LIVE FROM MEMPHIS

I was thinking about an old friend the other day, a guy in a band who I used to share shows with back in Murfreesboro. He was smart, talented and a damn good musician. One of those guys who just craps art. He could write ten songs to my one, and every one of them was a gem. But the tragic end to that story is that he gave it all up.  He found love and this love did not love the fact that he loved writing and playing music. Maybe it was the clubs. Or the booze. Or the possibility of other women being in these clubs with booze, who knows. So he quit. Just gave it up.Through the years, I have had a handful of other friends that threw in the towel. Kids, shitty bosses, fear, and unrealistic expectations have all claimed their casualties. 

As I creep into my mid-thirties, I have also become interested in how artist adjust to change. The most miserable people I know are those who still harbor illusions of permanence. All things must pass, a wise man once said. It is the passionate and malleable that survive.

I sent a questionnaire to some of my favorite Memphis musicians asking how they balance their music with family, work, and the daily doldrums of life. The response was overwhelming and incredibly insightful. Some were short and funny, some were in-depth and sentimental, but they were all reflective of a group of artists with a grounded and admirable grasp on what is truly important.

The thing I was struck by the most was the relationships that these guys have. I myself have been blessed with an incredibly open-minded wife that supports almost anything I do. She even plays locker room coach for me and encourages me to get off my ass when I start growing roots into the couch. You gotta appreciate a woman like that. And apparently I am not alone.  Kudos to Memphis women! Kudos I say!

So without further ado, here are the survey responses in their entirety:

Joey Killingsworth, Jocephus & the George Jonestown Massacre

1. What do you find difficult about balancing your passion for making music and spending time with your significant other?

I don't find anything difficult about it.
 
2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music?
 
I never thought about it.
 
3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"? Why?

Never. Since being in my relationship, my band has changed from hobby to extra source of income.
 
4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not to be bothered?

If I have an idea, I pretty much grab a pen and paper wherever I am. Rhiannon is used to that. I have never been able to just sit and write.
 
5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs?

She goes on the road with me whenever she can and helps with the merch. I always try to take her to the fun gigs like Florida,  New Orleans etc. It turns the gigs into mini vacations.
 
6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)?

We have a good relationship, so there's nothing to write about. I used to date a bi-polar/suicidal/ mild skitzo girl that liked to mix cocaine with her meds, so i have a never-ending fountain of crazy shit to write about from that one.
 
7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music?

Easy one there. I quit my job
 
8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art?

After finding out that i wrote a song about him and got it on the radio he said he needed to get a royalty check..lol
 
9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

Music was always my hobby till I found out that if you just get out there and work your ass off, you can bring in income playing your own music..and like most jobs, you get out of it what you put into it.

Marvin Stockwell, Pezz

1. What do you find difficult about balancing your passion for making music and spending time with your significant other?

For me, it’s not just time with my wife but time with my girls. It is a constant challenge to keep things in balance. There are so many things worth doing and there are only so many hours in the day. Music is a passion and even a central passion of my life, but being a husband and father takes primacy over playing in Pezz. Anything worth doing takes time and raising your children to be loving, productive people is everything to me and my wife. Pezz used to practice three and four days a week when we were going full bore and touring all the time  (1995-2001), but now we have a weekly practice and play 2-3 shows a month. It’s still a great creative outlet and a chance to be with my adopted brothers in the band. To balance out the even-tempered father and PR guy for the Church Health Center side of me, I need one day a week to be a disgusting guy, drink beer, scream my head off and craft songs with old friends I love very much.

2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music?

The best music comes from an honest expression of what you’re living through. People relate to music because the writer finds a way to strike a chord of common experience with the listener and set it to compelling music played with heart and conviction. Anything less is a waste of everyone’s time. So, you gotta be living a real life to have something to say.

3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"? Why?

