Few people’s careers are a straight line, and some take strange or even…weirder directions. For Charlotte, North Carolina’s Payton Rose Velligan (aka Payton Rose), years spent playing with Rush and Fleetwood Mac cover bands led her all the way to touring as part of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s live band! We caught up with Velligan on a break between dates on the “BIGGER & WEIRDER Tour” to talk about her fascinating career trajectory, her new solo music, being the “new kid” on tour and why the fans have made her experience with Yankovic so special.
Ottawa Life: I noticed that your time off from touring with Weird Al coincides with the new Rush tour! Were you able to see them on the tour?
Payton Rose Velligan: Yes! So, when they announced the tour last fall, they only announced a limited number of dates. Just the big markets. Chicago, LA, New York, Toronto, Dallas, and the only one that I could go see based on the tour schedule was Toronto. I felt so lucky getting tickets, and then they announced a bunch of other dates after that. If I had waited, maybe I would have gotten tickets for Charlotte, but it was so cool to go see them in their hometown, and my whole family ended up going. So, we spent a few days in Toronto, and none of us had really ever spent much time there. We went to RushCon, which was three days long, and on the third day we saw Rush, and it was just perfect. It was so much fun. They were amazing. It was the best night ever.
Ottawa Life: You started playing with Tommy DeCarlo of Boston fame, and that leads you to Weird Al’s management, and the rest is history! But I’m just as curious: how did you end up getting the gig with Tommy in the band DeCarlo?
Payton Rose Velligan: I started playing with Tommy DeCarlo in the fall of 2019, which was also my freshman year of college, and that summer I had met him and the band, because it was a band at the time called DECARLO that he had put together with his son, Tommy DeCarlo Jr. And they were playing regionally when he wasn’t touring with Boston. So, he actually lived in Charlotte, which is where I live in North Carolina. It was strange because when I was in high school, we always heard “The singer for Boston lives here in Charlotte.” I was becoming a big fan of Boston, and I was playing a lot of classic rock. My parents got me into that kind of music, so that was my music. So, I just couldn’t believe it! He plays around here, all the same venues that I play at with my band, and he’s singing all the Boston songs. So, I went to one of their shows and met them in 2019. And then they saw what I did, and they were looking to add to their band. They wanted a couple of new members, and they asked me to join!
I joined, and I played guitar and keys for them. I played with them until 2024. And unfortunately, Tommy DeCarlo Sr. passed away this year. May he rest in peace. It happened really suddenly; it was shocking, but I got five years of playing with him. And that was big because that project evolved from playing the local scene in Charlotte to travelling around the country, a lot in the Midwest, some of the Northeast, some out in L.A.
Those five years of playing with them were super transitional for my career because I was meeting a lot of people and playing a lot. We had a few different iterations of the band; there were managers and booking agents. It got bigger and bigger; we even played at Disney. We never fully went on tour, but we did so much travelling that I got used to doing it on that level. It was seeing what the next step of being a professional touring musician is like. Then, through that project, I met Kamal Asar (VIP coordinator for Weird Al) and Melissa King, who is the tour manager for Weird Al. They were mutual friends of DeCarlo’s, and we once opened for Foreigner! It was very brief; we did one show with them. But that tells you, never underestimate the power of one moment of connection with somebody!
Photo: Justice Calabro
Ottawa Life: What was the preparation like for your first tour with Al? Because you’re learning songs, but also probably mentally fighting your instinct to play the original version. And as I’ve told people, you guys are swapping costumes so often, you put Lady Gaga to shame!
Payton Rose Velligan: First of all, I loved the prep for this tour. It’s to me, very much like a work of musical theatre, you know, which when I was a kid was what got me into music in the first place. It really was musical theatre, and that was my original dream! So, it was really cool to be asked to do this show, because it’s fulfilling that dream that little Payton had of doing costume changes and getting into character for the different songs and the different bits! And just playing into it because Al obviously goes all out with each song parody and character.
The prep was about eight months before the tour. Al is our music director, and he sent out the rehearsal tracks and the keys of the songs. Then he had charted out vocal parts for us and isolated the guitar parts, some for me, and it was so comprehensive and amazing! He made it as easy as possible. So he sent everything out way in advance. I mean, I’m used to having to learn a set in a month or even a week. But it was a long set list, and I wasn’t entirely familiar with all of his music.
