Photo credit: Brynn Osborn
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
Breakdowns and van trouble on the road is somewhat inevitable, but I truly feel like we’ve been cursed as it seems that we have issues almost every time we go out.
We somewhat recently got rid of our last van, Van Diesel, as it was truly cursed. We had one tour where it broke down 13 different occasions. One time the driveshaft fell out on the highway. One time we got stranded in Geulph Canada and ended up staying there for 3 weeks. It was actually kind of fun though. It’s a small little college town and we kind of just moved in. We set up shows, became bar locals and made friends with people we still get on with to this day. It’s really all about the attitude; you kind of just have to make the best of each situation or you’ll go mad. We’ve gotten our money’s worth of Triple AAA for a couple lifetimes.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
We try and eat healthy on the road. We almost always start our drives with a stop at Whole Foods. There’s one in every town and there’s enough diversity where everyone can find something to suit their needs/taste. Our rider has a good amount of healthy snacks and treats that we pack up and put in our cooler at the end of the night. Minus the hummus. We’ve eaten enough hummus.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
Only really break a couple strings a year during a live show, but will put a freshy set on every couple shows. I buy in bulk, so maybe 10-15 bucks a set-nothing crazy.
Where do you rehearse?
Our rehearsal space is actually at Kelsey’s house, off the back of her house. The walls are filled with old posters and Wild Child memorabilia we’ve collected over the last 13 years. It’s very homey. There’s been a lot of parties at her place over the years, so lots of loud late-night sessions.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
It was a song on our first record called “That’s What She Say”. It was kind of just a joke lyric we were tossing around in the van, funny that it actually ended up on a record. Our first record, we were so young and naïve – we wrote 15 songs for it, and instead of cutting some of the fat, we just put all of them on there. It’s a 56 minute record, like whaa?!
Describe your first gig.
Scary.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Kelsey was a nanny and I was a barista when we first met. The kids she nannied are going to college now and it’s a mindfuck – we’re getting OLD.
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?
You don’t get in this business for the money, or maybe we’re just doing it wrong!
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Some of the best times are at the beginning, when everything is new and exciting. When you get to travel to new places for the first time or stay up all night and crash on people’s floors. It’s so easy to get caught up in your future plans that you don’t appreciate the little moments and the tiny victories. Enjoy the ride the whole time, it’s all good stuff. Also-ask for something other than hummus on your rider.