Eric Brace • Last Train Home Web site • washingtonpost.com MP3: Last Train Home • Nightwatch Live archive • Nightlife section • Entertainment Guide • Talk: washingtonpost.com message boards • Live Online Transcripts • NEW! Subscribe to the weekly Live Online E-Mail Newsletters and receive highlights and breaking news event alerts in your mailbox. On The Road: Last Train Home With Eric Brace Musician Friday, June 13, 2003; Noon ET Driving a van with the guys in your band over long roads to play your music in new bars and ending up in towns like Beaver, W.Va. -- what could be better than that? Besides opening for Willie Nelson in your home town. Last time Eric Brace was online, he talked about Last Train Home's tour, life in Nashville and what he knows about the music business. Now he's back to fill us in. And did he mention they're opening for Willie Nelson on June 18? Time and Water Brace was online Friday, June 13. He talked about it all. The transcript follows. Last Train Home features Jim Gray on bass; Alan Brace on mandolin, harmonica and vocals; Bill Williams on lead guitar, lap steel and banjo; Martin Lynds on drums; Scott McKnight on guitar; Kevin Cordt on trumpet and fiddle; Dave Van Allen on pedal steel guitar and lap steel; and Doug Derryberry on guitars, pianos and organ from time to time. Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Eric Brace: Hey there folks..
thanks for logging on and checking in on the progress of Last Train Home as we zoom around the country and try to become better known and able to make a living just playing music...

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Arlington, Va.: So, details. Tell us how opening for Willie Nelson came about. -And- how you're getting so much face (ear?) time on NPR.

Eric Brace: ahhh Willie..
we got lucky.
It was a confluence of events.
We played at the barns of Wolf Trap last fall, had a great time, sold it out, and most importantly, impressed the "talent buyer" of Wolf Trap, Peter Zimmerman. He books both the Barns and the big amphitheater, the Filene Center.
I know that some locals like Pat McGee and Eddie From Ohio had performed in the Filene Center over the years, and I asked Peter if there was any chance LTH could open for one of those guys, or, say, Mary Chapin Carpenter there this summer.
He pondered and pondered and while he did, LTH signed on with Mongrel Music, a superb booking agency based in San Fran. with a roster consisting mainly of my music heroes (www.mongrelm.com). Our booking agent there, Brad Madison, works frequently with Peter at Wolf Trap (mainly at the Barns)... so then THOSE two started talking about what the possibilities were for LTH this summer...
Emmylou Harris was a possibility, but she was being offered to Wolf Trap as "An Evening With...", i.e. JUST her and no opening act.
Peter suggested he check with Willie's people at the William Morris Agency/Nashville to see if he would allow an opener, or if he was "carrying support" (bringing his own opener). Those folks said: go ahead and find an opener, but then clear it with us. Peter and Brad both sent stuff (our CDs, press kits, etc) to Willie's people and they okayed us to play a 35 minute set at 8 p.m.
When Brad called me to tell me, i whooped and yelled.
I mean, really. Willie Nelson. A hero. wow.
Now i'm trying to find out how much hanging out time we'll have with the Red-headed Stranger backstage!

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Bethesda, Md.: Do you actually make any money opening for the likes of Willie Nelson or is that something you'd do for the privilege alone?

Eric Brace: As i said, Peter Zimmerman at Wolf Trap knows that we have just become a full-time band and that i no longer have my Wash Post salary to subsidize the whole thing, so he was very generous, giving us enough to cover our expenses (i pay the guys in the band for each gig) and the expenses for, oh, probably 3 other gigs like the one we did in Chicago last month, opening for Chuck Prophet at FitaGerald's where we walked out with $100... not much for that long a drive, and then food and drink for the band. But worth it because we got in front of the owner of that very cool club. He liked us and will have us back (probably in July) and will pay us more.. we'll draw more... it grows slowly.
Most clubs in town pay the opening acts-whether touring or local bands-a more token amount, like $100, $150, $200.. We're lucky Wolf Trap is taking care of us. We're not quite up to the level of Willie... i don't know what he's making, but I'd bet it's above $50,000.

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Alexandria, Va.: Two questions. First, I really dig your brother's tune on the new disc -- how often does he play with you when you travel? Second, have you played the SXSW festival, and if not, are you planning on doing so next year?

