rock stars who went back work.

Vito Bratta of White Lion, though it's not entirely clear what he does other than having obtained a real estate brokerage license at some point

depressing thread

how do those mid-level indie bands survive? They're big enough that they tour frequently, hence they probably don't have a full-time job. But they also can't be making much from music.

mostly the service industry. much like how actors have jobs waiting tables (steady/reliable cash, flexible schedule, easy to find another job if you lose it) there are a lot of musicians waiting tables or working as bartenders or running sound at clubs.

Was gonna say the thing about Joe Easley what was already posted. Wonder how he's doing now.

J0hn Dug@n from Chisel was a co-worker of mine in a graphics department for a while.

I don't think it's depressing, I'd love to read a thread about how musicians are getting by without day jobs/side gigs.

Almost all of the professional musicians I know either have a lot of music-related side hustles (teaching, etc) or special circumstances, like a spouse with a good job.

Heard on a podcast the other day that Corin Tucker still has a job doing web development/media.

Probably not as many duplicate character as it's felt like, but you could argue that the 1990s Chapel Hill indie rock scene morphed into the 00's farm-to-table Carolina restaurant scene.

Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las went into the field of architecture and "commercial interiors" before coming back with a solo album and shows in 2007

Laetitia Sadier teaches singing on the side

Jason Everman, briefly in Nirvana & Soundgarden, joined the army and has had a pretty interesting life

Pavement:

"Gary Young currently markets recording studio products"
"Currently Mark Ibold is a bartender at "Great Jones Cafe" in New York City."
Bob Nastanovich: "After Pavement's split, he served as jockey agent for Greta Kuntzweiler and Joe Johnson"

Linda Scott pursued teaching instead of doo wop

Linda Scott pursued teaching instead of doo wop

I was going to mention Bob Nastanovich, he actually does horse racing analysis for a local racetrack here. Occasionally does a little dj gig here and there.

"Currently Mark Ibold is a bartender at "Great Jones Cafe" in New York City."

Not sure when that was the case or whether still true. They shut down for a few weeks over the summer, seemingly permanently, but then reopened.

How Shed Seven's Alan Leach built a business controlling pub quizzes across the globe

"Laetitia Sadier teaches singing on the side"

I read somewhere the she was working as a shiatsu practitioner

that is mentioned upthread

Joey Shithead from DOA is a city councillor for the Greens now.

That pub quiz thingy looks pretty spiffy in demonstration videos. Nice one, Shed Seven's Alan Leach!

Terry Callier was a computer programmer for years, I think.

Sammy Hagar made a packet developing and selling off his Cabo Wabo tequila brand.

DJ Crystl (of “Warpdrive” fame) is now a personal trainer.

Sammy Hagar also owns a few classy bistros in the San Francisco area.

Mat Osman: ‘I went from being a rock star to driving a van'

https://www.huckmag.com/art-and-culture/books-art-and-culture/mat-osman-i-went-from-being-a-rock-star-to-driving-a-van/?fbclid=IwAR0zM5osbkPf965nsSwDW8uo4iYXHKYaIsiCTXKJ1_4DfrjApk5H1E4zVdE

Fred Neil, writer of "Everybody's Talkin'", sang "I've been searching for the dolphins in the sea", then set up the Dolphin Research Project and more or less retired from music.

― lana del boy (ledge)

I thought this was a joke, googled his wikipedia page to find out what he’s been up to and lo and behold, it’s true.

What he’s been up to? He died of cancer years ago.

Sorry for my bad english, I meant “what he had been up to after retiring from music”

Mick Pointer of Marillion returned to his career as a kitchen designer after being fired from the band he formed.

I wish this article wasn't paywalled because the lede is a masterpiece:

Life on the road as the leader of an indie-rock band wasn’t such a far cry from clocking in as a corporate lawyer for Darren Richard. He was welcomed into Dinsmore & Shohl LLP’s Columbus office as an associate in September 2009 following a career in which he owned a record label, mainly supporting his band, Chicago-based Pinetop Seven, where he was songwriter, instrumentalist and singer.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110415193240/https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2010/10/11/focus3.html

Richard was surprised at the similarities between professions. Both involve problem solving, whether it’s working through the logistics associated with shipping six band mates overseas for a European tour or helping a client negotiate a commercial lease agreement.

“Playing music professionally is a collaborative endeavor,” Richard said.

A musician works with band mates on song arrangements, recording sessions and shows, as well as with label representatives and promoters to generate album sales and to fill seats at venues.

“Similarly, transactional legal work is collaborative,” Richard said.

