Guest Column - Best Days Jobs for Indie Musicians By Carla Gillis

When I was in my early twenties and touring heavily with my band, Plumtree, I worked a day job at a gelato store in Halifax, scooping Raspberry Sorbetto for cruise ship tourists and Soya Mint Carob Chip for punk rock vegans. My pay was $5.25 an hour, I got a barely-there lunch break, and sometimes my nose would spontaneously bleed because of the frenzied pace of the place. So what kept me there for five years? My boss was Plumtree’s manager. I could get time off, hassle-free, whenever I needed to.

Musicians have nutty schedules. Most prefer to work days because of night gigs and rehearsals, and need long stretches of time off for recording and touring. These constraints make for slim pickings in the job market. We’ve all heard the story about Wayne Coyne from the Flaming Lips working as a fry cook at Long John Silver’s Restaurant for 11 years. But are crappy jobs the only answer? Are there more productive in-the-meantime jobs for indie musicians? Might there even be – gasp – flexible, well-paying jobs that also provide musical inspiration?

Thick Specs polled musicians across the country to discover the best day jobs for indie musicians.

1. Teaching

If you haven’t come through the three-chord school of punk and actually have a solid grasp of musical theory and technique, teaching is a terrific day job option. “Watching a 12-year-old go, ‘ba-doom, ba-doom, ba-doom, ding’ and imagine himself to be playing with Queen at Wembley is a deep and abiding pleasure,” says Kev Corbett, a Halifax-based singer-songwriter and drum teacher. “It's a lot like working in a doctor's office, and I now have 40-some little patients between the ages of eight and 38. I tell the school when I can and can’t work, and a nice lady at the desk works it all out and fields cancellations, newbies and so on. I check my schedule online, amble in most days at around four pm, and work until around nine pm, four days a week, with summers and storm days off.”

Mike Bell, vocalist for Vancouver’s The Living, agrees. “If you're qualified enough, [private teaching] is great cash and has show/rehearsal/morning friendly hours, usually three pm to eight pm. If you have to tour, you can reschedule students easily, and they may look up to you more because you’re actually out there ‘doing’ and not just ‘teaching.’ Teaching for a school is less pay but they do all the scheduling for you, handle any problems, and give you sweet deals on gear. If you’re not qualified enough to teach for a school, try putting an ad on Craigslist. If you’re good with kids, you’re half way there.”

2. Self-Employment

Got a marketable skill? Got some business savvy? Enjoy working for yourself more than someone else? Most musicians will say yes to all three. After all, a DIY worldview is inherent to most indie musicians. In my case, I freelance write and edit. My drummer sister Lynette Gillis, a member of Bontempi and Bells Clanging, works as a freelance fashion stylist. Tym Deal, guitarist and keyboardist for Halifax’s finest Alice Cooper tribute band, My Other Brother Alice, runs Deal’s Graphic Design. “You can work the hours you want. A laptop gives you the luxury of working on the road, and you can usually do any relevant correspondence via email. It also saves a lot of money on your band’s own promotion material costs and gives you artistic control over album cover art and poster designs.”

3. Movie Extra

Though hilariously de-glamorised by Ricky Gervais, movie extra work can be a good option for the thespian-minded indie musician. When Cecil Castellucci, formerly Nerdy Girl and currently a full-time writer of children’s books and graphic novels, moved from Montreal to Hollywood, she took extra work on a number of films. “It’s a great job. You just put yourself out there for work when you are in town. It's not taxing on the brain. You sit there for hours. You can read or write in a notebook. You get fed a good meal, most times. And it's great for people watching. I have actually gotten a lot of ideas for character stuff on sets.” Don’t think you have to live in Hollywood to find extra work. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver all have thriving film industries.

4. Waiting Tables

Vancouver’s Christer (debut CD out this spring) claims that waiting tables is one of the best jobs for musicians, primarily because it offers flexible shift work that includes day, night and weekend options. “And in the right place, one can make a pretty decent living off tips,” she says. “Whether serving is particularly inspirational, I’m not so sure. Maybe if you’re serving at a live music venue. Otherwise, not so much.” It’s a life Victoria-via-Vancouver-via-West Chezzetcook musician Amy Honey knows well. She has waitressed and bartended for the last 17 years because of “the flexible schedule, easy money through tips and because you can find a job just about anywhere.” She supplements her income by selling stuff on eBay, another musician-friendly tactic.