Oh, I’m definitely in the hobby camp now. Pezz from 1989 to about 1995 was a hobby really. We started taking it more seriously and gave it a hard run… the college try if you will from 1995-2001. After that, I was in my early 30s and even though we’d done two records for BYO, a decent LA-based indie label that had seen bands make the leap to Epitaph (Bouncing Souls), it was clear that we weren’t going to break through to a larger audience. My wife got the chance to go to grad school for free on an assistantship, and something had to give. We wanted to be parents and punk rock wasn’t going to lay the groundwork to support a family. We went on hiatus from late 2001 to the fall of 2006. We played a few one offs during that time, but we didn’t become a truly functioning bands until fall 2006, and then all our priorities had changed. I was a father of a young girl and another girl was less than a year away. Family is central now, but music is still an important outlet and we still attack it with zeal… we can’t help but treat the band with the respect its due. It’s taught us all a lot and it allowed us to see the world. I guess it’s not just for laughs, although there are plenty of those. We do the band because it brings joy to our lives and it’s the shared expression that comes from a love of each other and what we do together. It’s also just a huge fucking rush… always has been.

4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not to be bothered?

God, I wish. It’s rare. I carve it out between life’s demands. I’ve got two albums of riffs that I’ll probably never get into Pezz practice and a solo record I hope to someday have time to do. I’d love to do just a 7” of me and an acoustic guitar, press 100 copies, and just give them away to friends.

5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs?

Very rarely. We played Little Rock and Conway recently and Birmingham a few months ago. We’ll be playing the No Idea Fest in Gainesville, FL over Halloween weekend. Full-scale touring like we used to do (2 or 3 months at a time) is over… and I’m glad I did it, because it was a blast. All of Pezz’s balls-out touring was done after I was married, and being away from Sarah always sucked. There was a always a predicable pulling apart the week before tour… it started the first time we’d go to schedule something and realize “Oh, I’ll be gone by then…” The pain of separation was a reflection of how much we loved each other. I don’t know how I did it and having children certainly makes it that much harder. When I go out of town now, I’m consciously aware of the fact that whatever joy or disappointment comes from that day, I traded a day in the life of my daughters. Even a great show hardly is worth it and a bad show hurts cause I dwell on what I surely missed.

6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)?

Oh sure, some of my best songs have come from when my wife had struggles. Everyone knows great pop songs are born from anguish and the pain of love lost or, in my case, almost lost, is irreplaceable. “Never Enough” and “Slippery Rock” off our third album, “Warmth and Sincerity” are probably the best examples. I guess I don’t write about love lyrics too much, but it’s all about real living and learning.

7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music?

Just time. Wish I had more of it.

8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art?

Oh sure, both ways.

9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

Absolutely… see above.

Drew Ryan, Karma Elektra and While I Breathe I Hope

1. What do you find difficult about balancing your passion for making music and spending time with your significant other?

Right now it hasn't been too terribly difficult. Hannah and I both work during the day and she works some nights so I usually practice while she's at work. One band that I play with has a set practice time every single week, and I find that it really helps. I know this conveniently out-of-sync schedule won't always be the case, but I find that communication helps tremendously if I want to practice or if we're starting to feel out of touch with one another due to time I spend making music.

2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music?

Our time together is often spent making shit. Hannah is an artist as well, so we are constantly encouraging each other to make things and stay busy. I think a lot of couples reconvene and turn off at the end of the day in front of the television. Instead, she will be making or reading books while I'm twisting knobs on my 4-track or sketching in my sketchbook. Her company is refreshing and inspiring. I work at a creative agency where it's easy to thrive off of the vibes of my coworkers—we critique each other's work and push each other forward. When you see other people working hard at creating something, it just encourages you to step it up a notch, you know? I want to maintain that momentum at home. I don't want to slow down. I don't want to fool you, though, we can definitely be lazy and embrace our downtime, as well. Like everything else, the key is balance.

3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"? Why?

