Balancing Acts is Metal Insider’s new column, in which artists explain the challenges within the music industry by juggling day jobs or multiple jobs while pursuing their musical careers. Guitarist/vocalist Jake Calonius of New Jersey’s Letallis has written his story on how he pays his bills.
Hey Everyone! My name is Jake Calonius. I’m the guitarist/vocalist and main maestro behind the metal band Letallis.
While music has always been my main muse, it hasn’t paid the bills (yet!). So to keep the lights on and my microwave tv dinner warm I’ve dabbled in quite a few jobs over the years.
Because I’ve always wanted to have some involvement in music, I went to audio school awhile back (The Institute of Audio Research for those that remember. RIP) to try and land myself a job in a recording studio. Sadly, that’s been a dying industry for actually making money so I pivoted to post production sound design. Creating sound effects and mixing for movies was always appealing to me and a place where I could get my editing chops down. As fun (and as tedious) as it was, after a year or two of realizing how hard it is to have upward momentum in that field I decided to make the move to try out audio/visual work in corporate america.
My first gig was at Citi Bank. A company known for its great ethics and helping out the little guy (sarcasm much?). I went into the interview and after it going well I was asked if I would be willing to cut my hair for the job. I was told some people can’t handle that kind of look. Some people really need to grow up, I thought.
At this point I felt like I was really selling my soul and doing things in the wrong order. I’m supposed to quit my day job, grow my hair out and then start a band! Although I was fraught with the idea of cutting my hair, there was some light at the end of the tunnel. Two of my future A/V bosses asked me a question each. The first being “Who is Tom Araya?”
That gave me a huge grin I couldn’t hide. A question truly meant for me. And the answer is obviously Slayer. The second question was “In a fight between Lemmy and God, who would win?” And although I blanked on the actual answer (This one is from the classic movie “Airheads”. The answer is Lemmy, because Lemmy is God) it still made me smile.
In the end, I cut my hair and got the job. And shocker, it didn’t change who I was. And even bigger shocker, I grew it out again.
Fast forward many different A/V jobs to today where I currently do A/V work for the fitness company Peloton. I run sound for their internal live events and maintain the video conferencing structure at their head quarters.
Little did I know in that Citi Bank interview that it would foreshadow the rest of my job career. Meaning; Although I’m always striving to make my music the main thing in my life, and working a soulless corporate job can make you feel so distant from that, there’s always a possibility that you’re surrounded by like minded people who’re into the same things you are. Even in unexpected places. I’ve been lucky enough to make some life long friends who are also in great bands chasing the same day dream. So even though you may feel like the odd one out at the office (especially being a metalhead), don’t be surprised when they quiz you on some Slayer.
The freaks walk amongst us!
