How To Be a (Working) Rock Star

Summary

Podcast Summary: "How To Be a (Working) Rock Star"

Podcast Information:

• Title: What We Spend
• Host/Author: Audacy
• Episode: How To Be a (Working) Rock Star
• Release Date: July 23, 2025

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1. Introduction to the Episode

In this episode of What We Spend, host Courtney Harrell delves into the multifaceted life of Mel, a dedicated musician balancing multiple jobs to sustain her passion for music. The episode explores the financial intricacies of touring, the personal sacrifices made by working musicians, and offers an intimate look into a week in Mel's life.

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2. Mel's Life as a Working Rock Star

Mel, a 35-year-old musician from Northeast Pennsylvania, exemplifies the modern independent artist. She juggles various roles to support her music career, including:

• Musician: Drummer, bassist, guitarist, and vocalist in multiple bands.
• Hypnotherapist: Serving as a secondary source of income.
• Substitute Teacher & Cleaner: Additional jobs to fill financial gaps.

Notable Quotes:

• “I do many things for work, but my main thing that I tell people that I do is I am a musician.” [03:21]
• “Mel's band is Francie Moon... She loves being an independent musician, and she especially loves being on tour.” [03:10]

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3. Financial Challenges of Touring

The episode breaks down the substantial costs associated with touring, highlighting that for most musicians, tours are not inherently profitable unless they are major headliners. Key expenses include:

• Travel Costs: Airfare, vehicle rentals, gas, tolls, and accommodations.
• Merchandise: Production and overstocking to maximize sales.
• Band Payments: Ensuring all members are compensated fairly.
• Additional Fees: Manager and booking agent commissions, typically taking 10-15% of earnings.

Notable Quotes:

• “If you're flying somewhere, you have to pay for the airfare... You have to make sure you have merch to sell.” [04:26]
• “Generally speaking, do you think tours are profitable? No, no, no.” [06:44]

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4. Personal Finance Management Strategies

Mel and her boyfriend, who also earns a similar income through construction work, meticulously manage their finances to sustain their lifestyle. Their budgeting includes:

• Housing: Splitting rent for a 600 square foot house at $600/month.
• Utilities & Insurance: Minimal costs through efficient energy use and affordable renter's insurance.
• Transportation: Allocating $300-$350/month for gas and tolls.
• Minimalist Lifestyle: Living frugally by cutting personal expenses such as haircuts, clothing, and reducing reliance on credit.

Notable Quotes:

• “I live very, very, very cheaply... I wear clothes until they fall apart.” [07:37]
• “I just don't buy things that I can't afford.” [10:47]

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5. Dana's Audio Diaries: A Week on the Road

Dana, another key participant, provides a day-by-day account of her experiences managing multiple jobs while touring. Her diaries reveal the balancing act between earning and spending:

• Day 1: Spends $75.21 on snacks and groceries, earns money from music sales.

  • “I sold two albums... I made a little money today without even...” [17:25]

• Day 2: Works as a substitute teacher and office cleaner, earns additional income.

  • “I just worked at a school as a substitute teacher and tonight I'm cleaning an office.” [16:23]

• Day 3: Faces exhaustion from multiple jobs but continues to save diligently.

  • “I'm a person who needs like eight hours of sleep and I get around six hours.” [21:08]

• Day 4-7: Details managing tour expenses, unexpected income from royalties, and personal spending controls.

  • “I kept myself from eating them. Because that's the whole point...” [27:14]
  • “My total spending for the day was $634.56.” [28:47]

Throughout the week, Dana emphasizes frugality, prioritizing essential spending, and the emotional toll of maintaining such a lifestyle.

Notable Quotes:

• “I'm living without debt because I don't buy things I can't afford.” [10:47]
• “Tour schedules can be really hard on your body... being away from family and friends.” [32:25]

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6. Insights and Conclusions

The episode paints a realistic picture of the working musician's life, showcasing both the passion-driven motivations and the financial hardships faced. Mel and Dana's stories highlight:

• Financial Instability: Despite their talents and hard work, sustaining a music career financially requires careful budgeting and multiple income streams.
• Personal Sacrifices: Long hours, limited social interactions, and compromised personal well-being are significant aspects of their lives.
• Resilience and Adaptability: Both Mel and Dana demonstrate resilience in managing finances, adapting to unexpected challenges, and persisting in their musical pursuits.

