It’s never easy watching someone fall from grace while still in their prime, and even worse when you have to watch them squander their talent. It’s a safe bet that there are many great musicians out there who are unable to flourish, thanks to a society that requires its citizens to become cogs in the capitalist machine. And nothing illustrates this better than trying to balance making it in a band and holding down a job at the same time.
A prime example is local guitarist Liam Oliver, who had to leave his band Death Spiral after getting promoted to shift manager at Kohl’s.
“I just needed an easy, low-stakes job that required little effort and zero experience, so stocking shelves at Kohl’s seemed like a good fit. All I really needed was money for distortion pedals and gas for the van until the band took off, since we were getting some looks from a few labels. Then it happened: I became the store’s first employee to make it past 90 days all year, and they promoted me to shift manager. I knew showing up for all my shifts was going to bite me in the ass. ”
This is what happens when you don’t invest in the arts! We need more noise-punk bands and fewer retail chain supervisors, dammit. We doubt Liam wanted to grow up to write employee schedules and explain price match policies to belligerent boomers, but now he’s another victim of a system that doesn’t let people pursue their talents.
“I mean it’s nice that I can now afford to eat something other than ramen three times a day, but sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth it. Last Thursday I was auditing inventory, and I got a text from the band group chat of the guys hanging out with Fat Mike at an abandoned warehouse show. I literally fell to my knees in the midst of the khakis and wondered what my life could’ve been like if I just sold my kidney instead.”
None of his coworkers will ever know that he once opened for Mannequin Pussy or that he could play “Master of Puppets” by the age nine. Instead, he’s explaining to new hires that they can’t take more than 30 minutes for their lunches or they’ll be written up. Alas, another one for the 27 club. What a waste.