Original subtitles

- I'm, uh,

we just had, like, the worst week of shows, and, um,

I don't know what else to do.

I'm tryin' to book our tour for September and October,

and it's about half-filled,

but I still have a buncha dates to go,

and I'm just worried I won't be able to book 'em.

And even if we do book 'em, then what?

Then we go on another tour

and another tour, and it's just this fear

that we'll never just, 10 years from now,

we'll never be any step closer

to where we are right now to, I don't even know.

I don't even know what success looks like,

like, if it's a record deal

or just being able to play to more people.

Feeling like we're building this thing.

I feel like it's just, like, right to where, like,

my heart is, like, in my chest.

It just feels like it's just constricting

and it's (sighs), I don't (sighs).

- No one knows who you are,

and you're just tryin' to make a name for yourself.

- And we were just young and stupid

and had no idea what it meant to tour.

- You know, I think people think that you're just,

like, partying all the time--

- Yeah, people think you're on holiday.

- We can't build a fan base

if we don't go back more than once a year.

- When they ask for two hours worth of music,

they want background music.

- Yeah, that's--

- And we're not a background music band.

- I'm, I'm a dime a dozen.

- I never got to the point

where I thought I really could do it.

- You know, once it's done, it's just

you feel that kinda, that kinda high a little bit.

- That I was on the road between five and six months

out of the year straight.

- I wish it was a phase, why wasn't this a phase?

- We got up and everyone came in,

and I was like, "Whoa, are all these people here to see us?"

- The best thing is that, like,

people started identifying with it.

- There's no stage, there's no ego, there's no persona.

- 'Cause I'm not right in the head,

and I can handle that.

- Music is awesome (laughs), it's such a beautiful thing.

- I don't understand, and at the same time,

it just reinforces again

that we never know what we're getting into.

Since 2010, Elizabeth and I have been touring

around the United States, trying to make a name

for ourselves as the band Pocket Vinyl.

We have no managers, no booking agents,

no press people, no drivers, no merch person.

No one outside the two of us.

It is without a doubt, the hardest job I've ever had.

We've had many great adventures and many horrible ones.

Don't get me wrong, it's been amazing,

but touring can destroy you emotionally

if you're not careful.

People often ask us why we keep doing it and how.

It's a hard thing to answer and I'm not so sure

I even know what the answer is,

but instead of trying to tell you,

we thought we'd try to show you.

For one entire year, we filmed everything we could

about our lives on the road

and interviewed countless musicians we met along the way,

all trying to make a living playing music.

My name is Eric Stevenson, and this is what the life

of a small, independent musician looks like.

♫ Speak if you wanna speak, I don't

♫ It puts a number on every soul

♫ Never you mind, 'cause I always gave up

♫ And I was inclined, but it's never

♫ No, it's never enough and though you

♫ And though you say what you mean

♫ Well, I find your criticisms

♫ The opposite of wisdom

♫ And though you say what you need

♫ I'm sure it isn't a thing

♫ More like a light than a being

♫ The feeling is quite alone

♫ Like God hung up the phone

Hi.

Ready for the Pocket Vinyl show?

Nice, I think you'll really like it.

It's right up your alley.

Pocket Vinyl is just the two of us.

I slam the piano and sing

while Elizabeth paints a masterpiece on stage,

which we then auction off

to the highest bidder at every show.

We got married in 2011, and since then,

have been making a go at being full-time artists.

We've played over 500 shows in 46 states,

and released four albums as well as several EPs and singles.

We often describe our music as piano slam rock,

mostly because a lot of it is me slamming the piano

as hard as I can and screaming lyrics

about death, mental illness, and finding God

in moments when you doubt its existence the most,

but it's not depressing, really.

At least it's not supposed to be.

Elizabeth's paintings are the real star of the show.

Her work is always one-of-a-kind,

having never repeated an image onstage.

I know I'm obviously biased,

but I think they're always amazing and beautiful pieces.

I sometimes sing offkey, but Elizabeth never has a bad show.

♫ On my wall, and no fire, gun, sword, catapult

♫ Or dagger or spear

♫ Could ever get that thing outta here

♫ When I step outside

♫ I'm greeted by

♫ A certain shade of green that tells me

♫ It's all right

♫ 'Cause when it belts, everything's fleeting

♫ The collective sound of the cows all eating

♫ The grass tells me

♫ That we'll be defeating our foes

♫ And I'll make the first blow

January 1st (chuckles).

- Oh, yeah, I forgot.

- Time to start the movie!

Ready to go?

- Did you lock the door?

-Yes. - Are you sure?

- Yes. - Did you lock the gate?

-Yes. - And the basement's locked?

-Yes.

- OK, I'm ready to go.

-Let's do it. - All right.

- All right, so we got all our equipment.

We packed all our clothes, we have a food box full of food.

Uh, we got sleepin' bags, we got computers.

We have our address list, right, for all the venues?

-Uh, yeah.

- And this and a full-loaded iPod.

Toiletries, all the--

- Uh, I packed the toiletries,

so I assume you put them in the car.

- Yep, towels, you bring the bathing suit

for whatever reason?

- Yeah, of course, did you?

- Yeah.

I think we're good.

- Great.

- One of the more common questions

musicians get about this lifestyle is how,

how do you book all these shows?

How do you do it?

Frankly, it looks a lot like this.

When you're not actually on the road,

being a musician is pretty much a desk job.

It's sending out email after email to bars,

coffee shops, art galleries, community spaces,

and anywhere else that might have a stage.

Every 10 emails you send, you might get one back,

two if you're lucky, and you're even luckier

if the response back is, "Yes, you can play here."

It's just a lot of sitting at a computer

with patience and persistence.

You know how bored you feel right now

with how long we've stayed on this shot?

Booking a tour feels a lot like that.

Thanks to the internet,

finding venues isn't a very hard thing to do anymore.

Google is certainly your friend in that situation,

but personally, most of my bookings

come from one website, indieonthemove.com.

- I would've loved to have had this information.

I mean, like, I had to like scavenge for information online

and, like, scrape through people's Myspace pages

to find possible venues in an area,

but now, you know, you can go into our site,

and it's like, "OK, well, here's 50 places

"within 50 miles of wherever you wanna be."

But really, it was just a way to take that conversation

that bands were already having offline.

They go into a new town, "Hey, what places are cool?

"What places suck, tell me about 'em."

We took that conversation and we put in online

so more people could contribute to it.

♫ The first chord I played

♫ Is now there in the past

♫ When I play it again

The other band

gave us the entire door,

which tonight, was about, uh,

you know, between 150 and 200 bucks,

and usually, we just split that 50-50 with,

you know, the other band playing or something like that,

but they gave us everything,

which was very, very nice of them.

That's something that, I don't know,

as a local band to a touring band, it means a lot.

Like, you know.

That is really, really nice of them.

-Yeah, that was nice of them.

- So, did you guys get into music for the money?

- No !

- No.

- No, I did not.

- No.

- No.

- Well, no.

- Money.

- No, not even close.

- Absolutely, aw, gosh, I just go home

and fall asleep so quickly

on my mattress made of hundred dollar bills.

- No, I got in it because I was pissed off (laughs).

That's why I got into it.

I was like, "Oh, wait, I can be angry and be even louder?"

Fantastic, sign me up.

- I mean, when I first started, I was gettin' paid,

and that was, like, '07, and from '07 to, like, 2015,

I probably got paid, like, three times (laughs).

- You know, it became a real, very clear realization

when you're 18 years old

and you're on your own the first time,

and you play your first few gigs and they hand you $20,

and they say, "Thank you," and you're like,

"That's $20 per person at least, right?"