Well...I'm not sure. I guess so. I often relegate it as a hobby because art is selfish, so creating something is generally a selfish
act and I am doing it solely for my own pleasure. That doesn't mean I take it any less seriously or that it's less important than other things in my life. I understand that the reason why I make money is because I design things and essentially sell my ideas. It's a very weird thing to me and I have a hard time accepting that reality at times. Since the visual art I create is mostly commercial, it's nice to have this "hobby" that doesn't make me feel like some sort of prostitute. I have never made a cent off of being a musician and I don't think I would have it any other way. I like to think that ideas are meant to be shared, not bought and sold. Since my life is art, and my art is both my work and my hobby, there's no real boundary. It's all the same to me, you know? I think she knows that too.

4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not to be bothered?

No. If I want to be loud and practice at the house, I just make sure it's cool with her first. If I have a spontaneous practice elsewhere, I let her know. Communication works.

5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs?

She's fine with it. We don't play too many out of town gigs, but it hasn't been an issue any time that has happened. She goes on her own out-of-town adventures and I'm cool with it, so I expect the same treatment if I have an out-of-town gig.

6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)?

I haven't written any songs about Hannah. Sometimes we'll play music together if we are bored, but that's about the extent of it. She often helps me with my DIY CD-R projects though. No kids.

7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music?

None really, other than fantasizing about music and getting distracted at work. That's not a problem though...just a temporary escape. :)

8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art?

My boss heard my punk band Karma Elektra and was totally confused. My coworker Adam also plays in that band. He saw some pictures of us performing on stage and saw that Adam was sporting a rainbow-colored strap on his bass and asked if he was gay. He then proceeded to make fun of us in a very lighthearted and expected way. I think that's all I've ever really heard him say about my music or how we look on stage.

9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

When I started my first band at age 13, I was heavily influenced by 90s skate punk like Pennywise and Lagwagon and a few local bands like Pezz, Ten Days From Now and 7bit. I saw that these local guys were drawing their own flyers and booking their own shows and putting out their own music. They had an amazing DIY ethic that I still wholeheartedly embrace today. Paired with that was my love for mainstream pop-punk acts like Blink-182 and Mxpx, so I think my mentality at the time was to start from the bottom and work my way to a major label or something. Now 11 years and 7 Fugazi albums later, my ambitions have been put into perspective. I just want to play. I want to make shit and do shit. I don't want to think about dying and the best way I have found to do that is to distract myself by making art or loving something. That's all I've got.

Robby Grant, Vending Machine and Mouserocket

1. What do you find difficult about balancing your passion for making music and spending time with your significant other?

The fact that music isn't always pretty.

2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music?

Always something to sing about.

3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"? Why?

No. If you define it as a "hobby" then you'd rather be watching a DVD.

4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not to be bothered?

Right when I get up.

5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs?

Webcams are cheap now.

6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)?

Yes. I name check them so it'd be hard to miss.

7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music?

Day job can follow you home.

8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art?

Yes, but negative is the new positive.

9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

Don't care about fame. Just want to create what I want and for people that hear it to either really like it or really hate it.

J. D. Reager; J. D. Reager and the Cold Blooded 3, Snowglobe, and Two-Way Radio

1. What do you find difficult about balancing your passion for making music and spending time with your significant other?

Honestly, not much. It seems that I am very lucky to have an very open-minded, encouraging and forgiving partner.  She genuinely wants me to do as much as I can or want to in music.

2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music?

Well, I hate talking to girls. Actually, I mean that to say that I'm terrible at it, so there's a certain amount of pressure in social situations that is removed since I'm in a relationship. I'm cool with that. 

3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"? Why?

Nah, I don't allow it to be.

4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not to be bothered?

Again, I'm usually asking Jenn what she thinks about a particular riff/lyric/story that I'm working on.  I also encourage outside input and involvement, just in general.  I'm not one of these people that is ultra-precious about their "creative me-time."

5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs?

Well, the times that she doesn't tag along are rough on us both. Probably rougher on me, though. I tend to drink heavily on the road when she's not around.  Thankfully, she's been able to come with me on a lot of the trips lately.

6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)?

Absolutely. You might say that a song I wrote played a significant role in the courtship process.

7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music?

