About 4 years ago I jumped headfirst into playing music for a living.
I had been a “weekend warrior” for about 15 years before that, playing in cover bands to satisfy my love for performing. 2020 would have been my best year ever, I had my calendar for the entire year filled by February.
On March 13th I played my first gig at the Tin Rooster at the Turning Stone casino with Jeff Rosen as an acoustic duo. I had been playing the Turning Stone and it’s sister properties for years but everything was very off this time around.
The Governor had just started to limit gatherings to 500 people and the talk of shutdowns was looming. The next night, at Point Place casino I played solo and during my set, the NBA saw its first cases and shut down gameplay. It wasn’t the jolly crowd that I was used to performing for.
Shutdowns started… sports were canceled and Scars N Stripes, my cover band, was scheduled to play The Gig at Turning Stone. It would normally be a ruckus crowd, but The Gig had a dark cloud over it and people weren’t sure what to do.
The next day, Sunday, March 15th would be my last gig for almost 3 months. Tuesday, March 17th my fiancee was laid off from her job due to the closures.
I had a nervous breakdown and was put in the hospital with my heart racing at 200 BPM. It was scary. I had no job, no money coming in and my fiancee was out of work. I did what I could to survive. Playing weekly “Live from the Living Room” helped put food on the table because of the gracious and loyal followers I have. I was so thankful for this platform and the possibility of collecting some sort of unemployment, which subsequently took almost 3 months to get. My local Assemblyman, Al Stirpe, assisted in getting the unemployment to go through just in time.
The one thing that I’m remotely good at was taken away. I played every day to keep from getting 
rusty. What was next? Has my dream been taken away? The only thing I’ve ever wanted to do was to be able to pay my bills and support my family doing what I love.
I’m lucky to be able to play once in a while but with all of the restrictions set forth by the state its been very difficult. It’s hard for venues to pay, advertise, and be safe during this pandemic. It’s also been tough for these establishments to enforce the laws when some people don’t think it applies to them.
In a time when we should take care of each other, we are being divisive due to political beliefs and a selfish “me” attitude. The restrictions put forth have put a stranglehold on all of us. If this continues. the folks in the live music and entertainment industry won’t have any choice but to pack it in and wake up from the dream that’s driven them every day of their lives.
Let us play, let us help those with mental issues during this time shine a light on a dark path.
To me, music is everything. It heals, it creates emotion, it takes us all away to a different place. Music can be offered safely…all we ask is to #letthemusicplay
Bill Ali
Syracuse, NY