Joe Sanderson is a junior Journalism & New Media major at Lipscomb University and is a part of the Lumination Network.
While Sanderson likes all things broadcasting, he equally likes something else. Music. We talked with him about the band he tours with and what life on the road is like.
Currently, Sanderson is on the road touring with country artist/writer Lance Carpenter. He has been playing with Carpenter for around six months now.
“A majority of the guys in the band, we all came into the group at the same time,” Sanderson said. “We’ve had to swap a few band members around due to scheduling conflicts and such. But the guys that have been there from day one, they are awesome.”
Even with a busy work and school schedule, Sanderson says he still practices consistently with the band, and travels on the road with them.
“Whenever we pick up a new gig or set of shows, we usually just do it. We could have two to four shows in a week sometimes. We can usually make weekend trips up to 500-800 miles away from Nashville, Friday through Sunday and make it back in time for school on Monday.”
Getting a head start on Friday mornings is no joke.
“For the typical weekend gig we leave at around five or six in the morning on Friday and move on to our destination,” Sanderson said. “We try to take as few vehicles as we can. I usually ride with the bassist, Justin Trimble. We can fit our drum and bass gear in my vehicle, as well as a keyboard or anything else we need.”
There is a lot of work that goes into touring – from packing up instruments, amps and extra equipment to driving to venues and setting up and then taking it all down. But Sanderson doesn’t mind.
“We’re all friends,” Sanderson said. “We work through stuff together and want to progress in our sound, which is a big reason why it’s a blast. To narrow it down to my favorite part of drumming with these guys, I’d say the fact that we all get along well and have the same goals in mind, that is my favorite part.”
Note: Sanderson is the author’s brother.