Photo credit: Casey Kinney
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
Currently I’m renting generic 15 passenger vans because I had to sell my tour van last year while I was going through chemo.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Oh man, that’s really tough. It’s kinda like the classic saying about how you can only have two out of three, “cheap, quick, or quality”. But with food on the road it’s “affordable, convenient, and healthy”. Just eat vegetables any time they’re available.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
Maybe one? I play heavy gauge strings so they don’t break much but I still change the strings on all my road guitars like once a month. So maybe $250-$300 a year?
Where do you rehearse?
My rehearsal space is a neighborhood music school. I know the owner and they let me rehearse in the jam room at night. Nothing crazy really but it is fun to play in all the old “learner” equipment.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
My first song is called “Fondly”, it was released on my first record. “Everything here, used to be mine. All the mistakes, all the time.”
Describe your first gig.
My first gig playing my original music as a lyricist was the first installment of a long-standing songwriter residency that me and my bassist Billy co-hosted for years. I was asked to do it by someone who thought I was already playing my originals out, and I let them think that long enough to get the gig.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
My last non-music related job was as a Lyft driver. My favorite job was as a prep cook at a restaurant called Cafe Brazil. I had a lot of roles there throughout my employment. Expo, host, server, barista, busser, but my favorite was prep cook. I’d get there at like 5:30am and had some time to just zone out by myself and wash, cut and stock the kitchen for service. It was kind of relaxing.
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?
I’ve been surviving solely on music income since 2012 with the exception of a month in 2015 when I drove Lyft. I’ve survived on very little income over the years. I was able to put myself on a salary about 5 years ago, I’m giving myself a raise for the first time starting in a few weeks. I still don’t make as much as an average public school teacher in the US, but it’s a lot more than I’ve made in the past and I’m proud of how far I’ve come. Hopefully in 5-10 years I’ll be so rich that all my friends will be rich too…but in reality a healthy six figure income would be wonderful.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
It is about who you know. Networking is just as important as working on your craft.