Three Bands, Thirty Five Students, No Regrets

When you think of a professional musician, you probably picture one of these two scenarios: a fabulously wealthy rock star, riding in gold limousines and surrounded by screaming fans, or – if you’re a little more pessimistic – a starving artist who sleeps all day, plays all night, and probably still lives in his parents’ basement. But there are thousands of working musicians all over the world who, like Dan Huber, live somewhere in between. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to make your living as an artist, read on – Dan, via email, was kind enough to give Professional Detours some insight into how he makes it work.

Dan started taking piano lessons in grade school and switched to guitar and bass later, but it wasn’t until high school that he really started to get serious about music as a career. “Maumee High had an excellent music theory course,” Dan recalled. “That started me on my current path.”

Dan went to Ohio University and studied music. He took advantage of a program that let him “[design] my own music major which I called Versatile Musicianship. Ohio University was the second school in the country to allow student to pick their own courses, and for this I am very grateful. This meant I could take women's history, African American poetry, kayaking and whatever else I damn well pleased.”

Still, the vast majority of Dan’s classes were in music and music theory. “I studied primarily under David Messina, bassist for the West Virginia Symphony, as well as with several great jazz instructors and radio host Bill McGlaughlin was once guest conductor of the orchestra at this time. I played in the school's jazz ensembles, orchestra, and always played in at least 2 rock bands as well.” A versatile musician, indeed.

After graduating from Ohio University in 2002, Dan moved back to his hometown and worked a day job as a house painter while playing gigs on weekends. In 2004, after having “seen New York city and wanting a larger environment in which to flounder,” Dan moved to Chicago. While he took a few part-time jobs in Chicago to help make ends meet, he tried to choose jobs that met a certain criteria: “that they help someone directly (such as a homeless shelter) or are enjoyable (deckhand on a boat) or good exercise (dog walking).” But for Dan, It’s always been about the music. “The primary challenge has always been making any money whatsoever while spending as little time working non-music jobs as possible.” In other words, instead of working full-time elsewhere and squeezing in music in around the edges, music has always been Dan’s focus, and when time allowed, tried to make some money on the side.

“After 6 years of working part time jobs and playing music and teaching in Chicago, I finally had gotten to the point where I had enough students to quit other extraneous work,” Dan said. So what’s a typical day like for a professional musician? “I sleep till 9, get up and practice bass or guitar until I leave for teaching lessons, which is around 3 PM. I drive an hour through Chicago rush hour to teach in the suburbs at a small music store, A Sound Education, which has been in business 10 years; I have been there 5+. Then after that I go to band practice or drive to a gig. Two of my bands, Old Shoe and Antony Ablan, are very active and play anywhere within a 6 hour drive, although I have on occasion flown to Arizona or farther to play with Mos Funnel.”

Dan works with thirty-five students and twenty professional musicians, so keeping track of everything is challenging at best. And, of course, as with any freelancer, finances are often a concern. “You have to decide if you care about money or not,” Dan noted, “because as a musician only a very few will make any significant money, and if so it may take decades. So, if you want to be middle class and still full-time, you are wise to start teaching lessons, and developing your ability to play songs by ear and read music.” Teaching, in fact, has been critical to allowing Dan to quit his outside part-time jobs. “If you become a music teacher, you no longer need to be concerned whether each gig pays. In fact, you may find most don't pay very much at all! When I get paid, I consider myself lucky and each dollar is precious.”

Although having an education in music is important if you plan to teach lessons, “the main thing people need to do is play as much as humanly possible, with as many different people, styles, etc, and listen to a wide variety of music, and support local music whenever possible…The main thing is focusing on the art,” Dan said, “because a lot of other musicians will fall by the wayside, give up, all sorts of relationship and money issues will get in the way, but the best thing to do is either play as much as possible or develop a business plan. I prefer not to plan. I never have money to invest in my bands, so I have to earn my keep by being [expletive] excellent.”

Dan’s success has by no means peaked, and if you’re interested in learning more about his bands, there are plenty of opportunities to do so. If you’re in the Chicago area, keep an eye out for Old Shoe’s festival in September. “We are inviting all the best bands from the entire region, all the ones we have shared festival bills with, some incredible talent.” Old Shoe is also playing several other festivals in the Midwest, including Hoodilidoo in Lacota, Michigan; The Grateful Garcia Gathering in Black River Falls, Wisconsin; the Field Trip Festival in South Elgin,Illinois; and Widow's Peak in Earlville, Illinois. Other shows and gig information can be found on Old Shoe’s web site.

If you’re not near any of the festival locations, you can buy Old Shoe’s first album at this link or check out Dan’s YouTube channel for tour highlights. Old Shoe is releasing their second album on July 23; check the band’s web site for details. And Dan’s other bands are releasing albums this summer as well – Joseph Messing and the Wise Men’s new album is coming out in July 2, and Antony Ablan and the Tramps has an album coming out on July 22. All three releases include release shows at Chicago venues; check the individual band web sites for all the details.