November 20, 2025 • 45 mins
Dave Moody's journey in the music industry is both inspiring and insightful, as he reflects on the pivotal moments that shaped his career. The episode commences with a nostalgic recounting of his childhood, where an encounter with the KISS Destroyer album ignited a lifelong passion for music. This early revelation set the stage for a career that would see him perform with notable acts, including Billy Ray Cyrus, and ultimately lead to his role in Hairball, a celebrated tribute band. Throughout the episode, Moody emphasizes the relentless nature of touring, where he performs upwards of 130 shows a year, a testament to his unwavering commitment to his craft.
The discussion transitions to the often-overlooked financial aspects of a musician's life. Moody candidly shares the lessons he learned regarding financial planning and the importance of preparing for the future, especially in an industry characterized by unpredictability. He advocates for musicians to take proactive steps towards financial security, such as investing early in a 401(k) plan. This crucial advice highlights the necessity for artists to balance their creative pursuits with practical financial management, ensuring they are equipped to navigate the challenges that come with a career in music.
As the conversation unfolds, Moody delves into the significance of relationships within the music industry. He underscores the importance of fostering connections with colleagues and fans alike, recognizing that these relationships can provide invaluable support and opportunities for growth. His reflections serve as a reminder that success in the music industry is not solely determined by talent but is also heavily influenced by the ability to build and maintain a supportive network. The episode concludes with a heartfelt message about gratitude, emphasizing the necessity of appreciating the journey and the people who contribute to it, ultimately reinforcing the idea that a successful music career is built on a foundation of passion, preparation, and community.
If you're an artist trying to figure out the long game, this is the episode.
Check out the upcoming Hairball tour at https://hairballonline.com and grab your tickets today!
Connect with Dave Moody:
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/outracedave
FB: https://www.facebook.com/dave.h.moody
Like, comment, and subscribe for more real conversations about the money behind the music.
Grab the free guide or if you're ready to talk about your money system, head on over to : https://1024wealth.com/music
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jason K Powers (00:12):
Welcome to Backstage Money, real World Finance for Musicians.
I'm your host, Jason K. Powers, andthis is where music and money collide
with honest stories and practicallessons from people who make it work.
So let's get to it.
Today I am joined by the one and onlyDave Moody, Louisville bred road veteran
who spent nearly a decade holdingdown the bass for Billy Ray Cyrus.
(00:35):
And now one of the lead vocalists withthe band Hairball, one of the biggest
arena rock tribute productions in thecountry, And, uh, Dave has logged some
serious miles on major stages covering130 shows a year, and so he has seen
some business from multiple angles.
Dave, welcome to the show.
Dave Moody (00:54):
Thank you for having me.
Glad to be here.
Yeah,
Jason K Powers (00:57):
I appreciate you taking the time.
I know we talked yesterday, you'd justkind of gotten in town and were kind
of recovering from another, stretchof, shows That's gotta be relentless.
Dave Moody (01:07):
Yeah.
It, it never stops.
And nor do I want it to.
It just, uh, yeah.
Yeah.
Just keeps going, you know?
So I'm, I'm very fortunateand grateful for all of it.
I'm, I'm grateful to be tired.
Jason K Powers (01:16):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's good.
And, and it's, we were saying it'snot for the faint of heart, right?
It's very, uh, no, not, yeah.
You gotta want to do it.
Wanna do it.
That's right, that's right.
Well, so Dave, let's dive in.
Uh, you know, but before, I always like totalk to people about kind of how they got
into it, how they got started, you know,before big productions and packed crowds.
(01:39):
How did music kind of become thething for you and, uh, you know, what
was the first big break that, thatmade this kind of feel real for you?
Dave Moody (01:48):
I knew from a very young age when I tell people that I knew
at six years old what I wanted to be.
They look at me like I'm crazy, butI literally knew that at six years
old who, uh, and what I wanted to do.
The minute that I saw the, the KissDestroyer album cover and I put the
needle on the record, I was infected.
And, uh, it took me to, uh, placesthat I never thought, you know,
(02:13):
you know, a 6-year-old should go.
Uh, it was just amazing.
And, um, I remember telling my parents,this is what I wanna do for a living.
And it was cute.
And then I got to my teenage yearsand it was still kind of funny.
And then I got to.
Be in my twenties and they were like,it's time to get on with your life
and do something important here.
Jason K Powers (02:33):
Yeah.
But,
Dave Moody (02:34):
uh, I told them, I said, this is what I wanted to do.
So I knew from a very, very young age, um,exactly what it was that I wanted to do.
And I'm fortunate in that aspectbecause a lot of people spend their
whole life never knowing what theywanna do or what they wanted to become.
So I'm so grateful for that, that,uh, divine intervention, if you will.
(02:55):
On that porch step at myparents' house at six years old.
A sat on a Saturday morningwhen the UPS man dropped off.
Kiss Destroyer.
I'll, I'll never not bethankful for that day.
And that
Jason K Powers (03:05):
you, you remembered like that day, huh?
That's cool.
Oh yeah.
Dave Moody (03:08):
I remember it like it was yesterday.
I, that's how quick it was.
Yeah.
Jason K Powers (03:12):
How fun.
How fun.
how did you transition, say fromthat over the years to, you know,
getting, in a band, you know,what did that look like for you?
Dave Moody (03:22):
You know, I didn't play an instrument until I was probably.
We was very poor, so wecouldn't afford instruments.
And so it was, it was quite difficult.
But I didn't start playing untilI was like 17 or 18 years old.
And, um, and then I ended up gettingan instrument and getting in a
band and, and we were horribleand we sucked and it was bad.
(03:45):
But I think that's the wayeverybody should start.
You should start out horrible and,and suck and be bad and get better.
Yeah.
And start with people who.
Or horrible and suck and canbe bad with you, you know?
And that way you can growfrom that that aspect of it.
And, um, I learned a lot inthose formative years of what
to do and what not to do.
(04:06):
And sometimes I made the same mistakeover and over until I realized, oh,
wait a minute, this is not working.
You know, so.
Jason K Powers (04:13):
Mm-hmm.
Dave Moody (04:13):
But, uh, yeah, I was, I was, uh, I was actually a little
bit older getting into music.
From a, from a learningand instrument standpoint.
So I was like 17 or 18.
Jason K Powers (04:24):
And then you guys got, you did some small bands and then
you, how did you go from, from thatto playing bass for Billy Ray Cyrus?
Dave Moody (04:34):
Well, you know, it was a process.
You know, you, like I said, it startedwith my first band and then, and then
I went into an original act, uh, and Idid that for about oh eight to 10 years.
And, uh.
It, it really taught me a lot oflessons from, from the standpoint
of, you know, working with others.
Crafting songs, you know,uh, promoting your band.
(04:57):
'Cause I come from the era of whenwe put, you know, flyers on telephone
posts, you going up and down thestreet and, you know, and you know,
there was none of the social media.
There was no cell phones, there was nocomputers, there was, it was all word of
mouth and you had to create your own buzz.
And, and that's where it came from.
then, uh, after about eight to 10years I got to a point to where.
(05:19):
I was in a band that almostgot signed by Gene Simmons of
Kiss, surprisingly, uh, in 2003.
A band called Magnetic Flux, and weactually had, we were being courted by
Gene Simmons because he had restartedSimmons records and he was taking
open solicitations for albums, and sowe sent it in and got a meeting with
(05:41):
him, and long story short there, hetold us we were too old and too tall.
At that point.
I was like, that's, yeah, I was, Iwas like 30 years old, 31 years old.
I was like, man, I'm, I'm still.
Looking back now I'm 54, you know,I was a kid, you know, so, uh, yeah.
But, but, uh, yeah, that didn'twork out, but that's okay.
You know?
It's all right.
then, um.
(06:03):
The next thing I know, I get a phone callfrom a friend of mine who was Billy's
brother and my good friend who I'dgrown up with, and he said his brother
was looking for a bass player and askedme if I wanted to audition and I did.
And, uh, it went famously.
And, uh, we, we had a, we hit it off.
From Jump Street and it, yeah.
I guess 'cause he's from Kentucky.
(06:24):
I'm from Kentucky.
Mm-hmm.
The whole band's from Kentucky and youknow, it's just a bunch of Kentucky Boys.
We like-minded, you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
For, for better, for better or worse.
Yeah.
Jason K Powers (06:35):
That's it.
That's it.
Hey, most of my family's, most,most of my family's from Kentucky.
Oh, good for you.
Yes, that's right.
A smart man.
That's right.
I got it.
Well, so, so you learned a lot overthese years, these, these early years,
and then you got in, you know, with,with, uh, Billy Ray Cyrus and mm-hmm.
Learned even more and Right.
(06:57):
And now you've been atit a few decades now.
And, and so what is maybe going all theway back, What's one money lesson you wish
you'd known when you started in music?
what's something Oh, you wishyou'd known man when you got
started that you just, you're like,gosh, if I could, if everybody
would know this, walking into it.
Dave Moody (07:17):
I wish somebody told me that I was gonna get older.
I wish somebody told me that, that, uh,you know, life is real and things happen
and you've got to prepare for thosethings instead of living in moments.
Living in moments is great.
That's cool and it's satisfying forthose moments, but there is a bill
at the end of the dinner and you haveto be ready to pay for that bill.
(07:41):
So I guess my advicefrom that standpoint is.
If you're going to be a professionalmusician, usually you're hand to mouth
anyway, so it's hard to save moneyin that aspect because you're, you're
paying your rent, you're paying yourgas, you're paying your, you know,
maintenance on your instruments.
You're paying, you've got all these,and then there's not, there's not a
(08:04):
lot of, you know, it's all overhead.
There, there's, there's not a lot ofroom for saving money, you know, and
you don't make a, a ton of money.
But if you ever get to the pointto where you have a job, let's say
you have a job and you're doing ajob, and, and music make that job.
Your, your 401k.
(08:26):
If your company has a401k, invest in that.
Immediately take, you know, 5% ofyour income and throw it in this
401k that lasts forever in justaccrue money over a period of time.
Because I did not do that.
I, I did not.
I, I, you know, I was famouslydelusional as everybody else and
(08:47):
thinking that, you know, you're goingto make it and you're going and, you
know, there's no second, you know.
So I didn't really payattention to that aspect of it.
And it wasn't until I was probably, oh,15 years ago that I actually started
doing those things of putting moneyinto a 401k, putting money into the side
(09:12):
and making sure that I was, preparingmyself for a future when I get older.
I'm 54 now.
So what I did was basically, it'snever too late to do this either.
I mean, there's no rule to it.
You wanna start earlier, butyou can start later in life.