--Seth in Old Town

Eric Brace: I'm very happy to report that my brother alan will be joining us at Wolf Trap Wednesday.. but sadly, he can't play most of the out of town gigs. I'm glad you like "He's The Kind".. it's one of my favorite songs, and Alan is one of my favorite lead singers anywhere.. he's got a kind of Graham Parker thing going on. I'm hoping to get more of his songs on future CDs. There are rare out of town gigs (mainly in nashville) where we buy him a plane ticket to come down if he's free.. but mostly he's a DC-area member, like Bill Williams and Scott McKnight too. Family- and career-men. Gotta be responsible. Someday we'll be making Willie-like $$ and LTH will pay them enough where they can't afford NOT to go on the road!
SXSW has rejected LTH the last 6 years... always a bridesmaid.... so we will probably NOT play there. It's a zoom anyway and you get lost in the shuffle , often, so it's arguably not worth it, despite the fun. We ARE playing in austin July 10... the continental club, opening for the Domino Kings (probably make $100... )

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Elevator quiz: In marketing, they say you should be able to describe what your business is about in the time it takes to take a short elevator ride. What is your elevator ride spiel on what your band is?

Eric Brace: That's a dang good question...
I, in fact, did JUST that this morning, explaining LTH to the manager of my storage space while IN THE ELEVATOR going to grab some p.a. gear for our Philly date Saturday.
English is not his primary language so that added a level of difficulty. or maybe it simplified it, come to think of it. He said: "So what kind of music do you play?"
and i said: "It's a kind of Country-rock, with pop and folk and swing, with a whole bunch of guys having a whole lot of fun on stage." Clearly a marketer's nightmare.

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Arlington, Va.: Love y'all's music and try to hit the shows whenever you're playin' Iota. Travelogue has turned into my favorite driving CD but my question to you is: Are y'all going to come out with a live CD? There's just something different about hearing y'all live -- your other CDs are great and all but the energy and sound is completely different in front of a crowd. I'd love to get my hands on something like that. Had a great time at the show last Sunday and lookin' forward to Willie Nelson. Thanks!

Eric Brace: So glad you were at the IOTA show last Sunday! We've just started doing those Sunday afternoon matinees, all-ages, non-smoking, to try to accommodate those folks who hate club smoke and who have kids they want to bring out..
We really really want to make a live record at IOTA soon.. to capture this particular LTH moment.. IOTA is really our musical home. We've grown with the club.. we play a full weekend every two-months, we play New Year's Eve there every year, we admire and trust Dave the soundman. So yes, we want to capture that elusive magic that takes place when we play there. I know what you mean. The albums are a little more, um, controlled than the live shows. And glad you like "Travelogue". That is (for those who don't know and might want to) a combination of songs from our first two albums that was released in Australia in Oct. 2001. We're hoping that our Australian label will put out "Time and Water" soon, so that we can go back there and tour, like we did in Nov. 2001 (wow)... but negotiations are moving slowly...

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Washington, D.C.: You must have lots of time while driving to listen to music. What have you been listening to/enjoying during those hours on the road?

Eric Brace: Driving late at night is the best time to listen.. I often take night shift while others sleep .. jim and martin are the primary drivers though. I think i make them nervous.
My absolute favorite night driving music is the last Flaming Lips, "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" or whatever that's called... my god.. Genius.
And the latest Thievery Corporation. it's transporting.
and the Mavericks "Trampoline" ...
and new Chuck Prophet... and Buddy & Julie Miller (all of their work) and
always: Emmylou Harris. Right Now it's "Roses in the Snow"... playing the song 'Green Pastures' over and over again. A song i hear she did at Wolf Trap this week, with our dobro playing pal Mike Auldridge sitting in. Sigh.

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So in describing your sound would you say you: have a sound like the Jayhawks or Wilco?

Eric Brace: neither... the Jayhawks are a mostly mid-tempo rock band, with acoustic touches. We share their love for harmony, for sure. Wilco is all over the place, in a ood way, but if you were to put us side by side you'd see we don't have that much in common.. Though members of all three bands probably grew up listening to lots of the same stuff, i'd say comparisons to those two bands aren't that apt.
One reviewer threw us in with Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the Mavericks, which is much more appropriate i think.

