Extracurrockular Activities: Unlikely Rock Star Hobbies

When they're not getting their gold records framed or breaking in the new wing at the rehab clinic, rock stars need something to occupy the off hours. What follows are 20 of the most offbeat hobbies, pastimes and second careers in rock.

Rod Stewart: Model Train Hobbyist

Although model trains might make you think "creepy dude in a basement," it's one of the most popular hobbies there is. The list of music-world enthusiasts includes Johnny Cash, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen, but Stewart is rock's biggest model train superfan. When his massive 23 x 124-foot "Three Rivers City" train layout was featured on the cover of 'Model Railroader Magazine' in 2007, Stewart said, "I pity a man who doesn't have a hobby like this one."

Miranda Lambert: Salt-Shaker Collector

The Nashville star had a big hit with 'Gunpowder & Lead,' but at home she's all about salt & pepper -- in shakers. Despite a lot of teasing from her boyfriend, fellow country singer Blake Shelton, Lambert remains proud of her grandmotherly collection. "I actually have a knickknack shelf at 26," she says. "I think it's cool!"

Phil Collins: Alamo Historian

"Basically, now I've stopped being Phil Collins the singer. This has become what I do." Believe it or not, the "this" in question is Alamo scholarship. Most British kids don't even know what an Alamo is, but Collins has been obsessed with the famous battle ever since childhood, when he saw Fess Parker play Davy Crockett in a Disney movie. The former singer has a huge collection of Alamo memorabilia, and he's considering writing a book on the subject.

Alex James: Cheesemaker

The bad-boy Blur bassist traded booze and drugs for curds and whey when he moved to the English countryside and co-founded the tiny Evenlode Partnership cheese company. And thanks to award-winning wheels and wedges with names like "Little Wallop" and "Blue Monday," James is becoming a Big Cheese himself: He recently inked a deal to make organic cheeses for Prince Charles's luxury food brand.

Steve Vai: Beekeeper

Rock stars have gone to some ridiculous lengths to catch a buzz, but playing with swarms of bees is pretty extreme. Vai, a childhood member of the "Bee Catchers Club," rediscovered beekeeping in the 1990s, and now the guitar god is the proud owner of several thriving colonies. Every Christmas, the self-described "Bee Whisperer" harvests his signature Fire Garden Honey, giving some to friends and family, and selling the rest for charity.

Bill Wyman: Metal Detecting Enthusiast

Maybe the Rolling Stones made less money than we thought. Why else would the former Stones bassist spend his time combing beaches with a metal detector? The amateur archaeologist and trinket collector is so obsessed with the hobby that he even markets the Bill Wyman Signature Metal Detector, "the ideal metal detector for anyone starting out treasure hunting."

David Lovering: Magician

When the Pixies drummer isn't onstage pounding the skins in front of thousands of fans, he's onstage doing weird card tricks in front of ... hundreds of fans. A self-described "Scientific Phenomenalist," Lovering combines his electrical engineering degree with the fast hands of a world-class drummer in a stage show that's half Mr. Wizard science experiments and half Criss Angel/David Blaine/Derren Brown prestidigitation.

Charlie Watts: Car Collector

A rock star who collects cars? Not that original. But it's what the Rolling Stones drummer doesn't do that sets him apart from his car-collecting peers: Watts never got his driver's license. He just thinks classic automobiles are cool, and, really -- what the hell else is he supposed to do with all that money? According to bandmate Ronnie Wood, the famously well-dressed Watts even has suits tailored to match his favorite cars.

Maynard James Keenan: Winemaker

Rock stars tend to be world-class experts at drinking wine (or anything else), but making the stuff just seems like a lot of work. But the Tool frontman got hip to the oenological arts in 1995, after Tori Amos gave him a bottle of the good stuff. "All of a sudden, it all made sense," the rocker/vintner says, "and I caught the virus." Now Keenan has a 6,000-bottle collection and owns northern Arizona's Caduceus Cellars.

Grandmaster Flash: Mug Collector

The hip-hop pioneer has collecting in his blood; it was his father's extensive record collection that sparked his interest in DJing. But that doesn't make Flash's collection of 5,000-plus mugs any less surprising. Ceramic knickknacks just aren't very "street." The vessels, collected during years of touring the globe, are kept nice and safe in a fully insured, temperature-controlled storage facility.

