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“My first job was in the late ’70s. A small little North Jersey tee shirt shop. It was a place with a big iron and lots of band logos and pictures that were transferred to the shirts. I worked there at 15/16 years old. I got paid: All the mistake shirts that fit me that I wanted to keep. That was probably one or two shirts a week, most of which had minor flaws that were hardly noticeable. I graduated high school with a collection of at least a hundred tees. Whatever tips or ‘keep the change’ that people left. Whatever candy or chips or pizza or whatever other munchies my boss had around. And there were always some snacks around. For a 15/16-year-old boy working after school, that was VERY important! Every once in a while, someone would give me a joint or two, a chunk of hash (very popular in those days!), a couple beers, or even a Quaalude or two (also very popular in those days!) Again, important stuff for a 15/16-year-old Jersey boy in the late ’70s.”
“Speaking of drugs: one afternoon, a dude came in and wanted a bunch of shirts for the band he was managing. They were English and doing their first van tour of the U.S. As a tip, he gave me $20, a huge chunk of hash, and a joint. He said that we would hear his band’s first U.S. single on the radio soon — ‘Roxanne.’
I also got passes to three or four trade shows in Manhattan (1/2 hour bus ride from home) where, as a 15/16-year-old representative of a store catering to customers my own age… well, I walked away from each of those shows with as much swag as I could carry.
I also got paid an occasional $20 when we had a good week, $100 at Christmas time, and they threw me a big party when I turned 16.
What did that work out to per hour? I don’t know, and I didn’t really care at the time. I lived with my parents, I had fun, I learned a lot. And that experience made me have high expectations for every job I’ve had since. That’s worked out pretty well for me.”
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