Rock star dreams continue to fuel a career musician

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The dream of being a rock star is almost a cliché, but for Vancouver’s Kavan Cronin, the idea has never left his mind. 

“Those dreams were very prominent when I was younger. I still remember fantasizing about playing all the coolest venues,” Cronin says.

“If I get to headline the Rickshaw and not the Commodore that would still be a dream come true.” 

 While he still dreams of playing in all kinds of venues, including those that no longer exist like New York’s legendary punk venue, CBGB, Cronin, 45, plays his heart out in four bands.  

While people have always had rock star dreams, today it’s tougher than ever to make it big. Technology has disrupted musicians’ revenue, with the tech giants always taking their cut. Neil Cocker, music director of Dizzy, a record label, says that less than one per cent of musicians make a living off their music alone. 

“Most musicians are doing it as a side gig that supplements their day jobs or careers. With the way that revenue is brought in these days, with things like Spotify taking a huge cut out of profits, it’s really rare to make it big,” Cocker wrote in an email statement to The Runner. 

“This goes down significantly as people get older. You have to hit it big when you’re young.”

 Cronin’s preferred genres of punk, thrash metal, and crust may not be the mainstream’s musical choices but they have been very rewarding for him. He enjoys playing “heavier, darker” sounds, utilizing a five-string bass in one band and a seven-string guitar in another, to gain the desired effect.

 The beginning of Cronin’s musical career started when he got an acoustic guitar from his neighbour at 14 years old. He tried to play some songs from his favourite bands, like Slayer, Biohazard, and L-Seven. A few years later, he bought a bass guitar from one of his classmates for $50. He soon knew his calling was for the bass guitar.

Cronin’s first experience playing in a live band was not for the faint of heart. The band was called $torebought and they were playing in a rented hall in Surrey. The stress of first show jitters quickly changed to dread as Cronin realized that the vodka he had been drinking for his nerves had been dosed with the drug, acid. He decided to make the best of a bad situation and push through. He had to inform the other members of the band.

“I turned to Kam and Aaron, I was like, ‘Boys, I got dosed with acid. This could be a bit of a wild ride, but I’m going to give it my best.’” 

 He was able to make it through 13 of 14 songs before he could no longer take the effects of the acid and left the stage, throwing his bass guitar towards a wall. His experiences with performing have only improved since then.

When Cronin looks back at all the shows he’s played in with his many bands, there are some standouts.

“We played with Strike Anywhere at the Java Joint. Cool venue, not necessarily my favourite, but [it was an] amazing experience to be able to play with this band,“ Cronin says. “That band also played Slam City Jam one year on the same stage that Suicidal played the following day, and Jurassic Five played the day after that. So that was pretty epic.”

While playing and performing is not his “day job,” he still finds satisfaction in steady gigging and daily band practices. Between four bands, he has very sparse free time. 

 Cronin knows that making it big won’t happen for him but that doesn’t stop him from loving every minute of playing in the local punk and metal scene at venues like Bully’s Studios in New Westminster.

“Seconds Flat played Bully’s back in December and it was a good little show. We hope to record and release more music soon.”