Alice Cooper: Golfer

Strutting around in ridiculous clothes is, so to speak, par for the course in the life of a rock star, so wearing golf pants probably isn't a big stretch for the original shock rocker, whose obsession with hitting the links is legendary. Cooper famously turned to golf in order to quit drinking, and he now plays up to six days a week. No wonder his autobiography was called 'Alice Cooper, Golf Monster.'

Ron Wood: Stamp Collector

Another hard-partying rocker who used his hobby to escape the bottle is the longtime Rolling Stones guitarist. Claiming life without booze was "boring," Wood now occupies his time with heavy all-night bouts of philately (better known as stamp collecting). So instead of pouring himself a drink, Woods spends his days poring over his impressive collection of rare postage stamps.

Nick Zinner: Photographer

Famous musicians spend so much time getting shot by photographers, it may not occur to them to do some shooting of their own. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist has done just that, turning the tables on thousands of digital-camera-toting fans by taking analog pictures of the audience at every show. In 2005, Zinner published 'I Hope You Are All Happy Now,' his third book of photos to date.

Kelley Deal: Knitter

Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell got a lot of press when she took up the newly trendy hobby of knitting, but Kelley Deal wrote the book on the subject -- literally. 'Bags That Rock: Knitting on the Road with Kelley Deal' collects 20 knit handbag patterns that she came up with while touring with the Breeders. In a truly rock 'n' roll moment, she once knitted a scarf using a pair of spare drumsticks.

Ted Nugent: Extreme Hunter

Hunting isn't that unusual among the rock set, but guys like Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood just shoot animals from time to time. Ted Nugent shoots animals with a bow and arrow, makes his own jerky and wears camouflage he designed himself. An outspoken evangelist for hunting, the Nuge even created Ted Nugent's Kamp for Kids: "Your chance to give the love of bowhunting and archery to a child."

Jeff Beck: Hot Rod Builder

When you live the rock star lifestyle, fast cars are as cliché as fast women. Actually building fast cars? Now that's legit. James Hetfield and former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony are dedicated hot rod customizers, but guitar legend Jeff "Hot Rod Honeymoon" Beck has made building cars his number-one priority. Good luck buying a Beck ride for yourself, though. "I've built 14 or 15 street rods in 25 years," he says, "and I've kept most of them."

Jimmy Buffett: Novelist

Lots of famous musicians (Nick Cave, Richard Hell, Greg Kihn, Patti Smith, to name just a few) have turned to fiction writing as a creative outlet, but few have encountered much in the way of mainstream success. Except, that is, for the Mayor of Margaritaville, Jimmy Buffett. The King of the Parrotheads has already sent three novels to the bestseller list, and two of those cracked the No. 1 spot.

Gary Numan: Stunt Flier

He had a major hit with the New Wave classic 'Cars,' but Numan couldn't satisfy his need for speed with just wheeled conveyances. So he hung up his synthesizer and took to the skies as a professional stunt flier and test pilot. But though the former Air Training Corps member is licensed to train aerobatic stunt pilots, he recently said he hadn't flown a plane in almost three years.

Big Boi: Dog Breeder

When he isn't busy putting out solo albums or being one half of Outkast, Antwan Patton likes to chill with his dawgs. Big Boi and his brother James are the proprietors of Pitfall Kennels, a 50-acre facility dedicated to breeding the finest pit bulls in Hot-lanta. So how did Big Boi become a pro breeder? The old-fashioned way: "I sat down with a couple of dog trainers and the Purina books for kenneling."

Roger Daltrey: Trout Farmer

When the Who frontman needs to chase away the summertime blues, he just reaches for his rod -- and goes fishing. Daltrey, who says that angling makes him feel like he's "smoked half a dozen joints," is such a fanatic that he founded Lakedown Trout Fishery some 30 years ago, and he's been a successful trout farmer ever since. In 2005, 'Trout Fisherman' magazine proclaimed that "there can be no prettier fishery" in Essex, England.

--Jason Persse