No, it's $20 for the band

of five people you brought with you

and the person who's running the merch tables (laughs).

- But it's the, like, six-hour-long shows,

where you have to be there, and they give you,

like, maybe two bucks, and it's like,

"Oh," or yeah, those are the ones

where I just can't, I can't do that anymore.

- We're playin' for three hours tonight.

We're not really a three-hour band,

but they promised a hundred dollars,

so I can't say no to $100, so we said,

"Yeah, we'll play for three hours,"

even though I'm, three hours of material,

in terms of what I can play from our albums and stuff,

is a bit stretching it.

- I went for the money and the groupies,

and I got poor and a wife.

- I know, good job.

- I would be lying if I said it wasn't about the money.

The money does help, but overall, it's all about the music.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

- There's this old school, kinda punk rock, you know,

concept of, "Aw, you can't make any money doing this."

At the end of the day, you have to put gas in the van.

- Behind food, gas is certainly the biggest expense

on the road, with an eight-hour drive

often costing over $45 at least,

although, there were times throughout the year

when we experienced very low gas prices,

and honestly, when you're on tour,

it's like getting a raise.

$65 in 2011 to fill up our car,

and now, only 20 bucks.

I could've maybe put in a gallon more,

but still, only $20.

The biggest problem with money on the road

is you never get a steady paycheck.

Depending on whatever the venue can offer in merch sales,

the income fluctuates rapidly from night-to-night.

- I didn't go into this trade

thinking I'm gonna strike it rich, but if done correctly,

you can make a sustainable living off of it.

You're not gonna be sittin' there

rollin' around in, you know, Cadillacs,

- I would always focus on getting guarantees

while booking tours, so I would always say,

at least $100 guaranteed,

plus merch sales and I would always have to have

a meal and drinks taken care of, that was the base.

- This right here is a 2000 Toyota Camry,

and has brought us to nearly 600 shows

over 180,000 miles

and it's time is up.

Goodbye, Camry, thank you very much

for gettin' us to all those places very reliably.

And hello Nissan Altima, well!

We just found out

that the car that we just bought new

needs a lot of work done on it.

It's money we don't have on us at the moment,

but I have credit card.

Each venue operates independently of each other,

and thus, each has a different way

they try to give money to the bands.

They can do what's called a door deal,

where they charge a cover and sell tickets to anyone

entering the venue and then split that with the musician.

They can give a guarantee, which means they promise you

a certain amount at the end of the night.

Sometimes, they give you a percentage of sales from the bar

while you're playing, which can be horrible or great

depending on how filled the place is.

A lot of times, they simply let you play

for free and ask for donations.

All these have their pros and cons,

but a guarantee is certainly the most desirable,

due to it providing a sense of financial security.

Beyond money from a venue, the main way bands cover expenses

is through their merch table.

The merch table is one of the most important components

of any musician's live show.

Not only is it a big source of income,

but it also a very unique and wonderful way

to connect with fans and in turn,

helps fans offer support to you.

The Pocket Vinyl merch table has been

an ever-changing and expanding entity.

This year, it consisted of T-shirts,

CDs, 12" vinyl, 7" vinyl,

stickers, business cards, download cards,

socks, art prints of various sizes,

record bags, and books that Elizabeth illustrated.

You can certainly go overboard with different products,

but we've found the more we offer,

the more we're likely to sell.

- Stickers are always a hit, 'cause you can give them out

almost like business cards, you know,

when you bump into someone at a restaurant or something.

Everyone loves stickers.

- We actually have a lotta merch.

At one time, we had 14 shirts I think.

We were just trying to figure stuff out.

Now, we're down to, like, five I think.

- T-shirts are definitely

one of the biggest sources of income,

and to help save money, a lot of bands, including us,

make the T-shirts ourselves.

It takes a bit more of our time, certainly,

but we've found that people like

those small, personal touches,

and it kinda feels like each shirt

is its own, little unique piece of artwork.

It kinda gives it a nice, homemade--

- You better make this one perfect,

because I'm video, I'm taping it.

-And--

- Revealed!

- Ah, it's pretty good!

Nice words, little, a little soft, but.

Often, you have to think outside the box

in terms of what you offer.

- A lot of the times, I'll do, uh, haircuts.

I'll set up a little, uh, roadside barber shop.

Charlotte, North Carolina, we played outside of a,

er, we played in a bar, um, but they weren't cool

with me cutting hair inside the bar,

'cause they have food there, it makes total sense,

but, uh, so I asked them if I could run an extension cord

out and I just cut hair on the sidewalk

out in front of the bar.

People walkin' by, you know, bar crawlin' and stuff.

-Without a doubt, our personal biggest seller

and moneymaker is Elizabeth's paintings.

That source of income has been indispensable

to our continued existence as a band.

-Original and here,

like a universe in a lantern, is that a lantern?

Wow, got mountains and, that's pretty nice.

- I'd wager that about 70 percent of our tour income

is just from the painting auctions alone.

Sometimes, they auction off for very low,

single-digit prices, but sometimes,

they can go for the better half of $1000

all depending on who's in the audience.

If two people can get into a bidding war,

we know we'll be set for that show.

Excuse me, everybody!

Oh, hey, everybody!

Hi, excuse me, everybody!

Hey, excuse me, everybody, I'm sorry, uh.

So, right now, where is Hubert?

You're our guy, Hubert.

- Don't, don't tell 'em to bid anymore.

- Well, so at the moment, Hubert has the highest bid

on the painting for $105.

Does anybody wanna outbid him?

105 goin' once.

- 110.

- 110.

- 115. - 115, answer that bet!

- 120.

- 120, over here.

- 120-what?

- 121! (scattered laughter)

-122.

- 122, 122 goin' twice.

- 135.

- 135!

- [Onlooker] 140. - Oh, 140!

- Last one?

- Now, of course, Hubert isn't gonna take that,

so 140 goin' once.

- 155.

- 155!

- 156 and a penny.

- No, I'm not takin',

I'm sorry, - And two pennies!

- It's company policy not to accept your stupid change.

I want full dollar amounts.

- 163.

- 163.

A'ight, OK, yeah.

Five, four, anyone else?

Two, one. - Goin' so slow!

- Oh, was that, 300?

No, no, no dice, all right, sorry.

I thought I heard 300, my bad.

Sold, 163, exactly.

All right, thanks again, everyone!

And then there are sometimes when you just gotta get lucky.

And there is a casino off this exit.

-Ooh, free live music tonight!

- Elizabeth just won huge in the slots.

- I made $15.

- We just made $13 playing free slots money,

so we went in, we got these Luckystar Players Club cards,

and they gave us 10 free dollars in slots,

and we came back with, what was it?

- Uh, $18.

- $18.

- And probably get a little bit of change.

- We played some shows where we play for, like,

two hours and have made less money than that.

- Everybody should just start gambling!

It's the answer to everything.

Just pay your tabs and gamble.

I gotta make sure I get some good imagery

of you munching down on your phallic symbol.

Eric loves cucumbers and I hate--

- Laugh all you want.

- I hate the smell of them.

They're disgusting! - They're delicious!

- They're so gross!

- And filling.

- Filling? - Yeah!

- They're mostly water!

- I just know how I feel after I eat one.

Food is always an issue on the road,

and finding some at an affordable price

can sometimes be a challenge.

- Lot of grocery stores,

lot of, you know, grocery stores runs.

I try to stay away from the gas station.

I try to stay away from the gas station,

but, you know, you can't.

- Eating at grocery stores is great,

and, like, Mexican food, Japanese food, I eat everything.