It's okay.
You can, you could start at a, at adifferent, you can start in your fifties.
(09:36):
It, it, you have to start though.
But I was lucky enoughto pull the parachute.
You know, in, in my forties and, and getit right from there and put myself in
a position now to where I'm not caughtup with the people who started in their
twenties, but I'm in a pretty good spot.
Mm-hmm.
So, I, I would say that you want toprepare as if your life depending
(09:59):
on it, because it does, you're gonnaget older, things are gonna happen,
you're gonna need money, you're gonnaneed finances, and, and, and you don't
wanna be a burden to anybody else.
So.
You know, musicians are not accusedof being smart people by any stretch.
Mm-hmm.
And they're def, they'redefinitely, they're definitely not
accused of being good with money.
And I'm guilty as charged on that.
(10:22):
But if the advice that I couldgive you is to start as soon as
possible, saving money, putting itback, making sure to accrue money.
And then once you do that, then youcould get into the stock market maybe
a little bit, put some money in,some easy, you know easy stocks that
are gonna maybe pay some dividends,maybe, maybe give you some money and,
(10:43):
and hold your money in a good spot.
and, uh, those things are justgonna help you out immensely.
and it, and it's done it well forme because I'd like to get to 62.
I'd like to t retire at 59.
I'd, I'd like to retire and be doneat 59 to say I retired in my fifties.
But I, I don't see that happening.
(11:04):
I'll probably go to 62 and even then, Iprobably won't retire because I'm just
too addicted to the, to the lifestyle.
Jason K Powers (11:09):
Enjoy.
But if I want too much,
Dave Moody (11:11):
yeah.
But if I wanted to do it, I could do it.
That that's the thing.
That's, that's, that's where I want to be.
So, and that's where you want to be too.
So I, I highly recommend saving.
I highly recommend if you havea 401k option, you utilize that
and attack it with everythingthat you can attack it with.
Hell, if you're just a covered musician,take that money and put it in the 401k.
(11:32):
You know, whatever, whatever you can doto put money into that, to save money.
That's what you want to do.
And I know I sound tooreasonable right now.
Not, not too cool for rock and roll.
Jason K Powers (11:42):
Yeah.
You know, you know, but, butthat's a conversation and that's
really one of the reasons.
The, this podcast got started, right?
Because, you know, watching artists overthe years and, and run into financial
dilemmas and having to put up thatGoFundMe because of some unforeseen
circumstance and going, you know,gosh, I wish, I wish there was a way
(12:05):
to better equip, you know, musicianscoming on and, and get that across.
I know everybody's youngand excited and, and Right.
You're living in the moment, like yousaid, and, and just finding a way to.
Better educate and better equip.
The guys coming on.
And even like you said, starting inyour 40, if you've been in it 10,
(12:25):
20, 30 years, it's not too late.
Start now.
No, no.
You know, it sounds too late.
That's right.
We always, you know, people say,oh, I wish I would've started
something, you know, years ago.
Years ago.
And I said, well, look, when's thesecond best time to plant a tree?
You know?
Right.
Dave Moody (12:40):
You're right, you're right.
Today is the best time and, and, uh,it, it, it's, it's just like anything.
You, you just want to make sureStarting habits is hard, but once
you get into the habit, it's easy.
Then, then, then it becomes.
Easy thing to do versuswhen you first started.
It's hard because you gotta stick with it.
(13:00):
But if you stick withit, it is so worth it.
And, uh, at the end of the dayyou're gonna be going, man, I
did the right thing and Right.
But, but don't, don't, don't bethe guy, you know, God bless 'em.
I, I know so many people, so manymore than I should that, that are
financially struggling with justthose things that you just said.
And a lot of 'em are, are.
(13:22):
Very well known.
And, uh, and, and, and it's tough andit, it, it, this, this business is tough
as giving as it is, is unforgiving.
And, and, uh, and, and you have toprotect yourself at all costs and
make sure that you're looking out foryou and your family moving forward.
Jason K Powers (13:41):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
That's right.
That's right.
That's great.
Well, let's pivot a little bit.
So talking about money day to day inthe music business, what investments
are really non-negotiable foryou, that are worth every penny.
You know, don't, don't, don'tcut corners here, kind of thing.
Dave Moody (13:56):
Well.
You just wanna make sure that,
You're taking care ofyourself health wise.
You cannot not take care of yourself.
If, if you're doing this just toget drunk and get laid, that's
the wrong reason to do it.
Mm-hmm.
You, you wanna make sure thatWhatever it is that you're doing,
you're, you're building relationshipsand contacts within the industry.
(14:18):
These are corners thatyou don't want to cut.
Relationships are so important in thisindustry because the relationships for a
reason, they're gonna feed you later onin life if you build these relationships.
So you wanna make sure that you do that.
Music gear.
Make sure that you have thebest of the best of the best.
Make sure that your,your appearance is good.
It's just like any job.
You wanna make sure that you'rehealthy, you're strong, uh, you
(14:41):
look good, you perform good.
you blew it in your instrument.
These are things that are, that youcan cut corners in because those things
separate you from everybody else.
So then be a good hang.
Be a, be a person that, thatis easy to get along with.
Not necessarily agreeable,but good to hang around with.
(15:01):
Mm-hmm.
You know, a person that, that, that,that, that is like a guy that you could
count on, a guy that can be, you know,it's like my dad always told me, arrive
15 minutes early, stay 15 minuteslate work harder than anybody else.
And I gotta tell you right nowin this industry, musicians.
I'm speaking to you are inherently lazy.
They're entitled, I, I know youdon't wanna hear this, but it's true.
(15:25):
They're inherently lazyand they're entitled.
It takes this much effortto outwork a musician.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, just that much more thansomebody else, because they think
that talent or their abilityand somebody's gonna find them.
No, it's relationships.
It's your attitude.
It's your musicianship.
It's your, it's everything.
It's all of these things.
(15:46):
It's not just one thing.
So the corners that I wouldn't cut are theones that are the small details that allow
you to achieve more than other people.
So stay on those things and youshould be able to succeed at
least more than the next person.
Jason K Powers (16:03):
That's great.
I, I think just kind of spinning offof that, uh, what I appreciate with you
guys, and I've, I've watched you guys fora while and, and what's your opinion on.
Uh, big shows, small shows.
What shows do you take to doeverything you get your hands on?
Ditch the little ones.
I mean, I hear a variety and,and I think I know what your
answer's gonna be, but, yeah.
(16:24):
What do you, what's your,what's your perspective?
Dave Moody (16:27):
I love 'em all.
They all pay, you know,they, they, they all mm-hmm.
Pay the bills.
So I treat every room as ifit was Madison Square Garden.
You, you don't look at a crowd andthink they don't deserve my best
because there's less people there.
You look at a crowd and go, they'regonna get the best of me every
single time I walk out on stage.
Because not only you're representingthe band, you're representing yourself.
(16:51):
And there should be integrity in that.
There should be there, there shouldbe, there should be no mailing it in.
If you hear somebody say they'remailing it in, that's not the
people you wanna be associated with.
You want to be, you want to be strongand deliver every single night.
I'm a firm believer in thatand that's what's allowed me.
To, to do the, to the smallamount of success that I have had.
(17:15):
it, all comes from hard work and, andpaying attention and getting up on stage
and never turning your back on that.
Jason K Powers (17:21):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
I've seen, I've seen you guys a fewtimes and a couple different size venues
and, and that's what stuck out to me.
'cause one show in particular Iwent to when I, when I was, and when
I knew where it was, I was like.
I'm quite surprised they're plentyhere actually, because I've seen
them fill three times as big a venue.
Mm-hmm.
(17:41):
and I, always appreciated that, aboutyou guys, you know, just kind of taking.
Like you said, even the small gigs and,and that's the stuff people can go to.
and you guys show up and it wasjust as incredible of a performance
as the big venue, you know?
And that's awesome.
Yeah.
Dave Moody (17:58):
You wanna be, you wanna be who you are no matter where you set it up.
You want to be who you are.
You know?
Let's take for example, like abrand like, um, like Coca-Cola.
Okay.
Coca-Cola is sold in stadiums aroundthe world, but it's also sold in small
convenience stores around the world.
(18:19):
Do you think Coca-Cola in thesmallest convenience store, in the
worst neighborhood is any differentthan the Coca-Cola that's being sold
in a stadium at a football game?
No, they're always Coca-Cola.
So when you show up.
Always be who you are and whatyour product is and what you
expect to deliver to that crowd.
You get people one at a time,you know what I'm saying?
(18:40):
You get, you get your audience builtone at a time, one person at a time.
It's, you know, don't get me wrong.
We've done stadiums and we've done,we've done small little clubs and
we've done most of the small stuffwe do though is private events.
Most of the stuff we do is like,or, or if we're building a market,
we'll have to go into you know, aplace that has never heard of us, you
(19:01):
know, in May, maybe Tucson, Arizona.
Maybe they've never heard of usand we have to go into a club, not,
or, or a small theater and mm-hmm.
And, you know, like aseven, 800,000 seat theater.
It's small and, and, and build ourbrand there and build 'em one at a time.
But there's never a time where wedon't show up and go, well, we're
(19:21):
just gonna mail it in tonight.
We're not gonna be here, butwe're not gonna wear the costume.
No, no.
You're gonna get everysingle bit of what we do.
We do not mail nothing in So.
Your responsibility is to the peoplethat, that are paying to see you, no
matter if it's one person or 50,000.
Jason K Powers (19:40):
So, uh, spinning from that kind of to the business
side of things, with hairball inparticular are there any parts of the
business that say you touch directly,
How's that?
How's that look for you guys?
Dave Moody (19:52):
you know, this band is built on Alphas.
So like the, all the singershave ran their bands.
Before they got into this band.
Mm-hmm.
All the, all the musicians thatare on the stage, the drummer, the
bass player and the guitar playerhave all ran their own bands.
So it's all a bunch of AlphaDogs following an Alpha Dogs.
(20:16):
So we know that we're,a Swiss knife for Happy.
For Chainsaw.
We know that.
We're like, if, if they need somethingdone, they know that their generals can,
can march into war and take care of it.
Yeah.
It's not a problem.
They give us, they give mesomething to do, I can do it.
(20:36):
You know, it's not a problem.
And that's a wonderful place to be.
If, if you think about it, to, to look atyour team and go, there's not a weak link.
That this is a strong chain.
So that, that's, that's the best part ofbeing in this band, is that everybody's
so strong in everything that they do.
Musicianship, business wise, youknow, good hang wise you know,
(21:01):
being a, being a good person, youknow, all of it is, is wonderful.
