Clay Howard performs '60s cover songs.
Name: Clay Howard
Age: 42
Hometown: Greensboro, N.C.
Day job: Office manager
Moneymaking gig: Musician at parties
(During the day) I do all the accounting, PR and marketing for a business incubator in Greensboro. Our mission is to help create jobs and we have a three-person staff, so I haven't had a raise in three years. Plus, I have four kids and they get more expensive the bigger they get.
I've always been in bands but they don't make any money. I started calling bars and found out you could make a couple hundred bucks per show. Now I play about 100 shows a year. It's definitely helped make up the difference.
I've played everything from the North Carolina biotech conference to regular gigs in wine bars. My minimum is $200 and if they'll pay me, I'll play it. I play lots of classic rock covers from the '60s. You can always count on CCR (Creedence Clearwater Revival). There are those nights in a sports bar when you wonder if it's worth it, but you really can't make money as easily as that.
NEXT: Types in foreclosure data
