Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
For years I drove a Ford Econoline Van. During a snowstorm I skidded off the highway and rolled the van in the mountains of East Tennessee. Since then, I have driven Toyota Corollas exclusively. They are little work horses, great on gas, and I’ve learned to pack two guitars, a sound system, all my merch, and even another passenger and their luggage sometimes. My current Toyota now has over 200,000 miles. I average 40,000 miles a year. Right now the car needs new tires and new suspension. Other than that, repairs are merely what one would expect given all the miles accumulated.
A couple of years ago a semi truck bumped into the back bumper twice in stop and go traffic. The truck driver didn’t even realize he had hit me. Once the rear bumper was repaired I drove a tour to the West coast. In Los Angeles someone side swiped the front of my Toyota knocking the front bumper off. The only thing still holding it together were the headlight wires. With the help of a friend, I managed to lift it into place and duct tape it well enough to drive it to a body shop. Rented a car and finished the tour, driving to Santa Fe NM and all the way back to LA to retrieve the fixed vehicle and back home to Nashville.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
I’ve been a pescatarian for 23 years. It isn’t always easy to find healthy food on the road. So, I travel with a cooler filled with fruit, veggies, yoghurt, cheese (I’m not Vegan). I also bring along nuts, bread, crackers, tea, coffee, an Italian stove top espresso maker, an assortment of paper plates and cups. I look for places to stay where I can cook my own meals whenever possible.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I rarely break a string. But when I do I know it’s time to change the entire set. In the old days, I changed guitar strings for every show. The new coated strings last for weeks of playing and I forget all about changing them.
Where do you rehearse?
I have a room at home with windows looking out onto the yard where I like to write and rehearse. Since I spend so much time on the road I have to grab any space available. It could be a hotel room, green room, public restroom, parking lot, basement, back porch, anywhere I can steal time away from endless self promotion and revel in the rarity of playing music.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
First song I recall writing was called “Between 32nd and 31st Street.” I wrote it at 13 and it was a predictable teenage angsty love song. I don’t remember a single line. But one of the first original songs I played out in coffee houses in the late 60s was called “Black Rain”. It was written from the Native American viewpoint.
“Although my fathers loved your land
It was stolen from their hands
And replaced by desert sands
They’ve been driven from their homes
And the only lives they’ve ever known…”
Describe your first gig.
First official gig I recall was a high school dance at St. Stephen’s in Kansas City. I think the band was called Stormy Knights. It was so short lived I can’t be positive. In sophomore year a fellow class mate of mine named John Trow happened to hear me sing along with a record at a school party. John always had a starring role in the school plays, was a debate champ, and was basically a big ham.
After hearing me sing along with the record player at a friend’s party, John invited me to join his band as a harmony singer. We practiced a few times and played our first gig. By the end of the night everyone in the band came to me and said they wanted me to be the lead singer. John came up to pay us as we all stood on one side of a picket fence. He stood on the other side with the cash in hand. Someone spoke up and told John that everyone wanted him out. He threw the money in my face and stormed off. For the remainder of high school I saw John every day and he never once spoke to me again. The band never played another gig.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
In 2019 I drove Lyft a few times. Driving downtown Nashville at night was horrifying. The last day gig I had before that was for Man Power just after we’d moved to Nashville 34 years ago. A bunch of us were picked up in a van and dropped off at an office building where we were instructed to destroy the interior walls. Everyone brought their own “tool,” hammer, crowbar, metal pipe. While I smashed away at a wall with my hammer a guy on the other side of the wall banged away with his pipe. Suddenly his metal pipe jabbed through the drywall just inches from my face and I decided not to return the next day.
My favorite job was driving a Red and White taxicab in Hollywood 1976. I drove the night shift and met a wild cast of characters. One time a prostitute and her pimp climbed into the backseat and gave me an address in West Hollywood. Along the way the pimp started punching the back of my seat yelling “I’m gonna kill that Mother F_ _ _er.” Then he whipped out a chrome plated 45 waving it around as he continued shouting the same thing over and over. I scrunched down in my seat and hurried to their destination. For the whole interminable 15 minutes the young woman spoke gently to her raging pimp, stroking his arm trying to calm him down. Soon as I pulled to the curb he jumped out before I came to a complete stop. He clamored out onto the sidewalk waving the pistol around as he continued to shout “I’m gonna kill you Mother F_ _ _ er!” The mellow prostitute counted out what she owed me and included a generous tip all the while thanking me in a sweet, soft voice. As I sped away I saw the couple in my rearview mirror, him flailing, her with her arm around his waist trying to calm him down. About one week later I quit when the old cabbie who trained me for the job was found shot dead in his cab, his cigar box of money untouched beside him in the seat.
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?
About 5 years ago my tour schedule began to slow and the mailbox money dwindled. Just before 2020 I considered taking a job as a bus driver. Then I reconnected with an old friend who had worked for years in the music business. She told me there was no way she would let me drive a bus. So, we began working together. She has been my manager ever since and now I’m touring more than ever. We have lots of plans and goals beyond touring and continue to work together creatively and productively. Mailbox money is still slim but I manage to meet the growing cost of touring and still pay the bills.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
I wish I’d known that one doesn’t have to be a household word to carve out a life of music, that nothing is worth worrying about, that there is nothing more valuable than experience.