My 11-year-old daughter tells me, “Dad, if you go on tour that means mom and I would be by ourselves for a long time.” My response to her is, “Honey, I made the decision to not go on tour eleven years ago and that’s not going to change any time soon. Plus, I kind of have a day job and they may not like me being gone for three months at a time.” So now my touring days are spent with the band VTO where we play local venues. Myself and three other dads get to let it all go for a 35-minute set of pure and unadulterated power pop cow punk rock-n-roll.
So how did I get here? In my previous life I was a musician. I was a very young musician. At the age of 17 I was the youngest member of a traveling band, playing shows all over the West. I had a fake ID. This ID didn’t say I was 21 so I could drink. This ID said I was 18 because you need to be 18 to legally “work” in a bar. If you’re 17-years-old playing in a touring band many of those venues were bars and many of those bars were straight up dives. During our set breaks the other band members would drink their complimentary beers in the bar while I hung outside in the alley, socializing with the local transients and working on my negotiation skills. I cut my teeth at a young age living the rock-n-roll lifestyle. I’ve seen some crazy things and I’ve seen some amazing things. It molded me into the person I am today and I’m thankful for it.
As a matter of fact, I met my wife Teresa at a New Years Eve show 23 years ago. If it wasn’t for me being in a band I wouldn’t have the life I have today. That life includes a great “day job” an awesome wife and an amazing 11-year-old daughter that I wouldn’t leave even for the biggest tour in the whole universe. It also means I get to spend a few hours every week with three other dads that have the same passion for music that I do. It’s a connection that is important to me. It’s drilled into me like DNA and living a life without playing music is something I simply couldn’t fathom.
Some dads golf, some like to watch sports and some dads don’t like to do anything at all. The dads in VTO? Well, we like to rock. VTO is one large extended family and like they say…the family that rocks together, stays together!
Take a listen to this rockin' holiday song by the VTO, also available for free download on iTunes.
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