Live and Local - and Online!

Written by Jimmy Wah | Sense Music Media

So I’m going to do a little write up giving a shout out to all the wonderful musical artists who enrich our lives. In particular I want to give a well deserved mention to someone who represents those musicians working extremely hard to make a crust doing what they love. They share their work with the rest of the world and enable us to indulge in the fruits of their labour… while having an awesome time doing it! Who is this elusive figure I’m talking about? It’s Glenn Esmond from THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT.

Many of you would recognise Glenn’s face in an instant, just as I did when I spotted him working as part of the stage crew for COG’s Drawn Together Tour at Max Watt’s, Sydney in February last year. I was stoked to be back behind the lens in the photo pit, surrounded by faces in the Australian music scene that I’d known and loved for years. When I saw Glenn again a month later playing at the Crowbar in Sydney with none other than Clint Boge, I knew times were changing. They have a chemistry that saw them entertain the crowd with their onstage antics and acoustic covers that made for an incredibly entertaining mid-week night on the town. This was to be followed up by THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT playing their Unbroken Tour to a sold-out crowd at The Metro Theatre, Sydney. After a long hiatus the nostalgic buzz finally felt like it was something we could get used to!

So, with that brief background story, you may ask why I’m focusing on Glenn specifically? Well little did I know – as with many other fans of THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT – that Glenn has actually been living in Sydney for the past 8 years and playing live solo gigs just about every weekend on the local scene when he’s not playing at weddings or writing new music. I found all this out after seeing one of my photos pop up on his Instagram feed advertising a gig at The Fortune of War - Sydney’s Oldest Pub - down in The Rocks, Sydney. Despite the emerging Coronavirus panic, I decided to try my luck and go along.

Walking past the place where the infamous Ruby Princess would soon dock proudly on Circular Quay, I found The Fortune of War – and to my surprise, those inside were singing away merrily to iconic tunes like American Pie. Standing behind the mic was none other than Glenn Esmond himself, accompanied by a bottle of hand sanitiser and donning a hat in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day. When a he had time for a break to go outside and avoid shaking hands with patrons, he told me all about what’s been happening lately. Yes that’s right, Glenn’s in Sydney and he plays every weekend! He tells me he plays an early evening set at Fratelli Fresh in Darling Harbour on Friday nights, followed by regular pub gigs at The Fortune of War on Saturday and Sunday nights when he’s not playing weddings.

This article was originally supposed to inspire options for punters who want to go and see some good music in the wake of event cancellations due to the Coronavirus but now that we’re all locked in isolation even that idea’s been challenged. Thankfully, nothing stops dedicated musicians like Glenn who’s found a way to combat even that. He’s now live streaming with his acoustic guitar and his bass, doing play-throughs of THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT tunes and taking requests to keep everyone entertained.

In this current global climate where it’s very easy to become isolated, uninspired and even scared. We’re lucky enough to live in a world where it’s possible for artists and musicians – for we the people – to communicate in ways that were once impossible. Some of you may have heard of Ezekiel Ox’s 24 Hour Self Isolation Variety Pandemic with Dave Bleus, Skarlett Saramore, Ava Noir and a massive list of special guests including Chris Cheney (THE LIVING END) and Drew Goddard (KARNIVOOL) which is being live streamed this coming Friday and Saturday 3-4 April. So many events just like this are being hosted right across Australia and throughout the world!

I just watched Glenn Esmond live stream his first 2 online sets on Friday and Sunday and the good news is they won’t be his last. He’s promised to keep these online shows going every week while this lock-down is on. So much more goes on behind the scenes at the hands of our beloved artists and musicians than many of us can begin to imagine. Support musicians like Glenn Esmond and others that I’ve mentioned that communicate on the wave that connects us all. Keep an eye out on your socials for these live streaming events and when this is all over, let’s all get out there and enjoy the music together!

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