It's, it's very, very, it'svery, very unicornish Yeah, yeah.
In the world that, that, that we live in.
Yeah.
Jason K Powers (21:12):
Right.
So, so on that.
I saw you post something the other day.
You guys were somewhere and it was a,a good group photo and you talked about
you guys just being on the road togetherand being like a family, you know?
Mm-hmm.
And, and with a group, as you put it, ofAlphas, are there things that you guys
(21:32):
keep an eye on or make sure, or, or,or intentional about that everybody's
on the same page communicating?
Well and things aren't.
Egos aren't coming in to play toomuch, you know, and everybody's kind
of working for each other, you know?
How, how do you, how do you handle that?
Dave Moody (21:51):
Well, it goes back to what I said a minute ago.
The product is, is number one.
and a good idea is a good idea.
No matter where it comes from and,you will succeed as long as you
don't care who gets the credit.
It doesn't matter to us.
Who gets the credit for what?
It's the band that wins.
It's, it's the, it's the,it's the product that wins.
It's the audience that wins.
(22:11):
Everybody wins.
If you don't care who gets the credit.
Then you, you're truly part of ateam and that's what hairball is.
Then, you know, we just, we'revery supportive of each other.
Somebody has a good idea.
Sometimes they get used,sometimes it doesn't.
Most of the time I don't even offer ideas.
They come and ask my opinion,what do you think about this?
(22:34):
And then I'll give 'em my opinion.
And if they don't use it, Idon't get but hurt about it.
They just wanted to, they justwanted to do their research.
What the best idea might be.
Maybe my idea wasn't the best idea.
Maybe my way wasn't the best idea.
That's okay.
I don't care who gets the success.
As long as we cross the finish linetogether, that's all I care about,
(22:58):
and that's all everybody cares about.
Jason K Powers (23:00):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Maintaining that humility.
In
Dave Moody (23:04):
the band.
Yes.
Correct.
Correct.
You're, you're, don't, don'tbe too big for your britches.
Just be thankful thatyou got 'em to put on.
You know what I'm saying?
Yeah.
It, it's, it's it really is about makingsure that you're, you're team oriented.
You're, you're, you're not,you're not me oriented.
Pay attention to the product.
Pay attention to the ultimate goal.
(23:25):
Like, uh, you know, like in football,only one person can be the quarterback
and touch the ball every time.
It's up to him to decide who getsthe ball in the best play to run.
Right?
So that's, that's happy.
He's the quarterback.
Him and Mike are the quarterback,and we're like the receivers
and the running backs.
And some of us are blocking andsome of us are running the play.
(23:47):
Some of us are, are, aredownfield for a bomb.
You know.
So either way they all endup celebrating the end zone.
They all end up celebrating.
So that's us.
Jason K Powers (23:57):
Yep.
Yep.
That's great.
So let's touch on real quick.
You know, what we talkedabout before the show kind of.
In your expansive experience, whatpay models have you seen bands do
that maybe that do and don't work?
Uh, whether or not you're giving adviceon you should definitely do this, but,
(24:20):
but what pay models have you seen work andnot work that bands try to put out there?
Dave Moody (24:27):
Well, the thing that you have to do is first you have to
have a product that everybody loves.
You have to have, like, let's say thatyou're starting a tribute band, you
know and this is free advice kids.
Let's say you're start, let's sayyou're starting a tribute band.
First thing you wanna do is find a band ofcourse that has 20 monstrous stadium hits.
(24:51):
You know, just huge that everybody loves.
It's universal.
It's just this, this band that, you know,little old ladies love and little kids
love and they can all come to your show.
That's number one.
Number two is developing theproduct at a topnotch level, making
sure that everything is 100%, youknow, buttoned up to a t. You want
(25:15):
it to be so tight and so good.
It's like, oh my God,this sounds just like it.
And then you want it to look asclose as you can to that product.
You want to have the instrumentation,you want to have the, the close, you
want to have the, the mannerisms ofthe, the people that you're doing.
(25:40):
You wanna make sure thatyou're doing all those things.
And the models that I've seen, theydon't pay attention to details.
They don't pay attention.
They just think that they're gonna,because I've had some people come
up to me and ask me, you know, forhelp in starting a tribute, and I'm
more than happy to give this advice.
(26:00):
Mm-hmm.
Because I tell 'em all the same thing.
But they think that they're gonnastart a band and just because it's
a tribute that they're gonna make.
Five to $10,000 a night.
That is not how it works.
That is not how it works.
What you have to do is develop the productand you've got to take it to the people
(26:23):
and work your ass off and develop yourcrowd, and that takes time and effort.
And then you gotta surround yourselfwith people who are like-minded, who
want the same thing that you want.
That are willing to pull inthe same direction because
this life is not for everybody.
Everybody thinks they wanna bea rockstar until they're gone
(26:43):
from home for 230 days a year.
Then they see, then theyunderstand, oh, I don't.
When I come home, my dog growlsat me because he hasn't seen me.
Yeah, my wife, my wife is like kind ofupset that I'm not here today to help
when something breaks around the house.
You know?
You know?
So.
(27:03):
You have to have like-minded people thatwant to do this and want to achieve.
And the models that I've seen arepeople that some of 'em now, some
of them have been fantastic thatI've seen that have worked great.
But then again, I've seen some that,that, that, that have this misconception
of, I'm gonna put tribute by.
(27:25):
AC/DC or Def Leppard or MotleyCrue or whatever, and we're
gonna make this much money.
This is not how it works people.
You, you actually have to work hard,find a great booking agent, find,
you know, take every shit detailthat you can find in the beginning.
just so people can see you.
So people can.
(27:45):
They hear your product and thenyou can develop that thing and
you can develop those crowds.
A lot of people don't get thatmessage and, and, and they
just had this misconceptionthat it's just gonna be easy.
It's not
Jason K Powers (28:01):
It's the grind, right?
You gotta go through the hard day,the hard days to get to the good days.
There's no, no other way.
Dave Moody (28:08):
There really is no other way.
Uh, I, I remember, I rememberwhen, when we started Thunderstruck
that ended up being, the biggestAC/DC tribute band in the world.
It was huge.
It was monstrous before I joined Hairball.
Mm-hmm.
And we took every crapdetail you could think of.
(28:30):
We rode in sedan.
Pulling you know, uh, with a box truck,you know, pinched in like this, grown
men like this for 700 miles you know,eating hamburgers like this, you know?
Yeah.
I mean, saving, likepinching pennies so hard.
But the copper got on your fingertips.
(28:51):
I mean, it was just, itwas really, really tight.
The margins were really, really tight.
And, and we started out like that.
And.
Nobody knew who we were.
Nobody had an idea, but westarted delivering that product,
and that's where it starts.
You have to want to do it.
You have to want to be there.
And the people with youhave to want to be there.
(29:12):
Everybody's, it's a teams, like I said,doesn't matter who has the ball or who's,
who gets the credit that we all win.
Cool.
Cool.
Jason K Powers (29:21):
All right.
Let's shift gears here a little bitand, and start landing the plane.
Give me a. Fun, memorable, funny story.
You got Life on the Road.
Dave Moody (29:34):
Oh, I got so many.
God dang.
Dude, I got so many.
It, it, it literally is Spinal Tap.
I mean, One time, way back, myfirst band ever we had a band.
Uh, we was playing a show in a littleold jamboree and my guitar player
at that time, back in the day, PaulGilbert had that video where he took
(29:57):
the picks and put it on a drill.
And it's like, you know, he was, hewas, he put like the three picks on
the drill and glued them on a bit,and he was like doing a solo with a
bit and taking the, you know, so he isdoing the Star-Spangled banner with the
picks on the thing and, and the drill.
Then he gets done and he hands methe drill and I was singing at the
(30:19):
time, and he hands me the drilland I take the drill and I'm like,
putting it in the microphone.
I had really long hair.
And um, he takes, he gets me the drilland I'm putting it in the microphone
going, and I put it up like this, go.
Not realizing that the suctionfrom the drill is very real.
(30:42):
It went and my hair got caught into it.
I'm standing there on the crowd withthis drill and I got the hair caught in
the drill bit like, and I'm like, well,you know, it gets tighter and tighter.
And because it was out here firstand went and I went, oh shit.
And then I went, well, me beingthe bright guy that I am, well,
(31:03):
I'll just put it in reverse.
I put it in reverse and thinkingit was gonna go do that.
I went really?
Oh no.
And it got, it got up, got up to my head.
I had to run off stage and ripmy hair out the Oh my gosh.
My, but that, that, gosh,was, that was pretty funny.
Pretty funny.
Uh, yeah.
Yeah.
So it from bad to worse, bad, just stupid.
(31:24):
Stupid kids.
Stuff's hilarious.
But it, I wouldn't trade nothing for it.
It's hilarious.
Jason K Powers (31:30):
That's funny.
You know, one thing that'simpressed me about you guys.
You know, and being at your shows isyour all's willingness to really get
out there after the show and interactwith the fans and, and nobody really
knows is the big, you know, I know alot of, most conscious people kind of
linger and wait and see what happens.
Somebody wants the, the set listor, you know, and, and I always
(31:54):
appreciate, you know, I rememberthe first time I saw you guys.
Out in, Evansville, Indiana whereI saw you guys the first time.
And Victor Victory Theater.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's right.
That's right.
And, uh, hanging out just a few.
I was just kind of loitering really.
And, and then, uh, HBK jumps down andI was running around in the front and.
(32:17):
So anyway, got to meet a couple ofyou guys that just briefly, right?
You're hanging out and socializingand, and taking pictures and, and, and
consistently, I talked to somebody,uh, after every show and, and I
appreciate that, about you guys.
is there a motivation behind that?
Is there a, is there a philosophymaybe behind that, that.
(32:38):
Allow some of you, at least I stillneed to get Happy out there, you know,
but, uh, get some of you guys outthere and, and visiting with the fans.
Dave Moody (32:48):
Well, yeah, I mean, uh, first and foremost we're, we're fans ourselves.
Um.
We've, we use the old saying, youknow, when somebody asks how far
you've come, we say about 10 feetfrom the front row of the stage.
I mean, it's, that's who we are.
We're fans of this musicjust as much as you are.
It's just we're wearing the costumesand leading the band, you know?
(33:08):
So we're, we're nothing we're, we'rejust like you we're, we're no different.
Everybody in the band has that samementality, and we're all grateful
for everybody that comes and see us.
I, I, I laugh every single time.
Like, we will see kids down thereand I'll, and I'll go, well, thank
you, thank you for coming out andseeing middle aged men and spandex
and lipstick and high heels.
