Photo credit: Grant Herbek
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
When I’m touring with the band, we roll in a 42-foot 1982 Eagle tour bus. The bus is called The Patterson. It’s named that because I bought it from a guy named Patterson. It’s got a few hundred thousand miles on it. No bunks, we stay in hotels. Three lounges and two pull-up bars — one for doing pull-ups and one for drinking. It’s got some fixed amps and shit to play and sing through while we travel. When I’m performing solo, I drive a black 2013 Police Package Interceptor. My son bought that for me at a police auction. I call that one The Pig.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
I don’t eat much, and when I do, I eat alone. Cursed with a narrow esophagus, I only eat between 2:00 AM and 3:15 AM… I stretch it out for about an hour, and then I un-can and consume the fish of the day. Keep in mind, I attend ALL the meals my bandmates eat. They eat mostly chicken and vodka.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I break around 10 strings a year. I get my strings from the great Curt Mangrum. He’s nice enough to provide me strings free of charge. They are great strings. When you play guitar at my level, people tend to give you things when they see you play — coats, gloves, traveling money.
Where do you rehearse?
See above answering regarding touring vehicle.
And we rehearse in a bar out near the highway. All the gear is set up all the time. There is a PA, and Cathy, who owns the bar, will turn everything on before we arrive. We have a two-drink minimum for day rehearsals, and a three-drink minimum for evening rehearsals.
Shortly after the first quarantine ended, we began rehearsal in the early evening, and Cathy asked us to wrap up by about 8 o’clock because she had a private party coming in. It turned out to be a bachelorette party for one of the girls that once worked at The Fould’s Macaroni Factory. We recognized each other from the 16-inch League! The bachelorette and her crew asked us to stick around and play some songs and have some drinks — we all shut the place down about 10 hours later — friendships were rekindled, romance bloomed, dance moves were created, and not a dollar was exchanged.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I honestly can’t remember.
Describe your first gig.
Three songs, standing on the bar at The Artist’s Cafe in New Orleans, Louisiana. No PA, no pay, no pride. There was a singer named Ray Crimm sitting at a table, and he closed for me. Several handsome ladies who were in town attending a real estate conference heckled me from a little booth. I called home after I played and reported a victorious debut.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I was the doorman at The Park Hyatt on Water Tower Square in Chicago for almost 14 years. I quit just before I got a signed by Universal Records and had to take a pay cut.
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?
My income has been up and down and down and down and up and down. Today it is up, but I expect it to be down five years from now, but not down from where it is right now, down from where it will be in four years, which I’m sure will be way, way up from where it is right now.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
The fat string goes on top. And I now know with certainty that songs can bring joy, help suffering people forget their struggles, infuriate oppressors, make fun of the arrogant, call out injustice, shine a light on hypocrisy, and encourage dance, love, and lovemaking.