During this time when the coronavirus has us all social distancing and unable to be together, social media and smartphones have been a gift, but when life was more normal, Mark Wystrach of Midland thinks all of those things were often distractions from us really connecting with other people. “I’m actually old enough to remember a time before everything was so connected via the internet and smartphones,” says Mark, “and it really did make me think, it seemed like the world was actually more … I don’t know, more beautiful or more exotic. There was these things that were left unknown.”
Mark is a bit nostalgic for a time when you couldn’t just google everything to get the answers you needed. “You couldn’t just google directions to everywhere,” he laments. “You had to ask somebody, you know. If you were traveling, you traveled with a map and you travel with a book and a notebook, and you sit down at dinner or at a bar, and you’d meet people because if you’re somewhere where you’re not familiar, you’d have to ask somebody, like, ‘Hey, where should I go? What should I do here?’”
Even though smartphones and social media are likely here to stay, Mark believes, “without the electronic connectivity we were actually way more connected as people, and there was much more of a communion and a community. I miss that, and at our shows very often, we’ll ask people to put their phones down and actually just be in the moment. Experience it with your neighbor. Get to know your neighbor.”
While Midland won’t be playing live shows for a while, where they can invited their fans to be present and not watch the show through their smartphone’s camera, they definitely look forward to getting back on the road and touring with Tim McGraw later this year, playing songs from the their latest album, Let It Roll album, including their current single, “Cheatin’ Songs.”
Midland – life without devices :50
Mark Wystrach – “I’m actually old enough to remember a time before everything was so connected via the internet and smartphones, and it really did make me think, it seemed like the world was actually more … I don’t know, more beautiful or more exotic. There was these things that were left unknown, like, you couldn’t just google directions to everywhere, you had to ask somebody, you know. If you were traveling, you traveled with a map and you travel with a book and a notebook, and you sit down at dinner or at a bar, and you’d meet people because if you’re somewhere where you’re not familiar, you’d have to ask somebody, like, ‘Hey, where should I go? What should I do here?’ And without the electronic connectivity we were actually way more connected as people and there was much more of a communion and a community. I miss that, and at our shows very often, we’ll ask people to put their phones down and actually just be in the moment. Experience it with your neighbor. Get to know your neighbor.”