The Making Of JG Live, And How It Has Become A Quarantine Hit
On last night’s livestream of my very own “JG Live,” someone asked me in the comment section, and he said “How did JG Live come together, why is it happening?” That was a very interesting question. If you know me very well, you know that I love to sing. I have loved to sing since I was a little boy, and I have always found a deep connection with music. So, back to the point. How was JG Live created?
It all started much like its close cousin, the “JG Holiday Spectacular” started. I was depressed on the first week of quarantine, and needed to do something about it, because I knew that if I stayed depressed and did nothing about it, well, that wouldn’t be healthy for me. I was already working on a spin-off to the “JG Holiday Spectacular” which was slated for this June.
So on the evening of March 18, 2020, I was sitting in my room depressed, and my mom came in my room to talk to me, and she had a brilliant idea. She said “Is there some way you could do some sort of concert online or something?” So I said “Yes, of course there is. I have live streamed many events in the past.” And then I thought, I brightened people’s holiday seasons with the holiday spectacular, and when I think of bringing joy, that is exactly what we need right now more than anything. But I wasn’t exactly cool with this whole idea at first, because I really didn’t think people would watch me doing what I am doing now, and I missed having that live, physical audience. Well, I am always willing to try new things, so the next morning, I woke up and posted all over social media that I was having a live concert that night. Yes, I threw the first JG Live concert together in 24 hours. I had no material prepared for the first show, so I basically just sang all the songs I have recorded in the past, well, all the good songs. So I set up my equipment in the front room, assembled the many devices it took to broadcast to 3 platforms, and 6:30 p.m., the show went on. Many technical problems were present on set for the first show, and since it was live I had no way of hiding them. So turns out, the show was such a success, I decided to have a second, and even a third!
So the second JG Live show happened three weeks later, on April 9, 2020. This time I was much more prepared, I had prepared more content, I had a much stronger microphone, I had a lot more confidence, and we didn’t have nearly the amount of technical problems we had on the first one. I heavily promoted this show for about 10 days, I created posters for it, and overall it was a much smoother show than the original. Bonus this time I broadcasted the show on Zoom as well. I still didn’t have the amount of material I needed to lengthen the show, but it was a wonderful show and we got more viewers than we did on the first one. The show was such a success that it prompted me to make a third.
So before the third JG Live show, I wanted to make sure I had more content this time and not be pulling songs out of my hat, A.K.A, improv. I wanted to figure out a way to get more people to join me virtually to actually perform, so it wasn’t just me. We toyed around with the idea of a Zoom performance, but we tried and it didn’t work out. I had prepared even more content this time, and thankfully, I had someone who had performed in my past “Spectaculars,” and was willing to join me on set for this show, and so days before JG Live 3, I called him up and he agreed to perform, this was none other than my buddy Chance Vonb. He came and sang two songs, and then we did a duet at the end. He and I were great, my viewers enjoyed both of us. Also, my confidence was way up this time, and the third show was yet another hit, and there will be a fourth coming soon.
So there is an example of how I brighten people’s days during this unprecedented time. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and there will be more from me in the future! Peace out, JG Nation!
-Joey Guden