I often think about a story Loretta Lynn once told me about how frustrated she would get when she came back home from a tour and tried to bake something in her kitchen but she didn’t know where any of the utensils or ingredients were. As I riffle through my own cabinets looking for a measuring cup and my bag of flour to make some homemade blueberry muffins, I laugh out loud to keep from crying, relating all too well.
Living on a tour bus is kind of like what I would imagine traveling on a pirate’s ship to be like. When I arrive on solid land after a sixteen hour bus ride from Saratoga Springs, New York, the first thing I do is promptly eat three oranges and get extra rest to try and evade the physical and mental “scurvy” that comes along with the territory or the touring business. The risk factors of scurvy verbatim are as follows: mental disorders, unusual eating habits, homelessness, alcoholism, substance use disorder, intestinal malabsorption, dialysis, voyages at sea (historic), being stuck adrift. And now the symptoms: weakness, feeling tired, changes to hair, sore arms and legs, gum disease, easy bleeding. These could easily be descriptors for the general hazards that come with the territory of being a musician.
As I try to get my bearings on being domesticated again, it’s always a little turbulent. I recommend one do it slowly, if at all possible. Every time I return home after a long tour, even a good one- I feel road worn, exhausted, out of touch with family and friends, even community. They say, “you never need a vacation more than when you come back from a vacation” and truly the effects of late nights, adrenaline addiction, time zone jumping, eating at odd hours and imbibing in various substances and the general lifestyle of “living in a van down by the river” begin to take their toll on you after decades of being a musician.
Nonetheless, I wouldn’t trade the experience I had out on the road with Tedeschi Trucks Band for anything. I met Susan Tedeschi about six or seven years ago through Willie Nelson and Bob Weir but I’d long been a fan of her guitar playing and vocal prowess. She is truly a force to be reckoned with and we hit it off immediately. I’d ran into both Susan and her virtuoso guitarist of a husband, Derek Trucks over the past few years at music festivals all over the country including Dead Ahead Fest in Mexico last year. Many people sincerely believe Derek is Duane Allman reincarnated and if you’ve seen any videos of him playing even as a pre-teen, you’d understand why. I ran in the same circles and I had long admired the talent of Derek and Susan and their band, but the tour we went on this summer solidified a musical bond that will last a lifetime.
For those of y’all who are unaware of who Susan Tedeschi is, please pause and watch this video right now:
Watch the video: Susan Tedeschi at Farm Aid 1999
These two are talented individuals in their own right, but together they are like a blast of dynamite. The fact that they are married and have a band and children together is complete couple goals. We had our children out for the first three weeks of the tour and Derek and Susan understood the challenges that come with family and road life. After three weeks of dragging our fourteen year old son and five year old daughter around with us, they were exhausted and returned home to start school with my mother at the helm of the household. My husband Jeremy and I had a great time while the kids were out with us (I even made a little short video about it as you’ll see below) but we welcomed the time to focus on the music after they left.
Watch the video: How To Raise Your Kids on a Tour Bus
The thing I loved about the Tedeschi Trucks tour was the focus on the actual music. You can just tell, they love what they do and their fans love music, plain and simple. So the fact that they are more blues or rock and we are maybe more country or Americana leaning didn’t necessarily matter. We got out there every single night and connected to the audience- they were truly there with us and it was a magical experience. Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi are some of the most supremely talented and down to earth humans I’ve ever met. The way that they ran the tour was inspiring. There were always family style meals where the bands, families and crews- including bus drivers- and everyone was involved. We all sat down for a big dinner together and broke the ice. They were always planning group outings and field trips together on days off. It was so refreshing to be a part of something completely unique that I had never seen. It was like summer camp for middle aged adults.
Watch the video: Susan Tedeschi & Margo Price sing Don't Think Twice in Saratoga Springs
It was inspiring to watch their live show and it was thrilling to get up and share the stage with them night after night. My band- five or six of us would get up to play with their band during their encore. The sheer energy of seventeen or eighteen people playing and singing together was spiritual, cosmic. Music, when it’s good, is sort of like a collective meditation where we’re all tapped into the same vibration without speaking. We sang Leon Russell’s “Stranger in a Strange Land”, George Jones “Color of the Blues”, Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice” and “Down In The Flood”. They let me sit in on double drums for “Let’s Go Get Stoned”.
