When you were 15 you probably had some pretty lofty goals for yourself, and rightfully so. The world was full of limitless possibilities and you were going to make a real splash. It may not be a surprise to you that you weren’t the only kid on your block that felt that way, just as I was not the only kid on my block that felt that way, and Ben Disaster (known by several pseudonyms since age 15) was just as likely not the only kid on his block to feel that way.
Chances are pretty solid that your pie-in-the-sky dreams of grandeur evolved over time, and as you faced more & more grown-up scenarios and had to make more & more adult decisions, you may have found a career path that suited the lifestyle you wanted to have. We all make sacrifices in order to navigate through life.
Well, before this article develops into the preface of a C.A.L.M. 20 (High School Career & Life Management) textbook, I’ll counter the entire previous paragraph.
What if you didn’t do any of that? What if you held on to those dreams and developed them
into something feasible? It’s no stretch of the imagination to think you might have to sacrifice some of the creature comforts you’ve come to know in order to support the bigger picture. As I run this scenario through the lens of a rational person, it doesn’t seem entirely crazy – but the cold hard facts are that some of those creature comforts you’ll be sacrificing include, but are not limited to: disposable income, free time, being in attendance to family BBQ’s, birthdays, long weekends, seeing your friends’ bands play, comfortable sleep, proper nutrition, personal safety, willpower… it’s a long list, and you don’t have to be April Wine to know that Rock & Roll is a vicious game.
Ben Disaster is no stranger to making sacrifices to benefit the greater vision. He’s admitted to
reaching (finally) some of the goals he set for himself when he was 15 years old, bouncing off the walls of any number of Edmonton’s community halls to enthusiastic young crowds, making DIY show posters, and DIY demo recordings, and genuinely throwing everything into the punk rock ethos that has guided him through. Not every decision has been an intelligent one, and nothing is ever easy – but the man sitting across the table from me is on top of his game in 2019.
Being a contributing member or 3 reputable bands (including Real Sickies, Screaming targets, and Physical Copies), being at the helm of ‘This Is Pop’ which is a radio show that birthed This Is Pop Records, which puts on This Is Pop Weekend music festival.
Did you catch all that? That’s the abridged version.
With FatDave Johnston