Rock Monsters Romania

The quarantine was a really hard period for bands and artist. We talked to some bands from all over the world to see the real effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic in music.

Today we talk to Winter Hotel, an amazing North Wales Alternative Metal band.

How can you describe the changes generated by the pandemic in the band’s activity?

Like many other bands it’s obviously affected us quite badly with live performances. After our last gig in March we had many plans to gig around the releases of our three singles to date, however we’ve kept ourselves busy where we can. We all also live in different cities who are under different lockdown rules, so that can mess with our plans for meeting and rehearsing.

What daily activity did you miss the most during quarantine?

As a band I guess it’d just be being able to plan anything without worrying about laws and social distancing. Personally I miss being able to safely go to a pub.

Were there any pluses for this period without concerts?

It gave us a good chance to catch up with ourselves and properly revise our plan for the future. We’ve recently gone through a line-up change so it’s enabled us to find our new bassist, James, as well as begin songwriting with him. In general there are no pluses, the arts industry is collapsing and gigs need to happen sooner rather than later.

How does it feel to return to some normalcy?

It’s great to be able to practice again, at one period we must have gone 5 months without even seeing each other, but to be able to at least meet and jam some ideas out is such a relieving feeling.

What plans have you got for the rest of 2020?

We have released 3 parts to our 5 part collection titled ‘Vacancies’ (available on all major platforms). Part 4 will be released between now and New Year’s. We will also continue to write tracks for the next record.

Do you have any message for the bands or artists who are still in lockdown/quarantine?

Don’t give up. I’m sure all other musicians will agree that it’s not the same without gigs, but gigs will happen again, we need every performing musician to work together to build the industry back up.

What message do you have for the people who are going to read this interview?

Support your local scene. There might not be much of a scene now, but once things get back to ‘normal’, attend local gigs, share music with others, buy albums.

Interview by Radu Mihai