Features / Series: Don't Quit Your Day Job

Our series

We post a variety of features in recurring series – click below to browse them.

• Against Orthodoxy

  A regular series by Robert F.

• Beyond Casual Observation

  A wide-ranging guest column written by BJ from Ancient Shores, mainly covering film but extending into philosophy and aesthetics too. Check out BJ's work on the A389 podcast.

• Commerce or Amusement?

  Commerce or Amusement? is an interview series conducted by Chuck Coffey (aka Charlie Continental of Snappy Little Numbers, SPELLS, Chap, and more). Chuck seeks opinions to the eternal question: Where is the line between hobby and work?

• Don't Quit Your Day Job

  How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music.

• era vulgaris

  Guest column by T of Vegas

• Feast with the Famine

  A cookery column by Nick, vocalist with metal band The Famine. Veggie/vegan friendly!

• Fest 11

  A roundup of coverage of the annual punk rock festival held in Gainesville, Florida

• Fest 12

  Our annual roundup from Gainesville, FL's famous Fest.

• Fest 13

  SPB's coverage of the annual festival in Gainesville, Florida.

• Fest 16

  Our coverage of the annual Fest extravaganza.

• Fest 19

  Our coverage of the 19th edition of the Fest – an independent multi-day, multiple-venue music festival held annually in Gainesville, Florida.

• Fest 20

  All our coverage from the long-running music festival

• Fest 21

  Articles about the Fest 21

• Fest 22

  Our coverage of the 22nd edition of the FEST.

• Fest 23

  Our coverage of the 23rd edition of the FEST.

• History 101

  We dive into the back catalog of a record label and ask them to nominate their most memorable releases from their label's history–with a few suggestions of our own.

• Jukebox Jury

  An interview format where we ask a band to rate and review a bunch of music

• New Kids On The Block

  A feature where we highlight 5 to 10 recent demos.

• On The Air

  A radio DJ profile series created by Christopher D & Matt Hutchison.

• Only Death Is Real

  There’s so much music released, whether physically or digitally, that keeping up with what’s going on becomes almost like a full time job. With Only Death Is Real, the aim is to bring you something new.

• Remember that one time...?

  A life lived and lessons learned by Eddie Spaghetti of Supersuckers.

• Running on Nothing

  Welcome to Running on Nothing, the latest addition to our stable of columns at Scene Point Blank. Running on Nothing offers a look at the world through the eyes of Kole, bassist of The Lippies, guitarist of The Bloody Lips, and gigposter artist.

• Scatenato Ma Non Troppo

  We survey some of the other music releases out there.  Results may vary...may get weird, but hopefully something covered here piques your interest.

• Scene Point Local

  A semi-regular column where we choose a specific area and give a local scene report.

• Shrapnel Pop

  I'm Amy 80 of the band TA-80 or Amy Heronemus of the band the 66ers. I'll respond to either. I've been playing and performing music since the dawn of time, and now I'm all settled into punk rock.

• Table Talk

  Discussing the state of the music business at the kitchen table

• The Greatest Story Ever Told

  A brief but englightening chat with an artist who reveals an interesting or unexpected story from their career

• The Set List

  A collection of items grouped by topic, eg. "Top 5 Worst Beatles Songs" or "Top 10 best '77 punk releases".

• What's That Noise?

  One-question interviews with artists where we find out about the gear and equipment they use to achieve their sound.

• Year End 2012

  A collection of coverage rounding up the year 2012, covering our favorite albums, shows, bands, and more, as well as asking record labels and bands about their past twelve months in music

• Year End 2013

  It's the end of 2013, so here's our best-of roundup for the last twelve months.

• Year End 2014

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2014.

• Year End 2015

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2015.

• Year End 2016

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2016.

• Year End 2017

  Our annual round-up of the best music of the year 2017.  

• Year End 2018

  Our summary of the best music (and more) of 2018.

• Year End 2019

  Our wrap-up of the best music and more from 2019

• Year End 2020

  Our wrap-up of the best music and more for the year we'll all want to otherwise forget, 2020.

• Year End 2021

  Our roundup of the best music from the worst year (since the previous one, anyway).

• Year End 2022

  Our favorite music and more from the year 2022

• Year End 2023

  Our roundup of the best music of the year 2023

• Year End 2024

  Our roundup of the best music—and more—of 2024.

• Year End 2025

  Our favorite music and more from 2025.

More recent features — Series: Don't Quit Your Day Job

Retirement

Bike Shop

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • March 23, 2025

How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music (or how their music provides escape). In this edition, we chat with Kevin Purcell (guitar/vocals) of Retirement about running Portland bike shop … Read more

Sumu

Individual Coach

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • February 28, 2025

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene … Read more

Don Zientara

Studio Owner

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • May 22, 2024

How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how musicians split their time, and how their careers influence their music (or how their music provides escape). In this edition, we chat with Don Zientara. Zientara has played with Under Heaven, as well … Read more

Chunksaah Records

Diner Co-owner

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • March 11, 2024

There are a lot of misconceptions about life in the music biz. While late nights and travel are a big part of it, day jobs always influence the process and the product. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene Point Blank looks at how careers influence the scene. In this edition, we chat with Kate Hiltz, she who is namedropped … Read more

Graduation Speech/Errth

Brewery manager

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • January 29, 2024

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process at night. In Don’t Quit Your Day Job, Scene … Read more

The Brokedowns

Pizzeria Manager

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • April 10, 2023

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. And usually when somebody is writing a new record or scheduling a tour, they have to balance that with their job. How … Read more

Contracult

Cinema Founder

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • March 5, 2023

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. And usually when somebody is writing a new record or scheduling a tour, they have to balance that with their job. How … Read more

Dirt Cult Records

social services

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • December 7, 2022

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. And usually when somebody is writing a new record or scheduling a tour, they have to balance that with their job. How … Read more

Pulley

athlete/coach

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • August 24, 2022

Scott in July 2012 (photo by Keith Allison) Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. And usually when somebody is writing a new record or scheduling a tour, they have to balance that with their job. How an artist spends their … Read more

Downcast

firefighter

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • June 22, 2022

Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. And usually when somebody is writing a new record or scheduling a tour, they have to balance that with their job. How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process … Read more

Moral Panic

filmmaker

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • June 7, 2022

Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. And usually when somebody is writing a new record or scheduling a tour, they have to balance that with their job. How an artist spends their time by day will influence the creative process … Read more

Grim Deeds

education

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • April 14, 2022

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. It’s rarely glamorous. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. And usually when somebody is writing a new record or scheduling a tour, they have to balance that with … Read more

The Bloody Lips/Kole

roofer

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • March 28, 2022

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. It’s rarely glamorous. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. And usually when somebody is writing a new record or scheduling a tour, they have to balance that with … Read more

Secret Fun Club

systems analyst

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • March 14, 2022

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. And, frankly, it’s rarely glamorous. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. And usually when somebody is writing a new record or scheduling a tour, they have to balance … Read more

Loss Becomes

acrobat/stuntperson

Interviews / Don't Quit Your Day Job • February 7, 2022

There are a lot of misconceptions about the life of a musician. The old rock star image of bright lights and fast living is almost patently false. Most musicians have day jobs – and not just to pay the bills. Jobs provide new challenges, personal fulfillment and, yes, some rent or gas money. And usually when somebody is writing a … Read more