Photo credit Yiota Katsaitis
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
So far it’s been a rented Chrysler Pacifica van and lord it’s a great vehicle. Look forward though to stepping up to the next thing.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
I try and get a salad or veggies anywhere possible, because you don’t know when/where you’ll get the greens again. I usually have two meals to keep it simple. Keeping the protein up so I’m full in a healthier way. Sign me up for Texas Roadhouse grilled chicken salad and fries. Ask my band – they’ll tell ya.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I almost never break strings. Not too pricey.
Where do you rehearse?
Usually at my drummer, Erin’s, place, and it’s awesome and cozy. Nothing wild, other than us waxing poetic about our weeks.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
“John’s Gone” and it was about my first boyfriend. I actually can’t remember a lyric, but I think the title says it all.
Describe your first gig.
Oh man, it was a painful one. If you had an hour you’d really get the picture. I was at a blues club with my mentor, who was a soul singer in the ‘60s. He took me down to South LA by bus, and it was at Babe and Ricky’s. I didn’t know what a key was yet. I failed and failed hard singing “Stormy Monday” in double time over a half-time rhythm. One person clapped. I cried all the way home on that bus. Malcolm, my mentor, said “you f-cked up”, and I vowed never ever to feel that again.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Waitress. House cleaner.
Can’t say there was a favorite.
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?
Getting paid to play music is the change. When you start out, you’re paying to play, indirectly. You’re singing on the street, open mics, crappy shows, so you can find out what’s there, what’s inside you. Once you learn what that is, they start paying you. I imagine I’ll be getting paid to play in 5-10 years, but hopefully a few more zeros at the end of those checks.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
I wish I knew how individuated I’d have to be, meaning nobody’s energy gets to interrupt mine, to interrupt my knowing. As Dylan says, “Destiny is a feeling you have that you know something about yourself nobody else does. The picture you have in your own mind of what you’re about will come true.” I think I’ve got that down now.