Brian St. Clair is a professional musician. Starting in the Chicago area hardcore punk scene of the early 80s, he’s been the drummer for a number of bands including Political Justice?, Rights of the Accused, Triple Fast Action, and since 1999, Local H. He was also the drum tech for Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick before joining Local H, and now he also runs a tour management business, Tour Time Productions.

Brian is also a birder. Until Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber picks up binoculars, he’s undoubtedly the most famous birder in the music world. I first became aware of him thanks to the Milestones column in Winging It (he had just hit 400 in the ABA), and recently after I mentioned him in a post to BirdChat about famous birders, he got in touch with me. Sensing the opportunity for more blog content, I asked him if he’d do an interview with The Z Bird Birding Blog, and he agreed:

Z Bird Birding Blog: When did you start birding and how did you get into it?

Brian St. Clair: I started as a very casual birder on a canoe trip to Northern Michigan in 1989. I wouldn’t become serious about it until I moved to New York City in 1998.

When I was a little kid, my family would go visit my Grandpa K at his home on Keweenaw Bay near the town of Baraga in Michigan. He was really into wildlife. He showed me and my brothers a lot of animals and taught us to respect them. He had bird feeders and bird houses all over the place. I would watch the feeders whenever I went to his house. Grandpa would point out different birds all the time. That was my first taste of bird watching.

In the summer of 1989 my friend Dave and I went on a canoe trip with a couple other guys to Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior. I heard a wolf and got really psyched. My buddy Dave had to tell me I was hearing a loon, not a wolf. He gave me his bins and told me to watch the loon on the water. As soon as it called, I was hooked.

When I moved to NYC I had the pleasure of making friends with Lloyd Spitalnik. [ed. note: I recommend checking out his website. He does some very nice photography.] He showed me the ropes on how to be a good listener, and the fine art of bird ID. If it weren’t for Lloyd I would not have been a very efficient birder.

Z: The stereotypes of birdwatchers and rock musicians aren’t exactly compatible with each other, and twenty or even just ten years ago they were probably even less so. As you got into birding, did you ever feel a conflict between it and your career? Did you ever feel that you had to hide being a birder to be taken seriously?

BSC: I was never shy about my love for birds. In fact I would at times seem to enjoy when band members would poke fun. “Hey Brian, did you see any Purple Kiss Kiss Turkey Hawks today when you went bird watching?” I wish I had a list of the birds they asked me about. I would like to see an artist’s rendition of those birds. Now THAT would be a field guide!

Z: You’re very open about being a birder, talking about it on the Local H website, your Myspace profile (which is almost as much about birds as it is about music), etc. What kind of reaction, if any, has that gotten?

BSC: I actually get emails from time to time from fans inviting me to their house to see feeders or offers to drive me around if I come to their town so I can go bird watching. A number of times people ask me at shows if I had a chance to go birding in their town during my stay. Usually the answer is no, unless we had a day off the day before.

Z: Have you recruited anyone from the music industry into birding? Are there any other birders in the music industry???

BSC: I took the sound engineer for Cheap Trick (Bill Kozy) out with me once in Florida. He had a good time. But he has never wanted to come with me again. As far as birders in the music industry, I know one. My friend Dave Bergeron, singer of 80’s and 90’s Chicago based Bloodsport, and Jackscratch. More recently he formed The Norwood Park All Stars.

Z: So when you’re on tour, you only bird when you have a day off, or do you ever try to fit in some birding otherwise, like if you’re in an area where you could get some lifers?

BSC: Unfortunately travel days and work days are REALLY hard days to do anything for me. Sometime I am able to see birds from the driver’s seat, other times I am just a frustrated birder saying to myself, “Was that bird on that lake a mile back a lifer?” Full days off are easier to get out. But I usually limit myself to a park or “hotspot” that is inside the city limits where I am staying since it is never a good idea to drive a van full of band gear in tow.

Z: Before you get to a town, do you ever check the local listservs (or hotlines back in the day) to see if there’s anything to chase?

BSC: Yes! All the time. This is a real time saver since I can see if there has been any activity locally. I like using birdingonthe.net to do my searches. In some cases I have used the ABA Directory to contact local birders to see if someone either may have time to go out with me or just have some good advice.

Z: Any notable birding experiences on tour? How many lifers have you gotten on the road?

BSC: It’s hard to say how many lifers I have seen while on tour. I would say a lot. I have over 550 on my ABA list. My most notable birding experience on tour would be when I went to St. Lawrence Island [Gambell] for 5 days as a side trip to a two-night stand we did in Anchorage. I saw 35 lifers on that trip!

Z: What are the best cities to bird?

BSC: New York City, Chicago, and Phoenix would be my top 3. The variety of birds and habitat in NYC are far greater than the other two but all 3 have many good birding opportunities. A useful tool for city birding would be “A Birder’s Guide to Metropolitan Areas of North America”.

Z: Have you tried anything devious, like getting a tour to go somewhere just because you wanted to bird there?

