Photo credit: Shelly Swanger
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
We travel in a 2005 Prevost bus that we bought a couple years ago. After spending many years with 6, 7, then 8 people in a tiny RV it feels good, so good that it took a few months to get the celebrating out of our system and settle down and get some rest in it.
We had a converted shuttle bus that we travelled in for a while. As we were leaving a hotel in Nashville one morning a crew of older ladies flagged us down thinking it was the airport shuttle; looking back, we should’ve brought ’em on board and given them a shuttle ride they’d still be talking about.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
As far as eating goes, we usually try to raid the dressing room/catering of anything edible that’s not nailed down and stock the bus with that.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
We go through a lot of strings, mostly in the summer when one set will have your strings completely gummed up and dead.
Where do you rehearse?
Our rehearsal space is usually on board the bus, either parked or in motion. It’s gets tight but that’s when it sounds best.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
“Summer’s Gone” was among the first songs I ever wrote, back in college at UNC; something about “barns hooked up to satellite dishes, old trucks with cell phones keep me wishing for a time, in my mind, so sweet and slow.”
Describe your first gig.
Our first gig was downstairs at Linda’s Bar & Grill in Chapel Hill, NC. It was packed! All our friends showed up until people were standing on the bar, standing on stage, wherever. We only knew about 10 songs, so we just ran through those a few times and nobody seemed to mind too much. We got paid in beer and chili cheese fries.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
My last day job was as a reading teacher at Orange Co. High School. While I’d always wanted to teach, I had no training at all and was not good. I think I enjoyed banging nails more.
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 funny thing about making more money as a band is that you start spending more too, whether it’s management, publicity, booking, or travel/gear/crew. But we have some great people in place, and I wouldn’t want to be without any of them. In 10 years, I’d be so happy to make what I do now, but in about half the shows so I could see my wife again.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
I guess I wish I had focused more on the emotional side of the music as much as the technical side when I was younger. These both inform each other, but given a choice, feeling wins.