Military Musician

[smoothmoniker]

Ok, my head is just spinning here with how confusing this idea is, so let me tackle it a piece at a time:

1) The military bands are by audition, and they are damn hard to get into. As a bonus, you sign up for a tour of duty first, and then you get to audition to see if you make it into a band. If you don't, it's four years of mud and blood.

2) The military bands don't "play rock and roll", or at least not in any sort of sense you're thinking. They play covers, they play standards and big-band swing. They play some polite classic rock. I'd really suggest going to some of the recruiting rallies in your area to see the kind of bands that play, and to see if that's really what you want to do.

3) You're familiar with the term "Aiding and Abetting"? I don't see how you can justify pacifism with volunteering to join the military, in any capacity, even just playing your instrument at rallies to help them recruit new young grunts.

4) I don't know that military bands are really a bridge to anything. In other words, I don't know many (any, really) guys who played in military bands who then went on to have careers as musicians, either in their own projects or as sidemen.

So, think this through. Consider the worst case scenrarios. And consider the other options that are out there.

I'd rather go to community college half time (there are some in LA with unbelievable music programs - I'll gladly list some if you need a direction), rent a room for $100 from somebody, and work at a Denny's to pay my bills than risk the chance that I might end up holding a rifle, patrolling dusty roads looking for IEDs.