Photo credit: Mike Lee
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
We drive a Ford Transit van with a trailer. This van was new last year, so it’s got around 40k miles on it. Thankfully we haven’t broken down with this one, but we’ve had plenty of breakdowns in the past. One that was notable was in South Carolina on the way to a music festival. The van needed repairs we couldn’t do on the side of the road and we put word out on social media that we were still trying to get to the festival if possible (over an hour away). A fan of ours who was camping at the fest jumped out of her camper, came and picked up the trailer and all of the band just in time to play the last set of the night at the festival. It was pretty epic.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
We all agree on Mexican and Thai food. Those two options are usually consistent and you can find healthy possibilities without breaking the bank most days. We have a pretty well-calibrated inner map of where the better Mexican and Thai restaurants might be geographically, but it could cause controversy.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I change my strings enough to keep from breaking them, but I usually buy guitar strings in bulk. I’d say I go through 25-30 sets per year on my acoustic. Full price would be about $200. Banjo strings don’t wear out as quick, but I also have 3 banjos onstage a lot of the time. I don’t know, I try not to think about the costs of strings. Does that make me financially irresponsible or an artist? You decide.
Where do you rehearse?
I have a lot of rehearsal spaces. I go through phases with space. Sometimes I’m practicing in front of the wood stove this time of year. We have a separate living room where I often practice next to my dog, Doc, in view of the street out front. Something about seeing the cars roll by sometimes keeps my rehearsal productive. But my office is where I do the most work. It has all the instruments, amps, books, and photos. When I’m writing or learning something new, I tend to act out some kind of artistic desperation, like I can’t possibly clean up after myself, eat, drink, or spend time organizing. Due to this habit, my office space is full of scrap papers, and piles of books nudged to the side to make space for today’s project. Every few weeks (has it been months?) I’ll clean up and really set it back to an organized space, but the clutter is all a part of the process. If I ever have a beautifully curated rehearsal space, I’ll either have become a more evolved meditative spiritual being, or I don’t really rehearse there.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
I remember an early song that started with:
sing me a song, sing me a song friend
tell me how it’s gonna be gonna be in the end
I was so satisfied with rhyme, the meaning was likely secondary. Really secondary.
Describe your first gig.
Do you count open mics? I remember having a really good time playing at an outdoor ice cream shop. It wasn’t technically a gig, more of a busking situation, but everyone was in line waiting for ice cream, so they were already happy. All we had to do was not screw that up.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
I do a little teaching these days, but my last non-music day job was working as a Prevention Educator for a Sexual Assault Center. That was probably my favorite as well. It was a great staff, working towards a set of goals they believed in. It was a need in the community and we were the only ones trained to meet it.
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?
Well, the 2 full years impacted by COVID changed everything-those are hard to draw many conclusions about. The music business revenues 10 years ago were much more connected to being able to sell music as a product. Our income is completely dependent on selling tickets to shows at this point. In 5-10 years, I think we’ll see people finding new and different ways to monetize their “brand” and the industry continuing to move away from actual music sales.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
There will never be a satisfactory rung on the ladder you’re climbing unless you, yourself, are satisfied. I’ve met people who have achieved much more and much less than me, but the motivation to make art needs to come from an inner motivation rather than a monetary one. Be still. Create. Repeat.