Photo credit: Troy Montes
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
We tour in a 15 passenger Ford Transit with a huge trailer on the back. It’s been through a lot over the years, but it’s still going strong. It’s had tons of repairs from engine work to new tires and suspension work.
On the last tour through Vermont, the glass on the window had a freak pressure event in the mountains and shattered out of nowhere while on the freeway. That was pretty terrifying.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Eating healthier is a mix of the food we request on the concert rider along with a lot of self-control about what goes in my body. We try to stay at hotels that also have breakfast included in the rate to bring down the costs. Some gigs provide full catering, but if not, I use my daily per diem to get food from that. I try to stick to eating mostly healthy when I can. We stop at grocery stores often as well, so that really helps over always eating or stopping at fast food spots.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
Haha not too many, but in The Suffers I break 0. I’m focused on the singing and writing in this band, but I do write with my guitar at home.
Where do you rehearse?
We actually just moved from our space of the past 5 years into Chapy, my bandmate’s home. It feels great there because he and his wife Iveth have such great taste. The vibes are high there, but we are planning to build a private studio space for the band in the next year or two so we can keep growing as creators and as a production house.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
“Stay” was the first full song I wrote lyrics for. I was a teenager, and I loved writing about love and heartbreaks. The first line is “I lied when I said that I moved on, but look here baby, you still headline every song.” The lyric eventually made it to The Suffers’ debut album.
Describe your first gig.
My first gig was in church. I started singing at age 5, and at a young age, I was paid to sing at funerals, weddings, birthday parties, and more. I joined my first band at 17, and I’ve been making money in bands ever since.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
My final day job was working as a gas and power contract trade analyst at an investment bank. It wasn’t my favorite job, but I’m grateful for my old co-workers, and everything I learned while working there. My favorite day job I ever had was when I worked at Barnes and Noble. I really loved being surrounded by the sea of books and music selection that seemed so limitless at the time.
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 covid lockdowns changed everything I thought I knew about making money in the music industry. Before shutting down, the biggest checks came from touring. Now, it comes from a combination of that, sync and licenses.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
There’s room for every artist to be exactly who they want to be. If you trust yourself, your practice, your work, and everything else will fall in line.