Final Reflections: Mel shares a heartfelt sentiment about the fulfillment music brings:

• “With music, you can be whoever you want to be... I feel like music just brings it out.” [41:16]

While acknowledging the financial strain, both musicians find solace and identity in their art, reinforcing the profound connection between passion and profession.

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7. Additional Information

For those inspired by Mel's journey or interested in the financial aspects of being a musician, What We Spend offers an in-depth look into the costs and rewards of a life dedicated to music. Listeners are encouraged to engage with the podcast for more stories and financial insights.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Courtney Harrell]

We all belong outside.

[Mel]

We're drawn to nature.

[Courtney Harrell]

Whether it's the recorded sounds of the ocean we doze off to or the.

[Mel]

Succulents that adorn our homes. Nature makes all of our lives, well, better.

[Courtney Harrell]

Despite all this, we often go about our busy lives removed from it. But the outdoors is closer than we realize. With alltrails, you can discover trails nearby and explore confidently with offline maps and on trail navigation. Download the free app today.

[David]

What does possibility mean to you?

[Dana]

Um, that's a hard question. Something that you can strive for.

[Mel]

I'm able to do anything I set my mind to.

[Dana]

You're confident in yourself and you believe in yourself. Stuff that you could achieve.

[Mel]

I feel it's Sarah.

[Dana]

Anything is possible when you're more confident.

[Mel]

Shoes are a huge part of that.

[Dana]

They are the most important part of my style. You can like, express yourself in the right shoes.

[Mel]

Anything is possible.

[David]

Dsw.

[Mel]

Countless shoes at bragworthy prices.

[David]

Imagine the possibility.

[Courtney Harrell]

A heads up before you listen. This podcast is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. We are not financial advisors. You should always do your own research and consult your own financial advisor before spending or investing your money. Please note that all income, financial information and expenses in what we spend are self reported.

[David]

There are so many dream bands that I open for, but no one knows who they are. Yeah, and then Jack White is one of those. Not every, honestly, still in my family was like, who? And I'm like, come on.

[Dana]

I was like, duh, duh duh duh duh duh duh.

[David]

Like, you don't know that one.

[Dana]

Come on.

[David]

Because it's just so maddening when I'm like, look, look, I'm.

[Dana]

I'm rising.

[David]

I'm like, I'm doing it. And they're like, who's that? Like, I don't care. And I'm like, crap. But like, you get all the congrat text messages and like, wow, you're really doing it. Like, I can't believe you're, you know, you made it. And I'm like, I'm broke, but thank you. Like, you know, I would have thought when I started to do music a long time ago that like, surely someone who just opened for Jack White isn't like, working five jobs, you know?

[Mel]

This is Mel. She's 35 years old and she lives in a small town in northeast Pennsylvania. Tell me what you do for work.

[David]

So I do many things for work, but my main thing that I tell people that I do is I am a musician. And then my second main thing is I'M a hypnotherapist, and number three is a substitute teacher to fill in the blanks. And number four is a cleaner, and number five is anything else I could get my hands on if I need to.

[Mel]

Mel juggles all the jobs because she loves playing music. She's in a bunch of bands that all mostly fall under the umbrella of rock.

[David]

Actually, I play drums in two bands, and then I play bass in a band, and I play guitar and sing in my own band and write music for my own band.

[Mel]

Mel's band is Francie Moon, but she plays drums, bass, or guitar for four other bands, including Tea Eater, a band that she went on tour with during her week of audio diaries. Mel is what a lot of people would consider to be a successful musician. She has a record deal. She's opened for Jack White. She was once flown to Paris to play for a big fashion show's afterparty. She's doing it. Mel loves being an independent musician, and she especially loves being on tour. But it's taking a lot of hard work to make it happen. This week, we'll follow Mel through a week of juggling all her jobs and a tour and hear why being a rock star is both wildly freeing and full of wildly familiar decisions about money. I'm Courtney Harrell, and this is what we how much money does it cost to put on a tour?