- I talked with some guys who talk,

they're like, "Oh yeah, on tour, I just, like, gain weight,"

'cause they, like, yeah, like, one guy was like--

- I was the opposite, like, I literally could see my belt,

like, I could tighten it an extra button easily.

- So I actually, I cook out of the back of my truck,

and I have a little propane, uh,

uh, stove and that kinda thing.

- Buy a lot of sandwich stuff, a lot of fruits and veggies.

You know, just stock up, like have a cooler in the car,

and I'm always snacking.

I guess the three-meal mentality doesn't really stick true

on certain tour schedules.

You just kind of, you're grazing throughout the day.

- I keep a cooler and a big food bag in the car

with, you know--

- Yeah, we have a food box we go--

- Yeah, and just chips, and nuts,

and granola bars, and Cliff bars, and--

- I'm basically an infant.

Dry Cheerios and juice.

- When it's cold, I buy sandwich stuff mostly,

and hit 'em up--

- Mostly sandwiches?

- Yeah, mostly sandwiches and baked beans.

- Do you ever get sick of it?

- Oh, yeah, yeah.

- Like, at the venue tonight, like, you know,

they offered a food deal, and, um,

you know, it's either that, which is difficult

because the majority of places offer pizza,

and as you know, you can't eat cheese before you sing.

So it's like the--

- Or just, I mean, pizza sits heavy.

- It does sit heavy.

- Like, even if you're just trying to perform, yeah.

- Sometimes the venues will feed you

or, if we're gonna go to someone's house,

park outside someone's house, they'll have food for us.

- This is, you're making a lot of (laughs),

I guess that, thanks.

Sometimes, I don't think that we're worth it,

of all the work and stuff, and so I just--

- Um, food is my love language, first of all.

- Oh!

- And so I really like to make new friends over food.

- Are you familiar with the Chipotle scam?

It's not really a scam, see, I hesitate to call it a scam.

People call it a scam.

- Let's call it the thing, what's the Chipotle thing?

- The deal, it's a Chipotle deal.

We call Chipotles, um, in every city that we're going to.

Get the manager on the phone, say something like,

"Hi, I just need a quick minute of your time.

"My name is Carl, I play in the band Kitten Crisis,

"Closet Burn, Janovia Forerver," whatever you wanna say.

"We're just passing through and I know that some Chipotles

"have a deal where they'll help support touring musicians

"who are out on the road by giving them some food,

"maybe in exchange for some merchandise

"or something like that, and we were just wondering

"if this location of Chipotle was participating

"in that promotion or if this location of Chipotle

"was honoring that promotion,"

or deal or whatever the language is, but I mean--

- Heads up, they're just gonna be like,

"Uh, yeah, yeah" - It's 50-50.

- 50-50, I would say, that would be the odds.

- For the record, we've never actually tried this,

but if you'd like to give it a shot,

it'll probably work at any national fast food chain.

- So, we're at this rest stop here in North Carolina,

and right as I was getting into the car,

this lady in the minivan, she just pulled away,

um, stopped me and asked if we could use some food.

That, I guess her--

- That's never happened before.

- It's never happened before, she's just like,

"Yeah, I've got, like, this bag of food,

"and it's, like, stuff that I don't eat,"

and so it's like peaches, and peanut butter,

and juice, so this is kind of amazing.

So random, like she didn't even know that we were traveling

or anything, she was just like,

"You look like you could eat food, do you want food?"

So--

- She was like, "Oh," we told her we were from Connecticut,

she's like, "Well, this is a gift from Jesus."

- A gift from Jesus!

This is amazing, we need to get a nutcracker.

♫ And we know what we know

♫ 'Cause you showed us

♫ Yes, we know what we know

- There's still some stuff that stayed on the roof.

♫ Yes, we know

- Like we'll all eat on the floor, let's eat this.

I remember you putting it

on the roof and thinking, like,

"We're probably gonna drive away with that.

"Ah, he's smarter than this (laughs)."

You're the one who left stuff on the roof!

- I didn't mean to!

This is good, there's a few scuffs,

but I think the juice is OK.

- I was so looking forward to that juice, too,

so if we, like, if that exploded,

I would've been pretty pissed (laughs).

- I saw the cars coming, 'cause a few cars passed over it,

and I was just like, "Please don't hit the juice!"

Well, are you ready to continue in the world, smart person,

because I am totally also a smart person.

Mm, it's nice and shaken up,

it actually tastes better this way.

Bars are certainly the most common type of venue.

A majority of nearly every musician's shows are at them.

They're easy to contact, usually offer you food and drinks,

and people will often be there

whether music is happening or not.

Coffee shops and restaurants are a similar situation,

but for many independent musicians,

the best kinds of shows are not in any of these,

but in people's homes.

- They, they're, they're very special

when you get to go to those.

- Yeah, I love them, I think they're great.

I wish more people held them.

- Well, it's nice, like everyone's there,

typically, for the music.

- Well, I always felt like the crowd was, like,

they were actually there for us

rather than just there to be there.

- Having people come to an environment

and seeing something that completely blows them away,

like seeing, it's not just the bands

that people come to see, it's the environment.

It's the intimacy that surrounds music.

- We're all sharing each other's energy,

like, you can hear a pin drop in the room

because everyone is just, like, there and they understand

that I'm really trying to express something to them,

that I'm really trying to say something.

- Those kinds of shows, you know,

is where you sell a shitload of merch,

because people were there, they were listening,

and, like, they heard one line in one of your songs

that really, like, rang true.

They'll buy the CD, they'll buy a T-shirt, you know?

- And I like house shows 'cause there's no cover charge.

It's all donation-based, but, uh,

really, I really appreciate those kind of community spaces

where, uh, people can come together and see music.

- I guess I like the satisfaction of seeing people

enjoy something and, like,

not being just sort of in front of it,

being the face of it, but knowing that I, like, had some,

some organizational power over that.

That I was able to bring people to one common thing

where they can enjoy something together.

That's very satisfying for me.

- One of our earlier members at the community

had a, still has his own band,

and , and so we wanted to support him,

and he had the idea to do a show, and like Jon said,

we had the space, and, um,

we wanted to be more involved in the arts

and supporting the arts in our community in some small way.

- So this is the only thing that I really, really,

really like doing, and by this,

I mean anything music-related,

because to me, it seems like the only thing

that's really worthwhile, if you can give somebody,

if you can create an environment where somebody is inspired,

you've changed that person's perspective,

at least to some degree.

And those are the only things that you really

can leave behind, is impressions, I think.

- A songwriter guy, he was amazing,

and it was like, I had no idea what this guy was about,

and he like blew the audience away.

Everybody was just silent, like, listening to him play,

and, uh, that's something

you're not gonna get anywhere else.

- Some of, like, my best memories

from high school were there, so, like, going to these shows,

which they had like, pretty much once a week,

once every other week, this was, like,

a bunch of touring bands, a buncha friends.

People from around the area,

and, like, I still listen to all that music now.

And, uh, they really had, like, a lasting impact on me,

and it's those house shows that really did it.

Seeing that kind of community form,

like being part of that community

was an excellent experience and I guess

I liked holding house shows

because I can get to be part of that.

- Our car broke down last night,

and a guy let us stay at his house,

this house that he's renovating, so there's no one there,

but we only got about five hours of sleep,

and now he's driving us back to the car.

I'm really tired, I'm really, really tired,

and we have to find a mechanic that'll fix our car,

and then a tow company to tow our car.

We're gonna be a few hundred dollars poorer.

Along with house shows, another great place to play

is in community and DIY spaces.

These are usually volunteer-run organizations

who have secured a space in town to host shows.

