jobs at an RV park where I could get a shower for a quarter and do laundry for a dollar. I washed dishes at a restaurant and I busked to get by.
I met Tyler on a street corner when he flipped a twenty into my guitar case. That got my attention. Tyler told me to follow him back to his mom’s house where I met the other guys. He told them I was what they needed. I don’t think they believed it at the time, but when Tyler wants something, you just trust him. He’s rarely wrong.
9. Did the band click right away?
Pretty much. Dave got us gigs and we started playing on the weekends for tips and free beer. It was the most fun I’d ever had, and I finally felt like I was a part of a family. Tyler’s mom let me stay with them and the guys in the band became my brothers.
10. Your band started in Pittsburgh, where some of you went to college. How did you get to New York?
After the guys graduated, we knew that the only way to really make it big was to go to a big city, so we flipped a coin—L.A. or New York. You know which city won. The four of us got a tiny, crappy apartment in Brooklyn and Dave hustled the gigs. Tyler worked his magic and met a bunch of other musicians and that got us on the right track.
11. You all sound very different. What’s kept you together so long?
It’s the music, but also the process of how we write. We stuff ourselves in a room and just say, “two songs,” and work until we have them good enough to play. Sometimes, that only takes a few hours. Sometimes it takes days.
12. Is it just the four of you?
And Lulu. She’s a friend of the band and she helps us out, gives us a different kind of push. She’s my muse.
13. You’ve been seen with Lulu Stirling at a number of events. Is she your girlfriend?
Come on. You’ve got twenty questions and you ask that?
14. OK, then, Gavin, you’ve been linked to a lot of beautiful women including the model Maya Shaw and the socialite Monica Wells. Who’s got your heart?
My heart’s in my music, and whoever helps that along is part of it. Whoever undermines it can’t be part of my life. It’s as simple as that.
I’m not in the market for a steady girlfriend, if that’s what you’re asking. I like keeping my options open.
You’re breaking millions of hearts right now.
Is that a question?
15. No. What’s the secret to your success?
There is no secret. You start thinking you’ve got one, that you know some magic formula to take a ride up the charts, and you’ve lost touch with reality.
For our band, it’s luck and hard work and sweat and failure. It’s a lot of failure. You fail enough, you do enough wrong things and maybe you’ll stumble on the one right thing that really works.
16. What are you going to do with all the money you’ve made?
Pay our agent. Seriously, it’s been a crazy ride to the top and we’ve hardly had time to catch a breath. I just bought a place in New York. Jayce is building a music studio and Dave is investing in a new label as a partner. Tyler will probably get some more tattoos.
17. What are your plans for after the Beast tour wraps up?
More albums. More music. We haven’t figured out what the next album will sound like yet. I want to give our fans something they love but also something that challenges them.
18. Any plans for a solo career?
Why? It’s more fun with the band. We’ve been together so long, I can’t imagine starting over with anyone else.
19. What’s next for Tattoo Thief?
We’ve got a twenty-city tour going and we’re about halfway through. When we’re done with it, we’ll take a short break and then we’ll get back into the studio for another album. New music keeps us going.
20. What inspired “Peace of Madness?” This song has really resonated with fans.
Nothing personal. And if I’ve counted right, that’s twenty questions. Catch you later.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I pour a glass of wine and plop back on my bed with the magazines and discs, chewing on these
I met Tyler on a street corner when he flipped a twenty into my guitar case. That got my attention. Tyler told me to follow him back to his mom’s house where I met the other guys. He told them I was what they needed. I don’t think they believed it at the time, but when Tyler wants something, you just trust him. He’s rarely wrong.
9. Did the band click right away?
Pretty much. Dave got us gigs and we started playing on the weekends for tips and free beer. It was the most fun I’d ever had, and I finally felt like I was a part of a family. Tyler’s mom let me stay with them and the guys in the band became my brothers.
10. Your band started in Pittsburgh, where some of you went to college. How did you get to New York?
After the guys graduated, we knew that the only way to really make it big was to go to a big city, so we flipped a coin—L.A. or New York. You know which city won. The four of us got a tiny, crappy apartment in Brooklyn and Dave hustled the gigs. Tyler worked his magic and met a bunch of other musicians and that got us on the right track.
11. You all sound very different. What’s kept you together so long?
It’s the music, but also the process of how we write. We stuff ourselves in a room and just say, “two songs,” and work until we have them good enough to play. Sometimes, that only takes a few hours. Sometimes it takes days.
12. Is it just the four of you?
And Lulu. She’s a friend of the band and she helps us out, gives us a different kind of push. She’s my muse.
13. You’ve been seen with Lulu Stirling at a number of events. Is she your girlfriend?
Come on. You’ve got twenty questions and you ask that?
14. OK, then, Gavin, you’ve been linked to a lot of beautiful women including the model Maya Shaw and the socialite Monica Wells. Who’s got your heart?
My heart’s in my music, and whoever helps that along is part of it. Whoever undermines it can’t be part of my life. It’s as simple as that.
I’m not in the market for a steady girlfriend, if that’s what you’re asking. I like keeping my options open.
You’re breaking millions of hearts right now.
Is that a question?
15. No. What’s the secret to your success?
There is no secret. You start thinking you’ve got one, that you know some magic formula to take a ride up the charts, and you’ve lost touch with reality.
For our band, it’s luck and hard work and sweat and failure. It’s a lot of failure. You fail enough, you do enough wrong things and maybe you’ll stumble on the one right thing that really works.
16. What are you going to do with all the money you’ve made?
Pay our agent. Seriously, it’s been a crazy ride to the top and we’ve hardly had time to catch a breath. I just bought a place in New York. Jayce is building a music studio and Dave is investing in a new label as a partner. Tyler will probably get some more tattoos.
17. What are your plans for after the Beast tour wraps up?
More albums. More music. We haven’t figured out what the next album will sound like yet. I want to give our fans something they love but also something that challenges them.
18. Any plans for a solo career?
Why? It’s more fun with the band. We’ve been together so long, I can’t imagine starting over with anyone else.
19. What’s next for Tattoo Thief?
We’ve got a twenty-city tour going and we’re about halfway through. When we’re done with it, we’ll take a short break and then we’ll get back into the studio for another album. New music keeps us going.
20. What inspired “Peace of Madness?” This song has really resonated with fans.
Nothing personal. And if I’ve counted right, that’s twenty questions. Catch you later.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
I pour a glass of wine and plop back on my bed with the magazines and discs, chewing on these
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