Best feeling in the world is....? JP: Seeing fans get completely lost in your music. The fact that we can create something that moves people in that way is very special.
What’s on your “essential” packing list for going on tour? Al Al: My knifes and my utility belt. Mary: Head lamp
What’s been your largest obstacle to overcome as a band? How did you all move past it? Lee: I think we always striving to get to the next level and that quest never ends. For example, when you first start up as a band, you want to write enough songs to perform a show. When you write enough songs, then you have to book a show. Once you start playing shows, you want to get a booking agent to start touring. Etc, etc… Right now I think we trying to figure out how to tour successfully overseas...
Best part about touring? What do you all have planned next? Mary: Traveling to new places. We have been to 49 states and only have Hawaii and the rest of the world left, so that is what we plan to do next! Lee: The best part of touring for me is seeing all the amazing places in the country and meeting all the wonderful people that love and support us and live music. It really is a small world and most people, especially in the music industry, are 1 degree of separation from you or your circle of friends.
Lee: toothbrush, coffee, phone charger, extra t shirts for hot weather and I always have a warm jacket in the trailer, cause you never know when you’ll need it.
If your younger self saw you now, would they be surprised or impressed? Both? JP: Well, I thought I’d have made a lot more money by now...haha! I did think that my high school rock band was gonna be real big. I never really felt that way about any other band I was in until Booty Band came along. I have a good feeling about this one. My younger self would be impressed and surprised. Mary: Oh my younger self would be super impressed! I put on so many shows by myself on my trampoline when I was a kid. I had huge imaginary audiences in my front yard back then that have come to life these days!! A couple years ago, I found cassette tapes from my childhood where I was recording shows by myself. I was around the age of 5 and I would talk to the crowd and then play piano and sing my heart out. I know that my younger self has grown up to be exactly what she always dreamed of being!
What is your favorite part of your job? Favorite travel destination?
JP: Carrying heavy gear up flights of stairs.
Al Al: Alaska...I Loved it up there! Sun going down at 11pm and coming up at 4am, the wildlife, very nice people...just don’t ring the bell in the bars unless you’ve got a lot of cash...
Mary: Writing new music and recording albums!
JP: New Orleans is my favorite. I think several other band members would agree. There is a lot of great culture down there. We always dig the amazing music, food and fun night life. The desert is always an interesting place. We like to go hiking around the canyons of the midwest. California has also been really good to us. Lee: New Orleans, NYC, and Alaska
32
Lee: Doing what I love doing for a career. Its fun at the end of the day knowing we get to make music for a living.
Guilty pleasure? Lee: Craigslist Mary: Watching chick flicks Al Al: Comic books and video games