Artist Distractions

Distractions from doing the hard part…

-changing the picture on your website
-99% of what you do on your phone
-rehashing
-going on the road
-not going on the road
-searching for reassurance
-making a song perfect
-tweaks on your demo mix
-making a logo
-resentment
-busyness
-gossip
-any website where you can scroll down more than once to see new things
-blowing your nose
-binge watching
-checking email
-complaining

You’ve sat down to work on the hard part but then you decided to to something else instead.  That other thing is a distraction.  

Distractions make us feel like we’re winning (or that everything is ok), but the reality it they put is in the land of mediocre.

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

Likers And Lovers

There are people who like your band, and people who love your band.

What makes someone fall into one group or the other? (the answer is different for each artist)

The definition and identity of these two groups will change over the course of your career and it will be important to recognize that evolution, and let your communication to the Likers and Lovers evolve as well.

For instance-

When you sell out your first club show, the vast majority of those people are Lovers of your band.  When Katy Perry sells out an arena, she banks on the fact that a lot of Likers will show up as well.  If only the Lovers showed up, she wouldn’t sell it out.

It’s also vital that you’re aware of when you’re communicating to each group.  When are you talking to the Likers? When is your communication meant for the Lovers, the insiders?

You’ll be able to manage your expectations better and be able to contribute more value if you have a clear picture of which group you’re talking to, why they exist, their identity and the story you’re helping them tell.

An exercise to help you start down this road…

Who likes your band?

Who loves your band?

What’s the difference?

p.s. There are two other groups.  

The Haters- who are actually lovers, because their strong reaction is a great contribution to the conversation.  The old saying “if you could get a million people to hate your band, you’d be just fine”.  

The Bystanders- the only type of person you’re hoping against, but a lot of them exist for every act big or small.  There’s nothing wrong with these people.  Just don’t use much of your time communicating to this type.  The hope is that they convert to one of the other groups by not catering to them.

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

Michael Jordan’s Free-Throw Dunk

Where did Michael Jordan dunk it from?  The free throw line.

Or, at least that’s what everyone answers.

But most people don’t realize that they’ve never seen Michael Jordan dunk from the free throw line.  

Because he didn’t.  In both slam dunk contests, his foot was well beyond the free throw line.  You can see it plainly.  Everyone in the world gave him credit for something he didn’t do.

But it doesn’t matter, because everyone wants and needs to believe that he’s Air Jordan and that he can dunk 15 feet away from the basket.  We’re inspired, excited, entertained and adopt it as a staple of excellence in our pop culture.

It’s a GREAT story.

The truth…Michael Jordan got really close and then our minds filled in the rest.

The story we tell ourselves is more important than the truth of the story.

Michael Jordan can dunk from the free throw line because we want him to be able to dunk from the free throw line.

We want to believe. You don’t have to make it perfect or just right or 100%. You just have to be great enough so that our hearts can fill the gap.  You have to give enough so that our feeble minds can attach to it and fill in the story we desire.

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

Books Could Be Short

You’ve probably heard it before…any nonfiction book could be whittled down and written in about 3 pages.  

So why take time to write the other two or three hundred that go along with it? Because readers want to immerse themselves in it. They don’t just want the bullet points, they want the experience, they want to feel like they took time to do something worthwhile.

They get more out of it and hold on to more of it.

It works.

The author usually knows the simplicity of what he/she’s doing or pointing out or arguing for, but with more context comes greater attachment.

In music, things get turned around all too often.

Artists have the long form kinda sorta figured out…the album, the concert experience, the three hour business dinner meeting.  

If you’re a seasoned artist, you give context, experience, feeling and value in long form situations.

But is it despite yourself?

You can do the long form (maybe even pretty well), but do you know your bullet point version?

What are you all about?

What is the point?

Sum up yourself.

What is the meat and potatoes of the thing?

If you have an album, if you’ve played a couple hundred shows, if you’re sitting down for business meetings, you probably have your books-worth of material…but be sure to have a GREAT book summary page ready to go.

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

Meat RollUp

I went to Publix today to get a wrap. The Club, because it was on sale.

I waited at the counter for a while and no one was coming to help for a few minutes until an employee walked over, said she didn’t know how to do it but that she would make me a wrap.

Usually on a Club Wrap you get a couple pieces of roast beef, turkey and ham, then maybe some cheese and whatever else.

But this lady said “hmmm, I guess I’ll just do it like a pizza”.

She proceeded to put each element over the entire 12 inch tortilla.  Layers and layers of meat, and then about six large pieces of swiss cheese.  She could barely even roll it up one time over.  It was the diameter of a softball.

And it costed me three bucks.

This lady didn’t know what she was doing but her character erred on the side of generosity and going over board to make sure I was happy.

And I was very very happy.

When you get thrown into an unfamiliar situation (or even a familiar one), how do you take the lead, what is your go-to, do you give what you want, or do you give what the other person needs?

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

Jerry Seinfeld

I finally paid Jerry Seinfeld some money.

Last night I saw him perform here in Nashville. Absolutely hilarious and entertaining.  Worth every penny…I would have even paid more.

I’ve paid him for many years with my attention. Watching him on TV, the TV channel sells adds because people like me watch and then Jerry makes some money on the back end from the advertising.

Jerry started his stand up comedy career in the 80’s. He had a crazy successful TV show in the 90’s.  I started watching that TV show in the 2000’s and paid him money for his art in the 2010’s.

That’s a long commitment on his part. It took me a long time to go down the funnel.  

But he continued to be great so people like me continued to take notice.

How long are you committed to being great?

p.s.  The show was awesome. I laughed the entire time, wiped away tears two times.  He exceeded expectations and was a total pro.  All this with no production. No cool lights or fog to add vibe.  No walk on music, no intros, no tricks. Just a dude talking, speaking, story telling in a way that made me comfortable, happy and laughing all night.  Jerry knows exactly what his role is in my life.

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