The people who run them often never make any money,

and do it simply for the love of music

and trying to make great events happen in their town,

as well as provide a safe and welcome space for everyone,

regardless of anyone's personal identity or age.

- Getting involved in, uh, the music scene

here in Galesburg is, uh, has saved me.

I mean, like, honestly, I deal with a lot of, uh,

issues with depression and anxiety.

Being able to be part of a scene that is so friendly

and, uh, it's just such a good support system,

it's just been great, um,

been great for me socially, been great for me emotionally.

And yeah, it's something I have a passion for,

so why not continue doing it?

- What do I love about this venue, um,

I love its longevity.

Uh, like, for a long time when it was the Blast-O-Mat,

it was, it was what it was.

It was super cliquey, it was the same 20 people every night,

but, um, and that sort of ran its course

and went under in its own good time.

And, um, there was always somebody to pick up the mantle,

and that was Aaron Saye,

he was involved back when it was Blast-O-Mat.

Yeah, Aaron Saye is what I love about this venue.

Uh, he's an amazing human being.

- Uh, so our venue, Seventh Circle, it used to be,

uh, basically the same thing, just much more of,

like, a punk house, and it was called the Blast-O-Mat.

I just started going there 'cause my friend's band

started playing there as well, and I just completely

fell in love with the underground culture.

- [What, what about it?

- You know, I don't, it's hard to put a finger on

what the allure of it is, but there's just something about

being so far removed from the mainstream

and just kind of in our own little,

it felt like almost this little secret society.

There's just something about these independent bands

that nobody's heard of that are playing in garages

that, in my mind, are just as good, if not better,

than the bands that I'm seeing play at arenas.

I don't know, I just like to kind of just provide

whatever I can to help people if they need it, you know?

So just one of the mantras

that we kind of base the venue off of

that I think is kind of a mantra of a lot of DIY venues

across the country is just overall acceptance, you know?

Acceptance and just welcoming people with open arms.

Like, Sharone, the girl who's headlining tonight,

she, tonight is her first show as a full band.

She's a piano player and an acoustic guitar player

and vocalist, and she has been playing solo shows

with us for, like, two and a half years,

and she's fucking incredible.

She's in a situation where she doesn't speak to her parents,

she emancipated herself before she was 18 for some reason.

I don't know why, I don't know the ins and outs of it,

but she has become one of our most often-volunteers

at the venue in addition to playing there all the time,

and she just totally fell in love with the place

and fell into it and has just found it as a second home

that she very desperately needed at the time.

- When I first started coming here, nobody knew who I was.

I didn't know anybody, I just came to shows and, like,

kind of hid, I was, like really quiet and awkward.

I still am, I'm still super awkward and weird,

but now I've just, like, I've met more people

and I've gotten to know, like, I'm singing backup

for LaRissa Vienna and the Strange in a couple weeks

at the Marquis and just, like, it's because of this place.

This place is just the best thing

that's ever happened to me.

- Now, she's like, basically, on her own.

She's living in an apartment with a roommate, whatever,

she's making her life, but, you know,

it just seems like at the time,

it was really what she needed to give her some direction

and give her music some validation,

because that was the other thing was that I guess

her family was never supportive of her musical endeavors,

and, I mean, God, you'll see when you see her tonight,

like, there's nothing else

she should be doing with her life.

- Like music is what I live for.

It's, like, the only thing that makes me feel

like I'm normal and makes me happy, and playing shows,

like tonight was the best night of my life,

like, as of now.

- Really?

- Yeah, I mean, like, just doing that

is what makes me super happy.

- She found Seventh Circle somehow and then

just started playing shows and the first time she played,

I remember, like, I keep a document on my phone

where I'm like, notes about local bands,

just so I can reference it when I'm booking shows

in the future, you know,

and I remember writing something down, like,

"Oh my God, this girl's 15 and she's every bit as good

"as any fucking Grammy winner I've ever heard."

Like holy shit, and she's only gotten better

in the last two and a half years.

- For me, it's home, it's just a place that I can go to

and not feel like I'm super weird.

- Awesome!

- You know, we make up a fake booking agent name

and send our emails from our fake booking agent name,

and, like, pretend to be more legit than we are.

Whatever tricks and, you know, that we try--

- Do you do that? - Yeah !

- I never, I haven't,

I always say I'm Eric, I don't know.

- It's weird because I feel crappy about the manipulation,

but I feel crappier that I have to.

- Do you find that when you pretend

to be someone else, is that--

- I find that when I pretend to be a man,

I get a lot more responses.

- Really?

That sucks. - Pretty screwed up, huh?

- I am, a lot of the times,

the only woman on the entire show, that's a real thing.

- Yeah, same with Elizabeth.

- That's very, very common.

- Yeah, I think there's an assumption that I'm not,

you know, just not gonna be very good

at my actual instrument.

- Well, I think it's different for us,

'cause we dress like slags and she's got orange hair,

so people kind of know we're in the band.

- Yeah, we dress like they know we're in the band.

- Really, so you haven't, you haven't--

- But we do experience that kind of stuff--

- Yeah, all the time.

- That's, that's standard, just being a woman.

Just, it's the same in any industry.

- We have, you know, a woman in our band whose amazing,

Camelia, who plays piano, some violin from time to time.

You know, I despise the fact that people just assume

that she's someone's girlfriend in the group.

- Oh!

- So, you know, she's talking to the sound guy

about her set-up, and this that and the other.

They just kinda dismiss her because she's a woman,

so obviously, she's just, you know, who's playing piano

or who's playing keys, like she doesn't know,

and that kind of weird misogyny thing kinda rubs me wrong.

The thing that's kinda beautiful about it

is, you know, she's one of the most amazing players

I've ever seen in my life, so you know,

the good ol' boy with his Kid Rock T-shirt,

you know, is probably a much poorer guitar player,

piano player, violin player, you know.

She plays all of these instruments better than I probably,

you know, I will ever, you know?

And for whatever reason, they just dismiss her.

- Having got, like, you know, if you come to sound check

and you're not dressed up, people are like,

"Oh, so you're his girlfriend or you're," yeah.

- Somebody tonight actually said they thought

we were groupies, and then we got on stage,

and they were like "Oh, and then you rocked!"

- Yeah, especially when I'm selling merch.

They ask me about other bands' merch.

They just assume I'm sort of the merch lady.

Which I'm happy to, - If we haven't played yet.

- If we haven't played yet, yeah,

and I'm happy to sell other people's merch, you know?

Like, it's their problem.

- Yeah, it's extra money for us!

- No, we don't (laughs).

- It's so lame, and you're just,

you're looking at the thing, and you're like,

"Wow, so this is kind of a farce," you know?

How much of this do I really wanna buy into,

but then you look at the rest of society,

and you're like, "Well, that's equally a farce,"

so I can just do this thing I love and suck it up,

and deal with it on whatever terms it presents me,

or I can stamp my feet and say,

"It's wrong that it's this way," you know,

not get any where, you know.

You just work with what you have.

- When we first got started, it was a little different.

Um, it more than likely everyone assumed

I was Mike's girlfriend, um, that I was being super nice

by helping him carry his drums in, um.

I have had club owners that are, you know,

the really particular ones that are, like

trying to mark the band as they walk in, you know,

and they're like, "Are you in the band?"

and you say, "Yes," and then they say,

"Hauling gear isn't being part of the band.

"Are you in the band?" and I'm like,

"I'm the lead fuckin' singer, is that OK with you?"

- I hate people who think that because you're a woman,

you, um, are just a singer or you can't play,

or, I don't know, whatever.

- Yeah, you were rippin' it up, I mean,

you as well, so I didn't--

- Well, I mean, like, that's the thing as well.