I basically decided I couldn't have day jobs anymore because it was getting in the way of music, and killing my creative energy, so I threw myself into freelance writing as a side-gig, and hoped for the best. So far, so good.

8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art?

I once quit a musical theater production in high school because the musical director told me, "it's the show or the band." Easy choice.

9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

I've gotten more realistic in my ambitiousness. I'm now shooting for more attainable goals, not just "let's get BIG!" Also, I enjoy music more now as a simple pleasure, and try not to think of it as the disgusting rat-race that it can sometimes become.


Chris McCoy, New Intruders and The Apocalyptics

1. What do you find difficult about balancing your passion for making music and spending time with your significant other?

My wife and I met because of music, and she has always been very supportive of my need to make music.

2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music?

I have one guaranteed audience member.

3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"? Why?

I guess you can call it a hobby these days, but it always seems so much more important to me than that. Of course, I'm sure avid golfers feel the same way.

4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not to be bothered?

Not scheduled, but we are both artists, and we both understand the need for space.  

5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs?

She wishes I would do it more.

6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)?

In the past, yes, but my recent musical projects have been pretty abstract and improvisational, so there hasn't been much room for that sort of thing.

7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music?

Day jobs have always interfered with touring, and now that I am essentially a freelancer, I'm too old to tour.

8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art?

I've never really had what you would call a problem because a boss discovered my music, but almost every boss I've had who found out I played has been either totally indifferent to it or, if they hear it, pretty much baffled by why I would make such awful noises.
 
9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

I pretty much gave up on trying to make a living at music about ten years ago, and my enjoyment of it has increased as a result. I would still like to put out recordings, I love playing live any time I get the chance, and I still fervently wish that musical projects I am involved with can find an audience. But I'll keep laboring in obscurity because I have a great time even when I'm playing to five people.

Chris Wark, Arma Secreta

1. What do you find difficult about balancing your passion for making music and spending time with your significant other?

The difficulty is simply finding the time and energy to do it. I have a wife and two little girls, so family comes first. 
 
2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music?

None for me. My relationship doesn't really help my "music", as I don't write about relationships or feelings much. I think that's been pretty well covered.
 
3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"? Why?

I'm not sure I even know what "art" is anymore, Arma Secreta is just a noisy hobby. I decided to give it up a long time ago, but I keep procrastinating.
 
4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not to be bothered?

Yes, we call it "band practice".  Other than that,  I only write when I have an overwhelming urge to do so. And that only happens at random times. And most of those random times I'm busy.  So no.
 
5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs?

My wife doesn't really like it, which is to be expected, but she has been very supportive and awesome about it. As our family grows, my desire to travel diminishes. It would be nice to be in a position to take them with me on the road one day.
 
6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)?

I tend to write songs about, or for people I know; sometimes inspired by loved ones. So yes they are in there, but mostly with inside jokes or cryptic references. It's more interesting to me to write a song that tells my wife I love her, without saying "Ooh baby I love your way" in the song.
 
7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music?

There's no difficulty. Day job trumps music. It's the fat kid on the seesaw.
 
8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art?

Yes, and now he's dead.
 
9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

Absolutely. Family is more important than anything else, and no amount of success in music or business is worth losing your family. I'm just happy I can still rock it occasionally.

Jobu Babin

1. What do you find difficult about balancing your passion for making music and spending time with your significant other?

Currently single, but I've played this game before, so...Making sure she knows she is in many ways 'the other woman'

2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music?

Life experience give you something to write about, someone you trust to be a sounding board for ideas, emotional support

3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"? Why?

It is with some people. Not me.

4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not to be bothered?

N/A for me right now, but i used to do this, and it worked, although scheduling the creative process never works, you can't control it.

5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs?

i have found they need their alone or work time for themselves...there can be real trust issues, however, with travel.

6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)?

Almost certainly, usually they respond favorably, although i tend to write in cryptic fashion.

7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music?

Mornings after a gig or recording, and feeling like valuable time is being wasted.

8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art?

Usually a good thing...people can be alternately supportive and jealous, however.

