J. Tillman Set to Burn the Candle at Both Ends on Tour

When Spinner catches up with Joshua Tillman at his home in Seattle, the singer-songwriter turned Fleet Foxes drummer is days away from beginning a new tour. This time, it isn't a string of dates with Foxes, but a jaunt for his sixth album, 'Year in the Kingdom,' a haunting folk set released under his solo moniker, J. Tillman.

What with all the road work he's put in since Fleet Foxes blew up after he joined a year and a half ago, Tillman is now an old hand at packing up and hitting the highway. When it comes to touring preparations his routine is simple -- he has none. "I prefer to be unprepared," the 28-year-old Maryland native tells Spinner. "I don't really pack or anything. I don't really know what I'd do to prepare. I don't do anything right up until the day I leave."

There is method to what seems like a slacker madness. This way, Tillman can go about his daily life at home without worrying about how many pairs of socks he needs to pack. "That's for dorks," he declares. Clean socks are for dorks? "Clean socks are for dorks," he agrees with a chuckle. "I just don't like thinking about it that way. I like to make touring as seamless as my life at home." Just as he leaves physical prep to the last minute, there are no regimens of early nights either. "No, there is nothing I do to prepare myself. I like to burn the candle on both ends. Touring is a cathartic exercise for me. I need to be really ragged for it."