It's after sundown in Winter Haven, Florida, and most of the members of the roots-rock sextet Drunk Stuntmen are enjoying a rare night off from their busy touring schedule. But guitarist Steve Sanderson has some unfinished business to attend to. “What're you doing? You're mixing it all wrong,” Sanderson barks at pedal-steel man Freddy Freedom (né Alex Johnson), who's standing just a few feet away. Fortunately, the two resolve their technical dispute amicably within minutes. “He was trying to make the chip dip using only one container of sour cream,” shrugs Sanderson. “I mean, there're six of us here, for Pete's sake!”
Such road-related issues are commonplace for the Western Massachusetts-based Stuntmen, who at last count were doing upwards of 150 dates a year — not too shabby for an indie band, or any band, for that matter. “We're very lucky not to have wives or children,” notes Sanderson. “Otherwise, we wouldn't be out here right now.”
The potential dip-mix catastrophe isn't the only tour crisis the band's had to weather; they've also had at least one rather spectacular transportation problem. When the transmission blew on their 1989 Chevy conversion van last winter, the band forged ahead anyway — in first gear. “Which kind of stressed out the engine,” admits Sanderson, who managed to snap a few photos of the van erupting in flames for the benefit of the band's Web followers. “Everyone loved the van-fire pics,” he cracks.
Just another day in the life of the unflappable Stuntmen, who hit the ground running with 1998's Taking My Pee Pants Off and have watched their fan-base expand ever since. Formed ten years ago in the rural town of Montague, Massachusetts, the Stuntmen (Sanderson, acoustic guitar; Terry Flood, electric guitar; Freedom, guitar and pedal steel; Scott “Bau Bau” Brandon, bass; Scott Hall, keyboard; J.J. O'Connell, drums) eventually honed a style that favored hard rock and even harder country. In fact, the country influence became so pronounced that the band began attracting a large number of fans from well below the Mason-Dixon line — a phenomenon that Sanderson and crew discovered almost by accident.
“Before we began heading down that way, I don't think we even realized we were actually doing Southern rock,” laughs Sanderson, on the heels of the band's newest release, Iron Hip. “But once we began playing in places like Chapel Hill and Winter Haven, it just really picked up. It's been the Southern fans that have really kept us going.”
The Stuntmen deploy a variety of creative marketing ideas in an effort to keep the cash flowing. For example, rather than issue a new album then wait for the proceeds to roll in, the Stuntmen do it in reverse; they ask fans to pony up a $25 “ransom” while the work is still in progress. As incentive, down-paying customers get a gang of prerelease items, including T-shirts and CD singles bearing unreleased tracks. Each full-length Stuntmen release also comes complete with an interactive component that automatically links users to a database containing tour information, band news, and a virtual fan club.
“If you want to get out there and do this without major-label support, you have to be prepared to work your ass off,” says Sanderson, who praises “support team” members such as multimedia developer Duckmusic.com. “Go ahead and play rock star — just make sure you take care of the business end at the same time.”
Sanderson looks at the extra effort required to survive as an independent in a positive light. “I've seen so many great bands ruined by a label,” says Sanderson, who goes to work each night with an old Standell jumbo acoustic jacked through a Countryman D.I. box. “They get a contract and think, ‘Great, my prayers have been answered, now I can let someone else do everything’ — when in fact that's what often destroys them. Whereas if you're independent, you're accountable for everything. Maybe that's not such a bad thing.”
