Resumption

Finally, that news that we've been waiting for - the remaining commercial entities (so called non-essentials), resume business this Friday, 19th June, under Phase II of the Covid-19 recovery process. Davis GMC & TY Music have confirmed their business resumption & I believe many others would follow suit, they are just waiting to announce at the right time. 

However folks, please be patient if you have to wait for your turn to enter the store, limitations still apply, same goes for safety measures (temperature taking/ QR code scanning/ etc.). These are not laid down by the stores, the authorities would penalize businesses if they failed to observe safety guidelines. If you think you 1) Have no patience for all this extra waiting/ precautions 2) Are a sovereign & excluded from established regulations, please stay home & continue your online shopping pleasure.

Pics: todayonline/ yelp

Labour power

This might be one of the bleakest times to be celebrating the labour movement. In the mean time, labour is crippled & living on borrowed time. The economy is turning & the ones to suffer in time to come - unemployment, wage freeze, wage cut - are the people out there who toil to put food on the table. The authorities must not forget the importance of labour here, the coming together of our forefathers, regardless of their skin colour & beliefs, to build a nation, strong & free. On that note, Happy Labour Day dear blog readers, regardless of who we are, we are working to make ends meet, some of us working harder than the rest. Take care, stay home & stay safe.

Covid FS

SV Guitars are still offering some awesome online deals for us who are cooped up at home. Just head over to their website to know what's offered from time to time. They are also keeping up with the delivery schedule - thumb up to that. Please understand the 5 days - 1 week fulfilment leeway for all online orders. Remember folks, stay home.

No NAMM

Not surprising; better safe than sorry. There can always be a virtual/ online NAMM if they put some efforts/ resources to it.

Closure United

As at time of posting, the stores listed above have made official announcements in stating their temporary closure during the circuit breaker time frame (7th April - 4th May). On behalf of gear enthusiasts here, I would like to thank them for observing this difficult but necessary compliance. The music community here is a small & symbiotic one, let's do our part to see this through. Please visit their respective home pages to see if provisions were made for online purchases. 

Take care, everyone & here's wishing you a good week ahead despite the tension & uncertainties.

Turned

The Prime Minister addressed the nation yesterday as the country took a turn for emergency procedures with effect from 7th April 2020 in view of worsening situations. Commercial establishments would take the hardest hit as all non-essential businesses were instructed to close down till 4th May 2020. The government calls this a circuit breaker observance but we all know it's another reference for a lock-down with enough critical specifications to exclude this version from what everyone else around the world is observing. Politics.

This would mean the guitar stores here would cease to operate within the time frame stipulated above. I'm in the midst of finding out what alternatives they would be offering & might just find the time to update them here. Let's accept the fact that our gear indulgences are not essential in the mean time but I believe the same gear would help see us through the times while being cooped up at home. Folks, do spend the weekend getting some 'tide-through' items like strings, cleaning fluid, batteries, etc. to keep ourselves occupied. It's not gonna be easy but we can definitely see this through. Take care, everyone. 

Closed (temporarily)

Everyone takes a hit in the mean time, big G included. As announced yesterday, the company will cease to operate temporarily for 14 days in view of the COVID-19 situation. Employees were given $1K consolation to tide things through & management will evaluate production status after a fortnight. International showrooms in the UK, Japan & Europe were also shuttered in the mean time. 

As we come to terms with the impact of this pandemic, know that things will shift into lower gear sooner than anticipated. The objective now is to stop the virus from spreading & along with this, work stops as well. Business entities everywhere are dealing with manpower issues as this takes the worst hit in terms of production. There are simply tasks in the manufacturing process that requires human touch. If you don't see some things in the stores in the mean time, know that it's happening everywhere.

Stay safe, everyone. 

Down

Just a reminder that it's bleak times ahead for many of us. On the business front, many commercial entities are forced to scale down production or go into a lull period, not by choice, mind you. Examples depicted above show how legislation had forced business into a standstill due to manpower reasons. People are not at work & this affects output. Please understand that there will be shipment delays & products not available off the shelves in the near future. Also, it's not just the music business but business in general, everyone is taking a hit in some ways now. The last thing that we would like to see is unfounded tension due to acquisition issues. Please be mindful & keep emotions checked. We are all affected, you're not alone.

Our thoughts are with those who are in dire straits, financial or otherwise, due to this pandemic. There is no other way but to stay strong & rebound when everything is over.