Founding Butcher Babies vocalist Carla Harvey left the band earlier this year and has since launched a new band called The Violent Hour. Though Harvey has largely returned to her work in the deathcare industry, having recently taken a job with the post-cremation service Parting Stone.
In an interview with The Ward Bond Show, Harvey said reached a point in her life where being on tour all the time doesn't work anymore. Harvey noted she now has a stepdaughter with fiancée Charlie Benante (of Anthrax and Pantera fame), and that being in a full-time band became too much.
"So there's so much that goes into being in a band, especially as you get older and your life changes, you have relationships, you have a partner. I have a stepdaughter, and the idea, all of a sudden, of being on the road 10, 12 months out of the year became just a lot to handle. And in a band there's five people, and half of those people may feel like they want to be on the road constantly all the time and then some people are, like, 'Maybe it's halftime.' So it doesn't always work out for the greater good of everybody."
Harvey continued, mentioning her new job with Parting Stone. It's worth noting that Harvey has a degree in Mortuary Science from California's Cypress College and works as both a brief counselor and end-of-life specialist, so her newfound position isn't exactly a stretch.
"My dad said something to me once years ago, when we had started the band, and he meant it in jest. He said, 'I saw you singing on the Internet. Don't quit your day job.' And at the time I was, like, 'That's the nastiest thing you could say.' But I'm glad I never quit my day job. In fact, all the while, the last 15 years, while I've been on tour, I've been getting more education and getting more certification so that I could continue on because I always had that need to still be in death care in some aspect.
"I founded my grief coaching company so that I could still be of service to people who need me in that capacity. It was very important to me. And then last year, I was on this major summer tour. We were playing sheds, the outdoor amphitheaters and it was wonderful and every day you're up on stage singing your heart out, but, man, I saw this post about Parting Stone looking for a partner success manager. And I thought, 'Man, I wanna apply for this. I wanna see what happens if I can take this job.'"
Harvey later added that being in a band the size of Butcher Babies required constant touring in order to pay the bills, and that she couldn't see herself doing that kind of work into her 60s or 70s.
"There's just so many moments in life where you really have to assess what's best for you. Life changes. And also another thing about the entertainment industry and the music industry, it's not the same as it was for musicians 20 years ago, 10 years ago. My future husband's [Benante] in a legacy band. They never have to worry about having a real job — ever. But bands my size? You're not breaking the bank. You're not really earning a livable wage unless you're on the road 12 months out of the year. You can't support yourself.
"So I've always had other jobs, whether I'm painting pictures for people or doing my grief coaching on the side. That's a day job that I've been able to maintain throughout my career with music. It was a necessity as well as a passion, because otherwise I'd be couch surfing somewhere. [Laughs] I have nothing. So it's really hard to live passionately and just follow your dreams without something to fall back on or something to assist you. And I tell this to a lot of people, and some people are, like, 'No, man. I don't want a backup plan. This is the only thing I'm ever gonna do.'
"I always thought about, 'Okay, this is awesome right now. What about when I'm 60? What am I gonna do then?' Because my mom is 72 and she's working all the time still. She loves working. We're not 70-year-olds that are gonna be sitting on a couch or 60-year-olds that aren't gonna be out doing something. Life is different. We're still gonna be working. We have to do something, and I'd rather have that be a career rather than a job that I'm forced to have to sustain myself in the [later] years."
