I'm lead guitarist in a local band. We play corporate gigs and all kinds of social events... It pays the bills!
- Dino Pacifici: Music-Language of the Spirit
I have been involved in the Architectural field in one way or another for
some time. I design homes for a design-build company and for the past year
and a half I have been designing and engineering monumental staircases for a
company that custom builds them out of wood. Before that I designed and
engineered monumental skylight systems. One of the more interesting projects
I was involved in is the retractable barrel vault roof skylight for a
college observatory at the Rose Hulman institute in Indiana.
- James Johnson: Zero Music
sound design, mastering and other studio work. I think a day job would be a
good idea, it would take some of the financial pressure off.
- Robert Rich:Soundscape Productions / Amoeba Music
This is where I'll probably have the most boring response: I'm a
stay-at-home dad for my three year old daughter. Despite what some
narrow-minded types might think, though, it's a pretty challenging job.
The main survival tactic is "adaptability".
I think that it's actually GOOD for musicians, especially ones involved in
making such "reflective" and "soul travelling" types of music, to have a
"day gig" of some type. I'm of the opinion that all art should be informed
by life- not necessarily being led by what's happening on a social scale,
but taking place and coming through someone who can take a look at life and
what's around them. If my world consisted of and was centered around only
what took place in the safety of my studio, that would be a rather sad
world for me to live in.
- Jeff Pearce: ambient guitarist
Since it's quite impossible to live from my music, I do have a day job as a
financial clerk. Not really the most inspiring job ever but I surely keeps
me alive and grants me the complete artistic freedom. Living this
independent level makes me quite comfortable in terms of seeking labels and
how I want to present my music. Sometimes, of course, it can be quite
frustrating as it minimalizes the time for studio work and correspondence
but on the other hand it gets me more focused to achieve the best results
in a short amount of time.
Up till now, I'm still quite satisfied with how things are working out in
this arrangement.
- Vidna Obmana: ambient/electronic artist @ www.vidnaobmana.org
my home is my base of operations. i divide my time during the day
between freelance graphic design, music, and running 12k. everything
is tied in quite nicely... the majority of my income comes from
graphic design. the freedom of working at home and ability to make my
own schedules is fantastic.
- taylor deupree: ambient/electronic artist @ 12k/line
Past jobs:
1. Cleanup guy & general flunkie at an auto body shop. Mostly I pushed a
broom for 4 hours a day (sweeping up paint and metal dust), and washed cars
for 4 hours a day. But because this shop specialized in exotic foreign
cars, I had a chance to drive almost every kind of "prestige" car you'd
care to name. Lots of Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, BMW and Jaguar, with the
occasional Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls Royce.... even some VW, Volvo and Saab!
2. Wendy's burger grill guy. Employee of the month my first month, and
they asked me NOT to go back to college in the fall so I could stay and be
assistant manager. The most harrowing and revolting experience of my life.
I still can't eat at Wendy's, and wonder if this contributed to my
eventually becoming a vegetarian.
3. Librarian. Through college I worked at the UO main library. In some
ways, the best job I've ever had!
4. Camera salesman. During college, and right after, I sold cameras (and
dealt with photofinishing orders) at a camera shop here in Portland. Come
to think of it, there aren't any interesting stories to tell about this one.
5. Video store manager. Worked for Blockbuster and then Hollywood. Long
hours (I mean LOOOOONG hours -- maybe 60-80-100 hour weeks) and very low
pay. Though I wore a necktie, this was really no more bearable than Wendy's.
Current job:
I'm the Administrative Manager (basically the accountant and computer
network admin) at a steel processing company. I've been doing that for
almost 8 years. Obviously not much connection with running an ambient
music record label, but that's probably for the best.
