Michael Clifford thinks the coronavirus is a "cool test" for bands to try and "push them creatively".
The ‘Wildflower’ hitmaker – who is in 5 Seconds of Summer alongside his bandmates Calum Hood, Ashton Irwin and Luke Hemmings – admits it has been tough in lockdown without his band members, but it has given them a new challenge.
He said: "I think it’s been a cool test for bands and artists to have to do things out of their own home. I feel like it’s pushed everyone creatively, but I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t looking forward to just getting in a room with everyone again and actually being able to play instruments and just feel the presence of the band. It’s been interesting to try to push the boundaries of how you connect with people [when] you only have the internet. Usually we’re just so used to physically flying to another country, like, ‘Hello, we’re all here.’"
Michael and his bandmates text "all day" every day.
Speaking about his bandmates, he added: "We’ll text all day. We obviously just had an album come out, so we’re always messaging each other. It’s surprising how much we’ve been in contact – you wouldn’t expect it from a band who’s been together for like eight years now. You wouldn’t expect us to be talking every single day, but surprisingly, we do. We’re inseparable, I guess. For better or for worse."
Michael has been trying to play alongside his band via the internet but they have been coming into some troubles.
He told MTV News: "We’ve been trying to figure out some cool ways we can continue to play together as a band while we’re all quarantined at home, but it’s hard. Honestly, the biggest struggle is Wi-Fi. Calum’s got the worst Wi-Fi but also the best Wi-Fi – it’s like, the room that he sits in has the worst Wifi but next door to him is the fastest room in the house. Mine’s pretty c**p all the time. So it’s tough to try and come up with a way that you can play together without there being any latency."