Photo credit: Dave Stauble
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
These days we have a Ford Transit van for very local stuff. Otherwise we rent tour buses. That way we get to the venues early, we have our own bunks and base of operations, etc.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Drink lots of water, take it easy on the alcohol, and drugs are for losers. Luckily these days many of the venues are catered. Otherwise a few of the dudes do a bit of grocery shopping for fresh produce, etc. We’ve been on the road with this band for twenty-six years, so long gone are the days of fast food and fast women. It just isn’t healthy for mind, body, or soul.
How many drum sticks do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I don’t break as many as I whittle down to an unplayable weight, or the tips crack/flatten. I use oak sticks which are very dense and they rarely tend to splinter. Sticks are about $15-20 per pair, but I buy them in bulk from ProMark.
Where do you rehearse?
It’s a corrugated steel shed which is unforgivingly hot in the summer and can get brutally cold in the winter. No wacky shenanigans really go on there. Over lockdown I would go down there by myself and just spin Oi!, punk, NWOBHM, and ‘70s Glam records, just for my own entertainment, blasting it through the PA. Aside from that, an occasional band rehearsal breaks out now and again.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
“Self Expression”: “Open your eyes and see as well as hear, you are gonna know the face of fear/You set into motion a thing that can’t be stopped, suckas don’t listen so suckas get dropped.
Describe your first gig.
Been to them since I was in the womb, but here’s the first one I remember: The driveway of our apartment building, 1977. My Dad and his friends set up in a tent for my second birthday and played some tunes (I forget which). I had my own little birthday cake my Mom made me, and I wolfed down most of it. Puked in the bowl of potato chips. Great gig.
My first gig as a musician was Halloween night, 1988 at St. Leo’s parochial school auditorium. It was Kevin Rheault (Dropkick Murphys bass player) on guitar and myself on drums. I forget if he sang or not, but we covered AC/DC, the Sex Pistols, and the Misfits if I remember correctly.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Twenty-five years ago was the end of my normal day job, which was working night shift unloading trucks at a grocery store, and stocking the goods on shelves. It sucked.
My favorite day job was working for my Dad at Kelly Finishing Products in Leominster, MA when I was a kid. It was nice spending time with him.
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?
Luckily, the band has gone from strength to strength as far as popularity goes, and our income has increased…. which is good considering I’ve got a son now!
I have no idea what it could look like in a half or full decade— there could be any one of a few trajectories the band might follow, so I can only hope that the band remains as popular as we are as long as we’re able to play our instruments.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Pay more attention to drum lessons and practice more with a metronome! I look back at so many gigs and albums where I can hear the tempo going all over the place… it drives me nuts.
Also, if I had paid more attention to my drum lessons, I think I’d be a hell of a much better drummer than I am now. Alas and alack, woulda’ coulda’ shoulda’, but didn’a. Upwards and onward! There’s no time like the present to get practicing!