6 Artists Discuss How They Recovered From COVID—”Once I Stopped Thinking About Thriving and Moving Into Surviving, Everything Changed”
6 Artists Discuss How They Recovered From COVID—”Once I Stopped Thinking About Thriving and Moving Into Surviving, Everything Changed”

COVID-19 ravaged the music industry. Venues shut down, tours stopped, vinyl plants went on hiatus. It was mass-confusion, mass-worry and potentially the end of many a livelihood. Thankfully, in the several years since, things have come back to life. Some order has been restored amidst the concern over disease, loss of life and the pandemic shutdown.

But how did artists come back after some two or even three years away from their fans and even each other? To find out, we asked six artists one question: “How did COVID-19 affect your music and how have you since recovered?” Here below are their answers.

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EssayJake UittiMSN
Top Interactive Video Games
Top Interactive Video Games

Video games sometimes get a bad rap, despite being one of the most popular forms of entertainment on the planet. Seen by some as fodder for a lazy lifestyle, it can be tempting to imagine a couch potato sunken into the sofa with a glazed look over his eyes as he plays the dozenth hour of a war game, moving only his thumbs.

But video games aren’t only meant for the sedentary. Indeed, there are many titles specifically designed to get people out of their seats, to move their bodies and even build up a healthy sweat. Here are 10 games sure to get your blood flowing. Play them and it will be as if you’re in your own personal fitness class!

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EssayJake UittiYamaha
Top Football Video Games
Top Football Video Games

Baseball, basketball and hockey all have their place, but it’s clear that America’s favorite sporting pastime is football. Every weekend, tens of millions of fans tune in to watch modern-day gladiators battle it out between the hashmarks. Whether it’s a long pass, an electrifying run or a bone crunching block, audiences simply can’t get enough of the physical matchups the game entails.

But the popularity of football doesn’t stop there. Millions more enjoy playing football video games, and they have for decades. Here are 10 of the best and most popular titles — the games that have captivated players ever since video arcades and home consoles started to pepper the landscape.

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EssayJake UittiYamaha
Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker Talk Growing, Enduring & New LP ‘Little Rope’
Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker Talk Growing, Enduring & New LP ‘Little Rope’

For anyone who’s been in a longstanding relationship with someone else, like in a marriage or a band, it can be hard to keep things fresh. That’s why the Pacific Northwest-born rock group Sleater-Kinney, co-founded by Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker, is always working, as Brownstein says, to find “new ways of expressing what is essential about the band.” It’s with this approach, she adds, that the duo make their best records. They operate at their peak performance, she says, “when there’s a thread between the early ingredients of the band, the early desperation of the band, with our skills as songwriters today.” With that intention, Sleater-Kinney is poised to release its newest LP, Little Rope, on Friday (January 19).

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EssayJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
Pop Star Kevin Quinn on the Pressures of Being a Celebrity and the Mental Health “Journey” It Took to Find Himself
Pop Star Kevin Quinn on the Pressures of Being a Celebrity and the Mental Health “Journey” It Took to Find Himself

Taking a mental health break in Arizona’s Santa Catalina Mountains a couple years ago may have saved actor/pop star Kevin Quinn’s life. At least, his creative one. For Quinn, 26, who auditioned for American Idol just two weeks after his 15th birthday and rose to fame thanks to his work as an actor on the Disney Channel, it was a chance to get out of the public spotlight and change and reframe his future.

While checked into a facility in Arizona, Quinn says he was able to wake up free of professional responsibility, go for jogs, take in the air and witness the majesty of the mountains. Now, that recent refresh has helped him write his new EP Real Me, which is out Friday (January 19).

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ProfilesJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
Exclusive: Paula Cole Talks Grammy Milestone, New Music and Lasting Forever—”I Had Trauma, and the Trauma Wasn’t Allowing Me to Trust and Evolve”
Exclusive: Paula Cole Talks Grammy Milestone, New Music and Lasting Forever—”I Had Trauma, and the Trauma Wasn’t Allowing Me to Trust and Evolve”

Paula Cole is a songwriter you’ve heard likely hundreds of times over. Whether it’s her songs like “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” or “I Don’t Want to Wait,” both of which were on the airwaves in the 1990s seemingly every hour, or her new work, Cole is an important figure in the music business.

In 1998, Cole won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and that same year she (stunningly) became the first woman to ever be nominated for Producer of the Year at the awards show. A trailblazer and an iconic artist. That’s big time.

But now, Cole has new music coming out, including her newest single, “Green Eyes Crying”, which is out today (January 10), and a new LP, Lo, which is set to drop March 1. So, we caught up with the songwriter and performer to get the scoop behind the new music and her lasting legacy.

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Q&AJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
The best players to sign 10-day contracts in the NBA
The best players to sign 10-day contracts in the NBA

It’s January 5! And do you know what that means? Well, for NBA executives it marks the first day they can officially sign players to their roster on 10-day contracts. For those unaware, a 10-day deal allows a team to sign a player for three games or 10 days, whichever lasts longer. This, in turn, can help a franchise fill a need caused by injury or just bolster its bench depth.