Like, you're, I think often, if you're an attractive female,

people assume you have no talent.

- The sound guy was probably in his 50s, maybe,

um, very old school, long gray ponytail.

Like, definitely been doin' this kinda gig for a while.

He comes up to me, he goes,

"Man, you sure don't play like a girl," and I was like,

and I'm sure my face was like,

"What the fuck does that mean?"

And he goes, this is the best part, he goes,

"No, no, I mean you don't play like a pussy," you know?

And I was like, and you know, like, am I gonna,

no, I just said, "Well, thank you."

- I notice when I'm on tour, most of the bands we play with,

if there's a woman in the band, she probably sings.

- Mm-hmm.

- It's pretty, it sucks, it's such a bummer, you know?

And I don't know why that is.

- Um, I did actually have a sound guy

take a microphone apart and show me how it worked.

Yeah, I've been performing since I was seven,

and he's like, "Oh, look at you blond booby girl.

"You obviously don't know what you're doing,

"let me show you how a microphone works."

- Like I definitely used to get a lot of, like,

you know, "Ooh, it's a full package deal," or just,

whatever, just comments about my looks when I was younger.

Now that I'm in my 40s, it's very freeing,

because I'm just not

seen as much of a sexual object anymore,

and it's fucking great!

It's, like, so awesome!

- So these are things that, um, white men

have said to me at Pocket Vinyl shows.

Admit that God is not a woman, he is a man.

I thought you were going to paint a gerbil,

but you painted a tiger, you should've painted a gerbil.

As the merch girl, you can sit over there.

You're not in the band because you don't play an instrument.

Wow, you sold that, I'd never pay that much for a painting!

Paint my friend, paint a penis, paint me!

Don't you agree that the government

should euthanize everyone who's weak or disabled?

You know what you should do, you should go around

and ask everyone what they think you should paint.

You know what you should do?

You should change your entire set-up.

You know what you should do?

You should paint different things.

You know what you should do?

You should try to market yourself better.

You know what you should do, you know what you should do,

you know what you should do, you know what you should do?

I like most of your art, but not this piece.

- No one ever says any stuff like that to me.

They're all kind to me.

♫ And I said build me a house in the village

♫ One Bohemian getaway for two

Oh my gosh!

-Can you see something?

- The light bulb fell down!

-Their carts here.

- That's why, yeah, the light fell out.

Hi, sorry, we had, uh, part of our bumper is, like, melting,

and, like, black and we weren't really sure why,

but then one of the bottom flood lights, I guess,

fell out of its socket. - Oh, it shorted?

- Yeah, or just somehow, but it's kind of,

it's hard to reach and very hot right now, so.

Hey, I'm just glad we found out what it is.

♫ There goes my wife, she's the center of my life

♫ And she's carryin' our baby with a brand new tattoo

♫ And I said build me a house in the village

We paid $47 for this hotel room.

Let's see all the things that make this worth that $47.

Look at all these stains, what are they?

Shampoo, soap, blood, no one knows!

This tile floor works great in some sort of school.

The towels are nice and 50-grade sandpaper.

- There's a dog running up and down the hallway

barking at, like, six in the morning.

- Oh, oop, those are holes!

Maybe caused from cigarettes, I don't know.

- I heard a baby crying,

and I heard someone yelling at the baby.

-We assume they're just stains

and not made after the sheets were put on the bed.

There was definitely, like,

cigarette smoke smell in the mattress.

The picture's nice.

Let's look out the window, oh, what's that?

Oh-ho-ho, a hole in the window?

- Oh my goodness!

- Well, that just makes me feel all kindsa safe!

I think it's safe to say that this was worth

every single penny of that $47, 100 percent.

- Two of my last paintings, almost paid for this.

- I've stayed at some really nice hotels,

I've stayed at some really nice Airbnbs (clears throat),

and I've also stayed at some really scary hotels

and really scary Airbnbs.

- When I book a tour, I try to very purposefully hit

places where I have people.

- You know, that way, I would have a friend to stay with,

and that would be, like, a little piece of home,

rather than just staying at a motel every night

by yourself watching Friends.

- Anyway and everywhere, from hotels to the van,

to friends' houses to tents, campsites--

- Do you have your own tent?

- Oh, yeah, absolutely.

- And I've also stayed on some floors

that you swear they couldn't ever

have had a vacuum cleaner run over them.

- There's no guarantee of having a place to stay.

That's, I think, one of the things that's hardest for people

to understand about going on tour DIY

is that, it seems crazy to other people,

that you would just show up to a show,

and sometimes, the promoter is nice enough

to offer us a place to stay, and other times,

we're just makin' on case on the microphone,

like, "Hey, you know, we're lookin'

"for a place to stay tonight, we're not unruly guests.

You know, "we'll do your dishes, "

"we'll do your chores," you know?

We've never really been without someone kind enough

to offer us a place to stay and that's a thing

that amazes me the most about it,

and that's the thing that keeps me really, I guess,

believing in it and, uh, still doing it.

-There have been tons of strangers who we've met

at our shows over the years who generously offer us

a place to stay for the night.

Sometimes, it's couches, sometimes, it's floors.

Sometimes, it's entire guest houses and king size beds.

We often will play shows starting at 10 p.m.,

and have no idea where we'll sleep that night,

only to be approached by someone

with a kind heart and room to spare.

- A lot of times, those people, they're like,

"Come over to my house, I have cases of beer,

"and I'm gonna cook you a full meal

"and breakfast tomorrow morning."

OK, OK, yeah, that sounds fantastic.

- I don't completely buy into karma 100 percent,

but I am in a touring band, so I would like to think

that to some extent, this will come back around eventually

when I'm on the road next, but really, like,

it started a lotta years ago.

I used to do this for people

just because I was big fans of their music,

and then that stopped being a condition.

I just started feeling a lot of compassion for touring bands

and wanted to do what I can

to help people do what they do, you know?

-Yeah, thank you very much

for just inviting us over.

It's people like you that help us survive on the road, so.

- Glad to do it.

♫ Down the scenic roads I roll

♫ Color on the treeline this autumn day

♫ We roll

♫ Into the sunsets in the evening

♫ And retire, I'm not goin' home

♫ Thinking 'bout the shoreline past in summer days

♫ Waves they came a-crashing and the sun, its endless rays

♫ But this ain't no California

♫ So the seasons, well, they have to change

- Here in a, in this church in, uh,

the French Quarter in New Orleans.

This is their supply closet,

which is where we slept last night.

- I'd always do this thing

where I'd be playing the show, then I'd say, like,

"You know, if anybody's lookin' for

"a well-adjusted, married man to put up for the night,

"I'm lookin' for a place."

And nine times out of 10, it would work.

Somebody would offer up a couch or a spare bedroom, so.

- Right, I sleep in my truck, I have a,

I have an air mattress and a thermal sleeping bag,

and, uh, I chose to tour, you know,

like Ontario in January, which was smart.

-Daniel Amedee is another musician

we randomly met on the road this year

who tours, sleeps, and ultimately lives in his verhicle.

-It looks like you're transporting people

from getting hookers.

-I know, right.

See, it's like two sleeping pads, can you see 'em?

- Two sleeping pads and,

and you just sleep right there?

- Somewhere.

-Oh, that's not too bad, but see, we just,

we just, our captain chairs just fold back.

You at least can lie flat.

- That's awful, I've been there.

I toured for two years with a girl in a Ford Focus.

-Yeah (chuckles)? - Didn't end well.

- That's sweet, man,

and you just, you just got, like, you just pay it,

doin' monthly payments on it, or?

