Photo credit: Daniel Sands
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
We have many modes of travel now. We primarily do bus tours and flights. But I have a sprinter van too for short, regional runs. It’s got about 300k miles on it. And it’s had tons of issues. Everything from getting bad gas and needing a new fuel system to literally every 30 days or so, a censor dies. That’s frustrating because you never know if there’s truly something wrong, and the censors are expensive to fix.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
You just do the best you can. When I’m on tour, it’s hard to eat full meals. We are moving fast, so if I miss breakfast, I might not eat till after the show. I hate performing with a ton of food in my stomach. You just try to make reasonable decisions everyday… some days you’re going to be limited.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I change strings every couple shows… occasionally I break them. Usually if I try to go for 4/5 shows on the same set. Depends on the weather too. I’ve had a great relationship with Ernie Ball and they keep my supply fully stocked.
Where do you rehearse?
I’ve been rehearsing at this spot in New Orleans primarily. It’s kind of my main hub, the place we go to is pretty nice. They have everything we need, which isn’t much. So far this year we’ve rehearsed in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Austin, and Amsterdam. So that has been a little crazy.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I truly do not remember… it was probably a garbage song that I most likely scrapped. But I definitely used pieces and parts for my first live record. Listening back, I’m torn. Because it’s all part of the journey, and growing musically, and I was very young… but I also cringe when I hear those songs.
Describe your first gig.
I used to frequent this club called Knuckleheads. I wanted to play there so badly but didn’t have much going in the way of a band. Long story short, Hannah Montana (before Miley was touring as Miley) came to town, but Ticketmaster sold out to all the hustler ticket vendors and prices were through the roof. The proprietor of the club has granddaughters who were heartbroken. So, he asked me to learn a bunch of her songs and come play at this Hannah Montana party. I was so desperate to get my foot in the door there, I did it. I spent days working on the material and those little girls ate me alive. Apparently, there is no substitute for the real thing, but I still have the t-shirt.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I used to deliver pizzas before I did this. It was good money and all cash. So, I used to deliver pizzas by day, and then hit up the jam sessions in KC at night. It really was my only day job.. I worked in the pizza field for about 4 – 5 years.
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?
My business has grown… income and expenses. The saying “more money, more problems” rings true…hopefully I’ll have even more problems 5-10 years from now.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
When I first started out, it was at the very same moment that everyone got smart phones and simultaneously got into social media. Everything I did, from that time, was documented and lived on the internet. I wish I would have realized this earlier and curated a presence and a style that was more cohesive.