He did it more out of necessity, originally, but when I met him, yeah, it was "for fun". Among the other stories I found to be true was "I worked at KFC for $8/hr and owned a home[0]"

[0] In a lower-middle-class neighborhood.

Now I want more of these stories. I've met couple of drummers among sitarists in life but you've got 17 years(!) worth of stories :D

tangentially, i really like that turn of phrase (drummers among sitarists) :)