(33:29):
We really appreciate it.
You know?
Yeah.
So we're, we're, we're, we're humbledby it, you know, and, and we wanna let
the crowd know, you know, we're, we're.
We're not above anybody.
We're not, we're we're justpeople just like everybody else.
And, and, and we enjoy this musicjust as much as you do and to
get to performance, the blessing.
And if, if, if.
(33:50):
It means making somebody's day to godown and shake their hand and give
'em a hug and a picture and a set listand a pick and, and or a drumstick
and just, just be so thankful becausethey have no idea what it is that
they do for us to allow us to do this.
So we're, we're grateful for them andwe never turn our back on that ever.
(34:13):
It's very, what, whatyou see is very genuine.
And we do it every single night.
Jason K Powers (34:17):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's great.
All right, so give me, I'mgonna leave this open-ended.
Any final thoughts, opinions, advicethat you wanna throw out there
Dave Moody (34:30):
going back to the beginning when you asked me about the money
thing, uh, that's, that's, I want tohelp people avoid what I stepped in.
I want people to achieve.
I want people to succeed.
And the best way to do that isby listening to people like you
and people like me who have.
(34:51):
Fallen in these traps, or, or, orseeing these, these mines in the field
and, and actually hit them, you know?
And, uh, we're walking like, uh,you know paralympic people, you
know, we, we, we got, we, we gotlimbs missing financially, you know?
Uh, but if, if we can, if we can getif we could get you to miss those mines
(35:17):
that that's what I want, you should.
Get into your 401k, startdeveloping the habit of taking
care of yourself and your family.
Start developing the habit of, youknow, looking, be healthy, stay healthy.
You, you stay in the game longer.
Your, your, your personalhealth is so important.
(35:39):
Eat right.
I know these are not rockand roll things, man.
These are not, but they're very importantand they, they, they add to longevity.
People ask.
All the time, you know, how haveyou stuck in the game so long?
And it's because I pay attention toone, my failures, the things that I
messed up on, and I try to fix them.
(35:59):
Two.
I I, I'm always looking for bettermentand, and the way to make myself better.
And if I can do that.
And then three, it.
I don't own any of my blessings,so I try to give them away
like I'm doing right now.
And the best thing that I can tell you is.
Please, please look intotaking care of yourself in all
of those ways, financially,health wise, and, and mentally.
(36:22):
Just, just do everything you can andalways be grateful for what you have.
Jason K Powers (36:25):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
That's great.
it's such a good conversation, youknow, so where should people follow you?
Where can people find out moreabout what's going on with Hairball?
What do you guys got going on this year?
Tell me.
Dave Moody (36:40):
It'd be easy to tell you what we don't have going on it.
It's uh, we got everything going on.
I mean, if you go tohairballonline.com, you'll see it.
We do over 130 shows a year.
And I'm, like I said, I'm goneabout 230 days out of the year.
So we work, man.
We do not stop.
And, um, it's.
(37:01):
It's crazy.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, hopefully we'll see you out there.
We're all over the United States.
We got a big Canadian tour comingup in March that we just announced.
The tours been announced for next year.
It's called Balls to the Wall.
It'll be the 26th summerthat we've done it.
And man, amazing, amazing, amazing.
And, so we're, we're,we're thankful, dude.
what can I tell you?
(37:21):
We're just, we're blessed andwe're grateful, and we're thankful,
and we never turn our back on it.
Jason K Powers (37:27):
Yep.
Yep.
Yeah, I would say to thelistener, definitely get out
there and see these guys.
It is nothing but fun.
Nothing but fun.
I've already got my ticketsfor the next tour and so Nice.
I'll, uh, we'll be seeing you there.
I'm bringing a crowd withme this time, I think.
Nice, nice.
I think there's like 11 ofus so far going, so yeah.
(37:48):
Good time.
Dave Moody (37:49):
I
Jason K Powers (37:49):
love
Dave Moody (37:50):
hairball versions.
I love whenever people haven'tseen it, and, uh, you, because like
you'll try to explain it to people.
Like, I'm sure there's gonnabe people watching going, ah,
they're just another tribute man.
They're just, come to the show.
Come, come, come to the show andgive us a chance to prove you wrong.
Yeah.
'Cause, 'cause I promise you this, you'regonna walk in, but you're gonna float out.
(38:12):
You, you ain't gonnaunderstand what just happened.
Jason K Powers (38:15):
I will second that.
I will second that, that's for sure.
Alright, so for our listeners, we alwaysfinish with what we call "Final Riffs".
It's a rapid fire round where wetrade stories and snapshots, quick
questions that capture who ourguest is on and off the stage.
So Dave, Shall we jump in?
Yep, go.
(38:35):
All right.
Easy one.
First character you everstepped into in Hairball.
In Hairball, sure.
Dave Moody (38:44):
Yeah.
Dee Snyder.
Jason K Powers (38:46):
Dee Snyder, who's your favorite character?
Dave Moody (38:50):
I got cool characters, man.
I mean, I got Gene, I got Gene , Alice,Dee, Brian Johnson, uh, Kevin DuBrow,
Cinderella, and, and Blackie Lawless.
And Lemmy Kilmister.
I got cool characters.
Yeah, I guess, I guess overallit's just because it's just so much
and it's so over the top is Gene.
Jason K Powers (39:09):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
The Gene Simmons.
Yeah.
All right.
Hardest vocal to nail night after night.
Dave Moody (39:18):
Man, probably, you know, because he's not my voice now.
Brian's my voice.
Gene's kind of my voice.
Probably Dee Snider.
Mm-hmm.
Because he's, he's so just.
It all comes from here.
I mean, it's all just right.
People don't realize how goodof a singer he really is.
(39:39):
Mm-hmm.
Like he's, if you go back andlisten to him, he's all power.
Just all power.
There's no falsetto.
There's no squeezing ofthe, the vocal chords.
It's just, it's allpower and it's raw power.
Mm-hmm.
So, uh mm-hmm.
You gotta make sure that you'reon point on him or you'll,
you'll throw your voice out.
I learned that real quick.
I was like, oh my God.
(40:00):
Okay.
Oh yeah.
Jason K Powers (40:01):
Alright.
Cool.
Here we go.
Yeah.
All right.
One, one city or venue youwill never forget playing in.
Dave Moody (40:10):
There's so many.
I guess just by default you're gonnahave to say the Grand Ole Opry.
Jason K Powers (40:14):
Yeah.
Dave Moody (40:15):
Only because it's the Grand Ole Opry.
It's,
Jason K Powers (40:18):
yeah.
Dave Moody (40:18):
But, but you know, then, then you got stadiums and you got TV shows
and CBGBs and Whiskey and, I mean, but.
If you're gonna, if you're gonnacut it down to one, it would
have to be the grand old Opry.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(40:39):
I'm, because it's the grand old Opry.
Yeah, it's, that's right.
That's right.
Jason K Powers (40:45):
All what's uh, one non-music hobby or passion of yours?
Dave Moody (40:49):
Oh, I'm a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
Pittsburgh.
Shoot, shoot.
Huge Steelers fan.
I, it's my escape.
It's my getaway.
I mm-hmm.
I love them so much and,and we have so much fun.
Me and my wife, we have so much funwatching the games and, uh, win or lose.
We, we just have a balland, uh, we love it.
(41:11):
Uh, and we go to aboutthree or four games a year.
And, uh, yeah, I just love football.
Jason K Powers (41:18):
Great.
All right.
A, uh, city that surprisedyou with the loudest crowd?
Anything come to mind?
Dave Moody (41:24):
Iowa, I mean Oh
Jason K Powers (41:26):
yeah.
Dave Moody (41:26):
Just, just Iowa in, in general.
Yeah, it, it, that is probably the rockand roll capital of the world, Iowa.
I mean, we just did Des Moinesfor the Iowa State Fair, and
the first night was ZZ Top.
The next night wasLynyrd Skynyrd, then us.
Then Def Leppard on the grandstands.
(41:48):
Mm-hmm.
And we beat Lynyrd Skynyrd inattendance and which was at a hard
ticket sale, not, not a free concert.
Now this is a hard ticket.
Yeah.
And, um, and we beat him.
We had like 8,000 peoplethere, and it was Wow.
Just so into it.
Iowa people are just so, not, notanything against anybody in the world,
(42:10):
but they're just salt of the earth.
I mean, just great rock and roll fans.
Mm-hmm.
Jason K Powers (42:15):
All right.
Best road habits thatcost little, but pay big.
That's a hard one.
Dave Moody (42:23):
being prepared, in your packing.
Like whatever you pack is goingto be, like your toiletries,
food, if you have some extra.
You know, like things that youwant, it's gonna save you money.
Having those things, most the time youhave catering and all that stuff, and
you get to eat when you get there, so.
(42:45):
Mm-hmm.
You want to pay attention, you, you wannado, you wanna take advantage of that, but.
Stuff that you can bring with you thatyou don't have to buy on a daily, like,
like you, you just have it with you.
So I guess, you know, bunk snacks andthings like that, you know, things
inside of your bunk and, uh, youknow, but you, the things that'll
(43:07):
save you the most money is eatinglunch at when you get to the venue.
Taking advantage of catering.
Whenever dinner is served,and then afterwards, generally
they'll have something for you.
Maybe it's pizza or whatever, andtake advantage of that because
those are things that keep youfrom dipping into your wallet.
Jason K Powers (43:25):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dave Moody (43:26):
And they're, they're free.
They're, they're, they're supplied.
Great.
Jason K Powers (43:30):
All right.
First concert you ever went to?
Dave Moody (43:33):
Kiss.
Queenryche, 1984 KentuckyCommonwealth Convention Center
and Queenryche was on the warningtour and KISS was on Animal Lies.
I couldn't believe that I was in the sameroom as Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.
That's right.
I was like a That's right.
That's them.
Jason K Powers (43:51):
That's it.
That's alright.
That's alright.
It's cool.
All right, so I think we've alreadyanswered this, but who was your
biggest musical influence growing up?
Dave Moody (44:01):
I had several, but of course KISS would be number one, probably.
And then, AC/DC.
It was very, very, very typical stuff.
Kiss AC/DC, you know, Motorhead,Motorhead and Kiss over here, you
know, you know, and then, you know,I'm just, but then again, I had, uh.
(44:24):
So many country heroes like Willie Nelsonand Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard
and um, Johnny Cash and things like that.
People that I love dearlyfrom that genre of music.
Mm-hmm.
But yeah, I have a very goodpalette of music that I like.
Everything from Slayer to Sinatra.
I love it all.
See,
Jason K Powers (44:44):
there you go.
There you go.
That's it.
