Photo credit: Sekondtry
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
Our touring vehicle, named “Sonny,” is a 26 foot 2003 Jayco Greyhawk RV. We bought it with 25k miles on it and over the last 3 years have put over 200k miles on it. He’s a work horse – and hasn’t had any MAJOR issues (knock on wood). Duct tape is holding a majority of things together and we save our hotel room key cards to shove in places that rattle while on the highway. Our generator quit working this summer while touring the southern US – that meant no AC. And no AC meant for a lot of uncomfortable nights and even more uncomfortable days. But the tour rolls on – and Sonny has our back!
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
It’s safe to say that our road diets aren’t ideal. Fast food keeps us running for the most part. Every few tours we all decide we’re going to try to be more healthy – and it usually lasts for a few days, but inevitably the Big Macs call us home.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
Lots. Except for the upright bass, although Jesse has had his fair share of string explosions on stage. Luckily, we have an endorsement with D’Addario – and they keep us strung up and ready to roll!
Where do you rehearse?
Our rehearsal space has changed locations many times over the past 7 years. Our most consistent spot is either hotel rooms – which hotels love. Ha. Or the RV. Something about stringed instruments going 65 down the interstate that really makes ’em sing.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
The first song we wrote as a 5 piece band was a tune called “Where I Stand.” Line from the song: “Stumbled on a worn railroad, these wooden ties are something to hold. Calling from an old pay-phone, that’s heard a century of promises broke.”
Describe your first gig.
Our first gig as a five piece was at a small bar in Belleville, IL called the Blue Agave. All of us were pretty much strangers going into it – but the music and energy of that night was incredible. We all woke up the next morning thinking we should probably do that again, and again.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
We had a pretty wide variety of “real jobs” prior to taking this band on full time. Ryan Murphey, banjo, was a horticulturist and worked at the St. Louis zoo. Justin Wallace, Mandolin, was an archeologist and digging the rich Native American land surrounding Cahokia Mounds. The rest of us just did odd jobs here and there while playing music.
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?
As the band’s popularity has grown – so has the income. We aren’t comfortable or sitting pretty by any means, but we aren’t starving like we were. In the early days we were booking 250+ shows a year just to make ends meet, sleeping in our cars in Walmart parking lots and generally very, very broke. Now, we’re still fairly broke – but we’re broke in a hotel room.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Traveling is tough. I think in the beginning we had this naive perception on touring – but as it turns out, it is a very difficult way of life. It puts a pretty hard strain on relationships, mental and physical health among many other things. We probably wouldn’t trade it in for anything – but I think being better prepared early on could have been beneficial overall.