Interview with Red Wanting Blue [Podcast]

Red Wanting Blue is a rock n’ roll band from Columbus, Ohio. They’ve been making waves since 1996 with a steady output of albums and tours. Their frontman Scott Terry called in to the Murfie office recently to chat about the band’s experiences, including signing with a record label, and avoiding a near-fatal car crash that inspired their new album. We cover topics in the music industry of course, like transparency in the streaming business, and the paradox of choice that comes with infinite access. Scott is definitely a fan of music ownership and collecting physical music, and in fact, he points out how physical music can be an extension of your personality. He also embraces the amazing influence computers can have in creating music and reaching fans.

Here’s a transcript of our interview, along with the Soundcloud link below for your listening pleasure.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Who: Scott Terry; interviewed by Kayla Liederbach
When: Tuesday July 7th, 2015
How: via phone

K: I’ve got Scott Terry on the phone from the band Red Wanting Blue. And Scott, you just started your tour called the Our Little America Tour, how’s that going so far?

S: It’s going great, it’s going great. Actually right now we are in Columbus, Ohio, and we’re just now getting ready to make a trip up to Edmonton Alberta Canada. So we’ve got kind of a long way to go and a short time to get there.

K: Well this definitely isn’t the first time you’ve gone on a tour, and it’s going through the end of August, so I was wondering if you have any tips for going on tour, for a musician who hasn’t gone before. What do you do to get through?

S: You know what, it’s funny you say that because I have literally thought of writing a book, or like a short guide, for survival tips when you’re on the road with a rock n’ roll band. I don’t want to give away too much of my book. But I would say, if I had to give some tips to some young bands: try to avoid gas station restrooms. Usually there is a hotel off that same exit. They’re in the hospitality business, so they’re not gonna question you if you’re a guest at the hotel. You can just walk in and go straight to the lobby. That’s a Scott Terry survival tip, although we haven’t had to use that one in a little while. We’re fortunate, we’ve got a bathroom on our bus now. More important tips on the road would be: try to stay active. One of the things that we do is we try to avoid fast food, because I think it makes you feel bad. Even if it tastes good going down, you usually regret it a little bit later. Or a lot, depending. We also try to stay fit while we’re on the road. You’ve got a lot of downtime sometimes between load-in and sound check, and performing. So we’ll try to go for jogs and keep ourselves in shape, and so that’s a good thing to do. Again, I don’t want to dig too much into my stash of secrets.

K: We’ll have to keep a lookout for that book. You need to have your own hashtag, #ScottTerryTourTips. Well those are definitely helpful, staying active and eating right.

S: Yeah and it sounds lame to say it like that, but the truth is that—I don’t want to sound preachy—but we run across bands who live up to the illusion and the idea that a band that’s traveling, you know—rock n’ roll band, partying every night. At this point in my career, I think that’s a difficult thing to sustain, it’s hard to maintain that lifestyle and live like that. It’s good to cut loose every now and then, but I think ultimately, you’re going to be going from town to down, driving from cold weather conditions to hot weather conditions. You’re putting your body through a lot of sleepless nights and the schedule can be rigorous and brutal, and the best thing you can be doing for yourself in order to make it through the shows so that you’re not apologizing to your fans like “Sorry I have a sore throat, sorry I got sick,” is to—because the road will run you down, I mean it is longer than you, it will definitely run you down if you open yourself up to that—so the thing you have to try to keep in mind, is: pace yourself, and always try to stay on top of your health. That’s my fatherly tip to the young bands out there.

K: Right, coming from experience. I mean that’s great to hear. and you guys have experience touring, you have experience putting out a lot of albums, so I was wondering if you look back at everything you’ve done so far—I  know you have a new album out, but—considering everything, is there a certain album you’ve put out that you personally feel most connected to?