[David]

Depends on the length of the tour, depends on where you're going. It's thousands, though. Like, okay, if you're flying somewhere, you have to pay for the airfare. You have to pay to get to the airport. You have to pay for the checked bags. You have extra bags because you have instruments with you. So either that or if you have a van, you gotta make sure your van is all set, ready to go. You have to make sure it's safe for everyone to be in there. If not, you have to rent a van. You have to make sure you have merch to sell. You have to make sure you have enough merch to sell. You have to overpack the merch, and then you have to pay for your band members to be there. If that's the kind of band that.

[Mel]

You'Re in, those rates depend. But personally, Mel tries to charge $75 a day for travel days and $150 a day for hotels.

[David]

If you're in a band that wants hotels. Or you have to message all your friends and ask for favor. Can we stay over?

[Dana]

Please, please, please, please, please, please.

[David]

And then they say yes or no? But they're like, I'm getting up for work at 7am so you gotta be.

[Dana]

Really quiet, and you say, okay.

[Mel]

Sometimes you're also paying for everyone's food. And you might also be paying for a manager or a booking agent. And each of them will take a 10 or 15% cut of whatever you make from the shows.

[David]

And then how you make money is either there's like, a door deal, okay. At the venue, which means, like, depending on how many tickets you sell, you get a certain amount per ticket after you reach a certain amount of tickets sold.

[Mel]

Got it.

[David]

And then whatever tickets sold on top get split, like, between the bands that played that night, and then those bands split it between their members so everyone gets home. You know, it was like 20 bucks. Yay. But some bands, if you have an audience, you get what's called a guarantee, and you get paid the same amount no matter what. So that could range, like, it could be as little as, like, 200 bucks. Or if you're like a band that always sells out, it could be 3,000 bucks or 4,000 bucks. It really varies. And then you sell your merch, and you really hope that you just sell, sell, sell, sell.

[Mel]

Generally speaking, do you think tours are profitable?

[Dana]

No, no, no.

[David]

Unfortunately not. If you're, like, the super headliner, yes. If you're the opener. No, no, no, no, no. Unfortunately, that's like. It sucks, but no, not these days. Not these.

[Mel]

Mel has been playing instruments pretty much all her life. She started playing keyboard when she was five, and then over the years, she picked up clarinet, drums, and guitar. She started her own band at 16, and when she was 20, she went on her first tour, which led to another and another. Now, between all her different bands, Mel spends about half of her year on tour and the rest of the year trying to make enough money to be on tour. How much money do you make a year?

[David]

A month? A day.

[Mel]

Let's go with. Let's start with a year.

[David]

Okay. I think roughly around $30,000 before I pay taxes.

[Mel]

How are you making that work?

[David]

I live very, very, very cheaply. I live very cheaply. I cut my own hair. I drive a really old car. I. I wear clothes until they fall apart. I play the same guitar that I've played since I was 16 years old. Yeah, it's like. It's a tight rope, but I've somehow made it work and saved a little money, even if I am not making a lot.

[Mel]

Let's get into Mel's numbers. Mel lives with her boyfriend, who is also a musician and works in construction. He makes about the same as her. And the two of them split household expenses. Mel's share of the rent is $600 a month for a 600 square foot house.

[David]

For utilities, it's like around $100 a month in the winter and then $25 per month in the summer, which is my favorite season.

[Mel]

Renter's insurance is $12 a month, and her phone bill is only $25 a month with a company called Visible. Transportation is 300 to 350amonth for gas and tolls and groceries when she's not on the road are 400 to 450amonth.

[David]

I just eat. I'm so boring with food. To me, food is just a tool to not be hungry anymore. So, like, I buy a lot of the same things over and over again, and if things are starting to get ridiculous, I, like won't buy it. Like last night I wanted a little pint of Ben and Jerry's vegan ice cream because it's like my little treat sometimes when I get off the road. Yeah, it was like $7. And I was like, no.

[Mel]

She pays $80 a month for a storage space where her and her boyfriend keep all the instruments and $28 a month on laundry at a laundromat.

[David]

Wi Fi 12.50amonth.

[Dana]

$12.50 a.

[Mel]

Month is her half of a $25 a month Wi Fi special. Her gym membership is $14.99 a month and she spends $35 a month on supplements. But she's on state health insurance, so no cost there.

