Life During Lockdown: Swampy Marsh
I met Jeff “Swampy” Marsh and his wife Bear because our kids went to school together. But we’ve stayed friends because we both love storytelling, music and surfing. Jeff is a creator of animated shows like Phineas and Ferb, Pete the Cat, and Milo Murphy’s Law. His shows are irreverent, fun, and they all incorporate a lot of music. A lifetime professional highlight for me was collaborating with Swampy when I was at the LA Marathon to create a Phineas and Ferb promo (see below) for the race.
Give me some highlights and lowlights from your first month in lockdown mode.
Well, I have to be honest, I haven’t seen a lot of lowlights. I’m lucky enough to work in an industry that makes it very easy to do your job from home. I’ve missed a few events, a few meetings and brainstorming sessions that are always more fun to do in person, But overall I’ve stayed pretty darn busy. I think the hardest part mentally, is the delays we’ve experienced in getting new project started. There were a few things I was really itching to get going on and it’s all on hold. That’s a little frustrating. The other big thing that I’ve had to do without is surfing. That’s been hard.
In the highlight department, there’s actually been a few. I’ve started exercising… For people that know me, that’s actually quite shocking. Since I haven’t been able to go out and get in the water for my physical activity, I’m actually getting up in the morning and working out. Also I’ve quite enjoyed watching a bunch of old movies I haven’t seen in ages. And, my guitar playing has gotten much better over the last month! Another bonus, I’ve spoken to my family over the phone, including my son in Scotland, more than I ever have. That’s been nice.
How have you grown personally and professionally during this disruption?
Personally, I’ve started working out, I’ve been practicing guitar more, reconnecting with my family, (Albeit via phone and video chats), and spent some really nice quality time with my wife.
On the professional side, I finally been able to dedicate a little time to the promotion side of the business. It’s giving me the opportunity to learn a lot more about social media and how to make that work for you in a positive way. Something that I’ve always tried to make time for, but the day-to-day running of the business can do to take priority. On that side, I’m learning a lot.
Has your relationship with your work changed now that you’re home alone and unable to collaborate in real life?
I am a collaborator at heart. I’m not one of those people who sits in a room alone in front of his easel, or his word processor, or his guitar and creates things all on my own. I’m best when I’m sitting in a room with a bunch of creative people bouncing ideas off the wall. That’s true for making cartoons as well as making music, so that side of things has been a little difficult. But, it’s forcing me to grow and figure out new ways to work, and new ways to collaborate. I really started to enjoy the big group zoom meetings we have. But I am looking forward to the time when we can all be in the same room.
Can storytellers like yourself create positive change during the pandemic?
I think this is a time when storytellers can really thrive. This is a time when people really need to escape into other worlds, other lives, other realities. and we have the ability to create those doors and windows that peoples imaginations can look through and step through. Just having the ability to give people a smile, a giggle, a guffaw, or putting a song in their head that brightens their day is a great gift. I see so many people now using their creativity, sense of humor, music, drawings and paintings to focus attention on the positive things going on around us, raise awareness for of that we can do to help, raising money for worthy causes. It’s refreshing to see so many people spending so much time focusing on how they can make the world a better place and focusing a lot less energy on how to make more money.
A big part of my personal philosophy has always been that you decide whether what life throws at you becomes the reason that you are defeated or fail to achieve your dreams or goals, or those obstacles become the reason you gain the skills, resiliency, and wisdom the overcome. It’s our decision to treat all of these current challenges as a learning opportunity, so that as we move on from here we have a few more arrows in our quiver to use when times get tough again, (and they will).
