Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
Oh, man. So many stories. We had two vans: the Grey Ghost and the Spruce Goose. Both Dodge Ram 15 passenger vans. The GG spun out on some black ice outside of Indianapolis and wrecked. Everyone was ok, but Steve (the drummer) and I had to play the show as a duo since Ted (bass) and Dave (Guitars) drove the van up separately.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Whole Foods buffet, if you can find one. Def not cheap, but healthy-ish if you stay away from the pizza. Subway is still a viable option. Panera. But it’s all crap. Drink a lot water.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
Hmmm. Not a ton. We’ve had the same guitar boat for like 12 years. Typical stuff: strings, drum heads, sticks. We take good care of our stuff. Mostly.
Where do you rehearse?
Well, we don’t have a designated rehearsal space anymore. But for years, we used to practice in a Manhattan mini storage in SoHo. It was just a big tin box with carpeting on the walls. Sounded awful. But we learned how to make it sound good in there, which helped us to sound better on the road. Was freezing in the winter and hot as hell in the summer. But we didn’t really have to pay for it, so that was nice.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
The song was called “I’m Just a Ghost.“ The lyrics were “I’m just a ghost, I’m here to scare you folks.” Pretty straightforward. Not a lot of flowery the metaphor in those days.
Describe your first gig.
Somewhere in Philadelphia. There wasn’t enough room on the stage for everyone, so I think I had to put my amp on the floor or maybe I stood on the floor? Nobody was really paying attention, but we got paid! That didn’t happen very often.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Delivering pizza. I wasn’t very good at it. My favorite day job was babysitting. I had this kid, Henry, who was just really sweet. He was a great kid, and we had a lot of fun. I taught him how to cross the street on his own, but he still wanted to hold my hand.
How has your music-related income changed over the past 5-10 years? What do you expect it to look like 5-10 years from now?
Up and down. A lot of down. A lot less down now, but still plenty of down. It’s a mercurial beast up and down forever.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Be nice. I was never very good at being nice. But now I am! Mostly…