Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
In keeping with today’s age of minimalism, we sold our touring vehicle. I found that most of my tour dates were fly-ins, and we were paying insurance, registration, and maintenance on a 15-passenger van that wasn’t being used on the regular. I keep my eye out for our trusty old Ford E350 in Nashville, though— it has two notable dents. One on its roof from when our bass player backed it into a parking space with too-low clearance in Colorado; and one from backing it into a column at a hotel in Utah!
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
Whole Foods is our fave band food stop. Everyone can grab what they’d like—whether it’s pizza or a salad or a hot meal—plus snacks for the road. If we’re in the middle of nowhere and choices are bleak, Subway seems to be the choice for fresher ingredients.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I seem to break maybe 10 strings per year. I’m a D’Addario artist so luckily it’s not that much to replace them with the Artist price. On the road I change my strings almost every day anyway!
Where do you rehearse?
My walkout basement is my music room. It has a drum set, piano, a small PA, and plenty of space for musicians to spread out. One morning I woke up to a waterfall down there- the ice maker valve in the 1st floor fridge had malfunctioned, and the water had been flowing directly into the basement all night long! Luckily it was only cosmetic damage to the piano and mandolin, but it took me a year to get all the drywall fixed & painted, carpet replaced, etc. It was a mess!
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I remember sitting down at the piano in 6th grade and writing a song about time. I’m pretty sure it was titled “Time.” It was handwritten so I have no idea where that classic went—ha! I remember noticing how fleeting time was. And the minor melody just popped in my head with the lyric – “They say time is everything, without time I’ve got nothing at all.”
Describe your first gig.
It’s hard to say what my first gig was since I grew up performing in various ways. My first paid gig was 6th grade— $50 for playing Christmas songs at an event, and I was thrilled with that $50.
In high school I did some paid gig situations when I was an exchange student in Germany. Later in college in Ann Arbor, I was in a folk group heavily influenced by Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead. Before our first public gig, at a club called Rick’s, the bass player was mixing martinis. I remember being thrilled about the martinis to calm my nerves—but at the gig I realized I’d had way too many and was swaying to the music just a bit too much!
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I did a series of day jobs in my early 20’s. When I graduated from college, I asked my music professor how I should now spend my time in order to become a professional. Her advice was to get a waitressing job—or something else I could do at night— and to use my quality daytime hours for practicing and improving my skills. So I did what she suggested. I moved to a ski town in Colorado and got a job as a nighttime janitor. I was the only female in the crew—they were all snowboarders. I later switched to waitressing, being a real estate administrative assistant and being a private ski-in/ski-out housekeeper. I found a good apres-ski gig to try out my new repertoire 5 days a week. When I moved to Boulder I became a temp, doing anything from 40-hour-per week desk admin jobs to handing out surveys in the city bus system. That was my last “day job” — my honky tonk and bluegrass bands became full time gigs. I’d say my favorite was doing ski-in/ski-out housekeeping. I love to ski, and it was fun to see the upscale homes on the mountain.
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?
Over the past 10 years my music income shifted from primarily gigs and royalties to a lot of private teaching and coaching. I had small kids and became a single parent, so while I was writing and recording this new album, I opened up my teaching and workshop schedule quite a bit.
It’s hard to say about 5-10 years! When I read that, I realized my kids would basically be out of the house and in college; that’s hard to imagine. I’ve watched bluegrass moms like Claire Lynch who were mostly staying at home with their children as they raised them, like I did—and then were able to tour full-time again. It’s inspiring! I love touring and I cherish my time with my kids— it’s a balancing act right now.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
I’m a believer in the “now” and try to live with no regrets, but I remember taking in this story at a Travis Tritt solo concert in Nashville a few years ago. He said he showed up in town with a notebook full of original songs. And as he recorded more and got busier and busier with music recording and performance, he was able to turn to that notebook for material. I’ve found that when I’m extremely busy performing and recording, it’s difficult to find that creative headspace needed for good songwriting. It’s a great reminder for times when a musician doesn’t feel “busy enough”— write! I love finding old gems in my notebooks and voice recordings, and I wish I had many more piled away.