A dream catcher hangs from the rear-view mirror.
“My grandma gave that to me to catch all the bad vibes,” Nathan Kane said.
There’s a series of white scratches on one of the wheel wells.
“We’ve actually already got racing stripes on this side,” Paul Lierman said. “That’s a custom job. You can’t just walk into a shop and expect that kind of detail.”
Kane and Lierman of local band Whale Bones went on tour in January along with band members Nick Pinder and John Tatom.
Whale Bones relies on a silver Toyota RAV4 to get them from show to show.
In the back, there’s what Lierman called a “smuggler’s hatch,” which usually holds skateboards and jumper cables.
They used both on their tour through the South in January.
In a new city, they usually have a few hours to explore, Kane said.
“It’s a bit like a vacation with none of the convenience,” he said. They normally stay at the houses of friends or people they met at a show.
In Gainesville, Florida, Kane said they found an abandoned bank and skated in the parking lot.
When they were leaving Gainesville, the car wouldn’t start, Lierman said, so they called AAA and had them jump it.
Kane said he drove around for 45 minutes to charge the car, but after he turned it off, it wouldn’t start again.
They didn’t have much gas left, he said, so they could either fill up and call for another jump at the gas station or try to make it on what they had.
“We just booked it all the way to Orlando,” Kane said.
They stopped at a Wal-Mart to buy jumper cables and left the car running in the parking lot.
“It was like time trials,” Kane said. “How quickly can we buy these jumper cables and not waste gas?”
But the most stressful moments aren’t always the most dramatic, Lierman said.
The scary moments are ones like a long, late-night drive from Grand Rapids to Chesterton in the snow, he said.
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Also in the car are swim trunks, trash, a Zune mp3 player, an auxiliary cord and Evanescence’s album “The Open Door.”
“We run a tight ship,” Lierman said.
In terms of music, Kane said they’re pretty good at taking turns with the aux cord.
“There’s a few songs that everybody gets super hyped on every time,” Lierman said.
Notably, “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar.
They bring bananas, trail mix and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. If they’re feeling fancy, they’ll get fast food or go to a buffet. A band favorite is Cook Out, a southern chain.
It’s cramped in the car, they said.
They have to fit gear in their trunk, which sometimes takes up seat space. Lierman said he once sat on the floor of the back seat, which was horrifically uncomfortable.
“It’s like Tetris every single time,” Kane said.
In some ways, it’s more fun having a cramped car because they don’t have the option to be secluded, Lierman said.
“It’s sort of like when mom makes you eat dinner with your family,” Lierman said.
And on stage, familiarity can make for a better experience, Kane said.
“I think you get to know each other differently,” he said. “It definitely brings you closer.”
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They bought the car two years ago, Kane said. It will go on its fourth tour this May.
Kane and Lierman are both graduating this spring.
They met at Collins Living-Learning Center, Kane said.
The first time they hung out, they went through each other’s iPods and discovered they had similar music tastes, specifically the Canadian band Secret and Whisper, Lierman said.
They started playing together on Kirkwood Ave. and Walnut Street. Kane said they would scrape up enough money to buy something from a food truck.
Now, the band is self-sustaining and not-for-profit, Kane said. Whatever money they make from a show or sales goes back into the band.
“It’s a labor of love,” he said. “We want to give as much as we can to the band.”
They recorded their first EP their junior year and played their first show at the Bluebird, Kane said.
“It’s sort of an addictive thing,” he said. “You want to keep playing. You don’t care who you’re playing for.”
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The car isn’t named.
“It hasn’t earned it,” Kane said. “Maybe the Silver Fox.”
Kane’s parents, who are supportive of the band, helped him buy it, he said.
They believe in Whale Bones’ music, and they know the band is doing what they think is best.
Touring, making music, planning shows — it’s all time consuming, Lierman said.
The day after last Christmas, they went to record, Kane said. And the day after New Years, they went on tour.
“You do have to make decisions,” he said. “You can’t spend a lot of time with your family sometimes. You’re spending it on the road, which is OK.”
Lierman said for a while they toured during every major school break.
“Even four-day weekends, we’ll try to hit up a couple states,” he said.
During fall break, they went north to Milwaukee and Grand Rapids. During winter break, they went on their tour of the South. In the summer after graduation, they plan on going to the New York area. Maybe in the fall they’ll go to California, Kane said.
“Hopefully we’ll get all the states in, hit Alaska eventually and Hawaii,” he said. “That’s the goal.”
A free day on his calendar should be filled by a show, Kane said.
“I just want to be on the road as often as I can,” he said. “I’m excited to do the band 100-percent, all the time. I’m past the point of what-ifs. I want to just do it.”