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Fairfax, Va.: Eric --

How come you often read about a label signing a band and then not supporting them to the fullest? What is the allure for bands, just $$$? Are labels just looking for the one in a hundred that hits it big?

Eric Brace: I was just talking to Kim Richey about this yesterday (i host a show called "MHz Presents" on the public TV network MHz [www.mhznetworks.org] out in Virginia... it's kind of like "Sessions at W. 52nd" or whatever that's called.. and have interviewed very swell folks like michelle Shocked and the Waifs and such. Really fun. Airs Sundays at 8 p.m.)
So Kim was telling me how the hot new label Lost Highway had dropped her just 3 months after the released her CD. She's angry. There's no benefit, unless they promise to spend millions promoting you and NOT BILL YOU FOR THAT COST (called a "recoupable"). Other than that, the benefit is gaining access to record stores, but if you have a decent distributor (we use a fine group of out North Carolina called Redeye Distribution) you can do without a label for that. It's been the Brass Ring for so long, that many acts sign on whatever dotted line is put in front of them, then suffer and go into debt to the label and are dropped.. then you get bitter at the biz and forget why you're doing it in the first place. Bitter disillusioned musicians are way to plentiful. There's lots of them in Nashville...

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Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.: Eric we are so proud of you! Opening for Willie ought to be great fun. I love him, and we share the same birthday (April 30) but he is 20 years older. Great review by Richard Harrington on Willie's new releases. And great to see Richard in The Post more but we miss you too. I was amused at the rapper's comments on his smoking weed. I'm out of town Wednesday but I looked at the Wolf Trap Web site, and it looks like the show is sold out!

Eric Brace: thanks !!
the show is indeed sold out.. though there may be a couple of lawn seats left...
Thanks for missnig my column!

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Washington, D.C.: Eric: Really looking forward to seeing LTH at Wolf Trap. How do you go about securing the rights to perform other people's songs on your CDs. I'd assume it's a pretty casual affair when its a song by a pal or bandmate, but do you have to pay big bucks to use something like Bill Monroe's "Walls of Time"? And does that arrangement give you the right to keep performing it over and over?

Eric Brace: Thanks.
Generally you have to go through the Harry Fox Agency. They're basically a giant collection agency.. they collect royalties for play performances for instance. Every high school in the country has to pay the Harry Fox Agency a certain amount whenever tehy stage a productino of "Bye Bye Birdie" for instance. Then the HFA passes on a percentage of that to the copyright holder.
As far as CDs goes, the Harry Fox Agency collects what are known as "mechanical royalties".. that's the amount that an artist has to pay to the copyright holder of a song on a "per song, per manufactured unit"...
So, in the case of "Walls of Time" you go to the HFA website, tell them how many CDs you've pressed and they spit back out a number and you write a check.
In our case, we pressed 5,000 of our latest CD with "Walls of Time" on it. So we would have to pay the HFA 5000 x .08 or so (it's about eight cents per song, per manufactured unit).
but here's the weird thing.
When i was on the HFA site, they told me that the copyright holder of Walls of Time (Bill Monroe's estate) was not issuing anymore licences for that song. No explanation was given. But the thing is if a song is out there, you have the right to record it as long as you're not substantially modifying the composition. We rocked it out pretty hard, but the song is recognizably the song. So now i'm in a back and forth via certified mail with the administrators of Monroe's music on what to pay them for the recording of "Walls of Time." Long answer and getting longer:
Here's the funny thing: Everybody knows it was Peter Rowan who wrote the song when he played in Bill Monroe & the Blue Grass Boys in the mid-'60s... i don't think he's getting any royalties for it (Monroe was a mean cus in getting what he wanted).

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Virginia: Re: Kim Richey. Man oh man. A TOTALLY underappreciated genius, in my book. She deserves to be huge, don't you think?

Eric Brace: Kim is really really good.
But she considers herself lucky that she even has a sustainable music career. it still surprises her that anyone cares. She's very modest.

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Washington, D.C.: Eric,

So, how are you supporting yourself while you give this music thing a full-time chance? You can't be living off what you're making to open for Willie. Do you make enough touring on your own? Or, have you saved up a nest egg?

