Photo credit: Josh Brasted Photography
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
We’ve had a few Ford Econoline’s in the past. When we got our first decent record deal we were able to buy a cargo van and customize it with captains chairs and a TV… that was a good time. Now we mostly just rent a tour bus or fly which I prefer over installing snow chains during winter Colorado tours.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
For most of us in the band, eating on the road is always a highlight. We try to eat regionally and choose our meals wisely. Apps like Yelp and Google certainly help with research and we generally don’t hit someplace blind, but carefully choose where we’re going to eat when we’re in a town. It’s usually not fancy or expensive… it just has to be good and local. In a pinch we’ll always look for a Whole Foods.
How many reeds do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
Saxophone reeds aren’t cheap (probably about $40 for a box of 10) and I change mine probably once or twice a week depending upon how it’s holding up.
Where do you rehearse?
We’ve been fortunate enough to have our own recording studio for quite some time and that’s also where we rehearse. Before that we were rented a room in a giant old hotel converted into rehearsal rooms. We called it “The Heavy Metal Hotel” because all you would hear is super loud metal music coming out of every room. They had vending machines that sold drumsticks, strings and condoms.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
Our band plays a lot of instrumental music, so the first song I wrote didn’t have lyrics. But the first song with lyrics that I tried to write was called “Vilified”. It wasn’t very good and I learned to stick with writing instrumental music.
Describe your first gig.
My first gig (not with Galactic) was playing bongos at an open mic night at the legendary McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Los Angeles. I think Galactic’s first gig was probably a house party.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I had two day jobs that I was doing concurrently. I worked at a record store, which was really fun and I also worked as an apprentice at a saxophone repair shop.
One of my favorite jobs was being a cook at Tipitinas. The music was great and I got in free on nights I wasn’t working. Galactic recently bought the club, so that’s pretty awesome!
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?
I feel fortunate just to have been able to play music for a living for the last 25 years. As we’ve gotten older and had kids, we try to play less, play smarter, and make more. I think we’ve been doing pretty good with that.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Making music for a living is a gift and a privilege. I get paid for the chore of traveling and all the non-music related responsibilities.