Photo credit: Jacqueline Justice
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
I own a 2010 Honda CRV. It kinda looks and drives more like a 2004. It’s got under 150,000 miles on it, but I’ve driven it hard – I’ve toured in it, I’ve moved across the country several times in it… it was once SLAMMED into by a dude in Austin who drove all the way up a hill and didn’t realize he was out of gas… backed all the way down 11th Street to Red River where I was parked. Luckily, I wasn’t in the vehicle! It took a month to fix the dang thing, and almost $10,000 worth of damage that my insurance had to cover… still wouldn’t declare it totaled, and it rides again! Anyway, all that being said, I tend to rent cars when I’m on tour, cause I often fly to my tours. I’m big into sedans.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Well, I’m maybe not the BEST person to ask about this because I often choose healthy/high quality food over saving money on the road… I blame Aoife O’Donovan. When I toured in her band in 2016/2017, we ate at Whole Foods almost every day. Whole Foods is a killer road option because most major cities have one, and there’s something for everyone in the van. The problem is, your entire per diem for the tour can disappear within a couple days of shopping there – It starts with the hot buffet or some sushi, and suddenly you need $75 worth of supplements. Anyway, my friend Peter Bradley Adams turned me onto an app called Happy Cow which hooks you up with local vegetarian-friendly places, which definitely increases the overall healthiness of the tour.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
This is a GREAT question, seriously! I used to break strings ALL OF THE TIME. I also used to play guitar VERY hard. All of the time. And I would break strings…all of the time. Instead of taking a look at my technique, I decided that I needed to play guitars with heavier setups, heavier strings – Then I started to hurt my hands. I went from playing 13’s (medium gauge but really should be called HEAVY) on acoustic and 12’s on electric to 12’s on acoustic tuned DOWN a half step and 10’s on most electric guitars. As a result, I can’t really remember the last time I broke a string. Of course, now that I’ve said that, I will break one during the very first song of the very first gig I get to do after this quarantine madness is over.
Where do you rehearse?
I don’t have a proper “rehearsal space” per se, but I did just move into a rad old house in Madison that has one in the garage – Nothing CRAZY has happened there yet, but I’m not ruling it out.
Back in my NYC days, I used to rehearse at a hilarious place in midtown called FUNKADELIC. Need I say more? They had a vending machine that dispensed guitar strings and picks. Genius.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
The first song I wrote was actually a co-write (so Nashville, even though I was in Westchester County, New York). I wrote it with my guitar teacher Rich at a store and lesson center in a shopping mall. It was called “Guardian Angel” and was basically a mash-up between a weird A minor vibe we had going and the chorus to “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third Eye Blind. I asked the addressee of the song to “be my guardian angel.”
Describe your first gig.
My first official gig was at a place in Tarrytown called Coffee Labs. It was, perhaps obviously, a coffee shop, but it was special in that it was dog-friendly (get it, “Coffee LABS”). My friend Fred had been playing a monthly residency there already for years, and I had been practicing hard at open mics all over the county and city. I borrowed a GIANT P.A. system from my school friend Ronny’s aunt (Coffee Labs was a BYO-P.A. joint). Basically everyone I knew came. I had a bunch of special guests. I’m pretty sure there was a djembe.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
My last day job was at a guitar shop in Austin, Texas called South Austin Music. It’s a historic place at this point, it’s been there for over 30 years. The owner is a kind, hilarious man named Bill Welker. That shop has serviced some of the best musicians Austin (and the world) has ever seen. There are two things to know about me working at a guitar store: 1) I am really good at selling gear. 2) I should never work at a guitar store, because I end up spending all of my pay on gear.
As for other day jobs, I once worked for Calton Cases in Austin. I worked on the interiors of heavy-duty guitar flight cases. I was not very good at it. My friend Robert ran the fiberglass shop at the time, and told me that it looked like I had “never used tools before.” I ended up only ever making one case – a black dreadnaught case with black interior. Someone out there has it.
I also worked at a children’s museum in Austin. That was fun. I used to do story time and get to enact my musical theatre sensibilities for strangers and their kids. Pay was awful, though.
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?
The main way I have made income from music over the last bunch of years has been playing guitar and singing harmonies as a side person. That is perhaps why I’ve divided so much of my attention between supporting others and playing my own music. I have always written, recorded and toured as Anthony da Costa but it doesn’t always pay the bills.
My future goal is to make my own solo touring more profitable and widespread, while maintaining myself as a side person. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some of the best and brightest in Americana music, from Joy Williams of The Civil Wars to Sarah Jarosz and Molly Tuttle.
I’ve also recently gotten WAY into home recording again (see: quarantine) and would love to make more music for sync licensing. I also love co-writing, have had some cuts before and would love to see that grow as a potential income source – plus, it’s just so rewarding and fun!
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
I wish I knew that it will literally never look like what you want it to. I wish I knew the difference between hope and expectation. I do now. 🙂