[David]

SoundCloud, which anyone listening is going to be like, why do you pay for SoundCloud? No one pays for SoundCloud because most musicians just make 900 SoundCloud free SoundCloud accounts. And I just got sick of like doing the jump. So I pay 16amonth for SoundCloud and I can make endless playlists. And I have like 9,000 playlists now.

[Mel]

SoundCloud plus Spotify is 20amonth and iCloud storage is $2.99 a month. She has her own podcast, so she pays 27amonth for web hosting fees and subscriptions for her hypnosis business are 84amonth. And then even though things are tight, she is trying to put away money for the future. Until recently, she had about $1,000 in savings, but that went to paying for taxes. Still, every month she's putting $250 aside for retirement. You don't have any debt?

[David]

No, no, I don't.

[Mel]

How?

[David]

I just don't buy things that I can't afford.

[Dana]

Yeah, I don't.

[David]

And I always thought like, oh, I'm not in debt. So like I'm doing okay. Like I'm. I never had school debt. I never. I went to a little bit of college, but I went to community and I just paid it as I went out of pocket. So I don't have any school debt and I didn't buy a house or anything like that. I never. It's not in my, my plan yet. But yeah, I just. I didn't even have a credit card till I was 30 because I just was like, I have money, why do I need a credit card? But like, but yeah. So I've always had this like kind of alternative life where I was like, haha, suckers. Like I am like scooting under the system. Like I don't need to be a part of this whole thing. Like I was working on farms, I was just, you know, going on tour, not spending any money, like all this, you know, just scooting under the whole thing. And then when Covid hit bye bye tour, it was like I had to settle. I had to stop moving.

[Mel]

Yeah.

[David]

You know, and me and my boyfriend, we were looking for apartments and things were incredibly, incredibly competitive. And you needed like four times the income of the apartment. You needed to have the most pristine credit score. He had a credit score. I didn't even have a credit score. And I was like, wow, I don't want us to have to go through like anything like that anymore because I didn't like get a credit card and Same thing with like not being in debt. I'm like, I don't need to be in debt. But then that's like how everyone who has anything has anything, you know, like people who have all these nice things of like, oh, you're just like in piles of debt maybe. I don't know.

[Mel]

You are really describing seeing that everyone else is speaking a language that you didn't learn how to speak. What did that make you feel about how you had been living for the past 30 years?

[David]

I think I was just more sad to just realize that. I think like my way of life is over, you know, I was just like, dang, I think the gig is up. Like, I guess it's just, it's just done, like and I gotta just join in with everyone.

[Mel]

What was money like growing up?

[David]

Very tight. So my mom and dad split up.

[Dana]

When she was pregnant with me.

[David]

And I have two older sisters. And yeah, we would just like go food shopping and she'd be walking around with a calculator and everything that went over, we just had to decide what's going back, you know, And I would beg to stay in the car. I just remembered I hated food shopping.

[Mel]

And then when Mel was in middle school, something happened that felt really formative. Her family found out that their apartment had black mold in the basement where the girls rooms were. That meant the basement had to be gutted. So Mel and her sister were going to need to sleep on the couch for the months it would take to fix it. So her mom said the girls should pick just their favorite clothes, just their favorite shoes, a small handful of things that they could live with while everything else was packed away during construction. Mel's sister hated it.

[David]

But for me, what I took from that experience, because I remember getting all my stuff back, I was like, I didn't miss any of this stuff.

[Mel]

Stuff, yeah.

[David]

And I was like, I remember it clicked. I was like, I don't need that much stuff. Like, why did I have so much stuff? And that was the moment I felt like, you know, a minimalist. Part of me became alive because I was like, wow, that was like, way easier to only have a couple pairs of shoes and like my favorite shirts. And it's kind of how I live now. When I go on tour, it's like I get a bag, you know, I got this one suitcase and a backpack, and I feel like, ah, okay, I don't need that much stuff.

[Mel]

After the break, we'll dive in to Mel's week. It can be hard to track where your money goes. We all have blind spots. Eating out, food delivery, shopping. The expenses can add up without you even knowing how until you start actually tracking your expenses. That's where Monarch money comes in. It can show you just how much you spend on those random things you're not always paying attention to. Monarch isn't your average budgeting app. It's like a financial command center that gives you a full view of your money. Bank accounts, credit cards, investments, saving goals, all in one place so you can see where your money stands with no hassle. Which gives you more time to focus on what matters most. Making your biggest goals a reality. Whether you're trying to pay off debt, grow your savings, or just understand your money better, this is the tool. In fact, the Wall Street Journal named it the best budgeting app of 2025. Get control of your overall finances with Monarch Money. Use code spendonarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with code spend hey, what's up flies?

