Alexander Leach, Editor
ASHEVILLE, NC [US] – April Verch may not be able to tour, but she is still putting on a show.
The musician put on a concert on October 27th, using Zoom to broadcast to ticket-goers, organized by Home-Routes, in order to comply with pandemic restrictions and safely interact with fans, since she can’t do it live.
“I certainly miss it.” she said. “It’s going to be a while yet. There are only some venues that are able to do it.”
“Because my husband and I are full-time musicians, we’ve basically lost our jobs.”
She said her band usually consists of three, but their bassist is unable to join them in the studio, meaning she and her husband have to adapt.
“For all of the events it’s practicing. We’re not used to playing as a duo. We have to do a lot of things to make it work with just the two of us.”
However, she doesn’t think these kinds of online events can really compete with the live events.
“No, I don’t think it can sustain us for any length of time.” she said. “We’ve still lost our jobs. It’s really hard to make plans for now, because you’re planning for the unknown.”
“It’s always in the back of our minds. ‘How are we going to make a living?’”
Originally from Rankin and having gone to school in Pembroke, April Verch and her husband currently live in Asheville, North Carolina.
“The Ottawa Valley stepdance tradition is my roots.” she said. “Without that unique tradition I wouldn’t be where I am.”
She said she has good memories of the Whitewater Region, particularly Beachburg’s medical clinic.
“I feel like it’s one of those areas that’s community-minded. They don’t put themselves first and they take care of each other.”
April wasn’t worried about security online, with this event being vulnerable to hacking and harassment, because she feels Home Routes has a handle on it. .
“They have a tech team that know a lot more about that than me. They’ve been looking into it.” she said. “Ours is their third concert.”
