Paperback Rider: Kevin Morby
with a Rachel Kushner lyrical reference reveal
Hello readers,
Friend & contributor KEVIN MORBY is my guest for Paperback Rider, a series about musicians reading on the road.
I asked Morby to pick three book & tour questions each from the long list, but he overachieved and answered a bunch more. It’s a deluxe edition of the series today.
I’ve bitten off a lot to chew for Little Engines in 2025—there are now spreadsheets involved! I’ll have updates soon on Issue Ten in print, Morning, Fuckers events, and the first Little Engines book 👀
-AV
BOOK QUESTIONS:
WHAT ARE YOU READING?
KEVIN MORBY: String Theory by David Foster Wallace
WHERE DID YOU GET IT?
MORBS: It was a gift!
LAST BOOK YOU GAVE AS A GIFT?
MORBS: Agostino by Alberto Moravia
A BOOK CONNECTED TO A LYRIC?
MORBS: I reference one of my favorite Rachel Kushner lines from her book of essays The Hard Crowd on my album This Is A Photograph. Rachel’s quote reads: "Sometimes I am boggled by the gallery of souls I know.”
In my song "It's Over," I sing, "We used to sing Cassie, even dream, for the poor souls passing through our gallery."
WHAT DID YOU READ FROM A RELATIVE’S BOOKSHELF WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG?
MORBS: I remember my uncle, who lived in Western Nebraska, always had a lot of dime-store western novels around. I would flip through them at Christmas time. I don't remember much of what was inside but I do remember the feeling of the books, like they had a presence, peaking my interest in cowboy culture and the Wild West.
AN EMBARRASSING BOOK YOU LIKE?
MORBS: I can't think of any one book that would make me embarrassed! Though I do love Catcher In The Rye, and feel if I was caught reading it on the subway I may be a little embarrassed. Also, I read Where The Crawdads Sing when it came out and it made me cry harder than most books ever have. I was maybe a little embarrassed while that was happening.
A FAVORITE BOOKSTORE IN A SMALL TOWN?
MORBS: Dickson Street Bookshop in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
WHO DO YOU TRUST FOR BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS?
MORBS: My heroes! Whenever I'm stumped on what to read next I research my favorite authors’ or artists' most influential books. Recently I was looking up Nick Cave's favorite books. He loves the Bible, of course.
LAST BOOK YOU WERE GIFTED WHICH YOU LOVED?
MORBS: Once by Wim Wenders. It's more of a photobook, but it tells its own story, and is perfect.
A BOOK YOU’VE READ MORE THAN ONCE?
MORBS: Tell Me How Long The Train's Been Gone by James Baldwin. One of my favorites and an amazing and relatable book for anyone who performs.
A FAVORITE MUSIC BIOGRAPHY?
MORBS: Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil. It's a perfect oral history of the late ‘70s punk scene in New York, but it plays out like a novel. The final lines of the book are my favorite last lines of any book, ever.
WHAT DO YOU USE FOR A BOOKMARK?
MORBS: Usually a receipt from whatever shop I bought the book from, but often I have to improvise. I've used napkins.
DO YOU READ LITERARY JOURNALS? OH YEAH? NAME TWO.
MORBS: No.
WHAT BOOK IS ON DECK?
MORBS: I'm not sure! You tell me! Though I have been contemplating doing a reread of Lonesome Dove. One of my all time favorite books, but a massive undertaking.
TOUR QUESTIONS:
WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
MORBS: Home in Kansas City.
WHERE DO YOU GO NEXT?
MORBS: Los Angeles, California
MOST EMBARRASSING RIDER ITEM?
MORBS: Peanut Butter & Jelly
PERFECT MIX-N-MATCH FAST FOOD MEAL?
MORBS: My bandmate Cassie used to get a Fish Filet at McDonalds and use the hot sauce from Taco Bell which I always respected. But for me I think I would get a cheeseburger at McDonald’s and a chocolate Frosty from Wendy’s.
A NICE PERSON YOU MET ON THE ROAD WHO WAS NOT A FAN, NOT AT THE SHOW, AND NOT PART OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY?
MORBS: One time I played to a handful of people at the Neurolux in Boise, Idaho. There was this fancy business man there in a long trench coat who was very handsome. I think he had just wandered into the bar and ended up seeing this ramshackle band play while trying to have a drink. Afterwards he came up to me and handed me a check for $300 dollars and told me we looked like we could use it, and then disappeared into the night. But I guess he was technically at the show, so to better answer your question:
Recently I sat next to a doctor on an airplane while on tour. He was coming from a conference in Toronto, where I had just played a festival. We talked the whole flight. He told me all about his kids and his life as a doctor and we went deep about baseball and music. He was a good guy. Don't remember his name.
GNARLIEST GREEN ROOM IN AMERICA?
MORBS: The Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas.
WORST STRETCH OF ROAD?
MORBS: Anywhere in the Northeast where the highways start getting super tangled and congested. The drive from NYC to Washington DC is almost always horrific.
LONELIEST PART OF THE DAY ON THE ROAD?
MORBS: When it's time to go to sleep. You’re either in a tiny bunk on a bus or a mundane, strange hotel room. Always so lonely.
MOST CONNECTED PART OF THE DAY ON THE ROAD?
MORBS: On a bus tour it's when you drive out of a city you've just played. It's always a magical part of the night. On a van tour it would be when you all pile in in the morning and hit the road, put on headphones and watch the world out your window.
SADDEST STATE?
MORBS: I don't know why but rural Oregon and Washington give me the blues, man. I love the surrounding cities but there's a sadness up there I can't really put my finger on. Also rural Ohio and Pennsylvania; places I've got memories being sad in.
UNDER-RATED CITY?
MORBS: Memphis, TN.
WHERE DO YOU GO AFTER SOUNDCHECK?
MORBS: For dinner.
WORST AMERICAN LANDMARK?
MORBS: Niagara Falls but only because I associate it with crossing the border. It's always so stressful and you can never actually appreciate the natural beauty in front of you.
A SUPERSTITION OR PRE-SHOW RITUAL?
MORBS: I drink a beer and a half and then I take the half beer on stage with me and never drink it the whole show.
 | A guest post by
|