Learning the parodies was a little bit quicker and easier because, you know, of course, they’re the most popular songs from each decade! I already knew how to play “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on guitar. “Yoda” is Lola, and that was one of the first songs I ever learned on guitar with my dad when I was 13. My dad taught me how to play that, so it was really great because it took me back to my days of learning guitar. I learned these songs a long time ago, and now I get to learn them in this new context. It’s not just the original song. It’s this Weird Al version that is slightly different. He’s super faithful to the record when we learned his music. He asked us to learn it just like the record, and so I can only imagine how carefully he puts together his arrangements, and every little sound effect, every little vocal part. If you compare the original song and his parody one-to-one, of course, there are little things about the Weird Al version that just enhance the comedy of it. You have to really just listen over and over and over. I think most of the time I spent learning his set wasn’t even with my guitar in my hand; it was just listening and listening so I could get his versions ingrained in my mind, not whatever the original version was, whether that was lyrically or whatever.
He trusts us to just listen very carefully and try to recreate what we hear on his record as closely as possible, and obviously that goes for his original songs as well. And a lot of those are what he calls pastiches, which are style parodies of a certain band. So it’s fun to dive into those, too, because there are layers to them. It’s an original song, but he’s also paying homage to a certain band! So then I would look up that band and what kind of guitar sounds they used! And how they did their harmonies, and what made those harmonies distinct? Is there something about their tone that I should replicate? There’s a lot of history that plays into that sound that Al was able to grab onto with those songs, and that fascinates me! Like for us, “Mission Statement” (a pastiche of Crosby, Stills & Nash) is the second song in our set. He asked me to play the guitar solo on that, and on the record Jim “Kimo” West played it like a regular guitar solo! But then he played that backwards in a very 60s way, playing the tape-backwards sound! And he said, “I don’t really know how you’re gonna do this live, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out!” And I was like, “Oh, okay! Yeah, sure!” (Nervous laughter) But again, that’s a really distinct sound of the 60s. I’m a big Beatles fan, and they did that all the time. They would play a guitar solo and then literally rewind the tape and just put that on the record. It has this weird, psychedelic, trippy kind of confusing sound! But how do you recreate that live, because it’s important that that vibe is there. It’s like this really groovy breakdown in the middle of “Mission Statement.” So, I had to do a lot of research about that particular recording technique. Did they ever recreate that live, and if they did, how did they do it? It’s like a reverse tape delay effect; how can I recreate that on my modern gear? I’m using a modelling guitar unit!
The band in Jedi gear (Photo: Jenn Wagley)
Preparing for all the costumes, though. There’s some stuff they provided for us, and there are some things they asked us to bring. Like, we need a really nerdy shirt, something a nerd would wear; bring a grungy outfit! Well, I got some plaid! A lot of it was also provided by them, like the Star Wars costume, the Amish costume. So, then it’s just taking measurements. But our first rehearsal was also partly a costume fitting. Trying to make sure that everything looked good and fit well! Obviously, I was insanely jumping out of my skin excited, because I’ve always loved to dress up. I love costumes. So that was really fun! We have an amazing costume wardrobe director who takes care of all that! And she travels with us and prepares it for every show.
Ottawa Life: Something that I’ve always thought was super interesting was how Jim West, Steve Jay and Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz have made a life of touring with Al. And it was only seeing him on this tour where it registered how many people are up there playing live with him. It’s been 40+ years for them, but you’re one of the new members, and the youngest one on the tour! So, what’s integrating into the group been like with such a range of people from his career, and have they shared any stories with you?
Payton Rose Velligan: The OG members, as Al calls them, are just the best! They seriously are; I love spending time with them, I love getting to know them. And yeah, there are stories galore about, oh gosh! 45 years of touring together, something like that. It’s insane and amazing; you don’t hear about bands staying together for that long, and if you do, they’ve always had times where they fought and wanted to break up. It’s just amazing to hear about the fact that that’s never happened with them. They’ve always been solid and tight! Rubén Valtierra is kind of an OG member now. But he came on a little bit later, but still, ever since they’ve joined, they’ve been on every tour!
