Milwaukee singer-songwriter Peter Mulveyhas been a working and touring musician for 25 years. But for the past ten, the work involved in touring has been extra-strenuous.
Each fall, Mulvey sets out on a multi-state bike tour, where he and his companions will ride dozens of miles between performances. The latest edition of the tour starts this week, and includes a stop atLinneman’s in Riverwest.
To some, the tour might sound like it would be detrimental to the actual performances. But Mulvey says the physical toll of tour actually makes for a better show.
"It's funny, the physical exhaustion almost helps you turn in a better show, because you can't get in your own way, you can't outthink yourself which is always sort of the barrier to good performance," says Mulvey. "So the music is actually kind of better on the bike tours just cause' we're so tired, physically."
The singer-songwriter has been touring on and off for a quarter of a century, which some believe is a kind of escape from the everyday realities of life. Mulvey says in comparison, the bike tours offer a real chance to escape from the trappings of 21st century life, and remind him that he actually has something to take a break from.
"It's astonishing to me, how much of my life is just rental cars, and hotel rooms, and this ordinary sort of thing, and then you do a bike tour and you go, 'Wow, I have something to escape from,'" he says.
