Question For Dave

[Morothe]

DG, do you make make a living off of WOY? If not, what do you do for work?

 

[David Gold]

DG, do you make make a living off of WOY?

Not even close. Sometimes even when you draw a lot of people out and play a good show, the promoter might be comfortable with paying the band only $65, total, for example. So very, very, very, very few metal musicians can make a living solely off their music (maybe 1 in every 10,000), and even then it is usually short lived and they'd still need a quick backup plan for when the money is all spent and the glory days come to an end. From the beginning, we've always done WoY because we love to do it, but if a time comes where anyone makes money off of WoY, I'd that like to be us. Because we're not dependent on doing WoY to put food on the table, I believe we'll have more sustainability and much less pressure creatively. We'll be able to do WoY forever and on our own terms. It will always be real.

If not, what do you do for work?

All of the members of the band have educations and work full time day jobs for a living. Any other part of our lives beyond what we choose to volunteer to discuss on this forum, is probably private. I can show you how to shave a beard, but I can't tell you everything.

Thanks for the interest though!

 

[Advance&Vanquish]

Dave's a spy for the canadian government.

 

[CaGeD iN]

the promoter will give you $65 for a good show! that is bullshit imho

 

[Advance&Vanquish]

So very, very, very, very few metal musicians can make a living solely off their music (maybe 1 in every 10,000), and even then it is usually short lived and they'd still need a quick backup plan for when the money is all spent and the glory days come to an end.

I took an industry class in college a few months back and sadly, this is true. Another thing that bothers me is how much money a lot of bands put into the industry (cd sales, merch and all that bullshit) but get little/nothing back in return. It's really crazy when you see the numbers. Look at Opeth for example, yes they're on Sounds of the Underground, bunch of festivals, have toured the world 4 or 5 times in 2006, but they still only get like $800 split between them. $800 between 5 people really sucks. Listen to DG, he's a smart person.

 

[Morothe]

Yeah, thats the thing that sucks about the arts. You hardly ever make a lot of money off of it. Most people who do it are incredibly talented too. I want to be a musician but I cant make it my sole goal or I'll end up living out of a car. I want to go to school for journalism, but who knows what will happen.

 

[zekeyou]

If you guys want an interesting read, wade through this thread on the Braveboard-- the guitarist from Novembers Doom comes through with some interesting financial aspects of being a touring metal band:

http://www.bravewords.com/braveboard/viewtopic.php?t=39977&highlight=mercyful

And David: boxers/briefs/commando?

 

[Trows]

That thread was a great read, I couldn't register to ask a few questions though. Some technical problems.

After reading that thread, I came into discussion with a few online buddies regarding it.

I had always imagined recording an album in a studio was usually a couple of days job, but after reading about it and reading/watching interviews, i've found it's not usually the case. So my question is - what is it that takes up soo much time recording a new album?

 

[CaGeD iN]

i've always wondered that too

 

[Arcane Son]

If you guys want an interesting read, wade through this thread on the Braveboard-- the guitarist from Novembers Doom comes through with some interesting financial aspects of being a touring metal band:

http://www.bravewords.com/braveboard/viewtopic.php?t=39977&highlight=mercyful

And David: boxers/briefs/commando?

Yeah good link Zeke. It was really cool of the ND guitarist to share a little bit of his expierence. It's a real eye opener when you begin to understand what it takes to make it as a musician and in particular making it as a metal musician. The price he stated it cost to put a band on the side stage of Ozzfest was jaw dropping. I really hope the industry and scene changes in the future as I know so many talented musicians that deserve to be able to support themselves off their craft.

That's why it's so important to support the music we love. Everytime we loose another amazing metal band it's like another warrior dropping dead against the evil army of commercialism and watered down music made for the masses. That's a world I do not want to live in.