9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

i realize that 1) the likelihood of me having the classic happy 25-year-marriage, two-and-a-half kids and a dog lifestyle is not very high, being in this field, 2) The older i get, the better i get at many things, and more likely i am to reject nonsense and superficial things, 3) The older i get, the hungrier i get for more complicated accomplishments and more complex and esoteric musical satisfaction, 4) I prefer adulation and respect from my artist piers to the rewards of sex, money, or fame. 5)  Doing what i do keeps me young

Lee from Simon

2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music?

They always think the song is about them - even when it is not.  Being public with music means that the wrong people will take notice and it steps up the attention one gets from a partner.  After a while, this same attitude becomes "Yeah, right—go for it." Nothing is more scary than being naked with a fanatic. That is why I prefer to direct and be passive. (e.g. - "More titties this time and make be believe you are a lesbian." or "Punch him in the mouth with your cock.")

3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"? Why?

Taxably a hobby does not make money and a business does. When I do my taxes, I have to sometimes argue with the accountant to make this a serious enterprise because of the tens of dollars made.

4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not to be bothered?

Time is a constant negotiation. Better to make hay while the sun shines. In other words, get the french toast out of the house when you can. NEVER schedule anything during birthdays, anniversaries, or holidays.  Know your bass player's wife's birthday and keep a calendar.

5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs?

Try scheduling events for out of town to every 28 days.

6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)?

Ultimately, the songs are autobiographical. Someone seeing themselves is sweet, but filtered. Like painters and writers of prose, the art resembles the author too often—like it or not. Often I do not like that aspect of it. Even the protagonist or antagonist I might create still come from my perspective too often. I guess that is why I like to collaborate sometimes.  Enough about me already...

7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music?

Office parks want a cookie cutter person without rough edges. Fans want a train wreck. Best to take on the stripper motif and get yourself a name you can hide behind, like Carmen Electra, Slash, Axl Rose, or Eminem. "All you know about me is what i told ya" - t00L "Plus what they can google" - simonoid

8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art?

From  "amazing" to "you have issues."

9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

My goal has always been to create and write. Always charge a fee to see the act.  Always set a price that you value and they will also. always record and catalog yourself over time.  Never ever take anything you do seriously—even when it is. Bands suck. That is what they do. Never forget that "you are not a magic snowflake but rather the all-singing, all-dancing crap of the world" - Fight Club

Tom Arndt, Cheez Keez

1. What do you find difficult about balancing your passion for making music and spending time with your significant other? 

Nothing, really. My wife is an artist and my best friend. She is completely understanding and supportive of my passion for writing and playing.

2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music? 

I can't think of any. Music is completely self-fulfilling. Having a relationship has nothing to do with music.

3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"?

Why? I used to. I quit my job. Problem solved.

4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not to be bothered? 

Scheduled creative time? That doesn't work It's like setting aside a specific time for pooping, or for having sex. It happens when it happens.

5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs? 

She misses me.

6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)? 

Occasionally, but not often. I have more fun writing about stuff I'm confused or pissed off about.

7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music? 

Franz Kafka said (paraphrasing here, as I can't find the exact quote) that he hated distractions from his art, and that work (his day job) distracted him from it completely. I agree. So I quit the fucking job 2 years ago. Now I only have to balance making music with making more music.

8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art? 

Not that I can remember. When I had a "career", I made it a point to keep my day job world and my music world separated. In retrospect, that was a good idea.

9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

They change every day. The older I get, the fewer goals and ambitions I have—they are mostly unnecessary distractions. My priorities have always been (1) to eat something at some point and have a place to sleep (anyone who has ever slept in doorways or in cemeteries will understand), and (2) to play music every day. Any goals and ambitions related to music are long gone—who needs that shit? I play music because that's what I do.  I cannot not do it.  It's not driven by goals or ambitions.

Chuck Howard, TANKS

1. What do you find difficult about balancing your passion for making music and spending time with your significant other?

I got 99 problems but a bitch ain't one

2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music?