When a player signs a 10-day contract, it’s unlikely he will earn a significant amount of time on the court. But that isn’t always the case. Sometimes a 10-day can showcase a young, developing talent who can then earn a permanent roster spot for the season once coaches are able to see him up close. On other occasions, however, it’s a chance for an aging veteran to earn one last opportunity in the proverbial NBA sun.

Below, as teams seek out which players they might want to sign to 10-day deals for the 2023-24 season, let’s examine the Top 13 players to ever sign one.

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EssayJake UittiHoops Hype
Book excerpt: What it was like to barnstorm with Magic Johnson
Book excerpt: What it was like to barnstorm with Magic Johnson

Below is an excerpt from the new memoir from former NBA player and two-time champion, Earl Cureton, “Earl the Twirl: My Life in Basketball.” The book, which arrives January 5 via McFarland Books, is co-written by Jake Uitti, who also co-wrote a recent memoir with former NBA star Muggsy Bogues. 

In Earl the Twirl, Cureton highlights the stories of a basketball veteran who wasn’t necessarily thought of as a star, someone who had to navigate tryouts, cuts, contracts, international play and the dreaded right of first refusal in the league. In this excerpt below from the chapter, “Playing Everywhere,” Cureton discusses barnstorming, traveling to Alaska and what it was like touring with the Magic Johnson all-star team in the 1990s. 

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EssayJake UittiThe Athletic
Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson clash offers peek at NBA’s future
Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson clash offers peek at NBA’s future

Throughout the history of the National Basketball Association, one thing has almost always been true. The league is exceptionally difficult – and especially so for rookies. Unless your name is Magic Johnson, the first year of one’s career portends struggle, heartbreak and mistakes aplenty. But what the NBA has also taught its players is that the name of the pro game is resilience. It’s about what one does with those hard times that matters most. Fall, but get up. And when it comes to the 2023-24 season’s two most hyped rookies – Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, who were picked first and third in the 2023 draft, respectively – the new season is proving to be a test of all they’ve prized and prided themselves on in the past.

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EssayJake UittiThe Guardian
(EXCERPT) Earl the Twirl: My life in basketball
(EXCERPT) Earl the Twirl: My life in basketball

I don’t remember the exact time I made it into Houston, maybe around 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon Texas time. But I was ready. A team assistant coach, Larry Smith, picked me up. His nickname was “Mr. Mean,” but he was great to me. After we shook hands, I told him I had to go to baggage claim to get my stuff. He said, “Earl, there’s no time to wait for the bags. We have to go now.” All I had was my carry-on in my hand. He said, “We’ll get someone to get your stuff later. Let’s go!” So, I jumped in a car with him, and we went straight to the arena. By the time I made it to the locker room in Houston, the rest of the team was already on the court warming up. The team had my jersey all ready, name printed on the back and everything, hanging in a locker. I jumped into the uniform, number 35, warmups and all, and I got a quick physical examination from the doctors right there in the locker room.

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EssayJake UittiHoops Hype
Yoshiki No Risk, No Reward—“You Just Have to Take Risks”
Yoshiki No Risk, No Reward—“You Just Have to Take Risks”

For the Japanese-born Renaissance man Yoshiki, risk is an essential aspect of his creativity. The piano player, kimono designer (highlighted at Paris Fashion Week), Golden Globes theme composer — and more — knows that to achieve anything, to make any kind of unique mark, one needs to find new ground. Explore new territory, both inwardly and outwardly. That’s the recipe, if there is one, to success. And Yoshiki is continuing to test that important maxim. This fall, he made his directorial debut with the music documentary, Yoshiki: Under The Sky, which also features the likes of St. Vincent and the Chainsmokers. He then held performances in honor of the doc in New York, L.A., London and Tokyo in a matter of days. There will be no resting on laurels.

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ProfilesJake UittiAmerican Songwriter Magazine
NBA Christmas 2023: what to know about this year’s quintuple-header
NBA Christmas 2023: what to know about this year’s quintuple-header

It’s that time of year again. When people gather around the Christmas tree to exchange gifts and then gather around the big-screen television to watch the NBA’s annual slate of games. This year, as in the past, hoops heads are treated to a handful of excellent matchups. So, here below, we wanted to dive into those contests to offer some perspective and some predictions.

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EssayJake UittiThe Guardian
A Brief History of Handheld Consoles
A Brief History of Handheld Consoles

When video games first rose to popularity in the 1980s, arcades were all the rage. Millions would visit the digital fun houses and pop quarters into big cabinet-sized machines to play titles like Pac-Man and Space Invaders, trying to outdo bad guys and get to the next stage.

Eventually technology advanced, allowing players to enjoy gaming at home, mostly with the groundbreaking and extremely popular Nintendo® Entertainment System (NES®). But when smaller handheld consoles made their appearance, a whole new market opened up.

Here’s the history of those gems.

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EssayJake UittiYamaha