Smith said the young man got a nosebleed and apparently failed to follow mosh-pit etiquette to get cleaned up. When he repeatedly returned to the pit, others attacked him. Smith, a former Cumberland County corrections officer who works shows throughout New England, said he could provide better security if he brought more staff, but often clubs do not want to spend the extra money. So he sweet-talks the tough guys to encourage their cooperation. Being a bouncer seldom is a career.
Doormen tend to have day jobs or do other work at the bar.
Many worked first as barbacks, hauling cases of beer and kegs up from the cellar. Villacci's wife owns Club 432, known until recently as The Dirty Bird, and he works there full time as her partner. Andrew Daigle, who is 20 and head bouncer at Fore Play sports bar on Fore Street, is an artist during the day, though he considers doorman his primary job. And he is often self-effacing and humble in the face of extreme belligerence. Violence breeds more violence.