Hence the popularity of coffeeshops and other low-paying, transient jobs with musicians. I have a number of friends who work crap jobs so they can get away with touring. When I look at my financially stable but locked-in life, it's not a bad trade they're making.

I remember reading an interview with Nels Cline, the lead guitarist for Wilco, where the interviewer was surprised to find out that he had coffeeshop jobs until he joined Wilco. After all, Cline was a fairly well-known and respected musician even before Wilco. But frankly, being a well-known experimental jazz-rock guitarist means working in coffeeshops to pay the rent.