Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
We tour in a 1999 GMC Yukon that we love. It’s actually our second 1999 GMC Yukon. We put 400k miles on the first one before we had to put her down. We’re only halfway there with our “new” Yukon.
Only have had one major repair and that’s when the transfer case went out on the way to a gig in Yolo County, CA. That episode has been chronicled in our song “Yolo County Airport”. Barbossa Transmission in Winters, CA got it fixed during the show and we were back on the road the next day. One of the great things about a ’99 Yukon is that parts are plentiful.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
We do our research. Meal selection is a big deal in the Hawks. If you set things up right, you only really need to pay for one meal a day. You get up in time for the free hotel breakfast, no matter what. Then, hopefully, the gig feeds you that night. So the only meal you really need to pay for is lunch or a late night post gig meal if the schedule has you getting nocturnal. We look for good Indian and Thai food. We avoid Taco Bell and the like. But we do always make room for Waffle House.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I actually like my strings deader than most guitarists and I don’t play particularly hard. So I don’t change them very often. I’d say I break three or four a year. Strings are a pretty negligible cost for me. Maybe spend $75 a year on strings.
Where do you rehearse?
We rehearse in our homes. It’s either my garage, our bass player Paul Marshall’s living room, or Paul and Victoria’s studio. We wrote our song “My Parka Saved Me” during rehearsal all at once. Same with “Humboldt”. It’s important to keep the iPhone recorder going when inspiration strikes during rehearsal. You just might get a fully finished song.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
The first song I wrote for the Hawks was a bluegrass tune called “Mystery of Life”. Lyrics still seem to hold. “The mystery of life / is never ending / should a man take a wife / or face the sunrise alone / in the stillness of the night / a voice will come a calling / no matter what your means / the answer has no price”
Describe your first gig.
My first gig was at fraternity house at a nearby college. Somehow we really made them angry. Our guitar player got caught making out with one of the brother’s girlfriends. We had to lock ourselves in the bathroom and then climb out the window to escape.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I’ve done many, many day jobs: bartender, waiter, cook, telemarketer, hotel desk clerk, bank temp, lab tech, golf caddy, delivery guy, production assistant, college professor. I even once had a job harvesting eyes out of dead people. No kidding. I worked in a corneal transplant lab, wore a pager, and when a donor passed away I went to collect their eyes. Snipped the nine muscles and the optic nerve. I don’t know if that was my favorite day job but it was certainly the most memorable.
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?
The pandemic hurt us, of course. If we can’t play gigs, we lose money. Luckily, we landed a few songs in TV shows this past year and that and that really helped us out. Cobra Kai saved us. Who knows what the future will bring? Strike First, Strike Hard, No Mercy.
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 to learn more instruments when I had that young spongy brain. Each instrument is like a different language and you can never know too many. Really wish I’d studied a horn when I was a kid, great way to develop melody and lines. Practice, kids!