5. Cruise Ship Musician

Bramwell Park, a member of Toronto’s Nolens Volens, casts his vote towards the high seas. He’s travelled the world as a cruise ship musician and has only kind words about the experiences. “[Being a cruise ship musician] allows you to take some time away from the struggle of the scene to write, save money, see the world and learn every standard ever written.”

6. Hard Labour

Though some argue that hard labour is a poor employment choice for musicians due to the high exhaustion factor, others beg to differ. Ferdy Belland of Vancouver’s The Feminists happily works as an apprentice carpenter when he’s not on the road. “I enjoy working hard outdoors. Not only do I make more money swinging a hammer than I would jerking coffee at Starbucks, but I find more often than not that my foremen and superintendents are supportive of and keen on their crewmember's extracurricular activities, so I've never had a problem booking leaves of absence for touring and gigging. It never hurts that at least one-fifth of most construction sites are currently staffed by musicians.” I know this to be true. Jeremy Bidnall from Langley’s International Falls runs a carpentry business that employs his musician friends and fellow band mates.

7. Band Slut

By which I DON’T mean being the Gene Simmons of your band. Rather, band sluts are musicians who supply their musical talents to a number of side projects and/or cover bands. Besides her solo work, Leah Abramson sings, strums and records with a number of other West Coast bands including Dyad and Octoberman. A self-professed band slut, Abramson “plays in other bands for money even though it’s not very lucrative, the work is sporadic, and it takes time away from the bands I really love. The upside is lots of travel and meeting other wicked musicians.”

8. Temping or Part-time

AKA the story of my life. Apparently it’s also the story of lots of musicians’ lives. Including Mike Small from Toronto’s Meligrove Band. And Stephanie Johns from Halifax’s Stolen Minks. Former Nerdy Girl Cecil Castellucci says, “Any temping is good. But it sucks when they make you actually, uh, work. I don't like that. I like being the receptionist. Sure, you answer phones and sort the mail and sign for Fed Ex packages. But that is relatively low stress. And you can read and write and most times surf the web. Not very inspiring, but totally low key.”

And then there are part-time jobs, ideally ones that pay the bills without sucking away too much of your creative energy. Usher in a community theatre. Delivery person. Envelope stuffer. Assistant to a busy friend. The Living’s Mike Bell says the best types of jobs in this category are “repetitive menial jobs that require no brainpower or talking. The pay might suck but as far as raw ideas, they give you a lot of time to think about your music, lyrics, sing things in your head to see if they work, etc. When I worked for BC Ferries, some of my best ideas would spring up when I was doing a simple repetitive task. Vacuuming, dishwashing, making hundreds of stacks of toast.”

9. Busking

Not for everyone, but certainly an age old art by which musicians have eked out a living for centuries. “Some look down on this but it's a great way to practice performing and promote your music,” says Mike Bell (from the living). “And if you have CDs or other merchandise to sell, and you’re good, you can actually make decent money. However the cash flow/response is very unpredictable, and you can get very sick of your own music this way.”

10. Music Industry Gopher

Last but not least, if the music industry won’t pay you for your music, see if they’ll pay you for something else. Like booking tours. Or arranging publicity. Or writing press releases. Many labels, especially fledgling ones, need help in these departments. Josh McNorton from The Painted Birds says, “Working in the music industry has been pretty good in terms of touring and recording plans. I'm currently working for a small indie label based in Vancouver and so far they've been very accommodating.” Admittedly the salary isn’t much, but the job allows him to tour freely. A good thing considering the Painted Birds tour Ontario for two weeks during Canadian Music Week and then the rest of Canada throughout May and June.

- Carla Gillis

Thick Specs correspondent Carla Gillis is a Canadian musician (Plumtree, Bells Clanging) and writer (currently brewing up her first book).

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