Jake Blount talks about rehearsing as an apartment dweller, including renting rooms at Providence’s JamStage, where he might be playing in a room next to a dad band covering Linkin Park. He shares advice on staying hydrated on the road and discusses the benefits of a livable income stream outside of music. The fiddler, banjo player, and guitarist is pursuing a Ph.D. in Musicology and Ethnomusicology at Brown University.
John R. Miller on a New Year’s Eve Gig and Putting the Robots to Work
Nashville singer-songwriter John R. Miller remembers playing a New Year’s Eve gig at age 15, recalls time spent working in restaurant kitchens, and talks about one reason he started a career in music.
Miko Marks on Music’s Healing Power and Never Breaking a Guitar String
Flint, Michigan–born singer-songwriter Miko Marks takes us inside Redtone Records, the red-walled basement studio where she rehearses, in a house tied to the founding of East Palo Alto. She also recalls her first gig, a second-grade show with a $25 fee she never saw, and talks about the day job she still holds as social director at a tennis club.
Levi Foster on Luxury Road Food and Wanting to Be Johnny Cash
Singer-songwriter and guitarist Levi Foster, a Rustburg, Virginia native now based in Nashville, recalls writing his first song at 13 in the back of an I Spy book. He talks about framing houses with his dad and brother and living in his van when he first arrived, and shares the one thing he wishes he’d known when he started in music.
Brody Price on Camping While on Tour and Terry Allen’s Day-Job Rule
Singer-songwriter Brody Price recalls trying to “do the Todd Snider/Guy Clark thing” by playing their old rooms like the Cactus Cafe and Old Quarter, and shares the three rules he and his band maintain.
Leon Majcen on Record Release Strategies and the Downside of Truck Leases
Leon Majcen recalls getting overpaid at his first gig at 13, describes his old day job at a Nashville tree company, and explains why he tailors every show to the room that he’s playing.
Clayton Nile Young on Working at the Mayo Clinic and Learning to Talk While Tuning
Singer-songwriter Clayton Nile Young talks about his tour meal strategy — since he doesn’t hit the road often, he treats touring like a vacation and eats accordingly. He recalls the 2023 house show in Jacksonville that became his first gig, which left him instantly hooked. Young also shares the story behind his first song, “Heart vs Mind,” written while he was in radiation therapy school.
Futurebirds’ Carter King on Gas-Station Chicken Tenders and 401(k) Plans
Carter King, singer-guitarist for Athens, Georgia’s Futurebirds, talks about the sea of part-time odds-n-ends he’s taken over the years to fill the music gaps and how Howie Mandel inspired the first song he ever wrote.
Admiral Radio on a Crab Bake-Inspired First Song and the Value of Cover Gigs
Admiral Radio’s Coty Hoover and Becca Smith, a husband-and-wife Americana duo from South Carolina, share their trick for eating well on tour, recall a scare that nearly totaled the band’s touring van outside St. Louis, and talk about the philosophy that’s guided their career since day one.
Lisa Bouchelle on a Big Tour Mistake and Exercising Her ‘Poetic License’
Singer-songwriter Lisa Bouchelle recalls winning a talent contest at just four years old, dressed as an American flag at a family campground — a moment that showed music could bring people together. She shares how a friendship with Blues Traveler’s John Popper began, when he worried about her driving solo while opening for the band on her first tour. Bouchelle also talks about why it’s good to set a goal that’s just beyond the horizon.