That's a music lover.
You know, that's, it's,you like music for music.
Correct.
Love it.
Correct.
Dave, thank you so much for makingthe time and for being so open with
the road lessons and, just all of theinsight, you know, I appreciate it.
Yeah, I know our listeners appreciate it.
And thanks for keeping that rock aliveand, and inspiring a lot of people.
(45:08):
I know you do.
So for everyone listening, we willput hairballs links in the show notes
so you can follow along and catch.
A hairball show near you.
If this conversation helped you, thinkabout the business side of your music,
grab my free ebook and Musicians Guide toInfinite Banking at 1024wealth.com/music.
And when you are ready to talk abouthow a money system could support your
(45:29):
career book, quick call and let's chat.
So thank you you are listeningto Backstage Money Subscribe
on your favorite podcast app.
Share this with one musician who needsto hear it, and I will see you next time.
Until then, keep your moneyworking and your music moving.
Thanks, Dave.
Dave Moody (45:46):
You're welcome.
Thank you.
Welcome to Backstage Money, real World Finance for Musicians.
I'm your host, Jason K. Powers, andthis is where music and money collide
with honest stories and practicallessons from people who make it work.
So let's get to it.
Today I am joined by the one and onlyDave Moody, Louisville bred road veteran
who spent nearly a decade holdingdown the bass for Billy Ray Cyrus.
(00:35):
And now one of the lead vocalists withthe band Hairball, one of the biggest
arena rock tribute productions in thecountry, And, uh, Dave has logged some
serious miles on major stages covering130 shows a year, and so he has seen
some business from multiple angles.
Dave, welcome to the show.
Dave Moody (00:54):
Thank you for having me.
Glad to be here.
Yeah,
Jason K Powers (00:57):
I appreciate you taking the time.
I know we talked yesterday, you'd justkind of gotten in town and were kind
of recovering from another, stretchof, shows That's gotta be relentless.
Dave Moody (01:07):
Yeah.
It, it never stops.
And nor do I want it to.
It just, uh, yeah.
Yeah.
Just keeps going, you know?
So I'm, I'm very fortunateand grateful for all of it.
I'm, I'm grateful to be tired.
Jason K Powers (01:16):
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's good.
And, and it's, we were saying it'snot for the faint of heart, right?
It's very, uh, no, not, yeah.
You gotta want to do it.
Wanna do it.
That's right, that's right.
Well, so Dave, let's dive in.
Uh, you know, but before, I always like totalk to people about kind of how they got
into it, how they got started, you know,before big productions and packed crowds.
(01:39):
How did music kind of become thething for you and, uh, you know, what
was the first big break that, thatmade this kind of feel real for you?
Dave Moody (01:48):
I knew from a very young age when I tell people that I knew
at six years old what I wanted to be.
They look at me like I'm crazy, butI literally knew that at six years
old who, uh, and what I wanted to do.
The minute that I saw the, the KissDestroyer album cover and I put the
needle on the record, I was infected.
And, uh, it took me to, uh, placesthat I never thought, you know,
(02:13):
you know, a 6-year-old should go.
Uh, it was just amazing.
And, um, I remember telling my parents,this is what I wanna do for a living.
And it was cute.
And then I got to my teenage yearsand it was still kind of funny.
And then I got to.
Be in my twenties and they were like,it's time to get on with your life
and do something important here.
Jason K Powers (02:33):
Yeah.
But,
Dave Moody (02:34):
uh, I told them, I said, this is what I wanted to do.
So I knew from a very, very young age, um,exactly what it was that I wanted to do.
And I'm fortunate in that aspectbecause a lot of people spend their
whole life never knowing what theywanna do or what they wanted to become.
So I'm so grateful for that, that,uh, divine intervention, if you will.
(02:55):
On that porch step at myparents' house at six years old.
A sat on a Saturday morningwhen the UPS man dropped off.
Kiss Destroyer.
I'll, I'll never not bethankful for that day.
And that
Jason K Powers (03:05):
you, you remembered like that day, huh?
That's cool.
Oh yeah.
Dave Moody (03:08):
I remember it like it was yesterday.
I, that's how quick it was.
Yeah.
Jason K Powers (03:12):
How fun.
How fun.
how did you transition, say fromthat over the years to, you know,
getting, in a band, you know,what did that look like for you?
Dave Moody (03:22):
You know, I didn't play an instrument until I was probably.
We was very poor, so wecouldn't afford instruments.
And so it was, it was quite difficult.
But I didn't start playing untilI was like 17 or 18 years old.
And, um, and then I ended up gettingan instrument and getting in a
band and, and we were horribleand we sucked and it was bad.
(03:45):
But I think that's the wayeverybody should start.
You should start out horrible and,and suck and be bad and get better.
Yeah.
And start with people who.
Or horrible and suck and canbe bad with you, you know?
And that way you can growfrom that that aspect of it.
And, um, I learned a lot inthose formative years of what
to do and what not to do.
(04:06):
And sometimes I made the same mistakeover and over until I realized, oh,
wait a minute, this is not working.
You know, so.
Jason K Powers (04:13):
Mm-hmm.
Dave Moody (04:13):
But, uh, yeah, I was, I was, uh, I was actually a little
bit older getting into music.
From a, from a learningand instrument standpoint.
So I was like 17 or 18.
Jason K Powers (04:24):
And then you guys got, you did some small bands and then
you, how did you go from, from thatto playing bass for Billy Ray Cyrus?
Dave Moody (04:34):
Well, you know, it was a process.
You know, you, like I said, it startedwith my first band and then, and then
I went into an original act, uh, and Idid that for about oh eight to 10 years.
And, uh.
It, it really taught me a lot oflessons from, from the standpoint
of, you know, working with others.
Crafting songs, you know,uh, promoting your band.
(04:57):
'Cause I come from the era of whenwe put, you know, flyers on telephone
posts, you going up and down thestreet and, you know, and you know,
there was none of the social media.
There was no cell phones, there was nocomputers, there was, it was all word of
mouth and you had to create your own buzz.
And, and that's where it came from.
then, uh, after about eight to 10years I got to a point to where.
(05:19):
I was in a band that almostgot signed by Gene Simmons of
Kiss, surprisingly, uh, in 2003.
A band called Magnetic Flux, and weactually had, we were being courted by
Gene Simmons because he had restartedSimmons records and he was taking
open solicitations for albums, and sowe sent it in and got a meeting with
(05:41):
him, and long story short there, hetold us we were too old and too tall.
At that point.
I was like, that's, yeah, I was, Iwas like 30 years old, 31 years old.
I was like, man, I'm, I'm still.
Looking back now I'm 54, you know,I was a kid, you know, so, uh, yeah.
But, but, uh, yeah, that didn'twork out, but that's okay.
You know?
It's all right.
then, um.
(06:03):
The next thing I know, I get a phone callfrom a friend of mine who was Billy's
brother and my good friend who I'dgrown up with, and he said his brother
was looking for a bass player and askedme if I wanted to audition and I did.
And, uh, it went famously.
And, uh, we, we had a, we hit it off.
From Jump Street and it, yeah.
I guess 'cause he's from Kentucky.
(06:24):
I'm from Kentucky.
Mm-hmm.
The whole band's from Kentucky and youknow, it's just a bunch of Kentucky Boys.
We like-minded, you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
For, for better, for better or worse.
Yeah.
Jason K Powers (06:35):
That's it.
That's it.
Hey, most of my family's, most,most of my family's from Kentucky.
Oh, good for you.
Yes, that's right.
A smart man.
That's right.
I got it.
Well, so, so you learned a lot overthese years, these, these early years,
and then you got in, you know, with,with, uh, Billy Ray Cyrus and mm-hmm.
Learned even more and Right.
(06:57):
And now you've been atit a few decades now.
And, and so what is maybe going all theway back, What's one money lesson you wish
you'd known when you started in music?
what's something Oh, you wishyou'd known man when you got
started that you just, you're like,gosh, if I could, if everybody
would know this, walking into it.
Dave Moody (07:17):
I wish somebody told me that I was gonna get older.
I wish somebody told me that, that, uh,you know, life is real and things happen
and you've got to prepare for thosethings instead of living in moments.
Living in moments is great.
That's cool and it's satisfying forthose moments, but there is a bill
at the end of the dinner and you haveto be ready to pay for that bill.
(07:41):
So I guess my advicefrom that standpoint is.
If you're going to be a professionalmusician, usually you're hand to mouth
anyway, so it's hard to save moneyin that aspect because you're, you're
paying your rent, you're paying yourgas, you're paying your, you know,
maintenance on your instruments.
You're paying, you've got all these,and then there's not, there's not a
(08:04):
lot of, you know, it's all overhead.
There, there's, there's not a lot ofroom for saving money, you know, and
you don't make a, a ton of money.
But if you ever get to the pointto where you have a job, let's say
you have a job and you're doing ajob, and, and music make that job.
Your, your 401k.
(08:26):
If your company has a401k, invest in that.
Immediately take, you know, 5% ofyour income and throw it in this
401k that lasts forever in justaccrue money over a period of time.
Because I did not do that.
I, I did not.
I, I, you know, I was famouslydelusional as everybody else and
(08:47):
thinking that, you know, you're goingto make it and you're going and, you
know, there's no second, you know.
So I didn't really payattention to that aspect of it.
And it wasn't until I was probably, oh,15 years ago that I actually started
doing those things of putting moneyinto a 401k, putting money into the side
(09:12):
and making sure that I was, preparingmyself for a future when I get older.
I'm 54 now.
So what I did was basically, it'snever too late to do this either.
I mean, there's no rule to it.
You wanna start earlier, butyou can start later in life.
It's okay.
You can, you could start at a, at adifferent, you can start in your fifties.
(09:36):
It, it, you have to start though.
But I was lucky enoughto pull the parachute.
You know, in, in my forties and, and getit right from there and put myself in
a position now to where I'm not caughtup with the people who started in their
twenties, but I'm in a pretty good spot.
Mm-hmm.
So, I, I would say that you want toprepare as if your life depending
(09:59):
on it, because it does, you're gonnaget older, things are gonna happen,
you're gonna need money, you're gonnaneed finances, and, and, and you don't
wanna be a burden to anybody else.
So.
You know, musicians are not accusedof being smart people by any stretch.
Mm-hmm.
And they're def, they'redefinitely, they're definitely not
accused of being good with money.
And I'm guilty as charged on that.
(10:22):
But if the advice that I couldgive you is to start as soon as
possible, saving money, putting itback, making sure to accrue money.
