Talent agent Duffy McSwiggin goes from budding rock ‘n’ roller to music insider.

At the age of 28, Duffy McSwiggin’s got a career that would make most people salivate, yet he seems unaffected by his own self-made fabulousness. McSwiggin is currently an agent for Monterey Peninsula Artists—a local talent agency with big rock ‘n’ roll connections—but his career path started in the trenches.

A little more than a decade ago, McSwiggin was living in Cincinnati, Ohio, playing guitar and touring around with rock bands every summer and spring break.

“I was playing at Whiskey A-Go-Go at age 16 and got to open for all kinds of bands, playing in all kinds of cities, and could really see the music business from the inside out,” he says. By the time he was 18 years old, McSwiggin started gravitating towards the business side of it all.

“It seemed like a natural migration,” he says. He started booking tours, doing publicity for other bands and setting up charity events. “I moved to LA on a whim and started my own company booking bands and actually started making money—which surprised the hell out of me. That’s when it dawned on me, I could actually make a living doing what I want to do with my life.”

From there, he went to work for a boutique music agency doing middle agent work and booking bands. The agency was funded by a dot com that went belly up.

“My last paycheck was on a Friday, and that Monday I was working at this big firm,” he says. At the new company, McSwiggin worked with a lot of alternative rock/MTV-type bands, but didn’t feel like it was a good fit. When a work opportunity at Monterey Peninsula Artists (MPA) opened up three years ago, McSwiggin jumped at the chance.

“I came up to have lunch with MPA, and by the end of lunch it was a done deal—I knew right then and there I was moving to Monterey, without any agreement or anything at all, it just felt right,” he said. It was also an opportunity for McSwiggin to be close to his family, many of whom had also moved to the area.

A few weeks later, Monterey became home, and he was booking tours for bands and shaping their careers. He describes MPA as “a major music booking agency; unique from all the other agencies.”

“The people here are amazing and completely different from any other agency—they’re my family outside my family,” he says.

McSwiggin’s primary function is booking tours for bands, but “we all really do anything we can to help develop the artist,” he says. “I love working with artists and helping them and being an integral part of taking them to the next level.”

As to be expected, there’s a tremendous amount of travel involved. He’s out covering shows and meeting with artists, including young up and comers Brandi Carlile, John Butler Trio, and Ari Hest. He also works with other musical giants such as Dave Matthews Band and Mike Gordon of Phish.

If there is a downside of this dream job, it would have to be his schedule. “At this point, it’s pretty hectic,” he says.

McSwiggin is quick to point out that, despite his love for his work, his life isn’t all about work. “My whole life is my friends and family.” He takes a major trip every winter—Costa Rica last year, Singapore, Malaysia and Borneo the year before. “It’s a short life and a big planet; I’ve got a lot of ground to cover,” he says. This December, he’s headed to Europe for two weeks to catch up with a high school friend and to track his family roots. When he’s not jetting around the world, swilling pints with his friends, running around the woods, or taking road trips, he’s likely to be found at his weekly Sunday afternoon matinee date with his Mom (yes, really) or hanging out with his brothers.

McSwiggin can’t stop raving about Monterey.

“One of the great things about living here is that after you have a crazy work day and you leave the office, it’s like the birds are chirping and it’s quiet and peaceful. It’s like you have a sanctuary all around you.”

At an age when many young adults are struggling to find meaning, McSwiggin seems to have found balance. Perhaps it’s the result of the evolution of knowing what he wanted to do with his life from the age of 16.

“It’s a curse, trust me,” he says. “OK, maybe it’s a curse and a blessing. But, right now, it feels a lot more like a blessing.”