Americana Highways’ Key to the Highway series
Fans always clamor to learn more about their favorite, most beloved musicians and those who travel with them. There’s such an allure to the road, with its serendipity, inevitable surprises, and sometimes unexpected discomforts. This interview series is a set of questions we are asking some of our favorite roots rock Americana artists to get to know more about them and what they’ve learned and experienced on the road. We are sure they have key insights to share and stories to tell. Here’s one from Alvin Youngblood Hart.
AH: How do you like your coffee or other morning wake-up beverage?
AYH: I don’t drink coffee. I’m a tea drinker, have been since about 1967. I usually have a little evaporated milk and honey. I DO make coffee for someone special in the morning. Van Dyke Parks suggested to me that I perfect that!
AH: What’s the most interesting or strangest motel/hotel or place you have stayed (while on the road?)
AYH: That would be the Corktown Inn in Detroit Rock City. Parking lot cameras are part of the TV channel selection. Hot Pockets or fresh underwear can be purchased in the vending machine
AH: If one CD is stuck in the player in the van for the entire tour, what do you hope it is? And why?
AYH: Thin Lizzy’s Vagabonds Of The Western World. Because Lizzy is a way of life
AH: What’s one personal item you must have with you on your road trip?
AYH: Well, that ol’ Swiss Army knife has come in handy more than once
AH: What is your relationship with food? How do you handle this on the road, and what’s your favorite dish on the road, (or restaurant, and what do you order there)?
AYH: I’ve had a faithful relationship with food since 1963. Breakfast is the most important meal o’ the day. Chorizo con Huevo at Juan In A Million, Austin, TX is the best thing out there !
AH: If you could pause your life for a few weeks and spend some time living in a place you only have passed through, which would you choose, and why?
AYH: Depends on the time of year, I suppose . It might be nice to spend the Summers up in Canada rather than Mississippi.
AH: What quote or piece of advice have you gotten from someone on the road that has really stuck with you?
AYH: “Blood, you gotta’ be careful, it’s some f**ed up sh*t out there.” — Robert Lockwood Jr.
Find all things Alvin Youngblood Hart, here: https://www.ayhmusic.com
See other Key to the Highway interviews here: https://americanahighways.org/category/interviews/key-to-the-highway-series/ (click here for: Bruce Cockburn Charlie Musselwhite Jim White Danny Barnes Patterson Hood Jerry Joseph BJ Barham Rodney Crowell Todd Snider Elizabeth Cook Tommy Womack Eric Ambel, Dan Baird, Robbie Fulks, Malcolm Holcombe Jon Langford Steve Poltz, Lilly Hiatt Sarah Shook & the Disarmers )
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