Photo credit: Emma Delevante
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
We had a lot of old vans over the years. One in particular, I think our first was a 70s Chevy van that broke down a lot. The things that come to mind are being stuck on a dark road with no flashlight to be see anything so we used drum cymbals to reflect light from the headlights so we could work on the engine. The other memory was once on our way to a show at a club on the Jersey shore, we broke down and had to be towed to the venue. The tow truck driver backed us right up to the loading dock of the club. He had to meet us back there to take us home.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
We never ate healthy on the road. Our goal was to always find the most interesting out-of-the-way/authentic/dive restaurant we could find. A few guys played in our band over the years that had toured so much they knew every place in every little corner of the US: Paul Griffith, Lorne Rall, Bryan Owings to name a few. They were experts. I suppose the dive aspect made sure it was cheap.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I have never broken a string on stage. If you turn up really loud you don’t have to hit the strings that hard.
Where do you rehearse?
Our original rehearsal space was in the industrial area in the back of Hoboken, NJ. It was in a factory that made old-fashioned wallpaper and the chemical smell was pretty over the top. We always worried it would one day burst into flames. (I think it did some years later) But it was a great spot. Plenty of room, no one around and it was cheap. We had huge New Year’s Eve parties in there and we shared the space with some really interesting bands: Chris Butler of the Waitresses, Kenny Margolis and Lucky 7.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
The title was “Maybe Tomorrow”
The lyric to the chorus was “Maybe tomorrow, may be too late”
Describe your first gig.
Our first band was a pseudo bluegrass band named Wreckless Abandon. We were all high school friends. We played at a little bar off Route 4 in Garfield, NJ. We didn’t have any mic stands so we duct taped microphones to some odd things we could find in our basements: a movie screen projector stand, an artificial Christmas tree (without the branches of course) and a birdcage stand.
What was your last day job?
Graphic designer
What was your favorite day job?
My first job was working for a pet store one summer when I was 12. I really liked being around animals all day.
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 never really thought about money when it came to anything I did. Not sure if that’s good or bad but I had a Dad who was in business, he had his MBA and worked for a lot of companies over the years: General Motors, etc. He had two sons that were both visual artists and musicians. But he and my Mom always loved what we did, they were super supportive of everything. My Dad once said “do what you love, the money will come.” I always took that to heart. Looking back I thought that was pretty cool coming from someone of his background.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
I wish I had been maybe a little less stressed and concerned about everything. With this record I wrote the songs and made it without any purpose in mind other than to just express some ideas musically. I didn’t try to shop it or anything like that, just played it for a few people. Then it got picked up by a label, Guy Clark’s Truly Handmade Records, and I’ve really been pleased with the press we’ve gotten lately.