My first real job was at a small newspaper in Nashville, Tenn. You know the cliché that all Los Angeles waiters are aspiring actors? Nashville is exactly like that, but instead of actors it’s musicians and instead of waitresses it’s the entire town. If you do business with someone in Nashville, just beware that while they prepare your taxes or approve your bank loan, they’re secretly imagining themselves playing Sweet Home Alabama in front of a sold-out stadium.
Everyone I worked with at the newspaper was in a band, friends with a band, dating someone in a band, or going to see a band later that night. One of our writers and a woman in the art department even formed a fake band, recorded a few fake songs, and had kitschy Glamour Shots-esque photos taken at a store in our local mall. The only difference between their band and a real one was that they never booked any gigs. Actually, for a lot of musicians I knew, there wasn’t a difference at all.