Photo Credit:NYT Styles
“Can’t wait to get on the road again,” goes the Willie Nelson song. Here’s how two bands — one in a van, one in an, er, bigger conveyance — go from gig to gig.
Credit
Chad Batka for The New York Times
“Over the last two or three years, we’ve put 100,000 miles on it across North America. It’s been to every state other than Hawaii and Alaska, and it’s been to D.C., and probably five provinces in Canada.”
Jarrett Dougherty
“If you spend 12 hours sitting in the same car, I think it comes pretty naturally to tinker with what’s back there. In the old van, we collaged the entire ceiling. I decorated our new van a lot to make it a little more cozy. Cardboard is very plentiful. If we’re lucky and have a good week we’ll sell a whole box of T-shirts.”
Marissa Paternoster
Mr. Dougherty scrubs the wheels.
Credit
Chad Batka for The New York Times
Image
Mr. Abbate loads in drums.
Credit
Chad Batka for The New York Times
Image
Chad Batka for The New York Times
Image
Credit
Chad Batka for The New York Times
“I put in one of those wire shelves that you buy at Home Depot. I affixed it to the cage in the back so we don’t squish all of our records. Whenever we’re loading up the van at the end of night, that gets the most comments. ‘Oh, you’ve got a shelf in there.’”
Mike Abbate, bass player
“I don’t think that any of us dream of the next level up because it doesn’t seem viable to travel in anything fancier than our current fancy van. It’s a small operation — we’re playing in small rock clubs every night.
Mike Abbate
“It would be embarrassing to pull up in a big coach bus. We’re very grateful to have such a nice van. We’ve definitely ridden in some vehicles that were spotty. Our first van broke down near Las Cruces. It was very, very hot. There were a bunch of snakes. Big ups to our van. It’s the right size for the job, you know.”
Marissa Paternoster
Image
Old Dominion, clockwise from left: Brad Tursi, Matthew Ramsey, Whit Sellers, Trevor Rosen and Geoff Sprung.
Credit
Old Dominion
are a country band from Nashville. Their last album, “Happy Endings,” debuted at No. 1 on the country charts; its commercial success has allowed five members and their entourage to tour in a customized coach bus this summer.
“We did spend 10 years in those vans. We went through three of them. That first bus is usually just a rental, you get whatever you get. As you get more consistent, you get to pick one that you get to live with for a year. After that, if you can afford it, you pick a coach company. You tell them, ‘We’re doing a two-year lease, but we’ll build it from the ground up.’ The color choices on the curtains, the flooring choice, the couch cushion choice — we picked them to make it feel like home.”
Geoff Sprung, bass player
For More Details : NYT Styles
