Boy Wonder: Professional Musician

Friday March 6th at 5PM was the last time I left my job at Drexel University as an employee. I handed in my resignation two weeks prior to embrace the moment I had been waiting for most of my adult life.


It started in early February (sometimes it’s hard to believe that only that much time has passed) I had answered a Craigslist ad (something I rarely do these days) for a band that was looking for singers for a tour. I’d opened it up and saw that it was a band called Bang Camaro that I’d seen on Conan coming home from a gig. The Band had like 10 people singing. I thought it was an interesting concept, the heavy metal choir. I sent them my myspace almost as a goof, I was bored at work and said why not. I never thought I would hear from anyone. Two days later I got an email from Bryn (one of the guitarists) asking if I could come up for an audition. I flew up to Boston with no expectations, honestly I didn’t think I had the sort of voice that would be well suited for the band. I flew back home the same day to host the monthly competition for Philly Rising (I’ll get to that later).


The next day I got an email from Bryn saying that they would like for me to be in the band. WHAT?! Are you kidding?! I thought about it for about 2 hours weighing the pros and cons and decided to go for it. Although it wasn’t an easy decision to make.


On one hand, it’s a tremendous opportunity. This is a band that’s opened Lollapalooza, done conan, playing SXSW, doing the Jimmy Kimmel Show, and playing some pretty legit venues on this tour. The things I could do, learn, and see on a tour like this are second to none. This was a dream that I had finally coming true.


On the other hand, I understood almost right away that I was going to be sacrificing quite a bit to do this. One I would have to stop playing my own music with my own band for an extended period of time, not easy for a songwriter. I have become a fairly successful booking agent in Philadelphia and would have to give that up. I am the host of Philly Rising, the best Open Mic in Philadelphia and would have to give that up. There was the issue of my job at Drexel, a full-time job with benefits (a choice thing in this crappy economy) that I would definitely have to give up. Not to mention the fact that I have never been away from home for an extended amount of time, ever. I’m a guy who loves what he does, I love my family, my friends, and my city. So it wasn’t going to be easy to pull myself out by the roots and go do something else. I feared that people wouldn’t understand.


I knew it was real when I signed that letter of resignation and put it on my bosses desk. I was in effect ending one phase of my life and moving onto another.


It was a weird feeling handing in my ID card and my keys, beginning to say my goodbyes to my friends and family as the day that I would catch a plane to Boston came closer and closer, knowing that I would be leaving everything I knew and loved behind for a while to be on the grind. It did feel good later on that night when someone asked me what I did for a living and I said “I’m a musician” Not a musician and an AV Tech, Not a musician and a theatre teacher, just a musician.


The stakes are high and I don’t know what’s gonna happen, this could be a breakthrough moment for me, I could also be sent home with my tail between my legs and concrete in my teeth. I don’t know how long it’s going to last but for now I’m Boy Wonder: Professional Musician.