The Way It Is

It used to be that getting on TV, or having a song in a commercial meant you sold out.

Now, TV is accepted and signing with a giant record label is viewed more as selling out.

It used to be that mandolin was only on country radio

Now it’s on Top 40, and barely on country

Mainstream music (or whatever stream is left) was all R&B and hip hop ten years ago

Now it’s Sam Smith, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Hozier, Mumford & Sons, Pitbul and Fall Out Boy

There’s a pull on all of us to use “the way it is” as an excuse for why our project won’t work.  An excuse that’s out of our hands, therefore our hands are tied. We can’t do anything. Just cry in our soup.

Keep making it better, keep being excited about it.  All of the above examples represent a hurdle that at one point made an artist fall apart and quit.  

“The way it is” is what the future always moves on from. That’s how it works. 

Everybody loves the future.

Expect To Win

I wrote a post a week or two ago about the confusion at awards shows when the winners are finished with their speech and they don’t know which way to exit the stage.

Now for the actual speech itself. 

When someone wins a Grammy, or a Golden Globe or whatever, it floors me when they get up to the mic and talk at length about how they don’t have any words prepared because they didn’t think they would win.

How did this happen?  Was there not a reminder on your iPhone that the awards show was tonight and there’s a 20% chance you might have to speak in front of millions of people? Or maybe you didn’t set a reminder, but walking the red carpet with tons of fans and photographers shouting your name should have clued you in that something was going on.

And most people, when declaring their unpreparedness into the microphone, think it’s some badge of modesty or endearment that they didn’t think they would win so they didn’t think of what to say.

False. (said like Dwight K. Schrute)

Butterflys might get the best of you, you might completely forget what you prepared (which should trigger simple “thank you” as the back up plan), but for goodness sake, and for the sake of decent TV, have something to say. 

It doesn’t even have to be memorable, just professional.

You got the nomination. You got that far in the beauty contest. You might win. You should plan on winning. If you don’t, you wasted all of about five minutes preparing. If you do, that five minutes just became very important. 

You choose. We’ll be listening.

You Should, Like, Kinda Check This Out

I heard a story on the radio yesterday about the use of the word “like” in our modern culture. Like, this is like, the best blog that like I’ve ever like read before. The story was about how not just America has embraced this, but countries everywhere that use the English language.

Like, Kinda, Sorta, are preface words that you use without thinking in order to soften whatever you say or think, in order to let you off the hook for saying something meaningful.  

You don’t have to take full responsibility for what comes after like/kinda/sorta, because you don’t mean THOSE (harsh, over the top, not well thought out, watered down) words, you’re only sorta responsible for an idea in the like ballpark of THOSE words…you used a cheap preface to get you off the hook.

I get it. We all preface with like, kinda, sorta.

But removing those words from your attitude (and maybe even your speech) will set you apart as someone who is willing to say what they mean and mean what they say. Lots of cliches are true.

It’s easy to kinda say something. It’s hard to say something.

p.s. If this blog is helpful, entertaining or thought provoking, sign up on the right side of this page and get it in your email.  That way, if a post is particularity interesting to you, we can email back and forth about it human to human.

Why I Missed A Few Days

This is my first post in four or five days.  And you know who got on my case during those days to tell me to get down to business, write something and put it out in to the world? No one. 

That’s not to say there isn’t people who would have benefited in some way from me “releasing” a new post, but it’s just that no one cares more than I do about making it happen.

Most of us have somewhat of an idea of what we should be doing each day, and when we take a break from doing it for four or five days, there are a million excuses we tell ourselves why we couldn’t make it happen.  All of them can usually be boiled down to fear.  

Fear of coming off a certain way, fear of taking something seriously, fear of rejection, fear of acceptance, fear of being on the hook for something, fear of criticism.

You know you’re getting close to your purpose when you go through a circle of a million different emotions, both positive and negative when approaching a certain task or project. 

Fear isn’t something you should bask in, but recognize it as a guide post that doesn’t at all mean you’re heading in the wrong direction. 

Trust. Conflict. Truth.

Trust turns conflict into the pursuit of truth.

I didn’t make that up. I heard it or read it somewhere and wrote it down. The point is not to spend your time learning to avoid or squirm out of conflict. The gold is in the building of trust. Constantly living and interacting with your team in a way that builds trust.

If you’ve gone a while with no conflict, you’re doing it wrong. Maybe you need to put your team to the test or be tested yourself to see what your organization is really made of.

I’m not saying you should pick a fight but simply encouraging everyone to speak their mind for a few minutes should unearth at least something.  And how that conflict is handled and felt by everyone involved will speak loudly to the level of actual trust.

Does it feel like there are two sides battling each other? That someone just wants to be against?

Or is there a feeling of mutual respect and that both parties are trying to ultimately come together?

Conflict can be a very useful tool…when coupled with trust.

Work on the trust and dive into the conflicts.

Hotel Rooms

There is a canyon size difference between a hotel room for $60 and a hotel room for $90.

Spring the extra $30 for a decent room, every time.  

Because when you break it down, that extra $30 you were going to save for profit: five dollars would go to your manager, two to your business manager, so if there’s four guys in the band everyone is giving up about five bucks to stay somewhere you know is clean and decent.

Life is short and $30 extra is worth it every time.

If you disagree with this, one of two things is true. You can’t do math and love your $5 more than peace of mind, or you love the grimy struggle just a little too much.

It’s ok, you’ll come around. It might take a few times of getting into a bed that has food in the sheets, or a pillow case with blood stains, or a room with razor thin walls, and the smells….oh the smells.

And here’s a little tip. When you call to make the reservation, the first thing you do is to ask if they have flat screen TV’s in the rooms. If they do, it means the hotel has been renovated within the last five years or so.  If they don’t, move on. it’s a crap shoot at that point.

p.s. The difference in a $90 and a $120 room isn’t as great. The $120 room isn’t a “can I get your bags, sir” situation. It’s usually just means a slightly nicer lobby.

p.p.s. When you start rolling $150-$180 for a room and your anywhere but New York or LA, now you start talking about the hotel being an experience. And we all love to experience. Do this sometimes.

p.p.s. Everyone has at least one awesome bad-hotel stories. Email me yours: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com