And then once you do that, then youcould get into the stock market maybe
a little bit, put some money in,some easy, you know easy stocks that
are gonna maybe pay some dividends,maybe, maybe give you some money and,
(10:43):
and hold your money in a good spot.
and, uh, those things are justgonna help you out immensely.
and it, and it's done it well forme because I'd like to get to 62.
I'd like to t retire at 59.
I'd, I'd like to retire and be doneat 59 to say I retired in my fifties.
But I, I don't see that happening.
(11:04):
I'll probably go to 62 and even then, Iprobably won't retire because I'm just
too addicted to the, to the lifestyle.
Jason K Powers (11:09):
Enjoy.
But if I want too much,
Dave Moody (11:11):
yeah.
But if I wanted to do it, I could do it.
That that's the thing.
That's, that's, that's where I want to be.
So, and that's where you want to be too.
So I, I highly recommend saving.
I highly recommend if you havea 401k option, you utilize that
and attack it with everythingthat you can attack it with.
Hell, if you're just a covered musician,take that money and put it in the 401k.
(11:32):
You know, whatever, whatever you can doto put money into that, to save money.
That's what you want to do.
And I know I sound tooreasonable right now.
Not, not too cool for rock and roll.
Jason K Powers (11:42):
Yeah.
You know, you know, but, butthat's a conversation and that's
really one of the reasons.
The, this podcast got started, right?
Because, you know, watching artists overthe years and, and run into financial
dilemmas and having to put up thatGoFundMe because of some unforeseen
circumstance and going, you know,gosh, I wish, I wish there was a way
(12:05):
to better equip, you know, musicianscoming on and, and get that across.
I know everybody's youngand excited and, and Right.
You're living in the moment, like yousaid, and, and just finding a way to.
Better educate and better equip.
The guys coming on.
And even like you said, starting inyour 40, if you've been in it 10,
(12:25):
20, 30 years, it's not too late.
Start now.
No, no.
You know, it sounds too late.
That's right.
We always, you know, people say,oh, I wish I would've started
something, you know, years ago.
Years ago.
And I said, well, look, when's thesecond best time to plant a tree?
You know?
Right.
Dave Moody (12:40):
You're right, you're right.
Today is the best time and, and, uh,it, it, it's, it's just like anything.
You, you just want to make sureStarting habits is hard, but once
you get into the habit, it's easy.
Then, then, then it becomes.
Easy thing to do versuswhen you first started.
It's hard because you gotta stick with it.
(13:00):
But if you stick withit, it is so worth it.
And, uh, at the end of the dayyou're gonna be going, man, I
did the right thing and Right.
But, but don't, don't, don't bethe guy, you know, God bless 'em.
I, I know so many people, so manymore than I should that, that are
financially struggling with justthose things that you just said.
And a lot of 'em are, are.
(13:22):
Very well known.
And, uh, and, and, and it's tough andit, it, it, this, this business is tough
as giving as it is, is unforgiving.
And, and, uh, and, and you have toprotect yourself at all costs and
make sure that you're looking out foryou and your family moving forward.
Jason K Powers (13:41):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
That's right.
That's right.
That's great.
Well, let's pivot a little bit.
So talking about money day to day inthe music business, what investments
are really non-negotiable foryou, that are worth every penny.
You know, don't, don't, don'tcut corners here, kind of thing.
Dave Moody (13:56):
Well.
You just wanna make sure that,
You're taking care ofyourself health wise.
You cannot not take care of yourself.
If, if you're doing this just toget drunk and get laid, that's
the wrong reason to do it.
Mm-hmm.
You, you wanna make sure thatWhatever it is that you're doing,
you're, you're building relationshipsand contacts within the industry.
(14:18):
These are corners thatyou don't want to cut.
Relationships are so important in thisindustry because the relationships for a
reason, they're gonna feed you later onin life if you build these relationships.
So you wanna make sure that you do that.
Music gear.
Make sure that you have thebest of the best of the best.
Make sure that your,your appearance is good.
It's just like any job.
You wanna make sure that you'rehealthy, you're strong, uh, you
(14:41):
look good, you perform good.
you blew it in your instrument.
These are things that are, that youcan cut corners in because those things
separate you from everybody else.
So then be a good hang.
Be a, be a person that, thatis easy to get along with.
Not necessarily agreeable,but good to hang around with.
(15:01):
Mm-hmm.
You know, a person that, that, that,that, that is like a guy that you could
count on, a guy that can be, you know,it's like my dad always told me, arrive
15 minutes early, stay 15 minuteslate work harder than anybody else.
And I gotta tell you right nowin this industry, musicians.
I'm speaking to you are inherently lazy.
They're entitled, I, I know youdon't wanna hear this, but it's true.
(15:25):
They're inherently lazyand they're entitled.
It takes this much effortto outwork a musician.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, just that much more thansomebody else, because they think
that talent or their abilityand somebody's gonna find them.
No, it's relationships.
It's your attitude.
It's your musicianship.
It's your, it's everything.
It's all of these things.
(15:46):
It's not just one thing.
So the corners that I wouldn't cut are theones that are the small details that allow
you to achieve more than other people.
So stay on those things and youshould be able to succeed at
least more than the next person.
Jason K Powers (16:03):
That's great.
I, I think just kind of spinning offof that, uh, what I appreciate with you
guys, and I've, I've watched you guys fora while and, and what's your opinion on.
Uh, big shows, small shows.
What shows do you take to doeverything you get your hands on?
Ditch the little ones.
I mean, I hear a variety and,and I think I know what your
answer's gonna be, but, yeah.
(16:24):
What do you, what's your,what's your perspective?
Dave Moody (16:27):
I love 'em all.
They all pay, you know,they, they, they all mm-hmm.
Pay the bills.
So I treat every room as ifit was Madison Square Garden.
You, you don't look at a crowd andthink they don't deserve my best
because there's less people there.
You look at a crowd and go, they'regonna get the best of me every
single time I walk out on stage.
Because not only you're representingthe band, you're representing yourself.
(16:51):
And there should be integrity in that.
There should be there, there shouldbe, there should be no mailing it in.
If you hear somebody say they'remailing it in, that's not the
people you wanna be associated with.
You want to be, you want to be strongand deliver every single night.
I'm a firm believer in thatand that's what's allowed me.
To, to do the, to the smallamount of success that I have had.
(17:15):
it, all comes from hard work and, andpaying attention and getting up on stage
and never turning your back on that.
Jason K Powers (17:21):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
I've seen, I've seen you guys a fewtimes and a couple different size venues
and, and that's what stuck out to me.
'cause one show in particular Iwent to when I, when I was, and when
I knew where it was, I was like.
I'm quite surprised they're plentyhere actually, because I've seen
them fill three times as big a venue.
Mm-hmm.
(17:41):
and I, always appreciated that, aboutyou guys, you know, just kind of taking.
Like you said, even the small gigs and,and that's the stuff people can go to.
and you guys show up and it wasjust as incredible of a performance
as the big venue, you know?
And that's awesome.
Yeah.
Dave Moody (17:58):
You wanna be, you wanna be who you are no matter where you set it up.
You want to be who you are.
You know?
Let's take for example, like abrand like, um, like Coca-Cola.
Okay.
Coca-Cola is sold in stadiums aroundthe world, but it's also sold in small
convenience stores around the world.
(18:19):
Do you think Coca-Cola in thesmallest convenience store, in the
worst neighborhood is any differentthan the Coca-Cola that's being sold
in a stadium at a football game?
No, they're always Coca-Cola.
So when you show up.
Always be who you are and whatyour product is and what you
expect to deliver to that crowd.
You get people one at a time,you know what I'm saying?
(18:40):
You get, you get your audience builtone at a time, one person at a time.
It's, you know, don't get me wrong.
We've done stadiums and we've done,we've done small little clubs and
we've done most of the small stuffwe do though is private events.
Most of the stuff we do is like,or, or if we're building a market,
we'll have to go into you know, aplace that has never heard of us, you
(19:01):
know, in May, maybe Tucson, Arizona.
Maybe they've never heard of usand we have to go into a club, not,
or, or a small theater and mm-hmm.
And, you know, like aseven, 800,000 seat theater.
It's small and, and, and build ourbrand there and build 'em one at a time.
But there's never a time where wedon't show up and go, well, we're
(19:21):
just gonna mail it in tonight.
We're not gonna be here, butwe're not gonna wear the costume.
No, no.
You're gonna get everysingle bit of what we do.
We do not mail nothing in So.
Your responsibility is to the peoplethat, that are paying to see you, no
matter if it's one person or 50,000.
Jason K Powers (19:40):
So, uh, spinning from that kind of to the business
side of things, with hairball inparticular are there any parts of the
business that say you touch directly,
How's that?
How's that look for you guys?
Dave Moody (19:52):
you know, this band is built on Alphas.
So like the, all the singershave ran their bands.
Before they got into this band.
Mm-hmm.
All the, all the musicians thatare on the stage, the drummer, the
bass player and the guitar playerhave all ran their own bands.
So it's all a bunch of AlphaDogs following an Alpha Dogs.
(20:16):
So we know that we're,a Swiss knife for Happy.
For Chainsaw.
We know that.
We're like, if, if they need somethingdone, they know that their generals can,
can march into war and take care of it.
Yeah.
It's not a problem.
They give us, they give mesomething to do, I can do it.
(20:36):
You know, it's not a problem.
And that's a wonderful place to be.
If, if you think about it, to, to look atyour team and go, there's not a weak link.
That this is a strong chain.
So that, that's, that's the best part ofbeing in this band, is that everybody's
so strong in everything that they do.
Musicianship, business wise, youknow, good hang wise you know,
(21:01):
being a, being a good person, youknow, all of it is, is wonderful.
It's, it's very, very, it'svery, very unicornish Yeah, yeah.
In the world that, that, that we live in.
Yeah.
Jason K Powers (21:12):
Right.
So, so on that.
I saw you post something the other day.
You guys were somewhere and it was a,a good group photo and you talked about
you guys just being on the road togetherand being like a family, you know?
Mm-hmm.
And, and with a group, as you put it, ofAlphas, are there things that you guys
(21:32):
keep an eye on or make sure, or, or,or intentional about that everybody's
on the same page communicating?
Well and things aren't.
Egos aren't coming in to play toomuch, you know, and everybody's kind
of working for each other, you know?
How, how do you, how do you handle that?
Dave Moody (21:51):
Well, it goes back to what I said a minute ago.
The product is, is number one.
and a good idea is a good idea.
No matter where it comes from and,you will succeed as long as you
don't care who gets the credit.
It doesn't matter to us.
Who gets the credit for what?
It's the band that wins.
It's, it's the, it's the,it's the product that wins.