[Dana]

This is David Spade Dana Carvey.

[Mel]

Look at I know we never actually.

[Dana]

Left, but I'll just say it. We are back with another season of Fly on the Wall. Every episode, including ones with guests, will.

[David]

Now be on video.

[Dana]

Every Thursday, you'll hear us and see us chatting with big name celebrities.

[Mel]

And every Monday, you're stuck with just me and Dana.

[Dana]

We react to news, what's trending, viral clips follow and listen to Fly on the Wall everywhere you get your podcasts.

[Courtney Harrell]

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[Dana]

Audio diary day number one it is around 2:45pm and I'm in the grocery store this week. I am shopping for the whole week, but it is an interesting week because I'm gonna be home for the first half of the week and then I'm actually going to be on the road the last half of the week. But for the first half I'll be home and cooking and the second half I really won't have access to a kitchen much. So during this trip I've been putting a little extra things in my cart in hopes of keeping myself from needing to buy gas station snacks while on the road and while I don't have access to a fridge or cooking or anything. So because of that I bought some trail mix for 7:49.

[Mel]

Mel bought a bunch of snacks for the road and groceries for home for a total of $75.21. And then she went about her day, which brought in some surprise income.

[Dana]

I sold two albums, well, one EP and one album on Bandcamp. And it's not often that people buy music anymore, so because there's streaming services, so when people buy music it's like really fun and exciting and so that was cool. So one person bought one EP for $3.00, but after Bandcamp took their cut I got $2.34 and then another person bought a full album for $10.00. But after Bandcamp took their cut I got $7.97. But I'm happy I I made a little money today without even I was sleeping when it happened, so that was cool. And now before I go to bed, I'm gonna actually practice a song for the upcoming tour because it's a song that I'm not as good as I should be with yet because I didn't realize we were playing it on this tour. So I gotta get the parts down and then I gotta go to sleep because I'm waking up early tomorrow for a substitute teaching job that I got last minute today, which I was kind of anxious about getting a job for tomorrow and for the next day. And I was refreshing this app that has the jobs pop up and then I actually was able to land a job for tomorrow and the day after. So I'm actually covered to work every day this week now between substitute teaching and going on the tour. All right, that's all. And I will be back tomorrow.

[David]

Foreign.

[Dana]

Diary day number two. It is 4.50pm and I am at my house and I am in this weird in between moment between two jobs. So today I worked at a school as a substitute teacher and tonight I'm going to be working at an office as an office cleaner. And I have this weird two to three hour window between these two jobs to kind of decompress a little from the school and then also eat enough food so I'm not starving when I'm cleaning at the office and do whatever like things, very important things that I need to do during the day that I can't do tomorrow. So these days are long. I do this about once a week and I don't mind it that much. Like doing this kind of day is not that bad. But it's the tomorrow day that's harder because I get back later than I want to from the cleaning job and I don't get as much sleep as I need physically. Like I. I'm a person who needs like eight hours of sleep and I get around six hours of sleep when I do the cleaning job and then wake up for subbing the next day. So it can be rough, but it has been totally worth it doing the two jobs sometimes because I just got bumped up to 27 an hour with the cleaning and I only clean three hours for one night, maybe a little more depending on how dirty it is. And it, it's been great for extra money for gas or some food. But I did get a surprise email today which almost knocked my socks off. So as musician, I know I sold some stuff yesterday, but I also get.

[Mel]

Royalties, but I've only mel sometimes Gets royalties for either writing a song or performing in a recording that's used on a non interactive music platform. So like Pandora or Sirius Radio. Mel has been contacting one company for years trying to get paid for songs that she's performed in.

