Photo credit: Bella Seastrand
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
We drive a 2001 Coachman 29-foot class C RV. It has about 120,000 miles on it. We call it Richard.
We’ve had to do a ton of work on the exhaust, engine and such but the craziest breakdown story was when our fuel pump failed in Florida. Luckily, we were staying with a friend and he had some other friends who are handy. We had just filled up the gas tank, and when we figured out that it was most likely the fuel pump, we also figured out that the fuel pump was inside the top of the gas tank. Because it’s such a big tank we couldn’t really drop it. So we had to have a very brave mechanic cut a hole in the floor of the RV directly over the gas tank and access it that way. Then it took three or four days to find a pump that would actually work for the vehicle and to install it correctly. When it finally started we were screaming and jumping up and down.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
For a long time, everyone brought bags with all kinds of healthy snacks and foods they prepared at home, but we don’t do a ton of extending touring now, and we definitely don’t bring as much food out. Honestly, a lot of the venues usually have good options for healthy food … we usually wind up, taking a fruit tray or random snacks that the venue has provided the night before too.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
Wow, good question. I maybe break about 10 strings a year at this point. I buy strings in bulk, so it’s not too pricey to replace the broken ones. But I do like to change them once or twice a week if we’re on the road.
I know our other guitarist Joe breaks a string every once in a while, too. Probably the craziest string break is when a string snaps on Joey‘s upright bass. It’s only happened once or twice – so loud!
Where do you rehearse?
We do the majority of our practicing at a studio in the basement of Joe’s parents’ house. We’ve been practicing and recording there for 25 years or so. It’s now a really nice recording studio with couches, cozy, chairs, and such. We were really lucky that his parents were so supportive and let us jam almost anytime we wanted to. But when we first started practicing down there, it was just a basement with stuff everywhere. It had one lightbulb hanging down from the ceiling and was cold and dingy. Joe used to tell us that he thought he saw a ghost in the back corner.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I think one of the first songs I wrote was called “Queen Beautiful.” The first line was, “Queen Beautiful, you’re so full of shit, yes you are, you’ll spend your life down at the bar.”
Describe your first gig.
Joe and I played in this band called the D Side in high school. The first gig that I remember was in a club in Binghamton, New York. It was a dance club where people were definitely not gonna dig the kind of music that we were playing at the time. But the owner was a friend of a friend and he was a nice guy so he let us play upfront. A bunch of our friends from school came. It was a really funny mix of the downtown club scene and high school kids.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
The last day job I had was at a Cracker Barrel. I waited tables there for about seven or eight years on and off while Driftwood was getting started. I actually met my wife there.
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?
Wow, another great question. Actually, my music-related income hasn’t changed much in the last 5 years (besides Covid). Ten years ago, it was definitely a lot lower. Can’t say for sure how it will change in the next 5 to 10 years but I do hope it goes up. 🙂
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Trust your instincts.