- M. Griffin: Hypnos Recordings
My "real" job is in graphic design/pre-press, but I also have an
assortment of one-time and part-time gigs that help fund food and
roof. I play Scottish (and other) folk music for dancing and such (a
fun thing to do with my wife, a violinist/fiddler) which can pay a
little, and I used to get hired to do construction type work by
friends, which was pretty good money. I'm lucky to have a flexible
schedule (as I'm mostly working freelance) so that I can work on
music and the label more than I could when I was in an office 9-5. Is
it sustainable... who knows, let's find out!
- M. Bentley: the foundry
My music occurs at a dilettante and nonprofessional level, and it was
actually quite a significant moment when I began to even have any
taxable income at all traceable from musical activities. My day job
has almost nothing to do with music, and I have - ever since having
my high school and college illusions of "living" off music shattered
by my first experiences with releasing records - accepted the
necessity of such a job as way of funding my creative activities. I
would not, however, call the day job a necessary evil in a musical
existence, for the presence of nonmusical income frees my musical
decisions from any financial pressures, and my activities in the
nonmusical world of work give me new perspectives upon those in the
musical world of my studio
- Joshua Maremont: (Thermal, Boxman Studies, The Archipelago)
I'm a graduate student in Sociology and I'm currently conducting a
research for my thesis. I'm working under a scholarship project.
But in the same time because I have to pay some bills my
scholarship cannot, I'm a website designer. Most web gigs I have a
link with my cultural activities, at least the ones I'm more keen to
work on. My research field has nothing to do with music. It has had
in the past but I found it very difficult to differenciate knowledge,
facts and impressions.
- Dimitri: hushush
I've been working in a refugee resettlement agency for about 12 years
finding work for incoming refugees from all over the world. One connection
between my day job and music is that if it weren't for a Romanian refugee
who turned me on to recordings of the Tibetan monks and the Harmonic Choir,
and who also experimented together with me in learning overtone singing
early on, I may well have not become obsessed with the practice of harmonic
singing (and therefore would not be performing and recording our music).
In reference to your reader's question: I have received one artist
fellowship grant for work in harmonic singing (from the Connecticut
Commission on the Arts). It was the first and only grant I've applied for
and it allowed us to produce "Coalescence" (Spectral Voices' debut album),
produce a few concerts, and pay for some voice training.
Many folks mistakenly believe I learned harmonic singing while in Thailand
during my stint with the Peace Corps, and although I did practice Theravada
Buddhist chant there (not Tibetan style) and have had a lifelong interest in
contemplative and meditative practices, our music began developing here
stateside about ten years ago basically as an avocation - and has remained
pretty much so (read: "It doesn't pay the bills!")
- Jim Cole: Spectral Spiral Music
I work for the Government. I could tell you what I do but then
I'd have to kill you ;-)
- Stephen Philips: Dark Duck Records
My recent years have involved academic study. A degree in Engineering Acoustics and Vibration from Southampton University (UK) followed by a PhD in motion sickness research, which I passed in September (yes, it's Dr FARFIELD now!). My research has applications for reducing motion sickness experienced in virtual reality and in motion simulators.
Since the PhD finished I have been working full-time on writing music and keeping the www.ambient-music.com site up to date. My main aims for the current year are to release my 2nd album 'Dust and Glass' (due for release in March 2001) to increase my live 'chill out room' performances and to increase the use of my music, under license, for TV programmes. I'm also hoping to promote other ambient musicians through my site.
Unfortunately the music doesn't pay all the bills... hence I also spend a few hours a day keeping an eye on the stockmarkets and trade stocks in order to keep food on the table!
- Nick Webb: Farfield
*This month's Q was adapted from the following reader's question:
"The QOM is my favorite section, and I have a request for it.
I'd be interested in learning about funding sources for these
people's work. I know that Robert Rich makes a living mastering,
Lustmord designs for computer games and tv shows, but what of the
others? I'd be interested to know if any of the artists that answer QOM
have ever received grants or endowments. I'm not looking for "directions"
to handouts, just trying to see if anyone has had any success following
that angle."
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