I was a little bit nervous coming on because they did have such a tight thing going on. I thought, “Well, I wonder how they’re going to feel about me and the other few new band members coming in.” There was some redistribution of harmony parts and some guitar parts and stuff like that. And Jim’s always just covered all the guitar parts, and now we’re sharing them. So I was like, “Is he going to be happy about that? Is he going to be thinking these new people are changing the dynamic of the band”? I wondered because a band is like a family, and anytime you bring somebody on or somebody goes, it changes! And it could be good or bad. So I was a little bit nervous, but it did not take long at all to settle in. The first day of rehearsal, I met everybody, and it was instant; it felt so welcoming! They all just embraced me and the other three new band members. I just fell in love with them, and we all had this new energy! And they (the OGs) said it felt fresh because of the new band members and the energy and excitement we brought!
Rubén told me one day after rehearsal. He was like, “Ah, you’re in your honeymoon stage! Wait till the end of the tour, you’re gonna be smoking cigars and drinking Jack Daniel’s!” And was saying, “Oh, Rubén! That’s not gonna happen.” And I still don’t think it has happened. You get acclimated to the touring life, the amazingness of it and the scale. But just gratitude to be there, it blows my mind. I love hearing their stories. They’re always very quick to let me know that I’m totally spoiled. Because they were there back in the early days, they were in a tight little van, travelling around and driving themselves. They were packing all the gear and squeezing into what little room they had in the car. And now we have these amazing video walls and huge stages, and they’ll say, “We had a projector and a sheet!” I love hearing about how they made it happen in the early days. They’ve all obviously hardcore paid their dues. So, I’m very much a benefactor of that now doing this humongous tour playing some of Al’s biggest shows ever. Last year we played Madison Square Garden, and it was his first time playing there, and he sold it out! And for me it’s all a big “Wow!” because it’s my first big tour!
Meanwhile, the OG members say, “Yeah, don’t get used to it! You’re getting spoiled!” But they say it lovingly, obviously! But I do try not to take any of it for granted, and take it all in every day. It’s a new experience, and sometimes it’s overwhelming.
I’ve definitely felt a really close relationship with everybody in the band, and that makes me excited! So, I just jump around and bounce around up there! And I guess that has brought a new energy into the band. We, the new members, are thrilled to be joining the band, and I think that got everybody excited! I respect what they’ve done so much. I stand next to Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz on stage, and I look over at him and say, “Oh my God! I’m actually doing it.” I look over at Al, and he comes back, grabs the accordion, and starts playing “My Bologna,” and you have to do a reality check sometimes because of that even now after 150 shows or so. It’s still just like a dream. I feel super lucky to be at this stage in my life and my career, doing these tours, playing these huge venues, travelling literally all over the country, and playing in Canada! But I also love the music so much. I’ve really gotten to connect with my goofy side! And you get to play all different genres of music in this show, and you try to spread as much joy as possible. People come to the shows to have fun and laugh. That’s why he’s playing bigger stages 45 years later, because that love for laughing never goes away.
Ottawa Life: Thinking about the tour as a whole, what’s been your favourite song to play?
Payton Rose Velligan: Does the medley count? Is that cheating? I would say the medley. It’s my favourite every night! I look forward to it so much because it’s so jam-packed! I think it’s 11 or 12 songs. It’s quite long! It’s just a little bit of everything, and I just go crazy for it.
Ottawa Life: And what’s been the biggest surprise of the tour?
Payton Rose Velligan: I’ve never done this many dates, and I’ve never been away from home for this long! I would say the most impactful surprise has been getting to meet Al’s fans! You see their loyalty and their enthusiasm for Al’s music. I didn’t know much about Al, so I really didn’t know anything about his fanbase! So, when I started rehearsing, everybody’s telling me, “Oh just wait till you see the fans,” and I’m like “I’m sure they’re gonna be great.” They’re like, “You’ve never seen anything like it!” And they were absolutely right. Just the way that they show up with their energy, their costumes, their props: spatulas, snorkels and signs that they make! There’s also fan art and the gifts! They’re absolutely amazing, and they obviously take the inspiration they get from Al, and they use it to give back! They build this whole community with each other that is just a beautiful space, that is very accepting, very non-judgmental, very artistically inspiring. They are one of a kind. It’s just blown every expectation I could have possibly had out of the water!
