Orlando darlings the Pauses launch ongoing video single series Quarantunes

Local indie maestros and OW cover stars the Pauses are dealing with the same uncertainty, anxiety and stressors that everyone is going through right now, and sometimes it’s hard to rally creatively in the face of it all. And yet, the band managed to rally virtually for a raucous, rousing and life-affirming cover of the 1997 Harvey Danger nugget “Flagpole Sitta,” the first of a video series they’ve dubbed Quarantunes. “This Harvey Danger song seemed like the perfect way to start off the series and kind of describes our current mental state fairly well,” says Pauses leader Tierney Tough. “It’s also just such a fun one to play.”

“It’s both freeing and exciting to have all of this extra time to be creative, but at the same time, it wears you down because you’re in limbo and are carrying this existential dread around all day, wondering where you’ll be in the next couple of months,” reflects Tough, candidly summing up the headspace of quite a few of us these days.

Give it a watch. Tough isn’t joking about the relevance of the song. The perversely hummable chorus of “I’m not sick but I’m not well/ and I’m so hot because I’m in hell” is almost too on-the-nose, but energetic performances (distance be damned) and flourishes of humor like costumes and backup vocals courtesy a Pee-wee Herman doll keep things good and weird.

“Pee-wee was very gracious with his time,” laughs Tough.

— This story appears in the April 8, 2020, print edition of Orlando Weekly. Our small but mighty team is working tirelessly to bring you news on how coronavirus is affecting Central Florida. Please consider supporting this free publication with a one-time or monthly donation. Every little bit helps.

This article appears in Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.