An attorney advocates his client’s position, he said, but ultimately all sides want to close the deal, whether it’s an asset purchase or a recording contract.

The similarities end with the lifestyle. Richard said a typical day on the road started early and ended with dinner at 9 p.m. “Now, I’m in the office generally from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m,” he said.

Meeting with clients and opposing counsel with a speciality in entertainment law has replaced driving between venues and loading equipment. Writing and reviewing documents takes precedent over penning lyrics and arranging songs.

Imagine, two different professions that involve “problem solving”... what are the chances

Btw, here’s another lawyer who runs a record label.

tbf environmental law is pretty noize

I got lots of friends who had low- and mid-tier music careers who've moved on... some of them at a certain point felt impossibly famous, like they were part of ad campaigns, were working as models for certain designers, etc. etc.

Of all the secondary career moves that these people have taken, "therapist" seems to be the most prevalent. I can think of six musicians who're now working as therapists. All six of them, too, I'm like, "that sounds like a perfect job for you, you'd be a great therapist". All of them are so, so much happier!

James Corden's drummer is off awaiting the birth of his child, so one of the show's producers is sitting in.

Their name?

Kate Shellenbach of Beastie Boys & Luscious Jackson fame.

Mudhoney's current bassist is also a nurse

https://crosscut.com/culture/2021/10/mosh-pit-er-mudhoney-bassist-being-nurse-during-covid

(current = for over two decades)

The shadow of Matt Lukin looms large (Also: before initially clicking on the link I thought it would be about Lukin having an interesting second chapter outside music ala Jason Everman).

PW Long of the old Touch and Go band Mule works doing TV news and documentary work.

I really loved PW Long's Reelfoot, more than Mule actually

Never saw that band live, but Mule rocked some serious mullet. I saw Long on some feature watching a news program on Vice and thought it was him, looked it up and it was.

xxxpost Lukin worked as a carpenter after quitting music

From a Guardian article based on a new book by Nick Duerden about what happened to music stars after their fame had faded, here's a curious update on Dennis Seaton of Musical Youth.

Child reggae stars Musical Youth were a ray of early-80s sunshine when their single 'Pass the Dutchie' sold 5m copies around the world. Once their fame elapsed, and it did so with breathtaking speed, one member, Patrick Waite, developed drug problems, turned to crime, and died of heart failure at 24. Another, Kelvin Grant, became a recluse; singer Dennis Seaton a born-again Christian. “It saved me,” he tells me. Now in his mid-50s and a father of four, Seaton is the chairman of the Ladder Association training committee, alerting builders to the dangers of working at altitude without sufficient protection.

Hmm....

Hey just sent you DM about pretending to interview me! 👍

— Róisín Murphy (@roisinmurphy) April 17, 2022

After Mr. Siebel walked away from the music business, he became a bread baker for a restaurant and a county park worker in Maryland.

He leaves no immediate survivors.

Asked in 1996 how he thought he would be remembered, Mr. Siebel said: “He was a guy who wrote a couple of pretty good songs. What ever happened to him?”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/16/arts/music/paul-siebel-dead.html

Maybe he was called Max Decharme that time

.. or maybe I've got the wrong bloke (opps)

From that Guardian piece:

When 10,000 Maniacs’ Natalie Merchant grew tired of being a marketable commodity, she quit for the quieter life of a solo artist, and was then duly horrified when her debut album, 1995’s Tigerlily, sold 5m copies, because “then came the treadmill again”.

Kira (Black Flag) - computer programmer

Actually she went into the film/TV business - currently a dialogue editor with two Emmy Awards.

Also, it was mentioned in another thread, but when Jonathan Richman isn't doing music, he makes a steady living building and installing pizza ovens.

Best story I've heard is Philip Glass - from The Guardian:

...Glass supported himself as a New York cabbie and as a plumber, occupations that often led to unusual encounters. “I had gone to install a dishwasher in a loft in SoHo,” he says. “While working, I suddenly heard a noise and looked up to find Robert Hughes, the art critic of Time magazine, staring at me in disbelief. ‘But you’re Philip Glass! What are you doing here?’ It was obvious that I was installing his dishwasher and I told him I would soon be finished. ‘But you are an artist,’ he protested. I explained that I was an artist but that I was sometimes a plumber as well and that he should go away and let me finish.”

Forgot, I looked into the Gang of Four after catching their reunion. Turns out Hugo Burnham went into academia to teach art, Jon King became the chief executive of World Television, which produced news reports, webcasts and corporate video for clients from Greenpeace to Nestlé, and for awhile Dave Allen went into advertising and brand marketing, first with a division of Overland Agency and then co-founding the digital strategy firm Fight.