Tell us about your tour vehicle.
Most of the time I am in my 2014 Toyota Prius with my rescue dog, Morocco. Sometimes we sleep in it if the weather is nice. I even bought a little Prius tent that extends off of the hatchback door. If I have the band with me, I rent something bigger 🙂
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
I bring a cooler with healthy snacks from home, or I hit up a health food store along the way. Sometimes I buy those little Ramen bowls from Trader Joes and just get hot water at the gas station, it’s quick and cheap and yum!
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I can honestly count on both hands how many times I’ve broken a string. Not many over the years, thankfully, because I don’t travel with two guitars! It cost me around $40 on average because I pay my friends at South Austin Music to change them for me.
Where do you rehearse?
My house in central Austin is super tiny, so rehearsal space is kinda everywhere or anywhere. Kitchen table, the floor, the bed. But, if it’s a band rehearsal, I rent a room in town at Space Rehearsal Studio.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I was a late bloomer to songwriting. Spent most of my 20s on the road as a singer/mandolin player in a duo Jed and Kelley and Jed wrote all the songs. After I moved to Texas, I began to write down little ideas here and there. I think the first one that actually got finished was, “Raining Inside”, a song I recorded with The Trishas. The chorus was “it’s raining inside tonight, wish you were standing in my porchlight” or something along those lines. I brought this little piece and a melody to Kevin Welch and he helped me finish. It’s still a regular in my set. (Sidenote: Jed and I finally wrote a song together all these years later, it’s on this new album.)
Describe your first gig.
I actually can’t remember exactly, but I am sure it was probably in some super smoky bar in Memphis somewhere with a band Jed and I started called, Drasco. Yes, I remember now, it was the P&H Cafe on Madison!
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Last job: I was an accountant at a brokerage firm in Memphis after I graduated college. I hated it! My first job I ever had might still be my favorite: I worked at a horse stable in Germantown Tennessee where I fed and exercised the horses and cleaned out their stalls. Definitely grateful that I have been able to play music for a living for over 22 years.
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?
Well, it’s up and down all the time, always has been and probably always will be. Good thing I don’t do this for financial security!
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Slow down, take your time, you’re a lifer…. this is gonna be a marathon, not a sprint.