- 330 a month.

- That's not bad!

- It's my only overhead.

That's sort of the way I think about it.

If, like, this is my job, if I can't make

at least $330 a month, what am I doin', you know?

- Yeah, so you don't have, like,

no apartment or anything, just.

- Nope.

- Just this.

♫ Or get out of town

♫ Why can't you see

Wanna sleep at a hotel?

- I don't know,

I just don't wanna spend that much.

- It's only 30 bucks.

- Well, there'd be taxes.

- Eh, yeah, it'd be, like, 32.

No, I, yeah, I don't know.

I mean, like, it's almost one.

- Yeah.

- You wanna just go to Walmart?

- Mm, maybe.

♫ One day when I reach 35 years

♫ I'm drivin' my pickup

♫ Straight to L.A.

Sleeping in the car for us is far less ideal.

It's in the front seats, in a sleeping bag,

usually in a Walmart parking lot using Walmart bathrooms,

and hoping that nobody watches us

or knocks on the windows while we sleep.

You OK?

- I'm sorry.

I almost drove off the road .

I'm good, I was really tired

just a few minutes ago before we got here.

I'm sorry.

- In the blink of an eye, we'll be watching this footage,

and we'll be a long ways from here,

but right now, it seems so overwhelming.

But just, like, that, we'll be on a TV screen.

- We'll see our name in stars!

- How'd you sleep?

- I don't feel like I did for most of the night.

- So, you slept well?

- I slept good, yeah, as far as I can remember.

-Did you sleep OK?

- No.

♫ You got that James Dean

♫ Charlie Sheen look in your eye

♫ You got that Ree--

- Take the keys out!

It's all dingy-ding.

And grab your money, don't throw money around.

And get a job already!

- Shut up, Mom!

This is an adventure, right?

- Adventure time!

- We're happy to be here, right?

♫ Adventure time, come on and grab your friends

- You're not me!

You need to love what I do!

Goin' to sleep, fully clothed!

People, people think we're good!

You were never a good mom!

- I haven't put my face on yet, Eric!

I'm an artist, you--

- I'm an artist, Mom!

I'm a art (sobs playfully)!

- Do you wanna keep

those stockings out for lunchtime?

- I don't wanna keep those stockings, Mom!

- That's our lives!

-Do you wish we were back home?

- I haven't really thought about it lately.

- I'd say that's good, yeah.

You guys, this is great!

Remember that $47 hotel that was a piece of crap?

- That shithole in Wichita?

- It was the worst!

- It was more expensive than this.

- Look at this, this is $37 for this!

It's a freakin',

this was $10 cheaper!

Look at, there's a thing over, and like, for hanging,

and look at this mirror, hey, what's goin' on guys?

And there's a pretty picture.

Here, look, it's like the bathroom part

is separated from this other part,

which I know that some crap hotels have two,

but it looks fancy here.

Elizabeth, I'm so excited!

- This is so nice, I wanna live here.

- Hairdryer, dryin' my hair, I guess.

These look like fancier things than I've seen before.

Look, there's four pillows,

and they're all just like spooning!

- Shh, we're in a hotel.

- I'm just excited. - OK.

- What are your guys' families think

of doin' the artist thing?

- Um--

-Are they supportive, are they, I mean--

- I think they've been pretty supportive for--

- Mm, for sure.

- For being completely opposite to what we wanna do,

I think they're patient, you know.

That's all you can really ask for.

- I'm an only child, so it wasn't like--

- [Eric] There's no big disappointment or anything?

- No, no, no, not at all, it wasn't,

and especially because, I think,

sometimes like, "Oh, your brother's doing," you know,

"he's going to law school and he's," you know.

For me, it was, my parents were like, "Yeah, go for it!"

- I would say that, you know,

my family's definitely been supportive.

They kinda believed in what I do.

- It's definitely glorified, they're like,

"Oh, when are you goin' on tour again?"

and I'm like, "Oh, I'm goin' for two weeks here,

"and I have a show here, a show there, a show here."

They just think it's, like, fuckin' Kings of Leon.

- My brother told me, actually, once,

I tried to give him a CD and he said,

"Yeah, it's just not really

"the kind of music I like listening to," and I was like--

-Your brother said that?

- Yeah, my brother said that,

"That's cool, man, I get it."

But, for the most part, they've been,

you know, super supportive.

- Now that they see that, you know,

that I'm doin' a lot more here, uh,

it's definitely something they would

entertain a little bit better, but they were like,

"You need to get a job," and I agreed.

I, like, I definitely have to have something to support it.

- They would think something's wrong,

if I wasn't doin' somethin' that's out of the ordinary.

So, I got it made!

- One thing my dad always said to me

is he pulled me aside when I was makin' the decision

and, like, go for it in college,

like actually really study it and commit a livelihood to it,

he goes, "You got it, but you have to be able

"to put a roof over your head."

That's all he said, like, you have to be able, you know,

put a roof over your head and feed yourself.

Get food on the table, that's it.

- And they were probably some of the most supportive

of all of the people that, you know,

were involved in what we were doing.

And even my dad came out for three days

on the first tour that we did,

and, like, hung out for a weekend with one of his buddies.

I mean, it was cool, it was cool.

- So they just, they think it's really cool

'cause they don't understand how we understand it, y'know?

And, you know, I fudge around things, like,

"Oh, yeah," you know, "the last tour was great."

I made $10 and,

you know, I was gone for three weeks.

- I think initially, um,

our thoughts were how long can you be doing this, you know?

You're exposed to thousands of miles on the road,

all kinds of weather, you know,

in, sometimes, some dicey places.

Worry a little bit about you guys gettin' mugged at night.

You know, they're all the personal safety issues

that I think, as parents, we're, you know,

clearly, we're concerned about.

- The fact that, you know, you're performing in bars

and people get drunk and do stupid things,

so, yeah, that was my concern.

It still is, it still is,

when you guys travel, um, and you go into towns

and places that you haven't been before,

and there's some pretty weird people out there.

- You know, we're like, yeah, we hope things work out,

but we're not, like, "Aw, they should change their lifestyle

"because this isn't workin'," that never occurred to me.

- No? - No.

- No.

- I was a little more feeling than Dad, probably,

"Hey, this is the time of your lives

"to try something like this, if you're gonna do it at all."

You're less encumbered by responsibilities of all kinds,

of all kinds other than your responsibility to one another.

- You know, I did wonder how you were

gonna survive financially, that, but, and that,

I realized that's how my parents were

when, you know, we told them

that we were gonna be missionaries, you know.

- When you started, you were younger,

and foolish wouldn't be the term, but naive.

- Inexperienced.

- A little naive of, uh, what it's gonna take

for the long haul, I think you've grown into that,

and, uh, whether or not

you have thought about the 40 years down the road

for you guys and what that means,

I don't know, but I guess you'll find your way there.

- I was grateful that Beth had found someone

who, um, together, you were gonna pursue your creativeness

or your, um,

the gifts and abilities that you had.

That you weren't gonna try to conform

or change Beth into being something that she's not.

- I knew from the time you were three

that you were an entertainer at heart.

You entertained everybody in different ways,

and the music, I'll never forget being at basketball games

up at the gym, and when they had this little band playing,

you know, you would be rockin' away with the beat,

like the one kid who really could do it, pull it off.

- I'd like to say I'm a fan, and I'm,

you know, every once in a while, you tell me,

"Oh, these perfect strangers will just come up to me

"and said, we loved your music, we loved your show,"

and, um, I've grown to love your music,

and I've always loved Elizabeth's art,

and I've appreciated it not just because

you're a family member, but for its intrinsic value.

