Q & A
What was the first album you ever owned on vinyl?
I inherited a strange and diverse batch of records from my folks to start my record collection. Unearthed gems from their basement, such as (2 copies) of Linda Ronstadt’s Greatest Hits, Laura Nero’s first record, a handful of James Taylor records, a GIANT Time-Life boxset of classical music, Beatles’ Abbey Road, and a Supremes compilation, amongst others. The first record I purchased may have very well been a copy of Grateful Dead’s ‘Europe ’72’
What have you been listening to lately?
The recently played stack of records next to my turntable is as follows: Purple Mountains – S/T // Lambchop – ‘This (Is What I Wanted To Tell You)’ // Glen Campbell – ‘Hey, Little One’ // Silver Jews – ‘Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea’ // J.J. Cale – ‘5’ // Damien Jurado – ‘The Horizon Just Laughed’ // JPKS -‘Constant Stranger’ // King Eric & His Knights – ‘Calypso Encores’ // Natural Child – ‘Okey Dokey’ // Phosphorescent – ‘Pride’ // Mort Garson – ‘Plantasia’ (we’ve recently been using the first track off this record as walkout music for some shows, which really sets a tone…), and of course, Linda Ronstadt’s Greatest Hits…
Where is your favorite place in the world and why?
Right at this moment in time, Pine Creek Lodge in Paradise Valley – south of Livingston, MT. They don’t call it Paradise Valley for no reason. If you know, you know…
What is the best live show you’ve seen, and why was it the best?
Dexateens at J.J.’s Bohemia in Chattanooga (~2010 maybe?). We were opening for them on one of our first tours – the show was one of the most engaging, raucous, and completely ridiculous things we had ever seen, then it ended with the band fighting itself! Legitimately. Totally insane. It really opened my eyes to what a rock and roll show can be – up to that point, I had had some ideas about what I thought one was ‘supposed’ to be, and what I found that night was that was the completely wrong line of thinking altogether…
What are some things you have to have on the road with you?
A good water bottle, a good pair of sunglasses, a good cup of coffee, a long phone charger, a portable speaker, good headphones, a good pen, hopefully a good book, good snacks, Emergen-C’s, 5HR Energies, and a good stash of clean undies/socks…
What is the craziest thing that’s happened to you on the road?
If you come see us in person, we’d be happy to tell you a plethora of stories that are not suitable for print. They are chock full of all-night adventures, brushes with law enforcement, brushes with ghosts, sketchy drives, strange coincidences, seedy hotel rooms, seedier venues, illicit substances, licit substances, combustibles, and various states of undress.
What album do you play on repeat, and what do you love about it?
The live recordings of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Review is one of many – I wish so badly we could have been on that tour! The band is amazing and it also sounds like they don’t give a shit! And I mean that in the best way. The spirit of the tour itself spills out into the live versions of those songs. I totally love it. More tangibly, I hope we can recreate that same energy someday on a similar tour of our own.
If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?
At this moment – Neil Young or 2Chainz. Why not?
