Key to the Highway: Ethan Anderson of Massy Ferguson

Massy Ferguson photo by Niffer Calderwell

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 for music. We are sure they have key insights to share and stories to tell. Here’s one from Ethan Anderson of Massy Ferguson.

Americana Highways: How do you like your coffee or other morning wake-up beverage?

Ethan Anderson: Even though I’m from Seattle aka coffee land, I never drank coffee when I was younger, but I do now just as I’ve gotten a little bit older and need a little bit more of an energy boost sometimes. I’m definitely not a connoisseur so I’m fine with some hot black coffee. No matter the beverage, I’m not a fan of mornings (laughs)

AH: What’s the most interesting or strangest motel/hotel or place you have stayed (while on the road for music?)

EA: Without question, it would be the George & Dragon in Chester UK. The Discovery Channel had one of those “world‘s most haunted places” episodes and they featured this place, which is crazy because we had this incident at the hotel where we left the hotel room for the gig and when we came back, the TV was on full blast with just static. Super creepy. We also found out that the place has recently been busted because it had been operating illegally as a brothel. Kind of makes sense because they insisted we only pay with cash. Somebody told me awhile back it was featured on a British TV show, one of those reality shows where cops go in undercover and bust crooks. Makes sense. The George & Dragon in Chester UK. Epically and legendarily awful place.

AH: If one CD is stuck in the player in the van for the entire tour, what do you hope it is? And why?

EA: I could think of a boatload of albums I would actually love to hear ad nauseam on tour but I think I would probably opt for one of Mitch Hedberg’s comedy records (maybe “Do You Believe in Gosh”) on repeat. Good old Mitch and his ridiculous humor is kind of perfect for the monotony of being in the van. We had a driver in the UK who would always put Mitch on in the van and it was perfect. At one point, we introduced him to The Jerky Boys and he was NOT impressed. He basically said if we played that again, he would kick us out of the van. Maybe some comedy doesn’t translate, even in English. So we went back to Mitch.

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)?

EA: I would say my relationship with food is a VERY healthy one in that I will basically eat anything at any time. We have joked that we have Anthony Bourdain-ed our way through 14 different countries on tour, just being open to trying new food and drink and experiences. The spiciest food I ever had anywhere was the spicy vindaloo at this hole in the wall Indian joint in Northampton UK. I asked them to make it spicy and I think they just decided to destroy me because it was so hot that I couldn’t actually finish it, and I’m really into spicy food so I’m talking really really hot. Probably the most consistently good food was the roadside restaurants in Spain, especially the ones that served Caldo. The craziest food I’ve ever seen was when we played Iceland Airwaves Festival in Reykjavik and this one restaurant there was serving reindeer head and rancid fermented shark meat. I’m gonna tell you right now, I won’t be ordering either of those again (laughs).

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?

EA: Honestly, with the amount of time we’ve spent in the UK, I could really see myself pausing in Christchurch/Bournemouth in Dorset UK. I know that for a fact because on our last tour, we stayed there for five days total and I really fell in love with the place, spent time at the local watering hole – the Thomas Tripp – and our pal Russ let us stay in his summer place on the beach. The other place for me would be Estepona, Spain. We did a show there in 2022 in a bar just off this beautiful sand beach and were only there for about a day and a half so I’d love more time. Kind of funny, when we pulled into town, this random guy on the street told us “Estepona es un paraíso” (Estepona is paradise). He wasn’t wrong.

AH: What quote or piece of advice have you gotten from someone on the road that has really stuck with you?

EA: I actually wasn’t there for this quote, but Adam and Dave talk a lot about the shows they did with Peter Cornell, Chris Cornell‘s brother, back in the day in Seattle in the 90s during the grunge years. Peter would say “it’s not the contract. It’s the contact.” As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate that a lot more. There’s a lot of value in the people you meet along the way, the contacts you make, the friends you support and who support you in music. A whole lot of wisdom in that quote. For me it’s not about trying to get signed or make a bunch of money. It’s really about having meaningful experiences and being among my peers in music, feel inspired and inspire others. That’s the real currency.

Find more information about their new album, and tour dates for Massy Ferguson here: https://www.massyfergusonband.com

See other Key to the Highway interviews here: https://americanahighways.org/category/interviews/key-to-the-highway-series/ (click here for: Todd Park Mohr Jim Lauderdale Vince Herman Jimmy Smith Ben Nichols Bruce Cockburn Charlie Musselwhite Nicki Bluhm 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 Sadler Vaden )