Hired Gun vs Bandmate. The Ongoing Debate.

Throughout my career, I have explored two options as a working musician: being a part of a band and being a "hired gun." Though both carry positive and negative aspects, I find I prefer being in a band, but have taken on hired gigs due to financial, and sometimes, career affecting reasons.

Racer X

Up through Racer X I was always in bands. When Paul got his first record deal with Shrapnel Records he never wanted to have a bunch of hired guns.  He was being influenced by Shrapnel to call the project Paul Gilbert,but when he and I started making headway with Racer X, he wanted to make sure we gave it a name, and not just to use his own.  We made a compromise with the label and titled the first Racer X record Racer X featuring Paul Gilbert.  In those days, I would often get for-hire offers from signed bands, but I always felt there was no future in them. It basically meant coming home from a tour and having nothing lined up for the future. A band, however, is like an investment, and you hope that your investment will bring about some sort of financial future.

My next venture was born out of three members of Racer X: The Scream. We got signed as a band, and we were a democracy but we lost our drummer, Scott Travis, to Judas Priest. Scott took the hired gun gig because, at the time, The Scream couldn’t offer, financially, what Judas Priest could offer. Eventually, Scott joined Priest full time and The Scream, as an investment, got dropped after our singer, John Corabi, got picked to front Motley Crüe for one record.

Pet

It was not until after spending some money losing years in another one of my bands, Distortion Felix, I joined Pet as their for hire bassist. I was paid a salary and, as a result, was not as invested in the project as the other members, and my attitude was not as productive as it could have been (even though they eventually asked me to come on as a member). Once Pet became a band situation for me, I really got into my role more and felt more creative.

As my career evolved, I began experiencing financial challenges.  This led me to take another hired gig in Doctor Octagon.  At the time, I was on a weekly salary and I did it because it was an amazing musical project and I knew there was more to gain than simply money. That turned out to be true: it was my first time as part of a hip hop group, and a very innovative one at that.

Big Sir. Photo credit: http://jinsai.blogspot.com

Cut to me starting my own band: Big Sir, with Lisa Papineau, and more years with Distortion Felix.  I made no money on these projects but, as an artist, they were important to me and my development as a songwriter.  Again, financial challenges led me to another hired gig, this time, in a disco cover band. That was one of the most humiliating gigs I have ever done, but I have no regrets: it was a job and I needed money. Since it was becoming increasingly difficult to have a successful a career as a musician, I decided to go back to school. At 34 I ended up back in class, and eventually got my degree in English Literature. Though the music wasn’t full time, I was still doing tours with Distortion Felix and gigs with Big Sir while studying.

Once I got into the academic groove I realized how exciting learning could be. Exercising my mind during this time was such an ego boost.  I saw the improvement in writing and reading comprehension and felt like an artist again.  I was working a full time job, playing in three bands, and going to school full time. I could not have been more creative. Around then, I got a call, while at my day job, from Omar and decided to take on the bass duties for The Mars Volta. At first it was a hired situation like the others, but eventually I was brought in as a member and my future truly became brighter.

Presently, I bounce around Deltron 3030, Doctor Octagon, and currently Emily Saliers, again, as a hired gun. There is of course Halo Orbit as well, a project with suGAr and Mark Guliana that I am incredibly proud of as a band mate. I am always absolutely excited to be around new, talented musicians, and people. It is just as much a learning experience as it is a gig.

-Juan