Photo credit BnB Studios – Buio Assis
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
“Chevy Chase” is our 2012 Chevrolet Express 3500 van. It’s rusted within an inch of its life and about to cross 500k on the odometer. It’s on its third engine and has driven across 9 provinces and 49 states, from northern B.C. to the Florida Keys and everywhere in between.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
We try and prioritise eating a few good meals a day—usually a decent breakfast or brunch and a nice dinner before the show. Roman is our genius meal-finder and has an incredible track record of finding good places to eat.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
You might be surprised, but very few. Joey gets most of his strings from Stringjoy; I’m not sure of the price, but he might put a new set on each guitar at the top of a three-week tour and they’ll last for most of it. I (Dave here) never change my bass strings. The gunk keeps the funk in!
Where do you rehearse?
Recently we’ve been rehearsing at Roman’s studio, which is in a bedroom on the third floor of his house. It’s a smaller space, but it’s really comfortably laid out, and he’s set it up to be really quick to fire up. From getting in the door to making noise takes less than 5 minutes. It’s awesome.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I don’t remember!
Describe your first gig.
Man, I don’t really remember that one either, to be honest! It might have been at the Cavern, which was a basement bar in Osborne Village that we used to play at a lot. It was below a pub called The Toad in the Hole and was an homage to the Cavern Club where the Beatles got their start (the owner, Mick, was an enormous Beatles fan). We had a standing house gig there with another band we were in (Dr. Hotbottom and the Soul Prescription) on Tuesdays for almost ten years in the early 2000s.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
The last one I remember was working part-time in the warehouse of an electronics store that a keyboard-playing friend of mine, Aaron Chodirker, manages. He’s made a habit of finding work for his musician buddies when we’re “between gigs”.
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?
It really hasn’t changed that much! As artists we get used to living like cockroaches, and that’s still true for me, mostly. I’ll say that the quality of living has gone up, though. Touring is a bit more comfortable now than it was. We don’t have to share beds on tour now (though we still do two to a room). We eat at nicer restaurants (no more fast food) and stay at slightly more comfortable hotels (say Holiday Inn instead of Red Roof).
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Probably a lot of things, but the adventure is all about figuring that stuff out as you go. I wouldn’t have wanted to spoil any of the fun!