Premier Rock Forum

steve wrote:

unarmedman wrote:So what can bands do? What are non-douche money makers, so startup bands and bands like Sonic Youth?

Normal shit like having a job, playing gigs and selling records. Normal shit that doesn't involve throwing your lot in with a bunch of douchebags you probably hate anyway.

My question has always been...what are the "ideal" jobs for a touring musician? How do you find a job with the appropriate level of flexibility?

What pays the bills in Chicago...and affords you an opportunity to get out on the road when need be?

Nude modelling.

oucheh wrote:

Skronk wrote:

losthighway wrote:1. Sonic Youth's last three albums are a waste of time.

Fixed it for you.

Sonic Youth is running the risk of becoming a parody, if they aren't already. Why are we still giving a shit about Sonic Youth?

It's funny that you contributed nothing to the debate. However it's not surprising.

Anyway, Sonic Youth still makes viable music, and they have been doing things their way for quite awhile. I don't drink coffee, so I don't know whether Starbucks is good or not. I can think of 1000 worse companies, including some indie labels & business', to be associated with.

-Jeremy

Well, if asking why we would still give a shit about Sonic Youth after years of not releasing anything noteworthy isn't a valid question, bite me. You really don't know whether Starbucks is 'good or not'?

Isn't it more appropriate for a band to release with an actual label, even ones you dislike, than to release some "exclusive" "promotional" cd so yuppies will buy coffee?

Minotaur029 wrote:What pays the bills in Chicago...and affords you an opportunity to get out on the road when need be?

Working for the city.

Minotaur029 wrote:My question has always been...what are the "ideal" jobs for a touring musician? How do you find a job with the appropriate level of flexibility?

What pays the bills in Chicago...and affords you an opportunity to get out on the road when need be?

Outside of basically owning your own business, i'm not sure this is possible anywhere. I'd love to hear some options, though. How many musicians on this forum have been able to go on tour for over a month straight on a regular basis and keep their job? Anyone?

El Protoolio wrote:

Minotaur029 wrote:What pays the bills in Chicago...and affords you an opportunity to get out on the road when need be?

Working for the city.

Would you mind copying the relevant text of this article into this thread? The online Trib don't come free, baby. Unless it's a joke...in which case...fuck.

DrAwkward wrote:

Minotaur029 wrote:My question has always been...what are the "ideal" jobs for a touring musician? How do you find a job with the appropriate level of flexibility?

What pays the bills in Chicago...and affords you an opportunity to get out on the road when need be?

Outside of basically owning your own business, i'm not sure this is possible anywhere. I'd love to hear some options, though. How many musicians on this forum have been able to go on tour for over a month straight on a regular basis and keep their job? Anyone?

Well, what do you do? It seems like you tour often enough.

I used to work doing web development, for hire via temporary agencies. Now I'm at a full-time permanent position, but I can always quit and go back to freelancing.

unarmedman wrote:Maybe a more appropriate question is:

What career band isn't out there to make money?

So the following question should be:

Why should Sonic Youth (or any career band) be any different?

This is a phony proposition. You assume we have a problem with Sonic Youth making money. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sonic Youth sell a lot of records, shirts and concert tickets, and from that they make pretty good money. Bully for them, my quibbles with how they do it notwithstanding. Seriously, it's great that a band like Sonic Youth are even in the position to sell out in the manner they have. Bravo.

If you discovered that Sonic Youth was doing a special edition of an album in collaboration with, say, a factory that kidnapped christian children and made sausage out of them for people like me to eat, you would be within your rights to form an opinion about them based on this voluntary association, and even allow it to taint your opinion of the audible part of their music. That they are chosing to make money in this manner is what everyone thinks sucks.

Minotaur029 wrote:

El Protoolio wrote:

Minotaur029 wrote:What pays the bills in Chicago...and affords you an opportunity to get out on the road when need be?

Working for the city.

Would you mind copying the relevant text of this article into this thread? The online Trib don't come free, baby. Unless it's a joke...in which case...fuck.

It's a joke about the Outfit trial starting tomorrow. One of the defendents was a Chicago cop. The larger point is that organized crime can't exist without help from business and political leaders. So in a sense, the Outfit guys work for the city.