Eric Schenkman of Spin Doctors on Tour Mac & Cheese, Cigarette Smoking, and Not Over-Rehearsing
via Twangville
Tell us about your tour vehicle.
Our touring vehicle these days is generally a plane — the type is up to the airlines whichever one that happens to be. Thank God we’re using a bus this summer. Hopefully it’s a Prevost.
How do you eat cheaply and/or healthy while on tour?
The cheapest way to eat on the road is mac & cheese from the hotel fridge, but it’s not very healthy and there’s a hell of a lot of salt. Yelp really helps. Generally we can find a good restaurant that’s close by.
How many strings do you break in a typical year? How much does it cost to replace them?
I don’t break many strings a year because I usually change them before they break. I’m very lucky because Daddario gives them to me for cheap. When I was younger, I used to break as many as four a night which is a real pain in the ass on a Stratocaster with a spring bridge. The way I dealt with that was by using thinner pics as well as trying to become a better dynamic guitar player.
Where do you rehearse?
Our rehearsal place is the sound check of the venue that we’re playing that day. We are a band that doesn’t over rehearse. However, you do really have to concentrate to block out distractions on a sound check, I’ve gotten good at that.
What was the title and a sample lyric from the first song that you wrote?
“Can’t Say No” was my first song with lyrics.
“Speeding down your artery, freeway to your heart, running hot sworn by conviction, rebel train don’t go back, even if there’s no track, she’s sworn by raw injection.” is a lyric from it.
Describe your first gig.
My first gig was a talent show in the fifth grade at public school. We played original music, and the drummer had a mood light in his bass drum.
What was your last day job? What was your favorite day job?
Lots of kitchen work. Cutting chicken wings and squid for calamari at the Bamboo Club in Toronto was my favorite.
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?
I’ve been very lucky with music related income. It’s been pretty consistent for me over the last 30 years. Making money and music is like being struck by lightning, I find it doesn’t really relate to talent or necessarily hard work. It’s a pretty shitty industry.
What one thing do you know now that you had wished you knew when you started your career in music?
Cigarette smoking is not necessarily a prerequisite for being a rock musician.