- Yeah, we like going to your shows.

-Well, good.

- So have more near us and some in Canada (laughs).

- When I listen to the lyrics that you write

and the music, I'm very proud of you,

because I feel like you have a heart for what's important.

- When we are at a show, it's not like,

"Aw, well, it's Mom and Dad, back at the show again."

- We're not enduring the shows.

- What Mom and Dads are supposed to do.

- We like going to your shows.

- We enjoy it.

- We love you guys, so we're unbiased, right ?

- See this car, 2002 Nissan Altima,

that we got back in April, a mere six months ago?

Well, I just took it to try to get the heating fixed,

'cause there is no heat in the car at the moment,

and long story short, it's a huge, bigger (scoffs),

much bigger problem than anticipated,

and now, we are probably going

to have to buy another new car.

With money we don't necessarily have,

so that's gonna be (sighs),

I dunno, I--

♫ The mountain peaks are all sprinkled with bunkers

♫ And they're dressed in the sunshine

♫ That's intrinsically contemplating

♫ All the clouds that block it from the earth

♫ And if they're doing it purposefully

(dramatic, pounding piano)

Thanks!

This is what I wish every show was like,

but that is not the case for musicians at our level.

Every night is a different adventure,

and while every band has a town or two

where they've gained a following,

most nights you're playing

to whoever just happens to be there.

The size and shape of the crowd change everyday.

♫ All of the side effects

♫ I had a swollen eyelid for about a week or two

♫ And you were coughing up blood for a day

♫ Well, the healing process took longer than

♫ What we were expecting

♫ I don't think it's wise to live on my brother's time

Every band has great stories about terrible things

that happen on the road, in fact,

I've heard so many while interviewing people,

we probably could've made a documentary just about that.

- Oh, yeah, that was part of the act,

was, like, drenching themselves in pig's blood

and start throwing shit all in there.

- And throw it over top of this little cross member

and jump off this stage, you know?

To kind of, you know, act like, hey, I'm hangin' myself.

Well, the problem is, when he dropped,

he didn't judge the length of the cable.

- The parkin' spot we were in

for the registration was a chalk outline,

and, like, bullet shell casings everywhere.

- Well, he looks at us, he takes my hand in one hand,

and Chris' hand in the other like this for a shake like this

and goes, "Oh, OK," and walks away,

so I really wanted, like, our press quote

to be like, "Oh, OK,"

Bernie Sanders to When Particles Collide.

- And then we went on a ghost hunt

because it was this huge, massive building

with no lights on and nobody in it except for us.

- There was one time a chick strapped razor blades

to her hands and went in the mosh pit

and just started spinnin' around in a circle.

- There's a gentlemen who happens to look just like me,

um, who ran the Mahdi Army.

- Really?

- Yeah, his name's Moqtada Al-Sadr,

and I look just like him.

- Yeah, we definitely played a biker rally,

um, it did not go well.

- And then we did get to see Lou Ferrigno.

- And then they hit the ledge, and just go airborne

into oncoming interstate traffic the other way.

- They're going, and had sex with her boyfriend loudly,

and then got up and went

and bought everybody breakfast sandwiches.

- If you're going to go on tour,

you're going to acquire stories.

You're also going to have a lot of bad shows.

This next one, Bruce Springsteen,

The Boss himself, tweeted about.

This next song is one that Barrack Obama

said was his number two favorite song of 2015.

- Woo!

- Free beer!

- Thank you.

- Arright, let's continue on with our set.

All right, about to get started in Trevor's here,

but a few people beyond Trevor--

- Thanks for the encouragement, Trevor!

Eh, well, Elizabeth, we are here, about to start.

There is a Mardis Gras parade going on right there.

Look at that, Mardis Gras parade!

Pocket Vinyl.

Thanks.

Just nothin', just no,

because there's a parade outside.

But sometimes, everything points to a terrible night,

yet it turns out great.

How you feelin' about tonight's show?

- Well, I don't think anyone's gonna be there.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- This one kinda looks like a house or somethin'.

Might be more of a restaurant gig,

which restaurant gigs never go well.

Here's where we're playing.

Some people standing in line, a lotta empty tables,

and some people having a meeting over there.

It looks like it's pretty ideal for a Pocket Vinyl show!

Earlier, there was no one here

except for this guy over here,

but I was, like, showin' the room and I'm like,

"This are what shows are like sometimes,"

but we're gonna do a little thing, you and I,

where I'm gonna point the camera at myself and say,

"Look who showed up," and then turn to you guys,

and everyone just wave and go, "Hi," all right?

Hey, look who showed up?

- Hi!

- Any, any interp, any interpretations or anything?

Who'd like to--

- Um, it looks very much

like something I've seen before.

Ah, I know what it looks like, actually,

and I'm not gonna say what it looks like,

because that's, like, not something you do for an artist

is say it looks like another artist--

- Oh, yeah, smart!

-Look at that!

- Woo, that's really respectful, man!

We made around $120 that night.

So how did you feel that went?

- Mm, weirdly well.

- Yeah, that was kind of odd, right?

- Yeah.

- Yeah, I don't understand what happened.

Just people show up.

We've done this over, like, we've played over 500 shows,

and it's still, it, like weirds me out

when it's, like, there's no one there,

then all of a sudden, I finish a song and look up

and people are clapping and there's people there.

I guess just be thankful.

- Yeah.

I feel like we learn that lesson over and over again.

Aw, remember how you can't predict how things are gonna go?

Eh, you should be thankful about that.

Yeer.

- Who's that? - God.

- Oh, that's God?

- That's my impression of--

- God's just like, "You don't know!"

♫ I saw the inside

♫ I saw the

- Why?

- Basically, right now I don't want to go on the road.

I'm just, I just wanna stay home.

I love it, I love playing.

It's great, I mean, I'm livin' the dream, right?

I'm in this, I'm in this long corridor,

heading, we're playing,

I just, I don't wanna play right now.

I don't wanna do music.

I wanna go home.

We have another five weeks of this on the road,

and it's just, we're at, like, this sports bar,

and last night, we played a show where no one came,

and I'm just...

- Sometimes, I wonder if touring

is knocking years off of my life.

Like, if I didn't tour,

I would live longer.

But, if I didn't tour, I'd do something else.

Maybe that would make my life shorter.

- It's like we're supposed to go on in, like, 20 minutes,

and I, I don't want to.

And I'm going to and I'm going to pretend like I do,

and I'm gonna pretend like I love it the whole time, but

I, I, I wanna stop doing this.

- I'm done.

I don't wanna play any more shows on this tour.

Do you have a single show

that you're actually looking forward to?

Like one where you're just like,

"Oh, yeah, a lot of people will be at that one."

- There's a few that look promising.

I feel like I'm holding off a panic attack right now,

and I don't know what to do.

Like, what else can we do besides just play more shows?

We played 600 shows and we're, and it's,

like, we have kind of a small fan base,

but nothing on the sense of national

or even regional, really, anywhere (sighs).

I don't know (muttering).

I don't know what to do.

I don't know, I don't know what the next step is.

- I wonder if you'll actually watch this footage, Eric.

We're gonna have so much footage to go through.

This footage might never get seen.

♫ We birthed a strong and distinct fume

♫ My hands, they feel as big as this room

So I went, so, yeah, we went back, I was like,

"Yeah, I'm gonna go on the road and be a musician."

What's the first bit of advice,

number one advice you would give me?

- Don't do it (laughs).

- Really?

- No.

- Get your finances in check, get your finances in check,

get your finances in check.

- Play, have fun, be nice to each other,

be nice to the sound guy.

Always err on the side of, of, of, being open-armed.

