We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tim Eightay a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tim, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Hey, thanks for reaching out to me! It’ll be cool sharing some stories with you all! I knew at a young age that creativity was going to be a huge part of my life. Early-on, I realized that I looked at life a little bit differently than many of the people around me. My mom bought me a little keyboard and told me that if I could learn the “demo” song, she’d get me a bigger one. A couple hours later, I had the demo song learned and performed it for her. So, I got a slightly bigger keyboard a few months later and taught myself new stuff by ear. I found my first guitar in a trashcan when I was out riding my bike. I had to super-glue pieces together in order to get strings on it. I taught myself how to play guitar on that horrible, horrible, horrible piece of equipment! Man, those were the days!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

The Boondockers is an acoustic trio formed by myself (Tim Eightay) and one of my best friends Dray Harris. The gig cancellations and everyday life disruptions caused by Covid-19 inspired me to rethink the traditional approach to booking gigs. Restaurants, clubs, bars, and events were shut down, but after having purchased a used motorhome, I saw the popularity growth of camping and a boom in luxury RV campgrounds being built.

I reached out to various campgrounds and pretty quickly started booking performance dates. The Boondockers duo became official one night in 2019 at an RV campground gig. That’s when we chose a band name that represented our targeted audience and most importantly our ideals. Look up the term boondocker and you’ll understand!

The campfire and the outdoors are what inspire the passion and freedom that our performances exude! Our song selection is eclectic and offers high energy that can be felt within the soul of audiences of all types.

The Boondockers feature various third, talented musicians to form a Trio. This approach to playing gigs keeps the show fresh and spontaneous. You’ll always see Tim and Dray at a show, but never know who the 3rd musician will be. or what they’re bringing to the performance. No two shows are the same!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Let’s be honest here, being a “local” musician has never been a high-financially profitable career path. Knowing this unfortunate reality, Tim and Dray focused on their primary careers early. This means, when music doesn’t pay the bills, the bills are still getting paid! So, The Boondockers don’t accept low-ball offers and they don’t bicker about compensation. You better believe that they’re counting those tips and splitting them evenly though!

“It’s not about the money”
Sure… but the money is a major factor. Every gig should be approached with a business mindset. Musicians are providing a necessary service. The “value” of the provided service is up to the artist! What is your worth?

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

By far, the most rewarding aspect of being a musician is the millions of dollars that flood The Boondockers bank accounts! Billions, trillions… zillions of dollars!

On the real though, the best part of doing what The Boondockers do is the “fellowship” that comes with every gig. Talking about the meaningful things in life with good people is good for the soul!

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Boondockers912
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoqy1cSOVmlPctlEL0HfKpg