Watch the video: Let's Go Get Stoned
On the last day of tour at Gilford, New Hampshire Pavillion (definitely a place that’s up there for my favorite venue of all time) they passed out awards. They awarded me with a vintage trophy with a custom sticker from a label maker that said “Most Valuable Drummer.” I gave Susan a 20 gram doobie from my friends at Full Moon Farms because I’m pretty sure she could out-smoke me in a weed smoking contest. In fact, on this tour, I think she did. I’m taking a tolerance break for both my mind and my voice as I get ready to get back in the studio to record this coming week.
It’s so easy to get wrapped up in things that don’t matter in this business, like awards, press, social media, accolades of all sorts, but being out with Derek and Susan and their talented thirteen piece band felt like getting back to the basics. Between AI, the internet and the streaming and tech corporations, it feels like music has been stripped of humanity sometimes. Lots of people seem to be listening with their eyes these days, instead of their ears, or better yet, their hearts. The only way to fight bad art is to make good art and that’s where my focus is these days.
This past April, I went in the studio here in Nashville and recorded a single called “Too Stoned To Cry” featuring the multitalented and inimitable, Billy Strings. I’m so happy to say, this song is finally going to be released tomorrow, September 12th. The song was written by of one of favorite Nashville based Artists, Andrew Combs. It was produced by my buddy Beau Bedford who also played the keys and recorded it in historic RCA Studio A with engineer Phillip Smith.
I’d like to send out a special thanks to everyone who played on this song- it truly feels like a homecoming back to the country music that feeds my soul. We had the legendary Russ Pahl was on the pedal steel, Aksel Coe was on the drums, Misa Arriaga on bass, Joey McClellan played electric guitar and of course Billy Strings added acoustic guitar and vocals. Billy has persevered a lot in his short life and his story and dedication to the craft inspires me deeply. I may be biased but I think this song shows how multi-talented Billy is as a player and a vocalist. His voice and delivery on this track absolutely blew me away and showcase his ability to sing and play country music with the best of them.
Pre-save & Listen to TOO STONED TO CRY
For those of you wondering, why just a single? Why not a full album announcement? Well, of course, I’m working on an LP as we speak, I have been for some time now. Good news is, I’ll be playing lots of these new, unreleased tunes at my upcoming performance at Farm Aid back in Saratoga Springs, NY on Sept 21st. In the meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this sad ass country song.
Hello Miss Margo!
Went to the Gilford show, daaammmmmnnn❤️🤘
Just realized, tomorrow I am 1,461 days AF! Thanks for being such a big influence on my life and happiness
🍄
Howdy Margo. I’ll have a whole food plant based no egg roll tomorrow to celebrate your new tune!
If you would, please pass this along.
Myself and at least 4 others I know are Billy fans, seen him live a few times. But we’ve stopped going to his shows.
The reason why is there’s a growing contingent of angry dudes who’d just as soon punch you as look at you. Confederate flags. There’s a hardcore drug problem. So bad, that there’s usually a booth giving away free antidotes. The pot smoking, cigarettes, and vaping is so prevalent it’s hard to get away from.
I dig Billy, I have his vinyl. If fans want to harm themselves, waive confederate flags, that’s their free will and free speech. But I don’t want to be part of it. And neither do others.
Of course we know Billy is a good person.
But I think this is what happens when there’s so much emphasis on getting high.
Ask any old Dead Head. The same thing happened to Dead shows in the late 80’s. The scene got over run by shitty people who were only there for the party. It’s why I stopped going.
I know y’all dig promoting getting high. It’s free will. But I wish you’d zoom out.
Psychedelics can work for medical purposes. But they should be administered with the supervision of a medical professional.
The weed nowadays is super strong. Surely, it has negative effects on the brain and a person’s development.
Yes, bands and rock stars have been getting high forever. But it’s different now, with social media. Now, it’s always on. Fans constantly see it. Never before seen peer pressure.
Billy and yourself should ask yourselves, are you going to promote drug use to your children? If the answer is no, then why do you do it to your fans?
All love, Margo,