[Dana]

And today I got an email that there's a statement for a check that's coming. And it's small, it's only around $23. But I can't believe it that I got paid or that I'm going to get paid finally from this company because it's been years and years. That just blew my mind. What a funny week to finally get paid from a company I've been waiting for for years. But anyway, that was exciting. And now I. I'm going to make some dinner before I go clean because I need a lot of energy. I can't clean hungry. It's terrible because cleaning makes you hungry too, so then you're double hungry. Audio diary day number three. It's about 11:15pm and I am in my bed and I'm about to go to sleep after a pretty long day. And I only got six hours of sleep last night, so I was pretty tired the whole night or the whole day. And it's funny because I never was the person that had like a million jobs going on. And I always thought anyone who was working multiple jobs, like more than two, I just couldn't even comprehend how they were even doing it. And now I'm that person. And I think it's just because I'm working so many jobs that don't make enough for me to live like a basic life. So I have to keep adding in these things. But also it's because I choose to prioritize my music job, which is very random with scheduling. Like I could be added to a tour in like a couple weeks or I could, you know, be invited to do something and I need to have a lot of freedom to do it. So I don't love to substitute teach, but it is just the most flexible thing in the world. And it's. I don't even have to tell anyone I'm going on tour. I just leave. You know, I could leave for six weeks and not even say a word and then come back and it's, it's as if I never even left. When I come back in, they're just like, oh, hey. And it's like, it's pretty nice because it's hard to tell a boss when you're leaving for tour. It's definitely hard, but. But yeah, it was a Big money day today. I spent a lot of money, but there's an explanation. So I Woke up at 6 and I actually woke up to a pretty good song on my clock radio that put me in a good mood. And immediately I checked my email, just.

[Mel]

Like the way Mel reached for her phone, like we all do. And when she checked her email, she saw that she'd sold some merch a tote for $17.79. But she also noticed she'd been charged $2.26 for a toll from a drive a few days ago. After that, she paid off her credit card, which she'd put groceries on for the last month and a half for $528.17. Later, after the day subbing gig, she got an oil change for $55.39 and then filled up her tank for $35.75.

[Dana]

And while I was waiting in the oil change place, I noticed across the street was Staples. And I needed some mailers for the totes that I sold. And usually I'll just buy.

[Mel]

She ran into Staples and got some mailers for $6.33.

[Dana]

So after I got the mailers, I realized that my friend who I'm going on tour with tomorrow, her birthday's in two days. So I wanted to just get her a little something fun for her birthday. And the Staples was kind of in like a shopping plaza. And I decided to look in the little dollar store that was there to see if I could find anything fun because she loves little, little silly, funny things. So anyway, I went to the dollar store and I got her some stuff for her birthday and that was $6.66. So my total spending for the day was $634.56. But I did save money for the future me. When I got home, I remembered all the amazing snacks that I bought for tour for the end of the week, and I wanted to eat them so bad. They looked so good and I was so hungry after work. But I was so proud of myself because I kept myself from eating them. Because that's the whole point is to save them for later. It was really hard, but I did it. I saved it for later. They remain untouched. They remain untouched. So I'm proud of that.

[Mel]

After the break, Mel heads out on tour.

[Dana]

Foreign.

[Mel]

Hi, I'm Kristen Bell, and if you know my husband Dax, then you also know he loves shopping for a car. Selling a car, not so much.

[David]

We're really doing this, huh?

[Mel]

Thankfully, Carvana makes it easy. Answer a few questions, put in your vin or license. And done. We sold ours in minutes this morning and they'll come pick it up and pay us this afternoon.

[David]

Goodbye, Truckee.

[Mel]

Of course, we kept the favorite.

[Dana]

Hello, other truckee. Sell your car with Carvana today.

[Mel]

Terms and conditions apply.

[Courtney Harrell]

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[Mel]

On day four, Mel left for tour with Tea Eater, one of the bands she plays with. Before she left, she went to ship her totes, where shipping was more than she expected. $33.05 to mail six totes. But then her bandmates picked her up and they headed straight to a performance.

[Dana]

Audio diary, day number four. It's around 7pm and I am in Jersey City, New Jersey, outside of a radio station that I just played, which is called wfmu. It's an independent radio station. And they are really supportive of independent bands and independent music. And I had been a big fan of this radio station since I was in high school. So it was always a dream to play here. And it went really, really well. Just a couple mishaps here and there, but nothing noticeable.

[David]

But it feels really, really good to.