Eric Brace: No nest egg.
Other guys in the band are keeping up aspects of their old day jobs to supplement.
I make nearly all the money i live off of these days through music. I told owners Steve and Jane at IOTA that i could NOT do it without them. The 3 IOTA gigs--every 8 weeks or so--subsidize nearly everything we do.

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Washington, D.C.: Okay, maybe a dumb question for this crowd, but what is the difference between pedal steel and lap steel? And what's a dobro?

Eric Brace: A dobro is an acoustic guitar, tuned to an open chord and played horizontally with a slide bar. it's the decendent of hawaiian slack key guitars, and their built with a round metal desonator (looks like an elaborate frying pan) in the body where a normal guitar's sound hole would be.
A lap steel is the hawaiian guitar turned electric. It has a small solid body, with strings tuned like a dobro (though there are many possible tunings), so that you can play it horizontally with a slide bar in your left hand, and the sound is picked up by electromagnetic 'pick-ups' like in a regular electric guitar.
A PEDAL steel guitar is basically a lap steel, but it has pedals, which are attached to rods which go straight up through the solid body and are attached to particular strings so that when you step on the pedals you are pulling on the strings, thus shifting the pitch. That's the thing that gives the pedal steel that gorgeous swooping sound, beyond the sound of just the left-hand slide bar moving up and down the strings. Come to a show and install yourself next to Dave Van Allen and he'll show you how pedal steel is done.

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The 11th Floor: Have you considered asking Willie if you can sing the Waylon bits on "Luchenbach, Texas?"

Eric Brace: i've considered asking..... wooweee... can you imagine..?

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Groupiegirldc: Hey, so are ya in Jersey already? Say hi to the ocean for me.

Eric Brace: we're heading out as soon as this chat is done. I have a pal who runs a hotel in Ocean City NJ, right by Sommers Point, and we're going to check in early and splash in the ocean before playing at Bubba's Mac Shack tonight! I'll say hi for you.

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Groupieville, Calif.: What will you write about the Iota folks in your memoirs someday?

Eric Brace: I will say that IOTA is one of the finest little clubs in the history of live music.... certainly that's the case in d.c.'s club history. People in other towns envy us our iota....

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Somewhere in the Heights of Jersey City, N.J.: Eric? Gary Pig Gold here. Hello!

And Would You or Would You Not agree that none other than Buddy Holly (besides being the possibly-missing musical link between the '50s and the '60s) WAS, in fact, the original alt. westerner?

Discuss.

Eric Brace: hey gary!!
yes yes yes.
but there was no "alternative" to anything then, because the evil forces of corporate radio hadn't segmented everything down to within an inch of its life...

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Arlingtonia, Va.: Congrats on the Willie concert. Let's pray for sun and that you get a picnic invitation out of it. Caught you at Iota too, ex-cellent. Will alert friends in cities on your tour.

Quick question: I've noticed that your facial hair varies in photos, etc. My brother's goatee worries me -- any suggestions based your own variations? I'm thinking full beard.

Kangaroo Girl

Eric Brace: Let's indeed pray for sun next wednesday... and for sun this sunday the 15th as well, when we play an outdoor show in Frederick MD (7 - 8:30), the Baker Park Bandshell..
But as far as facial hair goes, those aforeentinoed photos reveal me to be follically challenged on the top of my head, so i don't have nearly the options that some guys have. No Mohawks, no dreads, no nuthin...
so i mess with the chin. No beard.. it makes me look way older than i actually am... maybe when I'm playing the part of a rustic poet up in the hills somewhere.. with a pipe and such.. but not yet. Don't be worried about yer bro's goatee.. it's a phase.
And yes please do tell your pals in far-flung places about LTH touring through. Our schedule is on the website, O Kangaroo Grrrrl. But you'll probably get it in an email..

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Minneapolis, Minn.: Are you planning on making it to Minnesota anytime soon?

Eric Brace: We're playing a wedding in Montana on Aug 31, so we're hoping to drive though Minn-St Paul around Aug 27 or 28... we hope! Stay tuned!

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Washington, D.C.: Are you gonna try to sell one of your fine songs to Willie?

Eric Brace: y'know, i wrote "Time and Water" with Willie's voice in mind.. but i flatter myself in thinking he'd ever do it.. still, a fellow can dream, no?
thanks for the compliment.

