Musicians raise money for out-of-work bartenders

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Some local musicians have found themselves without gigs now that bars and other venues are temporarily closed in Colorado due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, they're taking a 21st century approach to their performances.

Joe Johnson and Grant Saben said when they lost their usual gigs, live streaming their performances was the natural next step.

But when they found out their drummer Kevin Ott was having a hard time making ends meet, they came up with another idea. 

Kevin is a bartender and currently left without a place to work. Joe and Grant decided to start raising money for Kevin and others in his situation.

“As musicians we're not too different from them, we all live gig to gig or paycheck to paycheck,” Joe Johnson said. “So if there's something that we can do to help those bartenders - we have a symbiotic relationship with them in the live music world - so if we can help them out in any way then I think it's good.”

Joe and Grant said they are taking tips online during their live stream performances, and then passing those tips along to people in the service industry.

They said the money is going to the Colorado Springs Bartenders Guild, which then gives it to the workers who need it most.

Joe and Grant are hosting the livestreams of their music on their Facebook pages. On those pages you can also find a link to donate.

You can watch Grant’s live streams by clicking here.

You can watch Joe’s live streams by clicking here.