Aurora is the new solo outing by Gerry Beckley, singer-songwriter and co-founding member of legendary band America, released in June. Recorded during the recent pandemic at Beckley’s two home studios in his dual bases of Sydney, Australia, and Venice, California, Aurora is an introspective album that takes stock of his life – past, present and future. The album also showcases some of Beckley’s original influences, which run the gamut from The Beach Boys to Chicago. Via a Zoom call, Goldmine spoke to Beckley to discuss the new album, song crafting and why America is at home in the mainstream.
GOLDMINE: When we spoke last in early 2021, the pandemic was still very much dominating our lives. And with closed borders and restrictions in force, artists and musicians like yourself, were not able to undertake any kind of touring activity. Now that touring has resumed, what has touring been like in more of a post-COVID-19 world?
There are still issues to deal with. All of us who are out on the road, and much as we know and hope that people are vaxxed and it’s not quite the death sentence that it seemed at first, we still can’t play if somebody gets COVID-19. We were about to go and do a weekend of shows, and our lead guitar player got COVID-19.
