My Friend On The Super Bowl

Well, he’s more like a mild acquaintance.  Hung out a bunch of times in groups, small talk at coffee shops and the occasional text.

But when Nate is playing guitar for Katy Perry tomorrow during the half time show at the Super Bowl, he will become my best friend. The people I’m watching with will be in reverential awe of my nonchalant yet totally overstated connection with Nate (or does he like to be called Nathan, can’t remember).

I will throw out a short story about our adventures, maybe some insight on where he got his tattoos. I will impress. Nate, me. Nate, me. Nate, me.

What I’m trying to get fellow onlookers to understand is that because Nate and I are now best friends, that means I am at least very good friends with Katy Perry. 

Ahhhhh, me, Nate, Katy. Best friends from childhood.

I will pre-apologize to the host of the party I’m at for the possibility of paparazzi lurking around the house trying to snap a pic of me watching N and K.

All of this will qualify me to demand someone else go get me some more cheese dip from the kitchen, because my closest and dearest friends on TV would be sooooo upset if I missed the moment they’re going to wink into the camera at me. 

The half time will end and I will be melancholy because even though I did a great job performing…I mean even though Nate-mon and Kazzy did a great job performing, I know in their hearts (as they’ve shared theirs with me, often), they always want to stay on stage “just a couple more minutes”.

Ok, here’s the deal. When you succeed, everyone you’ve ever known succeeds with you. Everyone feels lifted and inspired, like more is possible. Everyone is proud.

Any little, tiny inkling of association a person has to someone they view as successful is a bright spot in their life and is grounds for building hope.  

So thanks, Nate.

From, Nashville.

SuperBowl Halftime Shows

Since 1990 here’s a list of Super Bowl halftime show performers that didn’t have any guest features during the performance…

Michael Jackson- 1993

Diana Ross-1996

U2- 2001

Paul McCartney- 2005

The Rolling Stones- 2006

Prince- 2007

Tom Petty- 2008

Bruce Springsteen- 2009

The Who- 2010

I’m not saying that all these halftime shows were great.

But….

These acts have the hits and/or charisma and have earned the leverage to do things their way.

I’m willing to bet each of these artists had to sit through a pitch from some halftime show producer about the value of having guests come out and sing a song with them.  Cause if I’m doing the math right, the other 16 SuperBowl halftime shows since 1990 have had guest appearances, and usually more than one guest.

Obviously all the acts listed above have the audacity, ego and vision to know that they want to trade on what they do, that’s it. No games and gimmicks.  For all the things this list of artists say yes to (and seem weird and questionable), it’s nice to know that they’re still willing to say no to something.

When you’re young you think you need to say yes to everything, to appease everyone.  But saying no and saying yes are both muscles. Two different muscles. Start using both now so they’re both strong later.

The 1%

“I believe in making jokes 1% better.”- Brian Regan

It’s so refreshing listening to podcasts about comedians because they are incredibly clear about what their mission is. They only have one goal. Be funny.

Musicians are so confused about their mission. If they have one at all, it seems to change from song to song, album to album, month to month, show to show. But comedians, they have one purpose and they dissect it until they perfect it.

You should hear guys like Brian Regan or Jerry Seinfeld, or other really truly funny guys talk about the smallest, tiniest little subtleties that make will make a joke more funny. They understand that literally every single aspect makes a difference when you’re trying to make someone laugh.

Comedians are the most aware people in the entertainment business.

They have to be. They can’t get away with anything. There’s no smoke. There can’t be. Either they’re funny or they’re not.

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it is the worst rule to live by.

You’ll never pay attention enough to make it better unless you break it. And constantly view it as a little bit broken.

So Brian Regan has a joke he knows is going to get the crowd rolling, tried and true, one of his hits. But he’ll flip words around, use a different street name, walk down stage as he tells it, crinkle his nose on a certain word, survey where he’s standing vs the stage lights, which hand is holding the mic…trying to make it 1% better.

And he’s not just doing these things for the sake of doing them. He’s not absent-mindedly doing things different or switching it up.  He’s paying attention. What makes a difference? What am I doing? What’s the best way to sell and deliver this moment?

Be bold enough to improve upon something that already works.

Build The Story...What?

Like I’ve said before, I was in a band for 6 years called The Kicks.  About a year and a half into our career we put out our first album (called The Rise Of King Richie).

When that album came out we started having a lot of meetings. Meetings with all sorts of people and companies.

One of the terms that got thrown around from so many industry people was   “building the story”.

What? Our album is awesome. If you like it, give us a million dollars.

I was confused as to what building the story meant.  And while I understand it a lot more now, and I’ve even encouraged some other people using the exact same phrase, I really think music biz people throw it around out of insecurity and not really having a clue what it means themselves…much less HOW to do it or WHY do it in the first place.

