As musicians we often hear “well you guys just play music and do what you love for a living. You got it made, easiest job in the world!” While it is true that we absolutely love playing music for a living, I do have to let you in on a little secret, shhh… (It ain’t that easy!)
Let me explain. For years I have been curious about how “easy” our job as musicians and entertainers actually is. Most of you either have, or have seen weight loss or calorie counter apps out there. I used to use Lose It! and would obsess over the calorie counting. Here’s what I found:
In one hour of playing guitar: 179 calories burnt
In one hour of dance stepping: 610 calories burnt
In one hour of singing: 172 calories burnt
Now, obviously we’re not singing, playing, and dancing every second of every set, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and knock off 25% (a very generous estimate). In an average 3 set night, we’ll burn 2,162 calories playing music! To put it another way, 3 hours of a Pop Vinyl Show is equivalent to “Vigorous weight lifting” for 5 hours, running up stairs for 2 hours, playing basketball for 3 hours, jumping rope for 2 hours, OR having “Active, vigorous sexual activity” for 13 hours!
Still don’t believe me? Dave Schulz (keyboards) and I put it to the test with a pedometer last week at Viejas Casino and each of us took 5000 steps in one hour. Add that to the singing and vigorous non-stop motion of our arms and hands, and you get your “easy job”. So next time you tell a musician they have the easiest job in the world, give ‘em a second to answer; they might be a little out of breath! But in all honesty, when you love what you do, it’s easy. Thanks for dancin’ with us and making it that much easier!