Ottawa Life: Looking at your energy on stage, I got the sense you might have been a big fan before joining; were you?
Payton Rose Velligan: I actually was not, and I wasn’t familiar with much of his music at all. I knew “White and Nerdy”. I remember watching the music video for that on YouTube, and maybe a couple others. I heard “Amish Paradise,” but that was the extent of it. I didn’t really know much about him or his music. But as soon as I got the gig, I started listening to everything. And I said, “Where has this been my whole life?” I loved it instantly. I have become a big fan of his work now, the way he performs it and everything. It definitely energizes me and makes me laugh on stage every night without fail. So, the joy, and energy, and excitement, and happiness, and laughter that I have on stage is very authentic. It’s from being very happy that I get to perform this music with Al!
Ottawa Life: I know you’ve played with a few Rush cover bands and also a Fleetwood Mac cover band before this, and your new song “Collide” feels like a culmination of all your classic rock influences. I got the impression listening to it that you were most comfortable on bass. What instrument did you start writing it on? And also, where did that harpsichord solo come from?
Payton Rose Velligan: It is the culmination of my influences because I was definitely pulling from a lot of different places. I enjoyed tracking the bass part of that and writing the bass part. Now that I play guitar with Al, a lot of people know me as a guitar player. But before that, my identity was being a bass player and a singer. Like my band in high school, I played bass for that project, and that’s when I started playing Rush. So, Geddy Lee was a big inspiration. I was learning all the Rush songs on bass, and then later I played bass for DECARLO. So, most people knew me as a bass player. I had fallen so in love with it. But earlier, I studied classical piano, and then I started playing rock music. When I played guitar, I wanted to be Jimmy Page!
When I write my original music, it usually starts on an acoustic guitar. I don’t know why. “Collide” started as a much slower acoustic groove, and then as I was finishing the song and writing the lyrics, it needed more energy. So, I just sped it up until it was the speed it is now. It was definitely the guitar riff first, but when I went into the studio to record it, I knew that I wanted to track the bass myself, because I just adore the bass. It just feels so good to play bass. I feel like I’m the most creative on the bass, or at least my ideas flow the most freely on the bass. So I get structure from guitar, and then on the bass I go “Wee!” You can tell the bass goes kind of crazy in that song. I just had an absolute blast tracking that.
But the harpsichord is definitely a direct inspiration from my love for classical piano! It’s something that doesn’t always overlap too much. I think that was the first time putting it in my music, but I want to bring it in more and more. It’s such a big part of my life, and it helped get me into progressive rock as well. I would hear Tony Banks’ keyboard parts and think “This is literally classical piano with a band.” Bands are out there that have combined it with guitars. That’s been a big inspiration. So, this spring when I was writing “Collide,” I was studying a lot of J.S. Bach, and I was playing a lot of piano. I was listening to stuff like “The Well-Tempered Clavier”, preludes and fugues. That music is so fun to study as a pianist because it’s almost mathematical. And so, when I came to the solo section of “Collide”, I had left room for a solo.
I thought, “It’s a rock song. It’ll probably have a guitar solo.” I tried soloing over the part, but I wasn’t writing anything. I’m not a shredder. I’m not that great at writing solos. And so, I thought, “What am I good at?” But with all my studying, I thought, wouldn’t it be cool to do something completely different, something that I’ve studied my whole life? So, it was the perfect time. So, I tried to write a little fugue, and that’s what it turned out to be! It was ridiculously fun. I just spent a whole day up in my studio writing that!
Ottawa Life: I know you’ve dropped a couple other singles this year; is there more on the way? And are you in an album mode for now, or more just dropping singles?
Payton Rose Velligan: I’ve been in a singles mode right now. But I’m thinking more about the possibility of doing an album. I know nowadays it’s more about the short form, but I feel like we’re making a return to the long form! I would love to do an album. But maybe I’ll just keep releasing singles until I have enough to combine them into an album. I haven’t really figured it out yet. But I have another single that’s ready to go. I’m just finishing up the artwork, and I’m gonna get it distributed! So that will probably come out before the end of the Weird Al Tour, at least by October. I have some more demos that I’m working on. Hopefully, when I get home after the tour, I can go back in the studio and record them. I’ve been trying to work on them on the road.
Header image courtesy https://paytonrosemusic.com/
