Photo credit Bob Adamek
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
Vandy Thomas, my Arctic White 2018 Mercedes sprinter 2500. It’s a 12-passenger with the extended cargo and I do not currently pull a trailer. Vandy is just about to break 100k miles and I traded in my personal 2007 Toyota Tundra Work truck to get it. No breakdown stories (knock on wood), but it did have a DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) issue recently, where it gives you a “start countdown” until you add more DEF fluid. It wasn’t recalibrating or recognizing it was there so I thought we were going to run out of engine starts on the road. Luckily, I found a Mercedes mechanic to help out, but I thought we were doomed. I had two starts left 1500 miles from home and more shows to do!
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Fast or snack all day, dinner at the venue.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I like the cheaper $5 D’Addario XL 11 strings. For my Tele I usually change them every other show. For the Gibsons, they usually last much longer, but I also don’t play those as much. I like the dead strings on the bosons and the new snappy ones on the fenders.
Where do you rehearse?
We rehearse at my drummer Mark Henderson’s house in Richmond, VA or during sound checks. It’s always a hoot.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I think the first song I ever wrote was in high school called “Where I Belong”.
“I like to hear the crowd, I like my guitar loud, and I’ll play for you all night long, now this is where I belong.”
…Something like that.
Describe your first gig.
The Sunset Grill in Goochland, Virginia. I was 17 and playing with my dad and brother at the time. We had another show down the road cancel on us that night, so we pulled the truck and trailer into Sunset Grill and said we needed a gig tonight. Think we made $500.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Last job was construction. Renovations. I still take carpentry and tile jobs when I’m off the road, but no longer work that 9-5.
Favorite non-music job would probably be this coffee cafe I worked at in high school. I got all my friends hired there and it was like an episode of “That ‘70s Show” or “Dazed and Confused” every shift. Rip Java Jodi’s.
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?
Think it can only get better at this point.
Sustainable.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Buckle up, it’s going to be a long ride.