Tell us about your tour vehicle.
Today it’s Kris’ Honda Accord with 270K miles on it, a mysteriously loud hum, and one brand spankin’ new tire (a drifter slashed the old one). When we tour nationally, we rent vans.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
It’s true, life on the road can be tricky when your best options are gas stations and dollar menus. We try and pack food from home, and we’ll hit up the Whole Foods hot bar or stop at a store that sell groceries. We’ve also had some incredible meals from venues and hosts. That being said, we are currently on a quest to find the best cheese puff. So far, Target’s Natural White Cheddar Cheese Puff wins.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
Here’s the range: $100/string that rarely breaks to $0.25/string that also rarely breaks. Those would be Karl’s gut bass strings, and Kris’s Mapes guitar strings (from down the road in Elizabethton, TN).
Where do you rehearse?
We practice in Kris’ tiny wood-paneled living room, and practice is often punctuated by Ruby (hound dog) exploding out the front door to patrol the perimeter.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
Here’s a sampling of our early compositions: Help Save the Prairie Dog Town (Kris, age 8), The Cage (Trapped in a Pop Culture Cage, Grace age 14), Shoot Me to the Moon (17 year-old Kris’ attempt at early 60s R&B/Beatles/Stones).
Describe your first gig.
Bill and the Belles’ first gig was at the Carter Fold in Hiltons, VA, one of the most iconic venues in the region, sonically notable for its sea of cloggers with taps on their shoes.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Kris runs Radio Bristol and is the host of the revival of historic radio program, Farm and Fun Time. Grace is an illustrator and graphic designer, and live-scribes for events including TED Talks. Kalia teaches at East Tennessee State University’s Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Program. Karl works at a retro arcade and gets paid to play video games. Safe to say we’ve got some fun jobs.
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?
We’re growing every year, and this is our first year tipping over the 100 show mark. It’s already a full-time job, and we’re working toward it being a full-time salary.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
The sooner you get hip to the reality that 98% of the work isn’t playing music, the better. It’s also been liberating to recognize that this industry is so in flux that there really aren’t any fixed rules. We learn something new every day, and figure everything out as we go. So make sure you’re playing music you like and believe in, because little else is guaranteed.