If people need to borrow gear, if people need help,

help them, because you never know.

Hey, your show just got canceled, remember that guy you met

that happens to live in Saginaw, Michigan?

Hey, you might have somewhere to stay tonight.

- Just, like, focus your effort on building relationships

rather than burning them,

'cause you never know when that person's

gonna be able to help ya out down the line.

- You know, someone says you had a good show,

appreciate what they're trying to tell you,

even if you thought it wasn't that good

of an experience, you know?

- It's a really easy job for somebody who can handle

being worn out and tired and

in an uncomfortable situation most of the time.

- You know, there was a few lessons I learned

where I didn't ask about pay where I should've.

You know, not necessarily their fault,

not necessarily mine, uh, I didn't ask beforehand,

and now, I make sure that I do

so that doesn't happen again.

- I would say pace yourself, uh,

and take time to just, uh, be in the moment.

- It's not easy, it's not glamorous,

and you really have to fuckin' work.

- You said earlier it was easy.

- Just don't put, pick one of the other.

- Have at least 2000 saved for just an "Oh, shit!" fund.

You have to, your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere,

and you don't have AAA, what are you gonna do?

You have to save tons of money to do this well,

so you're not sittin' there fearing for life,

because it's pretty scary if your car breaks down

and you don't have the money to repair it, right?

- Um, every band you meet, um, talk with them,

see if they wanna play future shows with you.

Also, every venue you play at, um,

see if they like your music,

and if they either wanna have you back at the venue,

or if you wanna play with that band again.

Write them all down.

- And plan to work harder than everybody else.

- I think it's very important to do it because you love it,

because if you don't love it, it's not gonna last.

- I would say if your motivation is success,

uh, then you have the wrong motivation.

- You just don't know until you do it.

You don't know what's gonna resonate with people,

and booking gigs out of town and touring

when you first start,

a lot of it is learning how to be a band,

learning how to be a mensch.

Learning how to ask for favors,

learning how to be a gracious guest.

You know, all these things you're learning,

it's not really about your music, and it's really learning

how to be a good person in this community.

- This whole film is really just a sliver

of what it's like to be a small, traveling musician.

The highs are very high, and the lows can be very low.

The amount of sacrifice just to start

is large enough to scare away most normal people,

and the risks involved are staggering from the beginning.

With all this in mind, I often find myself asking

why even do this, why do I do it?

Why does Elizabeth do it with me?

Why do all these people we've met try to do it, too?

Is it even worth it?

- Music can really help people and heal people,

and think, with a three-minute pop song,

you can just completely change somebody's life, you know,

with them in a way that no other art form can.

- It's something that can change lives.

It's something that can make an impact on somebody's

next decision they're gonna make.

- It's just something that you do, I don't know.

I can't never see myself not writing.

It's always been very therapeutic.

- This is therapy for me.

When I write a song, this is therapy.

This is stuff that I can't really share,

like, if I was talkin' to you, face-to-face right now,

we were just talkin', I couldn't do it.

So I do it through lyrics, I do it, you know,

with a melody, with a hook.

- It is amazing seeing a crowd react to a song.

- If, you know, I mess up, then I'm completely exposed,

and it's, you know, that's kind of a thrill for me.

It's like every time I perform,

it's like riding a roller coaster.

- I mean, I think you could probably be empathetic

without art, but I think art has a major role

in your, uh, understanding of situations,

you know, socio-economic, whether it's local,

or state, or national or global.

I think you can learn a lot

from exploring yourself creatively.

- You know, at your core,

you have to do this because you love it, um.

You have to feel that what you're doing is important.

If it's not important to anyone else,

no one else cares what you do, um, it's still important.

- I think that's what draws people to it, um,

is to hear somebody else in their most raw form,

and to be able to relate to it.

That's what friendship is, it's sharing, um,

the prejudice of experience.

- I guess a lot of it for myself is just an obsession.

Um, I've been making art my entire life,

and songwriting has become the thing

that I can't help but do.

- Music is the car that takes me there, that's.

- Something about it that I am just in love with,

and I don't really know what it is,

but it's, whatever it is, it's great (laughs).

- Yeah, it is worth it.

I still don't know why it is, but I know that it is.

As I said at the beginning of this film,

Pocket Vinyl is just the two of us.

No managers, or booking agents, or any of that,

but really, I've discovered through our many adventures

that a small touring band on the road is far from alone.

This is not something that only Elizabeth and I built.

Our band, like every band, is alive and well

thanks to hundreds and thousands of people

who help us out.

Whether it's giving us dinner, a place to lay our head,

or just throwing a dollar in the tip jar,

it all helps keep us going far more than we can express.

This band is not just the two of us.

It's everyone who has ever seen us, or helped us.

It's even you, by watching this movie right now.

- The generosity that people show is just unbelievable.

I think the most amazing thing

is how humbling the experience is.

It's so humbling, not only because

sometimes you play to three people,

but also humbling because people are so generous.

Just constantly accepting kindness

and generosity from people is really somethin', yeah.

♫ Let your body take you

♫ To the place you first found love

♫ Won't you open up your heart

♫ And be found

♫ Through those lonely feelings

♫ Walking past the fields at last

♫ Won't you keep your head held high

♫ And be found

♫ Let your body take you

♫ To the place you first found love

♫ Won't you open up your heart

♫ And be found

- Look here, look, let's leave this thing.

I hate this car.

- Me, too.

- I'm so ready to get rid of this car (laughs).

We've put over $1000 into this car in just the last month.

And now--

-Do you have any idea

how much we put into it since we bought it?

- Between three and 4000.

- That's it?

- Maybe a little more, but yeah, I think that's it.

- I think we put in more than that.

I feel like it's silver because it's trying to look fancy,

but it's really awful.

- New car, old crappy car.

New, wonderful car.

I hope.

I have all this optimism, and like,

everything looks like it's gonna be great with this,

but I don't know,

what if it's got, like, goblins in it.

Oh, and look, our old Camry didn't have this.

- Hey!

- Look at this nice wood.

- Nice, fancy wood!

- It's like I driving a cabin in here, this is great!

There it is, we never have to see this car again!

- Bye-bye!

- Aw, you piece of crap!

- Nobody likes you!

♫ Monday, I'd rejoice in the glow of Christ

♫ Tuesday, I'd proclaim that it was all lies

♫ Then right back to my religious self

♫ I was sure of nothing and I wanted help

♫ I heard that doubt like an annoying bell

♫ I believe it 'cause I was scared of Hell

♫ Yeah, I had no depth of commitment

♫ I followed Christ to avoid the punishment

♫ I changed my veil, I had a spiritual schism

♫ I dabbled in the church of atheism

♫ Tried to rid myself of all that I could

♫ From the Sunday school lessons of my childhood

♫ But something I noticed internally

♫ Like I didn't believe in God, but God believed in me

♫ Was this a feeling from the divine

♫ Or something I made up in my mind

♫ Now I'm not sure of the title I hold

♫ I'd rather not have one if I can be so bold

♫ The one thing I feel I can sink my teeth

♫ Into is a love that forgives my enemies

♫ And I know I'll fail with the bar so high

♫ But something inside me compels me to try

♫ You may call me a heretic

♫ You can't spell that word without Eric

♫ Admittedly I'm scared, skittish like a vapor

♫ To put these thoughts down onto this paper

♫ What if I'm disowned by my family

♫ When I claim that if there's a Hell

♫ It's probably empty

♫ For some it's easy just to give it up

♫ But I'll probably always drink right from that cup

♫ It's a foggy mess still around my head

♫ I'm sure I'll figure it out though when I'm dead