Attention vs. Missing Out

I watched the latest season of House Of Cards in an embarrassingly short amount of time.  Something like 13 episodes, roughly 50 mins each. Do the math….no I’ll do it for you, that’s almost 11 hours dedicated to a single entity.

I was captivated. Obviously it did a great job of keeping my attention.  

But the reason I was able to blow through all 13 episodes, without blinking, didn’t have to do with my attention span…it had everything to do with the fact that I didn’t believe I was missing out on something else better.

People have long attention spans. Really long. Regardless of what you read telling you the opposite.

Attention spans become irrelevant as long as you can make me feel like I’m not missing out on something else.

The goal is to make people forget that there even is something else.

The shift in focus is a shift toward what’s really happening.  Doesn’t mean it’s any easier, but at least you’ll be battling the right dragon. So whey you slay it, there’s actually a prize.

If you can make people forget about missing out, you win.

p.s. I’ve also watched a good bit of Scandal. Definitely keeps my attention. Definitely feel like I’m absolutely for sure missing out on something better.  So I stopped.

I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Why You Had A Bad Time At SXSW

There’s a really well written, funny, satirical article going around about a band at SXSW having a miserable time.  It’s a worthwhile article. Hilarious and sad at the same time.

Lot’s of people are using this article to boo-hoo being an artist at SXSW, to point the finger at everyone else…avoiding responsibility.

But SXSW last week was a place where the yakkers and talkers won. So in this case, some people were natural winners, but everyone had the potential to be winner.

If you showed up to SXSW after a year of being a hermit, writing, tweeting, dreaming from your living room, certainly you didn’t expect to excel in a social environment.

You’re like Pee Wee showing up and expecting to do well at a cross fit competition.  

You need to get out of the house.

You’re surprised you couldn’t and can’t get along and connect with people, but you haven’t initiated conversation in ages, and thats what SXSW is, and also what life is made of. Connection.

If you’re willing to connect, to put yourself out there and talk to people, you can always avoid taking ten steps backward at an event.  And I might even go so far as to say you can turn anything into at least a baby step forward.

So congrats to the winners, you deserve it. Losers, start practicing for next year.

I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Favorite Mistake

When you were a little kid taking piano lessons or violin lessons, if you made 5 mistakes per 100 notes, you were an exceptional player, maybe even top of the class. Your parents would weep at the end of your performance.

You keep practicing and practicing year after year and in high school you’ve been able to whittle it down to 1 mistake every 1000.

That’s really good. Not perfect, but really good.  You practiced years, took private lessons, played everyday in school.

Now, if you want play for the New York Philharmonic, the difference between 999 correct notes and 1000 correct notes is the size of the grand canyon.  And you will have to practice multiple hours per day for years in order to close that gap.

People don’t come from all over the world to hear an orchestra that is mostly right…they come to hear sophisticated perfection.  That’s the orchestra gig. Perfection.

But your act isn’t like that. People don’t come for perfection.  That’s not your reputation (unless you tell people that’s your reputation).

Bands and artists should be great, and focus on being great at their instruments. The music deserves that.

But the time it would take for you and your band to become absolutely 100% flawless, is not time well spent. You’re not the New York Philharmonic.

People don’t come to you to be moved by perfection, they come to be moved.  Totally different gig.

So keep practicing, keep getting better, but remember that just because you don’t make mistakes doesn’t make it important.

If you got perfect at moving people and were imperfect in your playing or singing….sounds like every big act I can think of.

I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Creating Development

Releasing music (or an idea) makes you take ownership of it. You have to answer for it.

It’s a benchmark.

Because it’s a benchmark, something you finished and released, you’ll remember it and will be a place to develop from.

Released music is unforgettable to the maker of it.

The music you’ve released is the most visible sign (to yourself and possibly others) of creative development.

If you want to develop creatively, write more music, and RELEASE more music.

This used to be impossible.  It used to take tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to put your music on the line.

Now it’s cheap. You could do it before you eat dinner if you wanted to.  Big act, small act, doesn’t matter anymore.

Writing music is hard and scary. Releasing music is easy and scary.  At least there’s an easy part.

New music for the world to hear is still the most exciting thing about you.  It’s your best calling card.  

It’s the best way to get doors that were once stuck, to start swinging.

Your new release schedule: more often.

I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Trading Basketball Teams

I love the NCAA basketball tournament. Probably the most continuous stretch of time I spend on the couch all year.

More than ever this year, all the teams are really really good. All the players are giant and look much older than me. Some of them are really good at 3-pointers, some can jump really high, some can run fast, some steal the ball a lot.

So…

If, at the beginning of each game, the home team swapped a couple players with the visiting team, there really wouldn’t be much of a disruption talent-wise. Most players are pretty close.

What would change is the communication, trust, chemistry, history, belief, coaching.  There would be a strange disruption.  The new players would be very similar to the other players in all the visible ways…but be completely different in all the invisible ways.

Teams are great when they trust each other and know how to play really well TOGETHER.

Maybe you think trading your booking agent for another one is your solution. Maybe you think recruiting the right manager is the ticket.  Maybe your trying to charm your way into the right PR firm.

Or maybe you already have all the talent you need right in front of you. On your own team.  But the team has no clue how to play together.  

Adding talent doesn’t help trust. Adding trust grows talent.

I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

Why You Show Up

When you show up, you’re there to give.

When you show up to the show, you’re not there for the fans….not yet.

You’re there for the roadie who meets you out back.

Then you’re there for the sound guy, then the monitor guy.

Then the guy getting more beer for the green room.

Then the door guy or the people taking tickets.

The crew, the waitress, the merch helpers, the security guards.

You’re there for the runners, the opening bands, their girlfriends.

Your band and your road manager and your tech. You’re there to give to them too.

And then the fans.

Most artists, at best, think they’re there to give to the fans.  Do not overlook the others.

Every interaction is an opportunity to give gifts. To spend emotional energy on the world you’re living in that day.

The greats don’t wait to get on stage to make an impact.

I’m always interested in your perspective, whether affirming or dissenting. Continue the conversation anytime: gabethebassplayer@gmail.com