Photo credit: Judd Irish Bradley
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
I’ve had a bunch of different vans. I take out all the backseats and have a wood rack made so I can sleep on top and store stuff underneath. Every vehicle I’ve ever had has broken down along the way. One van broke down in a bowling alley parking lot in Oklahoma and I just left it there. It’s probably still there.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Cheap is easy, healthy not always. Nowadays, I bring along gluten-free crackers and hope for the best.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I used to break two or three strings every show. Once you break one and continue to play, there are bigger gaps between the strings and it’s more likely you’ll break some more. At some point my playing got smoother or something and I don’t break them so much now.
Where do you rehearse?
A rehearsal space can be a bathroom, a stairwell, a living room, a car…. sometimes there’s a race between practicing what you need to practice and being asked to please stop making that noise.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I wrote a song in high school about a street kid who becomes a Supreme Court justice and dies in a bar fight.
“The Ballad of Andy Fahrquarth”
Now all you people come and hear
The tale of Andy Fahrquarth
He died late one night last year.
Shot up in a bar
How did he live?
Why did he die?
Andy Fahrquarth, only you know.
We must – speculate.
Describe your first gig.
My first gig was in a fourth grade talent show impersonating Lyndon Johnson. Once I got out of college I played 7 open mics a week in Chicago until my own gigs started falling into place
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I had a job that didn’t last very long fortunately, impersonating a physician on the phone selling chlamydia tests. My favorite day job was teaching tennis in Los Angeles. I taught Wilt Chamberlain, and one of the Marx Brothers’ grandkids.
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 pandemic put a pretty good damper on touring. I did a bunch of Live stream shows called “Hunkered in the Bunker” that I still do on occasion. It created a pretty tight-knit group of fans, a real community.
It also opened up time for other things. I have a couple theatrical projects I’ve been able to develop and am excited about. I wrote a song “Wings of Stone”, which Adam Levine sang, for a Judd Apatow pandemic picture, “The Bubble.” And I wrote a ton of topical sports songs for “The Tony Kornheiser Show.”
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
It may feel good and righteous to be abrasive, but when people want to give you money and put your name nice and big on the marquee, maybe the abrasiveness can wait!!