Photo credit: Blair Clark
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
We haven’t owned a touring vehicle in a long time; we rent these days. We put 350,000 miles on a Ford E-350 before we retired her. We had to fix just about every part of that van at some point.
Once we broke down on the side of the road during gigantic wildfires as we headed towards Vegas. That was pretty terrifying; the thick, black smoke was suffocating. Another time we skidded on snow during a blizzard in Iowa and ended up at the bottom of a gigantic embankment. Luckily, some good ol’ boys with a winch got us out. We even made it to the show on time!
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
I’ve been eating a lot of BBQ on tour recently; most of those spots have smoked chicken. That’s something that’s readily accessible around most of America, delicious and not bad for you (as long as you’re careful with what sides you order). I also eat tons of eggs on the road. Every diner can make eggs and they’re almost all gonna be decent. In November, I probably ate 5 dozen eggs on the road out West.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I never break strings (:::knocks on wood:::). Or at least, I very rarely do. I change them pretty regularly; on tour, all the guitars get new strings after 2 or 3 shows. I think my acoustic strings are maybe $7 per pack. My electric strings are left over from an old endorsement, so mercifully, those are free.
Where do you rehearse?
We rent from different rehearsal studios in town when we’re doing full band rehearsals. Sometimes, we go to Zach’s (Berkman) house and practice in his living room. Nothing crazy happens at my rehearsals as long as we don’t delay the lunch break for too long.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
It was called “Up In The Night.” I remember a little bit of it “Up in the night when there’s no one around, all alone in the night when you can’t hear a sound. I know that I, within this time, will find just a little peace of mind.” I wonder what the hell I was talking about. We were maybe twelve or thirteen, I think?
Describe your first gig.
When we were teenagers, my band used to play at the open mic at this roadhouse called The Last Great Watering Hole. Lots of the folks there were really nice to us and sort of treated the band like little mascots but every once in a while, it would get to be like that scene in Blues Brothers, where people were throwing bottles at the chicken wire, only we didn’t have any chicken wire. I got beaten up by a grown man in the parking lot of that place. After months of playing there, they offered us a real 40 minute set as long as we’d bring our friends out. We were terrible. It took me a long time to get un-terrible.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I was a security guard for an overpriced jeans store. I hated that because they never let me openly confront anyone to stop them from stealing. My job was to say stuff like “Sir, would you like to try on those pants” after he’d already stuffed 6 pairs of jeans into his bag.
One summer, all my buddies worked at the same restaurant. We’d make deliveries, bus tables, run food. Whatever they needed. Almost everyone who worked there was our age so we’d get off work and party with the same people we’d been working with all day. Whenever the kitchen messed up an order, we’d toss it in a to go box and bring it home. Those mistakes kept us fed all summer, leaving us more money for Natty Light!
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?
Some of the streaming services are now paying half what they were ten years ago (including the largest service, who we shall not name). I don’t know what’s going to happen with that moving forward, but it’s terrifying. I just keep doing what I do, making records and hitting the road (while hoping for the best).
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Don’t take suggestions from people who aren’t qualified to give you those suggestions. Be very careful who you accept notes from.