rock stars who went back work.

http://www.jonathanlevinegallery.com/

Amazing, if true. Just like that Bruce Dickinson story. Wow.

On the contrary, I find it inspiring, especially the many examples of those for whom a music career was just one chapter in an interesting and varied life.

And I think we can all agree that piloting an airplane is the more inspiring of *those* two choices.

And Pat DiNizio as an elementary Music teacher somehow strikes me as insanely cool. I'll bet the songwriters-turned-teachers list is quite long, given the number that come to mind immediately.

todd trainer (shellac) has been selling hair products for like 15 years or something.

brian mcmahan (slint) is now an electrician.

matt talbot (hum)owns his own recording studio and is a high school football coach near champaign, il.

wayne coyne (flaming lips) worked at a long john silvers for over 10 years.

adam pfahler (jawbreaker) owns his own video store.

OH MAN, you gotta tell some stories.

Also, Deniz Tek not only became a doctor, but an emergency room surgeon in Montana. He & his wife returned to Aussie Land a coupla years ago since she missed it. He's always talked about musicians needing to keep a day job, just to maintain some connection to real life.

Mike Lutz from Brownsville Station(co-wrote "Smokin' in the Boys Room" with Cub Koda) taught me bass guitar for a coupla years. Cub Koda became a rock writer, and wrote for AMG right up until his death in 2000.

so freakee when that happens. oddly i now live bang opposite the house that john mcgeogh (mentioned upthread) used to live in, in whalley range. small world etc.

You won't WITHER when you get the BILL!

-- Hurting (Hurtingchie...), February 1st, 2005.

I had a good chuckle readint this again ...

and still does, for kicks! its the smile on the kids' faces when he sells them popcorn shrimp that brings him back at least once a year.

You're laughing at your own jokes, Josh?

There's a lot of wisdom in this comment. I think a lot of people would have a hard time doing *nothing* after becoming famous, especially if (as most of the folks above) they never hit the A-List anyway.

I always think about Andy Kaufman, who at the height of his fame worked at Cantor's Deli and was apparently a good, conscientious worker.

There was a quote from Cliff Richard in the Times a while ago, in an article about (and whole-heartedly in favour of) extending copyright, in which he bemoaned the fact that some poor old musicians who'd had a single hit many decades ago could no longer earn a living off the royalties. Get a job!

this thread is depressing... dreams have been shattered

-- firstworldman ( ), February 3rd, 2005 4:45 AM.

again.

yeah, he was a busboy. he talked about doing it to prove (to himself, probably) that "i'm no better than them."

Can anyone substantiate this? (That he owns a subway, not that he is a chef...) Maybe if Kanye's around he'll know...

Perhaps he doesn't need the money but simply enjoys the work. I don't share the assumption that s.o. would be daft to have a day-job (however 'humble') if they didn't need the money. Work *can* be healthy. Unemployment (in my experience) usually isn't, + not only for financial reasons.

Inspiral Carpets singer ?? worked in Tele-marketing a while ago.

Jim Marcus, one of the guys from Die Warzau (early 90's industrial/dance band) was doing programming (Y2k/COBOL stuff) last I heard in 1997.

Legendary bassist Henry Grimes stopped playing music completely for many years and worked in construction and as a janitor. He's playing bass again though now...

My friend Alan claims to have played sax with Pop Group but I've never seen his name connected with the band. I adore him too much to prove him wrong.

-- eric (ericfetterman200...), September 21st, 2005.

Last I heard (earlier this year), he's working with a friend of mine at a noatable record shop on Haight in SF

# Pete: Lead Singer in Polak (worked in a second hand book shop in Brighton as well)
# Robert: Getting into computer networks.
# Kevin: Math Teacher in Bodmin Community College, but I hear that he's going to Truro(?).
# Wil: Teacher

-- eric (ericfetterman200...), September 21st, 2005.

now he works at the Amoeba in San Francisco

stuck on yooooooooou till the end of tiiiiiiime

Fact is, almost all of them. If you're in a band and you're not the songwriter, and you decide you're not going to tour endlessly as a hasbeen, you're going back to work. Songwriters get royalties, and may be able to live off them if they had a big enough hit. The other musicians only get paid as long as they're playing - when they stop, that's it. That TV show Hit Me Baby One More Time was great - showing the likes of Loverboy at their day jobs. Some musicians transition to sidemen/session musician/teaching or music industry careers, but the rest are on the payroll.

Rob Van Winkle (AKA Vanilla Ice) - mananger of a convenience store
Tim Cronin (Monster Magnet) - longtime fixture at Jack's Music Shop in Red Bank NJ
Tod A (Cop Shoot Cop, Firewater) - graphic designer at Rolling Stone
Lyle Preslar (Minor Threat) - A&R rep
Kira (Black Flag) - computer programmer

the singer from the band failure pumps my gas.
Self-fulfilling prophecy?

Ron Sexsmith used to be a messenger in Toronto, on foot. (He doesn't drive). He told me he was delivering a package to a business there that had a return address in Lebanon, TN, which gave him the idea for that song on his first record.