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Arlington, Va.: Technical question for you: How did the band first organize into a legal entity (for copyright and organization purposes)? Did you guys form a limited partnership? A corporation? I'm in a band that's grappling with those issues now, particularly with the issues of multiple copyrights on songs with different combinations of songwriters, and we're curious about how other bands have done this.

Love your CDs!

Eric Brace: Good question.
Thus far, i have NOT incorporated at ALL.
All income and "out-go" flows through me, giving myaccountant major headaches. But this year we will become an LLC based in Tennessee. It will not be a partnership. I will retain full control (cue maniacal laughter). Ownership of the band name, control the copyright of our recordings, website content, t-shirt rights.. all that hooey.
if you're in a band that's an actual partnership, then you need a lawyer to get it straight. in d.c. the Washington Area Lawyers for the ARts are geniuses at this. Every band does it differently. You need to spend a LOT of time with all of you sitting down in the same room with a lawyer talking it out. Not through phone calls and e-mails. Everything's got to be crystal clear and understood between you.
thanks for digging the music.

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Washington, D.C.: So, are you living the Nightwatch lifestyle in Nashville? How's the local salsa scene?

Eric Brace: There's one salsa club. not too bad either. But when i've been in nashville, i've been too busy running a band to go out and party. this full-time-ness of LTH really shifts priorities.

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Brooklyn, N.Y.: So how do you feel about playing the Port Washington Fish Day? You have some kind of thing for fish? I'm willing to bet it pays more than Rodeo Bar (which is actually a pretty good gig for New York -- moneywise -- believe it or not).

Eric Brace: I can't WAIT to play Fish Day!!!
I love Wisconsin (Port Washington is just outside Milwaukee).. it's a big festival with some big names this year. It'll rock.
Rodeo Bar is a blast to play at ... but yes, Fish Day will pay more than them....
I DO have some kind of thing for fish.. I'm a Pisces.

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Fairfax, Va.: How much of a "This is a business" attitude have you had to adopt to get the band better noticed, better gigs, etc.? Do you find that you have to "sell" yourself a lot and how does that feel? Are you losing the feeling that what you are doing is art?

Eric Brace: 100 %...
everything changes.. you have to be on on on the ball. I have to sing 15 nights in a row in July.. so no drinking, no smoking, no anything but singing and sleeping. And you have to follow through on every email, note, phone call... it's really hard, but when it's what you want to do , you just find a way to do it.
there is the concern that playing these songs night after night will take away some of the pleasure, but actors do it with great plays night after night all the time right? Performing music is different from the creation of music (the songwriting process). I'm lucky i can do both and get a charge out of both.

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Herndon, Va.: This may be a little off topic, but you have tuned into CMT's countdown of the top 100 country songs of all time? If so, any thoughts? Gripes?

Eric Brace: Haven't had a chance to seeit but i know one of the writers and i respect them...
But a cool book to get id Bill Friskics-Warrens new one, "500 greatest country singles" or something close.. that's started all KINDS of arguments in nashville!

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Washington, D.C.: So. Do you miss The Post?

Eric Brace: yes very much. the people, the buzz, the job...
but I don't mis HAVING to write a column every week, if that disinction makes any sense...

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Eric Brace: okay.. sadlyit's time to go.. there are many other questions that i'm not able to get to... I'm sure i'll have another chat here, probably in a month or so...
Tune in right now (1:30 p.m. Friday June 13) to WAMU , 88.5 FM to hear an interview (taped wednesday!) of me in my OTHER band the Skylighters, featuring dobro genius Mike Auldridge, mandolin ace Jimmy Gaudreau and LTH rhythm section Jim Gray (bass) and Martin lynds (drums) . We play old-time country, bluegrass, country-rock... it's a blast. We play the Birchmere Friday June 27.
BUT (and here's the most important thing). This chat of mine is the very last one being produced by washingtonpost.com's "Live OnLine" guru Lisa Todorovich.. she's heading out into the world of broadcast news after years of making washingtonpost.com a better place. She's smart and funny and talented and beautiful and we shall miss her terribly (am i forgetting anything, lisa?x?)
And thanks to you all for checking in and for caring about Last Train Home. It means the world to me and the boys.

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washingtonpost.com:

That wraps up today's show. Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion.