Photo credit: Caitlin Greene
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
Right now we are the proud owners of a Ford Transit. 12 passenger, medium roof. Nicest vehicle we’ve ever had by far. Thankfully it’s never broken down.
Our first tour vehicle was a Winnebago and that thing broke down ALL the time. We all lived in it, so spend more than one night sleeping in impound lots or mechanics parking lots.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Good food is really important to us. We try to have a breakfast together every morning before driving. We’ll eat anything, and it’s almost wonderfully surprising how much great eating there is out there.
And when hungry strikes and money is scarce, there’s always sardines in a bowl with some greens. I call it The Feasting Bowl. I eat that every day, and boy does it make you feel good.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I don’t play the guitar, so thankfully it’s zero for me. My accordion needs to be worked on once or twice a year, though. Replacing and tuning reeds, and whatnot. That probably costs around $500 a year or so.
Where do you rehearse?
These days we rehearsing in my brother Ian’s church. It was built in the 1800s (by one person supposedly). We’ve also recorded our last several records there. Before that we rented garage bay on a pig farm, and before that was a chicken coop. We are moving up in the world.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
First song! That has definitely disappeared into the mists of time. One of the earliest songs I can remember that I wrote was about a farm girl that I thought I was in love with. I was an angsty, lovesick teen.
The song was called ‘Farm Girl’ and the first line was ‘I fell in love with a farm girl’. Genius stuff.
Describe your first gig.
I remember my first gig with the band was actually in NYC at a place in the East Village called the Living Room. I was 20 I think, and I remember it being incredibly fun and rewarding. It was my first time ever really hanging out in New York City. I found the town utterly terrifying but also intoxicating.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I’ve been doing tree work for the last several years. Especially during the pandemic. I bought a chainsaw and some ropes and went to work. It’s incredibly difficult and rewarding work. I love being in the woods, I love trees, and I love cutting them down.
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?
The first 2/3rds of our career we were constantly broke and in debt and stressed about money. It was a perpetual source of anxiety and misery. We only survived from doing odd jobs and the kindness and generosity of friends
But at some point things sorta loosened up and in the last 5 or 6 years or so, I’ve been able to pay my rent without sweating it too much (the pandemic notwithstanding). I don’t think I’ll ever be anywhere near wealthy but lately I’ve been able to play music and have a comparatively stress-free life. I’d very much like to continue that.
Being broke just sucks so much, and I know the pit of poverty is always ready to suck me back in. I pray I can circumnavigate it successfully for the rest of my life.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
I wished I knew how much fun playing music was when I was younger. There were many years when we first started, that we were so busy, and so worried about money and housing. We were trying to make it through crazy long tours. Just sitting down and playing the piano and singing and writing felt stressful.
These days it’s all I want to do is sit at my piano, and I derive SO MUCH pleasure and meaning just from the act of playing music for myself. I wish I had cultivated that feeling earlier in my life. Music is fun.