Photo credit: Matt Horseman
Tell us about your tour vehicle. Any notable breakdown stories?
We’ve been renting touring vehicles so it’s nice to not worry about repairs and breaking down. We have owned a van in the past though. The stories that surround that vehicle are endless, but one that stands out would be hitting a deer with it in northern Ontario. While we waited for a tow truck, a local came by the scene and was interested in taking the poor deer home to eat. He asked two of us to help load it into the back of his truck. As Canadians, we have a real hard time saying no. So that was a forever scarring experience.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
We try to hit the hotels with the free breakfast buffets. Boiled eggs in a bag and oatmeal will keep you full and happy until supper time.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I would say we probably break less than a full set of strings over the span of a year. Maybe 2 or 3 each. So I suppose throwing on another set will run us about 15 dollars each. Maybe $20 for the 12 string. We should probably be changing them more often but a set of strings isn’t cheap when you’re buying them all the time!
Where do you rehearse?
We have a basement rehearsal space with all the necessities; Persian rug, white board, warm lighting, The Smashing Pumpkins, Swans and George Harrison posters.
Nothing particularly crazy has happened there, but there’s definitely magic. We wrote and recorded our debut record in this space over a period of 9 months, so it will always be a special place for us.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
When we were 13 we wrote a song called “EA”. The song was roughly seven minutes long and contained only the chords E and A. Most of the lyrics escape me now but I remember the “chorus” lyrics were “I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid”. Clearly we were afraid of that third chord.
Describe your first gig.
Our first gig was at a beauty contest in our hometown. We played two Creedence Clearwater Revival songs. We were in 8th grade and absolutely terrified.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Two of us are letter carriers with the Canadian Postal Service and have been for about half a decade. The mail never stops! But it’s a great way to get your exercise in. Newman paints a pretty accurate depiction of the job actually.
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?
Whatever money we make goes back into the machine to pay for recording, touring, and everything else that costs money. It’s a constant investment. They say it costs money to make money, and we’ve got the first part of that covered.
It’s tough to have any expectations in the music industry. You just have to roll with the punches, keep your side of the street clean and see what happens.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Having understood beforehand that it’s all peaks and valleys, would have prepared us much better mentally for the journey. We now know to be grateful for the highs and how to work through the lows.