Photo credit: Seyl Park
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
Personally, I have a SWEET 2015 Chrysler Town & Country. It’s the mullet of vans; both town, AND country. I use that to drive the 2 miles to my weekly gig at 185 King St where I record my podcast, The Travis Book Happy Hour. I’m also answering this question from a bed I built in the back as I’m on a little van-cation exploring South Carolina this week.
The Stringdusters have done all manner of 15 passenger vans but now we do busses and planes. When we rent mini-vans we call them “money-vans” because when you tour in mini-vans you actually get paid! (Buses are insanely expensive).
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
I have a friend who tours and he lives exclusively off what he can score free in the green room. He has more money than me and he’s also much fitter. As for me, I usually skip breakfast, opt for plants/salads, drink as little as possible (which sometimes is still a whole lot!), and avoid expensive restaurants unless I’m somewhere where there is a legendary spot or oysters.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I’ve only ever broken one bass string. I use a set for 5-10 years.
Where do you rehearse?
My rehearsal space is my office/studio/bedroom. I put them all in the best room in the house. It’s south-facing so there’s a ton of light. I love light. I have a lot of instruments out, in the rack, on the walls, and I’m usually trying to play the one that I’m going to be gigging on soonest most. Crazy experiences? Not really. Practice, rehearsal, recording, planning shows, developing interviews is all pretty mundane stuff.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I think it’s called “Rise and Shine”. There’s some gems in there like “it’s 6am dawn is breaking the sky is red and the moons going down… all my brothers and sisters are waking and baking and set to be shaking the roots of this town”. Pretty classic wookish 18yr old stuff.
Describe your first gig.
I played “Under the Bridge” (RHCP) at my church with my dudes when I was 13. My dad was not impressed.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Last day job was selling bikes and clothing at an outdoor store in Nashville. I worked in ski shops for years; spent a lot of time selling people gear they didn’t need.
Favorite day job was cutting the fairways on a golf course. I would write in my head and cut stripes from 6-2pm then have afternoons free. If I need a job again, this is the one I’ll try to land.
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?
This seems like a personal question… I make enough money to buy a used mini van, a couple bikes, a 1500 square foot ranch and Squire guitars. I can afford to send my kids to camp one week a summer. I have a little in savings and a small but respectable retirement fund setup by the business manager of the Stringdusters. I do ok. Billy Strings does a lot better! I never expected to make much money playing music and I don’t expect to make much more than I do. To all aspiring musicians, do what Graham Parker told Paul Rudd in This is 40 and KEEP YOUR OVERHEAD LOW.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Music is not a meritocracy. There’s no accounting for taste. Anything you can learn about the business of music will benefit you. The journey IS the destination. There will always be gigs that are better and gigs that are worse. Name your band carefully. The day is ripe with opportunity. Open eyes, open ears, head on a swivel.