Guitarist Scott Tournet tried to squeeze in a few days of rest and relaxation in suburban Maryland last week - far less time off than he's used to on a break.
While the rest of his Grace Potter and the Nocturnals bandmates had weeks to decompress before the final leg of the group's Roar Tour, - which comes to the Rialto Wednesday - Tournet was busy organizing and running his own East Coast mini-tour in support of his latest solo release, "Ver la Luz."
The string of shows cut into prime downtime for Tournet, who is used to performing more than 200 gigs a year with the Nocturnals.
"I did it to myself, really," Tournet said in a phone interview. "It is self-inflicted."
Tournet has made an art of juggling the Nocturnals, currently promoting their latest album, "The Lion the Beast The Beat,"with solo work.
People are also reading…
Some of the music for "Ver la Luz" was done instudio in San Diego, but a lot of it was recorded on the road, as the band headlined its own shows and opened for Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney during their 2012 Brothers of the Sun stadium tour.
Potter lent her powerful vocals to Tournet's track "The Longing" while in a locker room at Denver's Sports Authority Field at Mile High stadium that July.
"She recorded while a country show was booming in the stadium," Tournet said. "The same locker room where Peyton Manning showers. It was weird."
Tournet said the band has been supportive of his efforts.
"People have been kicked out of bands for putting out solo albums," he said. "My experiences haven't been like that at all. Grace is smart about that. She knows that you've got to spread the wealth."
Tournet said the Nocturnals probably won't throw any of his songs into the mix when they perform at the Rialto Wednesday.
Not when there is more than a decade's worth of material in the band's repertoire.
"Grace is a good songwriter on her own," he said. "Songs like 'Stars' are perfectly crafted."
if you go
• What: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals in concert.
• When: 8 p.m. Wednesday.
• Where: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.
• Tickets: $26-$31 in advance. $28-$33 the day of the show. 740-1000.
Contact reporter Gerald M. Gay at 807-8430 or ggay@azstarnet.com.
