KEITH CLARK
Then!
Drummer1983-1995
Now!
Tax Accountant
  BEFORE I JOINED the Circle Jerks. I was playing in Megadeath, a heavy-metal version of Spinal Tap with songs like 'Make the Bitch Pay, and 'Killing for Jesus,' Keith Morris [the Circle Jerks' singer] would come to our shows, and when he needed a drummer, he asked me. I didn't start out as a punk rocker, but I grew to like the music.
"The early '80s were radical. We were very underground, doing six or eight tours each record. People would stage-dive off 25-foot-high speakers and carve CIRCLE JERKS into their arms with knives. Kids who were into the music were into it 100 percent.
"People think that as a punk rocker you're tearing up hotel rooms or driving cars into swimming pools, but we were quite professional. As far as groupies go, we primarily attracted 16-year-old males. If we got chicks, we'd have to work for them.
"While I was in the band I had a dual income. I did tax returns between February and April, and then toured the rest of the time. In 1981, I started my own business, which has grown so much of the years that I don't have time to tour with the band anymore.
"My clients are primarily involved in the music industry. I also deal with movie people like grips, lighting directors and animators. My clients think of me as someone who can see eye-to-eye with other creative people, and I like low maintenance individuals who just want to get some quality tax work done.
"There's a link between punk rock ethos and doing tax returns. People think that punk is about not caring about anything, but it's the opposite-- it's the expression of feelings. A punk-rock accountant wouldn't try to screw you over." As told to Randy Haberek.