D. Boon of the Minutemen
The late, great D. Boon, of punk
innovators the Minutemen, was the
original indie guitar player with a day
gig. Working a regular job was actually
central to the Minutemen’s entire “econo”
philosophy, so often shows and tours
were planned around how early they had
to get up for work in the morning, or
how many days off they could get from
their jobs. This mode of operation meant
that they were free artistically, however,
with no commercial pressures to unduly
influence the music they created. Boon
even wrote one of the Minutemen’s most
enduring tunes, “This Ain’t No Picnic,”
about a dispute with his racist boss at an
auto parts store where he worked.