Photo credit: Joe Hottinger
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
We have had so many over the years! From ex highway- maintenance LDV Vans, Ram Truck and 90s Volvos to touring the breadth of the States in a four door Kia sedan!
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
We try to check out cool local areas for heathy restaurants en route and then try to stop at large stores or supermarkets rather than rely on service station food. The occasional early morning drive through Egg Muffin breakfast is essential.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
Chris is lucky enough to have Elixir Strings endorsement so despite breaking strings constantly (as he uses a thumb pic!) we are sorted on that front.
Where do you rehearse?
As a duo we just tend to rehearse whenever we may be! At home, hotel rooms, backstage. Occasionally we would hire a space to rehearse from if we needed a full band set up but we are also professionals at winging it!
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I have no idea. I think the first full song I ever wrote was probably at the age of around thirteen and had lyrics written by my mother!
Describe your first gig.
On stage at 3am at a dive bar in Shoreditch (London) to a very drunk crowd! And a ‘Disco load out’ to make it truly stressful – We thought we had made it!
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
We have been very lucky to have been full time musicians in various capacities for a very long time now but in our formative years Chris worked trading vintage and rare guitars and I was a nanny and waitress- all the cliches!
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?
We have really seen our live fees really increase as our profile grows but the pandemic has been a struggle for all touring musicians and a real eye-opener as to how streaming has desecrated the working musicians’ earnings. We hope we’ll see a fairer distribution of streaming royalties.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
We were lucky to start our careers when we were young so had a lot of time to learn about the highs and crashing lows of the music industry the hard way but without it being irresponsible! I think it’s good to realize early on how much of yourself you have to commit for often little gain and that you should never have to compromise on your art. To be honest I think it was better to go in a little blind as a teenager with completely pure intentions of playing live music with friends. I would always advise anyone going into the industry to have a good lawyer though..!