But if you’re hearing that idea in meetings, I’ll try and break it down for you a little bit…

-what sets you apart from the other kajillion bands out there?

-what is a series of 4 or 5 sequential events that shows growth in fans and/or money and/or attention?

-what about you makes me feel good about liking you? (what sets you apart and what is actually making me like you can absolutely be different)

-are there other people who I respect who are willing to vouch for you? when and how did you get their respect?

-are you a magnet for a specific type of person or group of people?

-what about you is worth talking about (remarkable) so that I look cool in front of the people in MY world?

Everyone is looking for unique talking points, because that’s what makes anyone feel good about talking about anything.  We want to have the punch line, the new info, the next best thing and above all, respect from our peers. Can your band give this?

It’s a lot to take in, and maybe that’s why it all gets bundled in the phrase “building the story”.  Most bands don’t want to dive into these hard questions, but all your favorite bands have.

Go tell your story. And if you don’t have one, build one.

Do You FEEL Rejected?

It could be that your band isn’t any good, that’s why you’re hearing the word “no” a lot.  Back to the drawing board for you. But if you’ve been around for a little while there’s a good chance it could be that the people you’re trying to access, the people you’re trying to get to say yes, to get their attention, just aren’t looking for you.

Rejection isn’t usually easy to deal with, especially in a young band. But if you’re a good band, I have good news. Or at least the equivalent of a 2 minute shoulder rub.

This blog is a perfect example. There are so many articles, books, blogs and seminars about dealing with rejection…and you have actually, physically seen them, laid eyes on them, seen the headlines or the links or the websites. But they didn’t even register with you. You just kept on clicking something else.

You just weren’t looking for ideas about rejection.  They were right there. Great words of encouragement! Someone, probably a team of people, worked really hard in order to get their link/blog/article about dealing with rejection in front of you and you rejected it. Ha!

You weren’t in the right frame of mind at the time. You were distracted. Understanding rejection didn’t feel important at the time.  You got a phone call. There was a different article that perked your interest more.

Does that mean you are against those people and their work? No.  Is their work less valuable because you didn’t consume it and love it? No.  Are they going to have to keep working hard in order to ever have a chance to re-approach you? Yes.  

If you’re a good band, there’s some truth rolling around in this example.  You work really hard to get your music in front of certain people or groups of people and it get’s ignored or they say no.

It could be for a bazillion different reasons, but it’s not personally against you. Do you take it personally? Yeah, of course. You worked really hard.

But let the discouragement roll off your shoulders, embrace the fact that you reject other peoples great hard work everyday (with or without knowing it).  And you aren’t some nasty troll out to ruin others lives.  You’re just not looking for their particular brand of hard work and greatness at the time. Maybe tomorrow you will be.

You clicked on me today. I guess some part of you was looking for something like this.

Bands: If You Only Read One Of My Blogs

Bands usually hire team members out of fear and/or desperation.  Fear that their one option is going to be their only option, fear of missing out, fear of getting old.  Desperate because there wasn’t any planning and organization, the album is coming out next week and you need to quick get a publicist. 

I’m sure you have your version of this.

If I only ever get one idea through your head that you will actually adopt it is this:

TAKE MORE TIME WHEN HIRING.

Yes, the capitalization means I’m yelling. And I’m not a yeller.

Did you hire your booking agent after he came to a show and you had some drinks after? Did you hire your PR three months before releasing your album? Did you hire your manager because he/she was your “only option”?

Take more time.

I know it’s hard, but you know that feeling six months into working with your radio company when you realize “it’s just not a good fit”? You need to come to that realization before you hire them.

Isn’t this a crazy thought: Artists are afraid of taking the hiring process more seriously because they want to come off as easy going and fun, and then get upset when the person they hired doesn’t take the job seriously. Ummmm. 

You’re the leader. You reap what you sow. 

If you’re reading this and want to dig deeper on the subject, send me an email and come to an Artist Leadership Meeting. It’s really worth diving into.

But in the meantime I want to throw out something very practical that I hope you’ll try.  And you should try it because your hiring methods are probably either non-existant or not very good. (Don’t worry, I’m guilty too)

-Have at least 4 interviews with anyone you’re thinking of adding to your team.

-Make the first one 30 minutes. Not 31 minutes.  And drinks in the back hall after your show doesn’t count for anything.  A 30 minute meeting where you do most of the listening and they do most of the talking.

-Make the last interview an informal dinner…with spouses. It sounds crazy, but it works.  It’s a different dynamic that will draw new things out of everyone, and you’ll be able to solidify if this person is the right one to hire.

I know all this sounds weird and difficult, but just try it. If it doesn’t work, you can always go back to what you’ve always done.

Again, there’s so much more on this topic, and I think this is an area that once it’s done properly could revolutionize the music business, cause fear and desperation just don’t seem to be working.