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1. Tell me about your rig:  My current rig is a vintage 5-piece Pearl drum kit that I am “borrowing” from my brother in law, Darrin. It’s a funky old kit and I love the Ringo vibe it carries.

2. What is your favorite piece of gear?  My favorite piece of gear is the paper guitar, which is basically just a small acoustic guitar (in my case, I use a First Act guitar for kids) with a piece of paper woven through the strings. The paper mutes the strings in a way that you don’t hear notes, but you hear the sound of a snare hit. This is a Johnny Cash trick that I cannot take credit for. I love the travel-ability of this piece of gear. I used to play nothing but a paper guitar and a bass drum when I started playing with The Gift Machine.

3. What song of yours (or your band’s) do you feel is the best portrayal of your particular sound/style?  My current favorite song to play is “Pillar of Salt,” as it is one of the more rocking-out songs of our set list. When I first joined during the “Goodbye Goodluck” era, we were a bit quieter and more mellow. “Pillar of Salt” was one of the first songs where I was actually playing a whole kit and able to rock out.

4. What’s the one “holy grail” piece of equipment you’d buy if money was no object?  I am actually completely satisfied with my current drum set, however, some of it is somewhat jerry-rigged together. I suppose if I could replace the improvised sections of the kit, such as the legs for the bass drum, and maybe a new metal fork that the toms are mounted on .. that would be great!

5. What do you have coming up that we should know about?  We are currently working on recording a new album and have a show coming up on Friday, April 22 with Dani Bell & the Tarantist and Madly at the Pour House in Oceanside, as well as two shows at The Merrow: April 3 with East Cameron Folkcore and Ash Williams, and May 18 with Low Hums from Seattle.