Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
This is my 6th bus, a 2001 Prevost. This bus has 1,000,600 miles or so on it! The other buses have over 3 million miles on ’em, too many breakdowns in 48 years to mention! A couple of crashes but no one was hurt but lots of bus damages! Our bus blew its engine after Mount St Helens volcano eruption in 1980.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
To eat healthy we stop at super markets and have fruits available on the bus to snack on! Stay away from fast food places and skip lunches!
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I break very few strings and have an endorsement deal with John Pearce.
Where do you rehearse?
We have our own recording studio called “Bismeaux Studio!,” we rehearse there!
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
First song: The Rodeo Song, and the lyric is “I never thought I’d worship an idol of despair”
Describe your first gig.
First gig: Opened for Hot Tuna, Alice Cooper, and Stoneground in 1970 Washington DC
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
My only job was an apprentice editor in 1969 in NYC for 4 months.
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?
AATW is doing well the pandemic cut our income by 75% but with the PPP program we were able to make it through.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
I wish I’d known how crooked the radio TV world was!