by Doug Radunich

STAFF WRITER

As many of you probably don't know, I'm a local musician as well as a journalist for the Transcript-Bulletin. I play the drums and the keyboard -- though not at the same time -- for a band based out of Salt Lake City. I like to think of my musicianship as a part-time job, even though I've never actually been paid for a show before, and like many aspiring musicians I often daydream about what it would be like to be a full-time rock star.

I mean, seriously, your life would be spent writing songs all day, practicing your songs, recording your songs, riding a tour bus across the country, and performing live in front of dedicated fans who love you for your music and the fact that you're a famous celebrity. You're basically getting to have fun for a living, and one might think that if you're really talented and work really hard you're more likely to make it big, right? Well, unfortunately, making it big in the music industry is now even harder than it seems, but it's always nice to think that me and my band might one day get lucky.

A major problem in the industry is that nowadays there is so much competition. There are thousands or maybe millions of talented, radio-friendly rock bands across the country trying to get a big break, and getting discovered and receiving a record contract is mostly based on luck rather than talent. You have to be in the right place at the right time, and even if you do get signed, there's no guarantee that you'll be around for several years making albums and playing concerts to huge crowds. It seems like when you listen to the radio these days a new band will be played regularly for maybe two or three weeks and then -- poof -- they're out of the spotlight and pretty much forgotten. It's hard for a rock band to have staying power these days and not become a one-hit wonder, and it's not uncommon for them to get dropped by their major record label if they don't keep selling enough albums.

And of course, there's that old cliché that musicians can always get tons of girls to like them, regardless of their physical appearance or personality. However, so far I've found that being a rock musician is overrated as a way to get dates with girls. Instead of being thought of as cool, it seems most of the time I have been thought of as immature and in need of concentrating more on a "real job" -- even though I have one.

I remember one time I invited a group of my more judgmental friends to see my band play, and they were shocked to find that our bassist was married and had a kid, was almost 30 years old and still played in a rock band. Being in a band didn't make him seem any more cool to them. I guess people figure that it's OK to play in a band when you're a young, dumb, single college-aged kid between 18 and 25, but that when you're a grown adult in your late 20s or early 30s, it's time to focus on a more serious job and become more family-minded.

After all, rock star isn't the most respectable career out there.

Still, it's fun to daydream about actually making it big as a famous rock star someday. Unfortunately, I always end up snapping back into reality and remembering that it's harder than it looks to get to that point. I guess I won't be giving up the day job anytime soon.

dougrad@tooeletranscript.com