The Portrait of a Working Musician

"'Okay, I'm just gonna...be a full-time guy!' And I stayed with that. Until now."

Jamie Hoover laughed it off as if having to quit being a full-time musician after three decades hasn't affected him much at all.

After the downturn of the economy at the turn of the millennium, Hoover, 55, had to close his Charlotte, N.C. recording studio after 10 years of business.

He began his music career working at Bob Davis recording studio in Charlotte, and was then asked to join the Beatles band, the Spongetones in 1979.

"After the Spongetones, we were making money, you know?" Hoover said. He decided to go full-time with the band. 32 years later, they're still making music, but not without a cost.

Hoover opened his own studio, Hooverama @LiquidStudios in Charlotte in 2000.

"I had to push money through that studio," Hoover recalls of the financial hardships he encountered, eventually causing him to close its doors.

These days he works as a mortgage broker by day, but continues production in his home studio and plays live with the Spongetones by night.

"There's no reason to stop it. You know, we have too much fun at it," he says.

Category:

Music

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• jamie
• hoover
• spongetones
• charlotte
• nc
• beatles
• economy
• working
• musician

[SamanthaDarko1]

Loved the video...your narration sounded just like a news reporter. Keep up the good work!