BSC: No, usually the BEST birding would not be anywhere we could do a show. If anyone knows a promoter in any of the following areas that would like to hire Local H for a show, let me know ASAP!:

Alaska, Attu Island [ed. note: If anyone wants to see Local H play Attu, sign up for my Attu tours and we’ll see if we can make that happen.]
Arizona, Cave Creek/Portal/Chiricahua Mountains
Arizona, Ramsey Canyon/Huachuca Mountains
California, Arcata Marsh/Humboldt Bay
California, Salton Sea
California, Yosemite National Park
Florida, Everglades National Park

I could go on forever!

Z: What have been some of your favorite places to bird, either on tour or not?

BSC: When I was on tour…..
Loveland Ski Area outside of Denver, CO
Honeymoon Island, near Tampa, FL
Cheyenne Bottoms, near Wichita, KS

When NOT on tour……
Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, Hawai’i (the Big Island)
Koke’e State Park, Kaua’i
Almost anywhere in Costa Rica
Brownsville/McAllen, TX

Z: Any nemesis birds, either now in the past?

BSC: I wouldn’t really call them nemesis birds. I am the type of birder that just enjoys birding. I wouldn’t call myself a chaser. I look for birds that I have never seen when I go to new areas. If I miss a bird I just think of it as a reason to go back someday, if I am lucky enough to get back to that area. Or maybe I’ll see it somewhere else.

Z: I’m going to switch over to some music questions. I’ll keep it short because this is the Z Bird Birding Blog, but I could go on all day – you know how they say every birding guide wishes he was a rock star and every rock star wishes they were a birding guide. Anyway…

How do you feel about touring?  Not that bird tours and rock tours have a lot in common, but when I’m birding away from home, I often have an urge to be home, and when I’m at home, I want to be on a tour.

BSC: It’s great that I am able to be my own boss.  My job takes me all over the world.  And I am doing something I love.  That being said, when I am away I do miss home.  The most ideal touring schedule is 2 weeks on then 2 weeks off.

Z: Drummers are usually in the back, often hidden by the kit, but in Local H, a two-man band, you’re right up front.  Did you have to modify your playing style when you joined the band, either musically or from a performance standpoint?

BSC: Yes, I have always been in “normal” band set-ups where I was in the back.  When I joined Local H I had to be over the top.  My style became less complicated and more animated.  Being up front gives you a sense of energy that you just don’t get in the back.  Some of our fans say I look like Animal from the Muppets when I play.

Z: Another two-man band, Middle Class Rut has been getting a fair amount of radio play recently, at least here in Seattle, and Local H often gets mentioned in the intro by the DJs because of the similar sound and band composition.  Has this translated into more interest in your band?

BSC: I have actually never heard of them.  But anytime someone talks about us is good.  I will have to look them up and see what they are about.

Z: I read that you were recruited into your first band by your brother when you were 12.  Were you already playing drums before joining the band…and did you even want to be in a band at the time?

BSC: Yes, I had a drum set.  I wasn’t very good at the time but I knew a few beats and was young enough and untrained enough to teach myself how to get around the musical road blocks.  I really enjoyed playing in Political Justice?.  I learned a lot about the importance of being your own musician and not just someone playing what an instructor thinks you should be learning.  I do wish I had learned to do certain things.  I watch drummers like Aaron Johnston of Brazilian Girls and say to myself, “I wish I could do that”.

Z: I’ve always found stories of misfortune to be the most entertaining.  Would you like to end the interview with a story or two about some of your worst experiences on tour?

BSC: While on tour with Triple Fast Action in Madison, WI the axle on our trailer snapped.  We watched as one of our tires rolled past us.  We found it about a quarter mile up the road.  One of the bands we were on tour with came to our assistance to get our gear to the show.

On a Local H tour we were traveling on our bus from Minneapolis, MN to Lawrence, KS.  It was one of those really bad winter nights.  Everything in MN was covered with ice from freezing rain.  We all woke to this loud noise and the bus came to a really sharp stop.  Then we heard a loud scrape down the driver’s side of the bus (a truck came a little too close).  We were in a winter pile up on the interstate with white out conditions.  One after another, cars were running into us from the rear.  Our trailer saved us.  A Trooper came on the bus asking if some people could get out of the cold.  The bus filled up quickly with moms, dads, kids, truckers, etc…..  The Trooper was able to get a truck driver to drive some of the kids to a hospital.  After a while we were able to get pulled out and swap out our trailer.  The gear was fine!  We couldn’t believe it!  We made it to the show just in time to perform.

A lighter story:

I was on my 1st tour with Local H in 1999, only a few months after replacing the old drummer. After the show some kid comes up to me and says, “Why did you come here to play?” I said, “It has been a while since we were here”.  He replied, “No, why did YOU come here?  I liked the other drummer better.”  — OUCH!

Z: Thanks for the interview.  Hope to see you and Local H in Seattle.