She believes me when i say "I'm gonna go do my own thing tonight, babe."

3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"? Why?

If I don't get paid then I pretty much feel like I just have an expensive hobby.

4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not to be bothered?

I can't schedule it. I just cancel all other transactions until I'm done being in the cave.

5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs?

Its work.

6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)?

If i write a song about a woman, most of the time its a song that she doesn't want to be about her.

7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music?

Aligning practice schedules with the work schedules of other bandmates.

8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art?

Yes.

9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

Ya, i'm only 22, but i'm not out there to change anything. I'm not trying to save the world or be the best. i just like titties. and beer. and pizza. and music. and sometimes lightening or fire and a little cash on the side. Making music, i can have all those things and I don't always have to pay for them

Chris Falkner, Rainy Day Manual

1. What do you find difficult about balancing your passion for making music and spending time with your significant other?

IT'S A CATCH 22 MOST OF THE TIME, THE EASIEST WAY TO AVOID PROBLEMS WITH THIS BALANCE IS TO BE VERY UPFRONT WITH THE PERSON WHEN YOU ARE DATING. IF THEY TRULY LOVE YOU THEY WILL UNDERSTAND WHY THE TIME MUST BE SPENT ON MUSIC... THAT DOESN'T MEAN THEY WILL LIKE THE FACT THAT YOU ARE GONE BUT THEY CAN BE MORE REASSURED IF YOU ARE HONEST ABOUT IT.

2. What are the upsides of being in a relationship as it pertains to making music?

IT PROVIDES FINANCIAL SUPPORT WHEN NO $$$ IS COMING IN FROM THE MUSIC, ANY EMOTIONAL CONNECTION IS A GOOD SOURCE OF INSPIRATION WHETHER IT BE ANGER, LOVE, SADNESS, ETC. THE MORE IN TUNE YOU ARE IN THE RELATIONSHIP THE DEEPER YOU CAN GO INTO USING IT THOSE FEELINGS AND EXPERIENCES IN MUSIC/LYRICAL FORM

3. Do you ever feel that your art is relegated to being a "hobby"? Why?

I DO BUT I TRY TO RE-PRIORITIZE AS SOON AS I SENSE THAT COMING ON. ANY ART THAT ISN'T ACTIVELY BRINGING IN AN INCOME WILL BE PUT IN THE 'HOBBY' CATEGORY UNLESS THERE IS SPECIFIC ATTENTION PAID TO THE EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT OF THE ART.

4. Do you have any type of scheduled creative time where you are not
to be bothered?

EVERY WEEK.

5. If you travel, how does your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend feel about you leaving town for gigs?

HAVEN'T HAD TO ADDRESS THAT YET.

6. Has your significant other ever found themselves in your music? How much do you write about him/her? What about your kids (if you have them)?

OF COURSE, BUT MANY OF MY SONGS REVOLVE AROUND ATTITUDES AND CONCEPTS OUTSIDE OF A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP.  NO KIDS THANK GOD.

7. What are some of the difficulties you have found balancing your day job with making music?

NOT ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY, THANKFULLY I HAVE INTERNET ACCESS TO AT LEAST TAKE CARE OF SOME MUSIC BUSINESS AT WORK... OTHER THAN THAT MY JOB PROVIDES ABSOLUTELY NO CREATIVE INSPIRATION.

8. Has a boss or coworker ever commented (negatively or otherwise) on your music or art?

YEAH THEY THINK IT'S COOL.

 9. Have your goals/ambitions/priorities changed as you have gotten older? In what way?

I'VE ONLY GOTTEN MORE AMBITIOUS AND MORE CONFIDENT AS I HAVE GOTTEN OLDER.  MUSIC MAKES MORE SENSE TO ME NOW THEN IT EVER HAS.. IT MEANS MORE TO ME KNOW THAN EVER. SUCCESSFULLY PURVEYING MY MUSIC IS WAY MORE IMPORTANT TO ME THAN EVER HAVING A FAMILY AT THIS POINT.