It's the audience that wins.
(22:11):
Everybody wins.
If you don't care who gets the credit.
Then you, you're truly part of ateam and that's what hairball is.
Then, you know, we just, we'revery supportive of each other.
Somebody has a good idea.
Sometimes they get used,sometimes it doesn't.
Most of the time I don't even offer ideas.
They come and ask my opinion,what do you think about this?
(22:34):
And then I'll give 'em my opinion.
And if they don't use it, Idon't get but hurt about it.
They just wanted to, they justwanted to do their research.
What the best idea might be.
Maybe my idea wasn't the best idea.
Maybe my way wasn't the best idea.
That's okay.
I don't care who gets the success.
As long as we cross the finish linetogether, that's all I care about,
(22:58):
and that's all everybody cares about.
Jason K Powers (23:00):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Maintaining that humility.
In
Dave Moody (23:04):
the band.
Yes.
Correct.
Correct.
You're, you're, don't, don'tbe too big for your britches.
Just be thankful thatyou got 'em to put on.
You know what I'm saying?
Yeah.
It, it's, it's it really is about makingsure that you're, you're team oriented.
You're, you're, you're not,you're not me oriented.
Pay attention to the product.
Pay attention to the ultimate goal.
(23:25):
Like, uh, you know, like in football,only one person can be the quarterback
and touch the ball every time.
It's up to him to decide who getsthe ball in the best play to run.
Right?
So that's, that's happy.
He's the quarterback.
Him and Mike are the quarterback,and we're like the receivers
and the running backs.
And some of us are blocking andsome of us are running the play.
(23:47):
Some of us are, are, aredownfield for a bomb.
You know.
So either way they all endup celebrating the end zone.
They all end up celebrating.
So that's us.
Jason K Powers (23:57):
Yep.
Yep.
That's great.
So let's touch on real quick.
You know, what we talkedabout before the show kind of.
In your expansive experience, whatpay models have you seen bands do
that maybe that do and don't work?
Uh, whether or not you're giving adviceon you should definitely do this, but,
(24:20):
but what pay models have you seen work andnot work that bands try to put out there?
Dave Moody (24:27):
Well, the thing that you have to do is first you have to
have a product that everybody loves.
You have to have, like, let's say thatyou're starting a tribute band, you
know and this is free advice kids.
Let's say you're start, let's sayyou're starting a tribute band.
First thing you wanna do is find a band ofcourse that has 20 monstrous stadium hits.
(24:51):
You know, just huge that everybody loves.
It's universal.
It's just this, this band that, you know,little old ladies love and little kids
love and they can all come to your show.
That's number one.
Number two is developing theproduct at a topnotch level, making
sure that everything is 100%, youknow, buttoned up to a t. You want
(25:15):
it to be so tight and so good.
It's like, oh my God,this sounds just like it.
And then you want it to look asclose as you can to that product.
You want to have the instrumentation,you want to have the, the close, you
want to have the, the mannerisms ofthe, the people that you're doing.
(25:40):
You wanna make sure thatyou're doing all those things.
And the models that I've seen, theydon't pay attention to details.
They don't pay attention.
They just think that they're gonna,because I've had some people come
up to me and ask me, you know, forhelp in starting a tribute, and I'm
more than happy to give this advice.
(26:00):
Mm-hmm.
Because I tell 'em all the same thing.
But they think that they're gonnastart a band and just because it's
a tribute that they're gonna make.
Five to $10,000 a night.
That is not how it works.
That is not how it works.
What you have to do is develop the productand you've got to take it to the people
(26:23):
and work your ass off and develop yourcrowd, and that takes time and effort.
And then you gotta surround yourselfwith people who are like-minded, who
want the same thing that you want.
That are willing to pull inthe same direction because
this life is not for everybody.
Everybody thinks they wanna bea rockstar until they're gone
(26:43):
from home for 230 days a year.
Then they see, then theyunderstand, oh, I don't.
When I come home, my dog growlsat me because he hasn't seen me.
Yeah, my wife, my wife is like kind ofupset that I'm not here today to help
when something breaks around the house.
You know?
You know?
So.
(27:03):
You have to have like-minded people thatwant to do this and want to achieve.
And the models that I've seen arepeople that some of 'em now, some
of them have been fantastic thatI've seen that have worked great.
But then again, I've seen some that,that, that, that have this misconception
of, I'm gonna put tribute by.
(27:25):
AC/DC or Def Leppard or MotleyCrue or whatever, and we're
gonna make this much money.
This is not how it works people.
You, you actually have to work hard,find a great booking agent, find,
you know, take every shit detailthat you can find in the beginning.
just so people can see you.
So people can.
(27:45):
They hear your product and thenyou can develop that thing and
you can develop those crowds.
A lot of people don't get thatmessage and, and, and they
just had this misconceptionthat it's just gonna be easy.
It's not
Jason K Powers (28:01):
It's the grind, right?
You gotta go through the hard day,the hard days to get to the good days.
There's no, no other way.
Dave Moody (28:08):
There really is no other way.
Uh, I, I remember, I rememberwhen, when we started Thunderstruck
that ended up being, the biggestAC/DC tribute band in the world.
It was huge.
It was monstrous before I joined Hairball.
Mm-hmm.
And we took every crapdetail you could think of.
(28:30):
We rode in sedan.
Pulling you know, uh, with a box truck,you know, pinched in like this, grown
men like this for 700 miles you know,eating hamburgers like this, you know?
Yeah.
I mean, saving, likepinching pennies so hard.
But the copper got on your fingertips.
(28:51):
I mean, it was just, itwas really, really tight.
The margins were really, really tight.
And, and we started out like that.
And.
Nobody knew who we were.
Nobody had an idea, but westarted delivering that product,
and that's where it starts.
You have to want to do it.
You have to want to be there.
And the people with youhave to want to be there.
(29:12):
Everybody's, it's a teams, like I said,doesn't matter who has the ball or who's,
who gets the credit that we all win.
Cool.
Cool.
Jason K Powers (29:21):
All right.
Let's shift gears here a little bitand, and start landing the plane.
Give me a. Fun, memorable, funny story.
You got Life on the Road.
Dave Moody (29:34):
Oh, I got so many.
God dang.
Dude, I got so many.
It, it, it literally is Spinal Tap.
I mean, One time, way back, myfirst band ever we had a band.
Uh, we was playing a show in a littleold jamboree and my guitar player
at that time, back in the day, PaulGilbert had that video where he took
(29:57):
the picks and put it on a drill.
And it's like, you know, he was, hewas, he put like the three picks on
the drill and glued them on a bit,and he was like doing a solo with a
bit and taking the, you know, so he isdoing the Star-Spangled banner with the
picks on the thing and, and the drill.
Then he gets done and he hands methe drill and I was singing at the
(30:19):
time, and he hands me the drilland I take the drill and I'm like,
putting it in the microphone.
I had really long hair.
And um, he takes, he gets me the drilland I'm putting it in the microphone
going, and I put it up like this, go.
Not realizing that the suctionfrom the drill is very real.
(30:42):
It went and my hair got caught into it.
I'm standing there on the crowd withthis drill and I got the hair caught in
the drill bit like, and I'm like, well,you know, it gets tighter and tighter.
And because it was out here firstand went and I went, oh shit.
And then I went, well, me beingthe bright guy that I am, well,
(31:03):
I'll just put it in reverse.
I put it in reverse and thinkingit was gonna go do that.
I went really?
Oh no.
And it got, it got up, got up to my head.
I had to run off stage and ripmy hair out the Oh my gosh.
My, but that, that, gosh,was, that was pretty funny.
Pretty funny.
Uh, yeah.
Yeah.
So it from bad to worse, bad, just stupid.
(31:24):
Stupid kids.
Stuff's hilarious.
But it, I wouldn't trade nothing for it.
It's hilarious.
Jason K Powers (31:30):
That's funny.
You know, one thing that'simpressed me about you guys.
You know, and being at your shows isyour all's willingness to really get
out there after the show and interactwith the fans and, and nobody really
knows is the big, you know, I know alot of, most conscious people kind of
linger and wait and see what happens.
Somebody wants the, the set listor, you know, and, and I always
(31:54):
appreciate, you know, I rememberthe first time I saw you guys.
Out in, Evansville, Indiana whereI saw you guys the first time.
And Victor Victory Theater.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's right.
That's right.
And, uh, hanging out just a few.
I was just kind of loitering really.
And, and then, uh, HBK jumps down andI was running around in the front and.
(32:17):
So anyway, got to meet a couple ofyou guys that just briefly, right?
You're hanging out and socializingand, and taking pictures and, and, and
consistently, I talked to somebody,uh, after every show and, and I
appreciate that, about you guys.
is there a motivation behind that?
Is there a, is there a philosophymaybe behind that, that.
(32:38):
Allow some of you, at least I stillneed to get Happy out there, you know,
but, uh, get some of you guys outthere and, and visiting with the fans.
Dave Moody (32:48):
Well, yeah, I mean, uh, first and foremost we're, we're fans ourselves.
Um.
We've, we use the old saying, youknow, when somebody asks how far
you've come, we say about 10 feetfrom the front row of the stage.
I mean, it's, that's who we are.
We're fans of this musicjust as much as you are.
It's just we're wearing the costumesand leading the band, you know?
(33:08):
So we're, we're nothing we're, we'rejust like you we're, we're no different.
Everybody in the band has that samementality, and we're all grateful
for everybody that comes and see us.
I, I, I laugh every single time.
Like, we will see kids down thereand I'll, and I'll go, well, thank
you, thank you for coming out andseeing middle aged men and spandex
and lipstick and high heels.
(33:29):
We really appreciate it.
You know?
Yeah.
So we're, we're, we're, we're humbledby it, you know, and, and we wanna let
the crowd know, you know, we're, we're.
We're not above anybody.
We're not, we're we're justpeople just like everybody else.
And, and, and we enjoy this musicjust as much as you do and to
get to performance, the blessing.
And if, if, if.
(33:50):
It means making somebody's day to godown and shake their hand and give
'em a hug and a picture and a set listand a pick and, and or a drumstick
and just, just be so thankful becausethey have no idea what it is that
they do for us to allow us to do this.
So we're, we're grateful for them andwe never turn our back on that ever.
(34:13):
It's very, what, whatyou see is very genuine.
And we do it every single night.
Jason K Powers (34:17):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's great.
All right, so give me, I'mgonna leave this open-ended.
Any final thoughts, opinions, advicethat you wanna throw out there
Dave Moody (34:30):
going back to the beginning when you asked me about the money
thing, uh, that's, that's, I want tohelp people avoid what I stepped in.
