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.
