The irrational is essential. Save for those atop the food chain, being a musician anywhere means hustlin’ for life, with little job security or even business model. I suspect that after a few years of making a living as an average musician, you realize that your dreams really are your anchors. Clark: “You have to have a bit of delusion to you, because I think being a musician is a crazy decision. There’s no guarantees. It’s a cliched thing to say, but you don’t know where tomorrow’s going to take you. You could all of a sudden get a break and be on Letterman before you know it. Or you could go the opposite way and not be doing anything and working at Capital One [Bank], you know? But I think that with that healthy bit of delusion that, ‘Well, yea, I can go to Europe and play music, why not?’ you know. Then that keeps you going. That keeps you believing in that reality.”
— Patrick Jarenwattananon, How We Don’t Talk About Musicians.