Photo credit: Brooke Stevens
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
Since I’ve been playing solo shows for so long, I gave up the van-life for a more economical fare, so now I tool around the nation in a 2003 Toyota Highlander, currently with no A/C, no cruise, and roughly 330,000 miles. When she shuffles off of this mortal coil, she will be mildly missed. The “tour van” prior was a 2015 Dodge Grand Caravan with like 9 cupholders. It was decommissioned on December 24, 2016 when I hit a deer on Interstate 20 after a late gig. Merry Christmas.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
It actually ain’t that hard to find a healthy option on a venue’s menu these days, but if it’s a grab-and-go from a truck stop, I’ll go for a tub of grapes and some string cheese.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I don’t play too hard these days so breaking them isn’t really a problem anymore. I am guilty of getting lazy and not changing them when they need it. I play Martin Retros and a lot of guitar shops have them on clearance – so I stock up when I see them for $5/pack.
Where do you rehearse?
I have a few places for band rehearsal that I can rent/borrow for a few hours. Same with writing – I don’t like to write at home. I feel like there’s too much distraction – laundry, cleaning, other things I should be doing – so I have a really cool place in the neighborhood that I can book for a few hours and chill. And they keep good whiskey and coffee handy.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I’m sure I wrote something that resembled a song before this one – but I have a song called “Country Club Kitchen Blues” that was the first original song I ever played for anyone else. I wrote it for a handful of friends that were chefs and line cooks at a local country club in the area. ”No holidays, no happy hours, two sore feet, and a kitchen fire – i’ve got the North Louisiana country club kitchen blues.”
Describe your first gig.
There was a small nightclub in my hometown that burned down a while ago. They’d give me $50 cash and a $50 bar tab for 3 hours of cover songs on Wednesday nights. The first night on stage, I got so stoned before the show that I played Atlantic City like 6 times in a row and threw up in a mop bucket. The owner had a killer record collection. He turned me on to a ton of stuff I’d heard of but never really listened to. Keb’ Mo’ deep tracks, Delbert McClinton, The Burrito Brothers, etc.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I’ve actually been a freelance graphic designer / illustrator for about 18 years. Pre-pandemic, I was fortunate to mainly focus on music and let that be my main gig, only taking design jobs that I was passionate about or had a heavy interest in. When venues shut down and gigging came to a halt, I was extremely grateful to be able to pivot back in that direction. It’s kept me fed for the last two years. I really enjoy the work, and it’s as much a passion as writing songs has been.
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 don’t think it’s changed as much as I complain it has. Ha. But, I’ve been in Nashville for about 10 years now, and things are definitely more expensive than when I moved here. But as I’ve built a bigger fanbase and tapped new-to-me markets, I’ve been able to adjust my prices accordingly.
Another cost-saving avenue I have is merchandise and marketing. I save a ton of money designing my own marketing material. I do hope that in the future we see positive changes in how artists and writers are paid from the digital side of this business.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Music is art, songwriting is poetry – the business of both is just necessary bullshit.