Killed by Desk

Brandon Percoraro found renown playing guitar in Drive-Thru records band Madison, and thought he’d make a long career out of music. When the band broke up, however, he struggled to find a backup plan. Not sure he was cut out for college, he enrolled in a single course at a local school, which led him to a career as an economist working in Congress. We try to sound smart with questions about economic theory as Brandon successfully dodges hard ball questions about which member of Congress has the best record collection. Brandon is a great example of how punk rock can prepare you for the challenges of any career, even in government.

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Gentleman Jim Norton (not to be confused with that other guy) runs live music shows in New Jersey, and has decades of experience behind the scenes working for touring bands and at live music venues. Knowledgeable and hilarious, Jim speaks humbly about his career, a detour selling insurance, and a more recent epiphany that he loves his work. Jim’s mantra of saying “yes” to the world may have come from the intro of a Butthole Surfers LP, but the overall wisdom gained from putting it to practice is universal.

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For a large portion of her career as a singer-songwriter, Penelope Houston did “quit her day job!” For the last 25 years (before retiring earlier this year), she served as a library technician at the San Francisco Public Library, where she was able to navigate the paraprofessional path and exert leadership in creating a San Francisco Punk Collection. A member of the seminal punk band The Avengers, Penelope speaks candidly about leaving school to be a punk rocker, getting big in Europe as a solo artist, rediscovering her love for painting through a vintage book of accused sex offenders, and why a good library always wins out over a cookie (even a giant one).

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James Spooner aka Razzle started Kidney Room zine and label in the mid-1990s, firmly planted in the ABC No Rio NYC punk scene. Without any formal training, learning about documentary filmmaking with the help of friends working at a local video store, he created the award-winning documentary AFROPUNK about the roles of African-Americans within the overwhelmingly white US punk scene. Applying his punk approach and ethics he moved on to making films, events and is now settled in Los Angeles where he pioneered vegan-friendly tattooing. In this episode we dig into the struggles a punk kid can face when trying to work with “normals”. James is a great example of defining success on one's own terms, and the ability to self-reflect and evolve over time while still staying true to the ethos of punk rock.

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Rev Hank Peirce is part of Boston hardcore history. As an iconic part of the scene’s straight-edge crew, Hank traveled the country and around the world as a roadie for iconic bands like Slapshot, Uniform Choice and Corrosion of Conformity. For over twenty years since, however, he’s served as a minister in the Unitarian Universalist church. In this episode we dive into how to hold on to values while going from the pit to the pulpit, and how current faith leaders can take a cue from the punk scene and move their community forward in both thought and action.

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Description: You may know Chicken John Rinaldi for his time in the Murder Junkies with GG Allin or the NYC punk band Letch Patrol, or you may have caught his performance based on the Hieronymus Bosch painting Garden of Earthly Delights, or maybe you voted for him for mayor of San Francisco. You may have even attended his funeral home yard sale performance - the point is, we’re not quite sure what Chicken John does to make a living, but in this episode we try our damnedest to find out. Along the way he has great advice for performers, activists and writers, and really anyone putting on events or needing innovative approaches to marketing and public relations , along with some hilarious stories.

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Emily Flake is the perfect example of the “be an adult, but make it punk rock” balance that so many of us try to find as we get older and start careers and families. An accomplished artist, cartoonist, performer and author, she is currently most well-known as a regular contributor to the New Yorker. The first (and only) person to get a story about Jawbreaker into the magazine, the comic went viral in punk circles upon release for its emotion and humor. In this conversation, we try and get to the bottom of how Emily measures professional success, what she still wants to accomplish in her career, how her punk rock roots have affected her parenting style and how she sometimes wants to throw it all away to drive trains.

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Can attending suburban basement shows lead to success as a professional broadcaster? Chris Gethard wasn’t in a band but he takes a very punk rock approach to his career. His Beautiful Anonymous Podcast, Career Suicide HBO Special and The Chris Gethard Show are all one-of-a-kind creations each with it’s own cult following. Chris gets into how growing up around underground music led to underground comedy and ultimately a DIY approach to more mainstream show business. We dig into aspects of his behavior that have persisted since childhood, heartbreaking revelations and just how difficult it is to make it as a professional entertainer.

We kick off the Killed By Desk podcast with one of our favorite examples of a punk going from respect in the scene to a respectable career. Justin Brannan is known by many NYHC fans as the guitarist for Indecision and Most Precious Blood, but his priorities took a left turn when he decided to run for New York City Council. Assuming office in 2018, Justin opens up about what it’s like to be a local politician, from keeping your constituents happy while staying true to your ideals to the best pizza in Bay Ridge, and why no one wants to play South Dakota on a Tuesday night. You can find Justin at @justinbrannan

Have you ever wondered what the weirdos behind your favorite records are doing when they’re not losing money? Whether they are pushing pencils, tending bar or running corporations, we’re having sincere yet totally stupid conversations on how they’ve managed to make a living and advance their scams into careers (or something like it) among the squares. Have you ever wondered what the weirdos playing on your favorite record are doing when they’re not losing money playing guitar? Are they painting houses, pushing pencils or running corporations? Are they why that Buzzcocks song is playing in an AARP commercial? Welcome to the only punk podcast trending on LinkedIn that looks to find out if that kid standing on stage or in the back is a biotech millionaire, in jail or possibly both.