Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
Our tour vehicle in Austria is a Volvo S80, 2004. It’s the best car we ever had. Even though it’s a sedan, it still has a lot of space for our equipment. When we are touring in the US we are driving a 2002-Toyota 4runner. Must have 300.000 miles by now.
Best break-down story: A few years back, we were on the Autobahn somewhere in Germany going 100 miles/hour and a wheel of our station wagon literally broke off. The vehicle came to a screeching halt after 300 meters. Nobody was hurt. The guys from the wrecking service were scratching their heads.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
We try to get healthy food whenever possible. Heike is vegetarian so greasy fast-food is a no-go.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I rarely break strings.
Where do you rehearse?
We have converted our garage into a rehearsal space. A few good old amps, a little PA and nice oriental rugs on the concrete floor. And a window looking out into the desert hills.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
Sorry, I don’t remember.
Describe your first gig.
Ditto.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I used to be a part-time journalist and a filmmaker. Those jobs were quite OK. On the less glamorous side of the spectrum, I remember myself selling vegetable slicers and door-seals.
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?
We are lucky that our fans actually buy our records and mostly don’t do Spotify.
About 10 years ago CD sales started to go down dramatically. On the other hand, we are selling more vinyl than ever these days. As for the future – things are changing quickly. I think there will always be a certain demand for physical records.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
I do think that I know a lot more than I did when I started out. But I still feel that being a musician is a privilege and I just hope I will never know enough to make me change my mind.