[Dana]

Be back out on the road. I feel like myself because this is the world that I am the most good at. It's what I'm most used to. And with a lot of other things that I have to do, especially with working, I kind of feel like a fish out of water. And with music, I just always feel like a fish in water. I just feel like I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm meant to be where I'm meant to be. So, yeah, I feel really, really good to be back on the road. And my spending so far today, I've managed to not spend anything aside from the totes that I shipped out. And since we don't have a show show tonight, we're actually going to my bandmate's family's house. And I found out they're gonna make us dinner and Possibly breakfast in the morning. So it's looking like a light spending day today, which is awesome. And so far so good. I'm feeling really, really good, really happy, feeling alive.

[Mel]

For day five, Mel recorded really early in the morning.

[Dana]

On day six, it is 12:40am and me and my band, well, I just drove us about 35 minutes away from the show that we played. And we're at our friend's family's house, but she's not home yet from the show. So she called a family member to see if they could let us in. But I think. I think they're all sleeping, so we probably just have to wait for her. So today was a good day. I hit the road and we drove from Jersey to Washington, D.C. and it took around four and a half hours. And we made some pit stops on the way, but I didn't buy anything. I didn't buy anything because I had my snacks. And then I went to the show and we loaded in around 4pm and then we had soundcheck at 5pm and between load in and soundcheck, they actually brought us some snacks like chips and hummus and pita bread. And that was really good.

[Mel]

And then the venue also gave Mel two drink tickets, which she used and then left a $2 tip. She also noticed that she got charged $3 for tolls from earlier in the week.

[Dana]

So my total spending today was a whopping $5. And I didn't make any money today yet. I will be paid for the show and my show rate for these shows, it's $75 a show. And that's also partly why I'm being so careful not to spend a lot of money. But that's a rate that I only get with people that I truly love and want to be around and will and love their music. So that's what I'm getting paid. But it's what they can pay me. And they're really grateful that I do it too. So anyway, I think that's about it. The show was really, really fun. It was great. The crowds in Washington, D.C. are a lot, a lot of fun. They really like to dance. And the band that opened us, opened before us, was so much fun too. They had the crowd going wild. So it was a good day. It was a really Good day.

[Mel]

Day six brought more of the same. They drove from Washington D.C. to Brooklyn and they were running a little late, so they had to cram in their sound checks. That's what you're hearing now. Then they grabbed some food and ran back to the venue for the show.

[Dana]

And the show went really well. I did have a wild stomachache through the whole set. But that's part of playing music is sometimes you have, like, the worst stomachache of your life, and you still gotta put on a show. So I feel a lot better now. I just. I don't know what happened. It was just something. Maybe I'm just going too hard on the snacks because I'm not eating regular food or something. But it was a good day. And tomorrow we're driving to Allentown, Pennsylvania, to play to college. So that should be interesting because college shows can kind of go either way. They could. They could be really fun or they could be really strange. So we'll see. That's the fun about touring, is you really never know what's gonna happen. And for some people, that's terrifying. And for other people, it's fun. For me, it's always been fun. It still is fun, even after doing this for a long time. Anyway, I'm very tired, so I'm gonna go to bed now.

[Mel]

Mel's total for day six was 13.97. For a taco, a smoothie, and tips on drinks at the show.

[Dana]

Audio diary day number seven. It is just around midnight, and surprise, I'm home. It was the shortest tour in the world, and I got dropped off back at my house, and I'm really excited about it. But even though I only left for four days. Four days. It feels like I've been gone like a whole month. Time just warps like crazy on tour. Is really interesting how it happens, because for days you're with people constantly. You know, there's always something to do. You're driving around, you're seeing things. And then I think getting back home is just, like, silent and still, suddenly out of nowhere. And all of a sudden you're just, like, alone, sitting in your room or something. So, anyway, today was cool because we got to see, you know, this scene at this college, and there are all these girls there in the crowd who are younger than me, like, by, like, 10 years, maybe more. And it was just fun to play to them because I don't know how often they get to see, like, rock and rollers older than them. You know, it had its ups and its downs, but in general, it was fun to just see this world. And that's, like, some of my favorite parts of touring is just to, like, be able to get this sneak peek into all these worlds that I don't think I would have been exposed to had it not been for touring. I'M just really grateful for that. And. And then obviously there's, like, on the flip side, there's hard parts about touring. Tour schedules can be, like, really hard on your body. You're sitting in the car for hours and hours. You're not getting enough sleep, you're not eating enough. You don't have time. Like, sometimes you're, like, holding your, you know, pee forever. It's like. There's, like, some really unhealthy parts about it. Back in the day, I've slept in very questionable, disgusting, dirty places. And. And another hard part about touring is being away from family and friends. Like, sometimes I won't see my boyfriend for, like, six weeks. And even though we're in a really healthy relationship and we could handle that and it's okay, it still makes you grow apart a little bit for those six weeks. And then when you get back together, you gotta, like, regrow back together. And, you know, I've missed so many family events and important things for my friends. And. Yeah, I've just. I've lost friendships over the years because I'm just constantly on tour. And, you know when someone invites you somewhere over and over, and you're like, I'm on tour. I'm on tour. I'm on tour. Eventually they just assume that you're always on tour, but that's. It's okay. And I think that's about everything. See you around.

