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Today's Featured Biography

 
Nathan Kilen

I have the Foo Fighters on in the background as I write type this biography. The song that's playing at the moment is "All My Life." I think that's funny.

It appears that if I finish this in time, I'll have the #7 bio on the site. Like anyone preparing to upload a bio to this site, I first needed to check out what everyone else wrote. I see Brenda has images on hers. Laurie recalls Stoughton girls "doing their hair" -- an image that would've memorized me for hours when I was fourteen. Dave's is about a circle and I was able follow every line of it. I am sorry to learn that he's officially a FIB. Becky and Stacie went for brevity; I admire that. I'd tried to read Rick's but haven't been able to get beyond the first sentence. Laughter keeps knocking the wind out of me. Alright! On with my assignment...

It went like this after high school: UW-Stevens Point for music, mayhem and an education. I graduated without having any intention of getting a real job. So, it was back to Sauk Prairie to live in my parents' basement for a few months, working as a substitute teacher. Subbing for my dad was great.

Kid: "What's your name?"
Me: "Mr. Kilen"
Kid: "No, What's your name?"
Me: "Mr. Kilen"
Kid: "That's our teacher's name. Who are you?"
Me: "I'm your teacher today and you can call me Mr. Kilen."
Kid: "Uh..."
Kid #2 turns to Kid: "Dummy, that's his son."
Kid: "No?"

Next, it was play-time in Minneapolis. Do you want to know what I learned by having the opportunity to be a "professional drummer?" While it's great to hang out by the pool Monday through Friday because you're working a salaried contract that requires you to only show up for performances Friday, Saturday and maybe Sunday nights, you should get a temp job or something to earn a little extra coin. 'Cause that contract's eventually going to end, which means you'll find yourself buying groceries with a credit card over the span of four months.

After having enough of the glamorous life, I left Minneapolis and was back as a cellar-dweller substitute teacher in Sauk Prairie. (Foo Fighters' "Come Back" is now playing on the box -- I kid you not.) I taught a full semester with "emotionally disturbed" middle school kids.

I landed in Milwaukee in late 1998 and got a job with Hal Leonard Corporation, the world's largest publisher of sheet music. For the first ten years after high school, I had never worked at the same job longer than nine months. A little more than eight years later, I am still at Hal Leonard.

I do yoga, treat cooking as a hobby and try my damnedest to be as happy as I can possibly be.

My wife, Steph is my co-conspirator in mischief and all other things great. We live in a phenomenal neighborhood in this city and have a dog named the Bear.

Thankfully, it's only 2007 and we're still a couple of years away from any momentous anniversary. Otherwise, I'd be a little freaked out by the coincidence of the Foo's song, "Next Year" being amped through the speakers at this very moment.

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