Jon DeHart (Fight Amp)
SPB: What are your expectations, emotionally, for your final tour? How do you think it will feel different than the countless tours before this one?
Jon: I think this last tour will be about as bittersweet as we could expect. It's gonna suck to not play these songs anymore, but at the same time it's a relief because we're confident that we're ending on a high note. Fight Amp was always hyper focused on the future, so this time around it'll be nice to take some time to reflect on all the cool things we got to do over the years. We'll be lucky if I don't bust out crying.
Arrica Rose (Dear County)
SPB: Have you ever forgotten lyrics mid-song? How did you recover?
Arrica: I have forgotten lyrics. If it's my song I'll do a 2nd verse same as the 1st, use what lyrics come to mind sort of thing, or mumble a bit until they come back. If it's a cover song I'll ask the audience for help, they usually don't know either and then we can laugh about it together until I remember. Mark W. Lynn (lead guitar for Dear County) says that I should just do the funky chicken dance when I forget lyrics and they're sure to come right back to me.
Twitter: @dearcounty
CHUCK
SPB: What do you like to do on a tour off date?
CHUCK: It's kind of a funny question for me because, I've never properly toured, I've only played about 6 shows. There's a few reasons why. First and foremost, I have very little confidence in myself as a live musician. I think I can be a pretty good songwriter from time to time, but I play most instruments by ear, so my skills on stage aren't that impressive. All the live shows I have played are just me with an acoustic guitar, and as I'm getting a little older (30 next year!!) the idea of gigging on a regular basis in small rooms half full of disinterested people with just me on stage sounds exhausting and, well, kinda sad. I don't have the musical confidence for it and I don't want to feel like rejection is part of my musical equation. At the end of the day, making music is a really fun hobby for me and I don't want to ruin that. The solution would be to build a band and practice a lot and get a better live show going, but finding all the time, energy and money for that with a full time job, high cost of living (NYC) and not that much space, is very challenging. But, I think if you don't tour, you can't really be angry that you don't have a fan base. That's the trade off you make. Shout to all bands who successfully tour and are good musicians and have fans. That is not easy, even if music videos and movies make it look like a big 24-hour party. If a day comes where people want me to play, I will show up. But for now I'm just gonna continue writing and singing songs in my little bubble. Album cover photo shoots with friends. Little dinky music videos. Even if no one is listening, it's sort of like every day is a tour off date for me.
