When I was growing up, I nihilistically spat in one eye of the universe. At some point, I figured I might as well spit in the other...Universal symmetry, ya know? But I had to re-evaluate why I was spitting and make sense of it; I needed some sort of justification. I wasn’t drawn towards the Sid Vicious persona. I was drawn to the Johnny Rottens. I needed to have some sort of meaning in my bad attitude and actions.
I always hear how I’m in a million bands -- I’m not. Even if I counted them from age 15 (when I started playing music) up until now, it’s not even close to a million. Sure, I have multiple things going on at once: some full-time bands, some part-time, some are not even really bands. I mean, I do all this other crap as well: pulling pranks on TV, landing acting gigs and film scoring, saying “fuck you” to the industry and releasing my own music on a label that I had to start myself as a teenager, or really whatever else I get myself into. Heck, I just started a PR firm (The Chain) with two buddies of mine so I can get proper press for things I’m part of, since I can’t afford to pay something else to do it. But the bottom line is, I need to do the stuff that’s in my head. If I don’t do that stuff, who else will do it?
Basically what I’m saying is that the whole perception of me being in so many bands is not really accurate. I’m currently playing bass in two bands (Head Wound City and Dead Cross), which are very part-time. I sing in a band (Retox), which is not part-time. So there are my active bands. Yup, I am also playing bass and singing in another project, but it’s not really a live thing (Planet B). Yeah, I did some cartoon voice-over stuff, but it’s not persistent work, unfortunately. We can get into the reality of my hustling if you want…. When I’m not on tour, I flip a granny flat multiple times a week for a rental property on Air BnB, I do random research studies about taxes or pet food, I DJ, I sell stuff that I’ve accumulated over the years (I think I’m the opposite of a hoarder), and I’ll do pretty much anything that isn’t too sketchy or stupid if it allows me to get by and still continue to do the stuff I need to do.
At the end of the day, I don’t have a boss that I have to answer to, I get to travel parts of the world and, most importantly, I get to connect with people who are rad and dig stuff I am part of. I have no real complaints. I mean, I could complain, but it’s not that bad, and I realize that I’d sound like an asshole if I did. As long as I get to hang out with my pup as much as possible and I get be a food snob, I will scrape by and do whatever I need to do to survive.
So, I hope to see you on tour in due time, here or there.
Catch Retox on tour this summer and follow SPB on Twitter for live updates from Justin as they cross the US.