I want people to achieve.
I want people to succeed.
And the best way to do that isby listening to people like you
and people like me who have.
(34:51):
Fallen in these traps, or, or, orseeing these, these mines in the field
and, and actually hit them, you know?
And, uh, we're walking like, uh,you know paralympic people, you
know, we, we, we got, we, we gotlimbs missing financially, you know?
Uh, but if, if we can, if we can getif we could get you to miss those mines
(35:17):
that that's what I want, you should.
Get into your 401k, startdeveloping the habit of taking
care of yourself and your family.
Start developing the habit of, youknow, looking, be healthy, stay healthy.
You, you stay in the game longer.
Your, your, your personalhealth is so important.
(35:39):
Eat right.
I know these are not rockand roll things, man.
These are not, but they're very importantand they, they, they add to longevity.
People ask.
All the time, you know, how haveyou stuck in the game so long?
And it's because I pay attention toone, my failures, the things that I
messed up on, and I try to fix them.
(35:59):
Two.
I I, I'm always looking for bettermentand, and the way to make myself better.
And if I can do that.
And then three, it.
I don't own any of my blessings,so I try to give them away
like I'm doing right now.
And the best thing that I can tell you is.
Please, please look intotaking care of yourself in all
of those ways, financially,health wise, and, and mentally.
(36:22):
Just, just do everything you can andalways be grateful for what you have.
Jason K Powers (36:25):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
That's great.
it's such a good conversation, youknow, so where should people follow you?
Where can people find out moreabout what's going on with Hairball?
What do you guys got going on this year?
Tell me.
Dave Moody (36:40):
It'd be easy to tell you what we don't have going on it.
It's uh, we got everything going on.
I mean, if you go tohairballonline.com, you'll see it.
We do over 130 shows a year.
And I'm, like I said, I'm goneabout 230 days out of the year.
So we work, man.
We do not stop.
And, um, it's.
(37:01):
It's crazy.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, hopefully we'll see you out there.
We're all over the United States.
We got a big Canadian tour comingup in March that we just announced.
The tours been announced for next year.
It's called Balls to the Wall.
It'll be the 26th summerthat we've done it.
And man, amazing, amazing, amazing.
And, so we're, we're,we're thankful, dude.
what can I tell you?
(37:21):
We're just, we're blessed andwe're grateful, and we're thankful,
and we never turn our back on it.
Jason K Powers (37:27):
Yep.
Yep.
Yeah, I would say to thelistener, definitely get out
there and see these guys.
It is nothing but fun.
Nothing but fun.
I've already got my ticketsfor the next tour and so Nice.
I'll, uh, we'll be seeing you there.
I'm bringing a crowd withme this time, I think.
Nice, nice.
I think there's like 11 ofus so far going, so yeah.
(37:48):
Good time.
Dave Moody (37:49):
I
Jason K Powers (37:49):
love
Dave Moody (37:50):
hairball versions.
I love whenever people haven'tseen it, and, uh, you, because like
you'll try to explain it to people.
Like, I'm sure there's gonnabe people watching going, ah,
they're just another tribute man.
They're just, come to the show.
Come, come, come to the show andgive us a chance to prove you wrong.
Yeah.
'Cause, 'cause I promise you this, you'regonna walk in, but you're gonna float out.
(38:12):
You, you ain't gonnaunderstand what just happened.
Jason K Powers (38:15):
I will second that.
I will second that, that's for sure.
Alright, so for our listeners, we alwaysfinish with what we call "Final Riffs".
It's a rapid fire round where wetrade stories and snapshots, quick
questions that capture who ourguest is on and off the stage.
So Dave, Shall we jump in?
Yep, go.
(38:35):
All right.
Easy one.
First character you everstepped into in Hairball.
In Hairball, sure.
Dave Moody (38:44):
Yeah.
Dee Snyder.
Jason K Powers (38:46):
Dee Snyder, who's your favorite character?
Dave Moody (38:50):
I got cool characters, man.
I mean, I got Gene, I got Gene , Alice,Dee, Brian Johnson, uh, Kevin DuBrow,
Cinderella, and, and Blackie Lawless.
And Lemmy Kilmister.
I got cool characters.
Yeah, I guess, I guess overallit's just because it's just so much
and it's so over the top is Gene.
Jason K Powers (39:09):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
The Gene Simmons.
Yeah.
All right.
Hardest vocal to nail night after night.
Dave Moody (39:18):
Man, probably, you know, because he's not my voice now.
Brian's my voice.
Gene's kind of my voice.
Probably Dee Snider.
Mm-hmm.
Because he's, he's so just.
It all comes from here.
I mean, it's all just right.
People don't realize how goodof a singer he really is.
(39:39):
Mm-hmm.
Like he's, if you go back andlisten to him, he's all power.
Just all power.
There's no falsetto.
There's no squeezing ofthe, the vocal chords.
It's just, it's allpower and it's raw power.
Mm-hmm.
So, uh mm-hmm.
You gotta make sure that you'reon point on him or you'll,
you'll throw your voice out.
I learned that real quick.
I was like, oh my God.
(40:00):
Okay.
Oh yeah.
Jason K Powers (40:01):
Alright.
Cool.
Here we go.
Yeah.
All right.
One, one city or venue youwill never forget playing in.
Dave Moody (40:10):
There's so many.
I guess just by default you're gonnahave to say the Grand Ole Opry.
Jason K Powers (40:14):
Yeah.
Dave Moody (40:15):
Only because it's the Grand Ole Opry.
It's,
Jason K Powers (40:18):
yeah.
Dave Moody (40:18):
But, but you know, then, then you got stadiums and you got TV shows
and CBGBs and Whiskey and, I mean, but.
If you're gonna, if you're gonnacut it down to one, it would
have to be the grand old Opry.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(40:39):
I'm, because it's the grand old Opry.
Yeah, it's, that's right.
That's right.
Jason K Powers (40:45):
All what's uh, one non-music hobby or passion of yours?
Dave Moody (40:49):
Oh, I'm a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
Pittsburgh.
Shoot, shoot.
Huge Steelers fan.
I, it's my escape.
It's my getaway.
I mm-hmm.
I love them so much and,and we have so much fun.
Me and my wife, we have so much funwatching the games and, uh, win or lose.
We, we just have a balland, uh, we love it.
(41:11):
Uh, and we go to aboutthree or four games a year.
And, uh, yeah, I just love football.
Jason K Powers (41:18):
Great.
All right.
A, uh, city that surprisedyou with the loudest crowd?
Anything come to mind?
Dave Moody (41:24):
Iowa, I mean Oh
Jason K Powers (41:26):
yeah.
Dave Moody (41:26):
Just, just Iowa in, in general.
Yeah, it, it, that is probably the rockand roll capital of the world, Iowa.
I mean, we just did Des Moinesfor the Iowa State Fair, and
the first night was ZZ Top.
The next night wasLynyrd Skynyrd, then us.
Then Def Leppard on the grandstands.
(41:48):
Mm-hmm.
And we beat Lynyrd Skynyrd inattendance and which was at a hard
ticket sale, not, not a free concert.
Now this is a hard ticket.
Yeah.
And, um, and we beat him.
We had like 8,000 peoplethere, and it was Wow.
Just so into it.
Iowa people are just so, not, notanything against anybody in the world,
(42:10):
but they're just salt of the earth.
I mean, just great rock and roll fans.
Mm-hmm.
Jason K Powers (42:15):
All right.
Best road habits thatcost little, but pay big.
That's a hard one.
Dave Moody (42:23):
being prepared, in your packing.
Like whatever you pack is goingto be, like your toiletries,
food, if you have some extra.
You know, like things that youwant, it's gonna save you money.
Having those things, most the time youhave catering and all that stuff, and
you get to eat when you get there, so.
(42:45):
Mm-hmm.
You want to pay attention, you, you wannado, you wanna take advantage of that, but.
Stuff that you can bring with you thatyou don't have to buy on a daily, like,
like you, you just have it with you.
So I guess, you know, bunk snacks andthings like that, you know, things
inside of your bunk and, uh, youknow, but you, the things that'll
(43:07):
save you the most money is eatinglunch at when you get to the venue.
Taking advantage of catering.
Whenever dinner is served,and then afterwards, generally
they'll have something for you.
Maybe it's pizza or whatever, andtake advantage of that because
those are things that keep youfrom dipping into your wallet.
Jason K Powers (43:25):
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Dave Moody (43:26):
And they're, they're free.
They're, they're, they're supplied.
Great.
Jason K Powers (43:30):
All right.
First concert you ever went to?
Dave Moody (43:33):
Kiss.
Queenryche, 1984 KentuckyCommonwealth Convention Center
and Queenryche was on the warningtour and KISS was on Animal Lies.
I couldn't believe that I was in the sameroom as Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons.
That's right.
I was like a That's right.
That's them.
Jason K Powers (43:51):
That's it.
That's alright.
That's alright.
It's cool.
All right, so I think we've alreadyanswered this, but who was your
biggest musical influence growing up?
Dave Moody (44:01):
I had several, but of course KISS would be number one, probably.
And then, AC/DC.
It was very, very, very typical stuff.
Kiss AC/DC, you know, Motorhead,Motorhead and Kiss over here, you
know, you know, and then, you know,I'm just, but then again, I had, uh.
(44:24):
So many country heroes like Willie Nelsonand Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard
and um, Johnny Cash and things like that.
People that I love dearlyfrom that genre of music.
Mm-hmm.
But yeah, I have a very goodpalette of music that I like.
Everything from Slayer to Sinatra.
I love it all.
See,
Jason K Powers (44:44):
there you go.
There you go.
That's it.
That's a music lover.
You know, that's, it's,you like music for music.
Correct.
Love it.
Correct.
Dave, thank you so much for makingthe time and for being so open with
the road lessons and, just all of theinsight, you know, I appreciate it.
Yeah, I know our listeners appreciate it.
And thanks for keeping that rock aliveand, and inspiring a lot of people.
(45:08):
I know you do.
So for everyone listening, we willput hairballs links in the show notes
so you can follow along and catch.
A hairball show near you.
If this conversation helped you, thinkabout the business side of your music,
grab my free ebook and Musicians Guide toInfinite Banking at 1024wealth.com/music.
And when you are ready to talk abouthow a money system could support your
(45:29):
career book, quick call and let's chat.
So thank you you are listeningto Backstage Money Subscribe
on your favorite podcast app.
Share this with one musician who needsto hear it, and I will see you next time.
Until then, keep your moneyworking and your music moving.
Thanks, Dave.
Dave Moody (45:46):
You're welcome.
Thank you.
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