Photo credit: Lisette Rooney
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
I have a 2008 Toyota Yaris that was donated to me by the family of one of my guitar students about 10 years ago. It’s got about 122,000 miles on it, most of which I put on myself. In all this time, it’s only broken down on me once, while driving from Boston to Brooklyn for a gig. We were lucky that the car began to fail right at a highway exit with a mechanic nearby. The car was fixed over several hours, I paid the bill with a credit card and we walked into the venue in New York about 10 minutes before set time.??For longer tours, such as when I go from New England to Mississippi, I have been lucky to have a lot of help, because I’m really not sure my car would make it. On the last tour, one of my students drove us down and back in his car. I’ve also borrowed a car from my in-laws. Nobody can do everything themselves – artists need help… and I’ve been lucky to get it in a number of places.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
One of the ways I cope with the anxiety of touring is by eating less…. I’m not sure it’s the healthiest strategy. Generally, I try to make sure that I always have bread and peanut butter on hand, because it can be hard to find vegetarian food in the deep south. Also, I always make sure to bring my own coffee, which is absolutely crucial to my sense of well being. ??If there are vegetables to be had, I try to take advantage. Also, one of my touring policies is to essentially follow the example of my traveling partner, the great percussionist Grant Smith. In general, I find that he pretty much always makes good, health-conscious decisions about what to eat and when. I don’t like to eat before singing, which tends to mean a lot of late night meals… but if I can follow Grant’s wise example, I usually do. I’m not always the best advocate for myself… and that’s something I’m working on, slowly.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
On average, I don’t break any strings in a year. I use a few guitars and I play pretty lightly, which I find is part of the way I want to sound. I also don’t like changing them…. In part, because I like the sound of old strings… also, because I find it tedious, especially on the 12 string, which is my main instrument onstage.
Where do you rehearse?
I have a music room in my home, where I do all my practicing and recording. This is a luxury after years of practicing in dingy, dirty, druggy spaces in and around Boston, when I was younger. These days, I don’t often get to rehearse with the musicians I collaborate with, because I live 70 miles away from the city. However, this can sometimes be an exciting way to keep things fresh, as long as I stay in good shape with regular practice on my own. And lately, I try to get about 90 minutes a day or more, if I can.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I think that may be too far back for me to remember…
Describe your first gig.
It was a pool party in high school, in which we played originals and covers… probably by artists like Black Sabbath, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
My last non-music job was working in the gallery at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston… back in 2005… unless you count working in the music department at the Boston Public Library, which I did in 2007. At the ICA, I stood in the gallery next to the art. At the BPL, I shelved books, archived 78s and very occasionally handled old manuscripts. I also worked as a dishwasher, as a barista in a tea house and was a professor’s assistant for a time. I also worked in a mail room and for a couple of years in high school, I worked in a guitar shop, where I practiced a lot behind the counter and asked the guitar teachers many questions while they took their breaks. I loved assisting the professor, but the music shop was a really great place to work.
Now, as a full time musician, I work day and night, just about seven days a week… during the day I write emails, post on social media, practice, teach lessons…. And at night, if I’m not performing, I am also teaching, working online, or recording. It’s every hat, kind of all at once, every day, all week long. Some days are longer than others and some seasons are busier than others, but I essentially feel that I’m almost always working in one form or another. Part of the job now, I believe, means learning how to create more structure and boundaries, because rest and time away is important to staying focused. It’s all a work in progress…
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?
It rises and falls, depending on the season, as well as what kind of work I’m engaged in. I really just try to take things month by month and anticipate that there are busier and quieter seasons. I seek to balance reinvesting in myself what I make along with making sure I save, as well. Some months I can do both, sometimes it’s hard to do either. But I try to stay connected to an overall sense of wellness and abundance, to avoid an impoverished mindset and to trust the goodness of the musical path. I find that as long as I’m organized around helping others (whether that’s teaching, producing, or creating music with a sense of offering), that I receive all I need in return. And I trust in a sense of goodness that will keep me going as long as my intentions and motivations are clear and positive.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
That success is not defined by status or wealth, but rather by purity of motivation, clarity of purpose, the ability to realize a vision and relationship one has with their audience. I believe that if you can share with the world who you truly are, with a motivation to give, rather than to get, then music will bless you and sustain you.