[Mel]

On day seven, Mel spent $10.33 on a salad at Panera, bringing her total for the week to $772.12. You said when you're on the road, you feel like yourself.

[Dana]

Yes.

[Mel]

What is it that you are doing and what are you feeling when you're like, this is it.

[David]

That's what I'm playing. That's what I'm playing for people. And then when I connect with someone, like, it just feels right. And I feel like I'm 100% just me. Like, with music, you can be whoever you want to be. And, like, you know, my own band, I scream bloody murder sometimes. Like, I'm on the ground, like, playing guitar solos. Like, I'm freaking out, like, and it's so great. Like, it's just like I feel like everyone in the world should have that, like, or something like that, that they can move all this energy, all this crap that gets, like, stuck in your bodies. Like, I feel like music just, like, brings it out and, like, you can't just do it. You can't just do that in the. In the post office. Like, it's just like, people would think, like, call the cops or something, but for some reason on a stage, it's okay. Yeah, I always see it. I'm like, it's kind of like a. An almost an addiction in a, in a weird way. It's like, it's technically hurting me but like, like financially. And I'm like, ooh. Like, I, it's, it's getting like, to the wire of me needing to, like, have more, you know?

[Mel]

But do you have a threshold for yourself of where you'll stop waiting?

[David]

I used to. I was like 27. But the thing is, I can never stop. Like, I, I won't ever, ever, ever stop because I just, it's just like, I'm really happy with what I've done.

[Mel]

If you want to hear more from Mel, she has a podcast where she talks to other musicians about how they're making or not making money with their music. It's called what it Takes to be a Rock Star. What We Spend is An Odyssey original podcast. It's written and hosted by me, Courtney Harrell. Our producers are Margot Gray and Kristin Torres. Our editor is Jonathan Menhivar. Our executive producers are Maddie Sprung Keyser and Leah Rhys Dennis. Theme song and original music by Matt McGinley. Additional music from APM music mixing by Pedro Alvira. Special thanks to Melissa Akiko Slaughter, Joel Lovell, Jenna Y. Spurman, J.D. crowley, Maura Curran, Josefina Francis, Kurt Courtney, Hilary Sheff, Sean Cherry, Laura Berman and Hilary Van Ornam. If you want to be on what We Spend, we'd love to hear from you. Write us at WhatWe SpendPodcastMail.com and tell us about yourself. This episode is brought to you by bluehost. You might not be a tech genius.

[Courtney Harrell]

But you want the website for your.

[Mel]

Business to crush it. Thankfully, bluehost makes it easy. Customized, optimized and monetized. Everything exactly how you want. With AI, your site can be up within minutes and the search engine tools even help you get more site visitors. Whatever your passion project is, set it up with Bluehost. With their 30 day money back guarantee. What have you got to lose? Head to bluehost.com to start now. Hey, I'm Ben Stiller. And I'm Adam Scott and we host a podcast called the Severance Podcast where we used to break down every episode of the TV show Severance.

[Dana]

Severance isn't back just yet, but the podcast is.

[Mel]

Each week we'll discuss the movies, TV shows and ideas that influence the making of Severance. We're going to talk to the incredible artists who inspire us to do what we do. The Severance podcast returns Thursday, June 26. Follow and listen everywhere. You get your podcasts.