Photo credit: Jordan Fraker
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
I almost bought a van a few months ago. I was hoping for a busier touring calendar this summer, but it didn’t work out that way. So, it doesn’t make sense to take on the burden of financing and maintaining a tour van right now. I use a peer-to-peer rental site as needed. The rental fees are cheap, and the vans come with insurance and good mileage allowances. Making some moves to get more dates booked in the future. If that happens, I may buy one and it will definitely be a 2019 or newer Chrysler Pacifica. They have this cool trick where the rear seats stow completely flat. It almost becomes a cargo van. Really easy to load. As an organ trio, we can fit all our gear and luggage in with room to stay comfortable on the drive. They’ve been reliable except for one we used last year.
We had just finished a tour through the southeast with Alejandro Escovedo and were headed back to Texas. The Pacifica we were in had been giving us some minor problems all tour and it finally broke down at a Love’s Truck Stop in the middle-of-nowhere Arkansas. The rental company found a mobile mechanic, but he was a long way away. So, we hung out with the truckers in the Bojangles Fried Chicken until he showed up. It was a cool experience. I guess we fit right in because a guy came over and asked us how he could get into trucking. Kinda cool to be mistaken for a big rig driver. The van got fixed and made it back to Dallas before quitting again about 5 miles from home. We got the entire rental for free for our trouble.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
I try to keep a tight schedule on the road because I hate being late to load in and sound check. It’s a bad look…unprofessional. So, we have to eat fast. Fortunately, a lot of the bigger truck stops and gas stations have healthier options these days…fruit cups and protein, etc.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s still a lot of cheap fast food along the way. We try to balance it out with a sit-down meal that includes something green on the plate once we get to the next city.
One trick to keep the budget lean is to take advantage of the meal buyout or hospitality if the club offers it. I also look for hotels with the free breakfast. We usually have to be up early for van call. So, breakfast is still being served and free tastes great!
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I actually don’t break a lot of strings. I’ve probably jinxed that now that I’ve said it out loud. I’ve used the same brand of string almost exclusively for the last few years, the Ernie Ball Rock-N-Roll Slinky…either 10s or 9s depending on the guitar. I can think of maybe 2 times I’ve broken a string in that time. I also change my strings regularly. So, that probably helps. I also take my guitars in for setup immediately after a tour ends.
Where do you rehearse?
We rehearse at a wonderful facility called Square Wave Live in Dallas. Our old space, as well as a few others around Dallas, closed about the same time. That left a lot of bands scrambling. We were lucky to connect with Bart Brunner, the owner of Square Wave Live. The place is fantastic! Super clean, well-lit and well managed. You can record there, too. Great for rolling on demos. Does all that count as peculiarities? The fact that it’s really clean and everything works and it’s run well…that’s rare in rehearsal spaces.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I think it was “Bathroom Walls”. It was a party song I did with my old band, The 40 Acre Mule. I used to work at a dive bar in Dallas called Double Wide and it was about that experience…not a particularly healthy time in my life. Lots of bad life choices…fun choices…but not good choices. It opens with “Saturday night at the Double Wide. I was gettin’ drunk and she was getting’ high. Somebody said it was a hell of a drug. Never really cared ‘cause I thought it was love”. I can’t really knock it because it got us into Rolling Stone. So, there’s that. I’m trying to be a better writer.
Describe your first gig.
I was in a band that wasn’t mine before. So, I’ll tell you about my first gig for a band of my own. It was the first show for The 40 Acre Mule. It was at Adair’s Saloon in Dallas…a legendary honky-tonk. Everyone cut their teeth there…Jack Ingram, Cody Jinks, Old 97s, Eleven Hundred Springs. I was so nervous. My drummer had to bow out at the last minute due to some health issues and my buddy Robert stepped in with no rehearsals. He had just listened to the songs the night before. I hid out under a ball cap and stared at the floor the whole set but we pulled it off.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Actually, I still have it…for as long as they’ll keep me. I’ve been on staff at a community college for quite a while now. I love helping kids starting school or adults coming back for their degrees. It’s really fulfilling. The school has been incredibly supportive of what I do, allowing me time off to tour. My colleagues come to shows from time to time, too. The goal is to make music my only job but it will be bitter-sweet to leave that job behind.
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?
10 years ago, I was happy to get a bar tab and a burger. That grew to maybe $250 for a show. Now, depending on the market and event, I can get into the low to mid 4-figure range. That goes right back into keeping the band going. Paying my guys, tour costs, merch, recording. I’m my own record label. A lot of artists are choosing that path until a deal comes along that makes sense. Independence is rewarding but it comes at a cost.
Sync licensing is a goal. The right song in the right movie, video game or TV show can change everything. Touring revenue will always be important but paired with mailbox money, a 5-figure guarantee per show will go a long way if I can tour the way I’d like to.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Choose your team carefully. Are you surrounding yourself with people that share your same long-term goals? Charley Crockett once told me that nobody is going to work as hard for you as you do. That stuck with me. Choose a band, an agent, a manager, a label…whatever…that is really going to hustle with you. That’s hard to find but they’re out there. Until then, do as much for yourself as you can. Don’t be in a hurry to give up control until it’s time to give up control to the right partners.