Don Miggs knows his life is strange. When I chatted briefly with the singer/songwriter of the eponymous band it was clear that, though he’s been at it for a while, he still isn’t fully settled in. Married to Lisa DeBartolo, whose father owned the San Francisco 49ers, Don is insistent on working from the ground up rather than piggybacking off someone else’s fame and fortune.

Indeed, he has stayed true to his efforts to climb the charts as a legitimate artist. “At 19 I was signed to RCA, but they wanted cookie-cutter songs, so I said screw it,” Don reflected. From there, he settled into the three-piece band format and took up an intensive touring schedule. With only a modest tour van, MIGGS tirelessly conquers nearly 150 gigs every year. There are several golden rules that keep Don’s stamina (and sanity) intact on the road. “First of all, we never travel more than four hours on a day when we are playing. We always stay in a comfortable hotel room and always eat a good meal. This helps from feeling homesick. This will sound stupid, but exercise also helps a lot.”

This relentless touring and devout work ethic has made people take notice. MIGGS has shared the stage with Aerosmith, Maroon 5, Cake (Coming May 28th!) and even has a gig with MxPx coming up. Don explained that he enjoys opening for larger bands, not just because of the exposure. “I like being the underdog. I really try to up the ante as an opening band,” he said, claiming that his job is to make the headliner want to play better and more intensely.

Not only has MIGGS embraced the touring world, they also have a great handle on the cyber-world. In true grassroots fashion, they have utilized Facebook, blogs, MySpace, Twitter, Stickam, Youtube, and just about any other website that will help them connect to their fans. “We promote our asses off. We answer every message we get. These websites allow instant access to your favorite bands…The ability to make something that connects on that level is really cool.”

Taking this concept to a whole new level, Don let me inside a new project of his. MIGGS, he explained, is planning on completely overhauling the website and turning it into an on-going, ever-evolving video documentary. Don obviously recognizes the dichotomy of a millionaire artist traveling in a van, intent on getting famous on his own terms, and wants to film every second of his journey. As he so eloquently put it, “My life is so fucking weird…”

Come check out Miggs at the Webster Underground this Friday, May 8th!