A LL I N A
D AY ’ S WO R K
6 GU ITA R HE ROS WITH DAY GIGS L IKE US
W O R DS BY JA MI E W O L F ER T
Making a living in music has never been
easy. In fact, being a musician is probably
one of the worst ways to make a living
ever. The percentage of musicians that
have been able to achieve even middle-
class status just from music-related
endeavors like songwriting, touring,
making records, and hawking band
merch is infinitesimal. This is especially
true today, when music can be copied
and distributed to the online world in
the blink of an eye, and the majority of
casual music listeners fully expect to hear
whatever record they desire instantly, and
for free, via YouTube or a music streaming
service. Combine this with the fickle
nature of commercial success in the music
industry, and the tremendous amount of
time and work necessary to learn to be a
musician in the first place, and you have
a perfect recipe for a lifetime of financial
struggle.
It should be no surprise then that so
many professional musicians have regular
day jobs unrelated to playing music.
Just about every indie rocker has a side
gig of some sort, even those that are
members of very high profile bands with
lengthy artistic careers. They work in
fields that range from bartending and
24
TONE TALK //
construction, to corporate accounting
and law. Even musicians with genuine pop
star credentials often have other careers
outside the music world, sometimes out
of necessity, sometimes just as a way to
keep busy and pursue other interests
when they’re not in the studio or on tour.
Often, they began these careers before
they were famous, or conversely, after
their music careers began to slow down,
while a few have consistently pursued
alternate paths of employment outside of
the music industry.
As a musician with a couple of day
jobs myself, I have always taken great
inspiration from the fact that so many
of my guitar heroes were also working
people who somehow managed to have
brilliant artistic lives in between punching
the clock, getting the kids to school, and
putting food on the table. Several have
even considered having a non-music day
job essential to their sense of artistic
freedom, the idea being that if you can
pay the bills whether you sell records or
not, then you’re free to make the art you
want to make without compromise, and
on your own timetable. With this in mind,
let’s take a look at a few guitar heroes
that also have real jobs.
All in a Day’s Work: 6 Guitar Heros With Day Gigs Like Us