Photo credit: Elizabeth O Baker
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
We like to “travel light” on the road, so we always rent a 15 passenger van, no bells and whistles, just the basic model. When you go for basic there’s less to go wrong LOL!
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
This is always a tough one… we often joke that being out on the road is a little like being a “nomad” or “hunter gatherer”. You are always on the search for sustenance haha! We try to seek out health food stores or good lunch spots and have healthy snacks in the van, this is super important if you have any hangry band mates.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
We’re an Americana band so not a lot of string breaking, BUT we do rock on occasion.
Where do you rehearse?
We rehearse at our home studio, when we lived in LA we always had a practice space but moving to Nashville we were able to get a bigger place where we can keep the PA and instruments set up. The vibe is great and makes it that much easier… as they always say “practice makes perfect.”
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
Oh wow, maybe not the first song but we have an old jam called “High School”… one of the lyrics is “On the bathroom wall chicken scratch and scrawl”.
Describe your first gig.
First gig, we played a lot of our first shows in LA at a coffee shop called Highland Grounds. They had an open mic night and if the booker liked you, he gave you a show. Shortly after our first open mic they started booking us pretty regularly. We were featured on the cover of the LA Weekly, it was an article about the Folk Music/Coffee Shop scene… needless to say we thought we had “made it”… “Look Mom we’re in the LA newspaper” haha!
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
As well as being musicians we also own/operate a few event spaces. We started our first business 10 years ago here in Nashville and have opened two more. Being a small business owner is very similar to being in a band, you gotta wear a lot of hats, but it’s really fun to work in a creative environment that’s totally different from music.
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 has always ebbed and flowed which is why it’s good to have multiple streams of income… you always need a “side hustle” for the “side hustle.”
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Write, play, sing and make the kind of music that feels good to you. Enjoy every moment and just remember to have fun.