These were the best-known of the venues to have failed. For every CBGB, there were many others that disappeared more quietly. | Beginning in the mid-2000s, the clubs that had helped characterize Downtown Manhattan as a place of anarchy and artistry were slowly lost to escalating rents. The Bottom Line closed after 30 years in 2004. CBGB, where Amy had been a regular in the ’80s, closed in 2006. Kenny’s Castaways followed six years later. These were the best-known of the venues to have failed. For every CBGB, there were many others that disappeared more quietly. |
| Updated June 12, 2020 | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. |
| Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission. | Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission. |
| Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home. | Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home. |
| States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. | States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) |
| Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications. | Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications. |
| The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing. | The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing. |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. |
| If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. | If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. |
| Dan Lynch’s, an excellent blues bar on Second Avenue, had shut down even earlier. During the ’90s, Amy played there often and made decent money — $200 to $300 on any given night, enough to cover a cab to her studio apartment uptown during her break at midnight, where she would scrub down to remove the stench of cigarette smoke and nurse her infant son before returning for another set. She had reconfigured a closet into a nursery; an Ecuadorean grandmother who lived in her building cared for the baby while she was gone, refusing to take more than $20 for her time. | Dan Lynch’s, an excellent blues bar on Second Avenue, had shut down even earlier. During the ’90s, Amy played there often and made decent money — $200 to $300 on any given night, enough to cover a cab to her studio apartment uptown during her break at midnight, where she would scrub down to remove the stench of cigarette smoke and nurse her infant son before returning for another set. She had reconfigured a closet into a nursery; an Ecuadorean grandmother who lived in her building cared for the baby while she was gone, refusing to take more than $20 for her time. |
| “Those were good days,’’ Amy said. Having a child made it almost impossible for her to go on tour, so she became reliant on local bookings at a time when the scene was contracting. | “Those were good days,’’ Amy said. Having a child made it almost impossible for her to go on tour, so she became reliant on local bookings at a time when the scene was contracting. |
| Still, there were turns of good fortune. Amy was a songwriter, and proceeds from a music-publishing deal made it possible for her to buy a small two-bedroom apartment in the East 90s in 1997, near her son’s school. She knew musicians who lived out their lives in tiny studios, who died alone in nursing homes. A very good guitar player she had known who called himself Joey Miserable lived in his car. She felt immense gratitude. | Still, there were turns of good fortune. Amy was a songwriter, and proceeds from a music-publishing deal made it possible for her to buy a small two-bedroom apartment in the East 90s in 1997, near her son’s school. She knew musicians who lived out their lives in tiny studios, who died alone in nursing homes. A very good guitar player she had known who called himself Joey Miserable lived in his car. She felt immense gratitude. |
| Three years after she moved into her new apartment, BB King’s Blues Club opened in Times Square and Amy found a professional home — a regular gig on many Monday nights in the company of so many inspiring musicians. She adored the kitchen staff, who sent her home with meals for her son. She could go in anytime, even when she wasn’t working, and get fed. | Three years after she moved into her new apartment, BB King’s Blues Club opened in Times Square and Amy found a professional home — a regular gig on many Monday nights in the company of so many inspiring musicians. She adored the kitchen staff, who sent her home with meals for her son. She could go in anytime, even when she wasn’t working, and get fed. |
| “BB’s was unique because that community thing had disappeared in the city,’’ she said. | “BB’s was unique because that community thing had disappeared in the city,’’ she said. |
| Two years ago, the club closed when the owners could no longer afford the rent. At this point, Amy applied for food stamps, which bring her $192 a month. She doesn’t have a cellphone. | Two years ago, the club closed when the owners could no longer afford the rent. At this point, Amy applied for food stamps, which bring her $192 a month. She doesn’t have a cellphone. |
| In recent years, Amy had been playing in bars with Alan Merrill, the guitarist and singer who wrote the Joan Jett hit “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll.’’ He would pay her out of pocket — $100 or so per performance. They were old friends and very close. In mid-March they played together for the last time, in Harlem. He died of Covid two weeks later. | In recent years, Amy had been playing in bars with Alan Merrill, the guitarist and singer who wrote the Joan Jett hit “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll.’’ He would pay her out of pocket — $100 or so per performance. They were old friends and very close. In mid-March they played together for the last time, in Harlem. He died of Covid two weeks later. |
| Amy got sick, too, but has recovered. “I have so much and such a rich life,’’ she wrote me one evening, in the spirit of reflection. “There are people with nothing, on the street. Money is the handmaiden of creativity, not the God. I chose my path. I am so fortunate to be alive and have my hands and my brain. I want others to be helped and remembered.” | Amy got sick, too, but has recovered. “I have so much and such a rich life,’’ she wrote me one evening, in the spirit of reflection. “There are people with nothing, on the street. Money is the handmaiden of creativity, not the God. I chose my path. I am so fortunate to be alive and have my hands and my brain. I want others to be helped and remembered.” |