Fun To Be The Dopey One

True story…

“I’m the guy who never knows what’s going on.”

I heard a musician guy say this to a group of his buddies at a coffee shop the other day.  Everyone had a good laugh, and echoed something similar about themselves, desiring to be part of the club.

Why does everyone love that guy so much?

Because he poses no threat.  He’s really kind of a goob, isn’t he? That guy will not rock the/your boat.  He will not impose his strength, whether it’s for or against you.  He’s taken himself off the hook.  He rolls with the wind.  Whatever is comfortable, he’s on board.  

So he makes you feel safe.

But when I think of artist or leader, I don’t think of safe.  I think of creativity, risk, vision, tension, release, purpose, declaration, the edge.

It’s fun to be the dopey guy for a second.

It’s fulfilling to strive to be an artist/leader for a lifetime.

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

Band Money

Tax day. Usually the only day people dedicate their attention to their finances as opposed to what’s going on with the Kardashian’s.

If you’re a band or artist (a business) who brings in more than a couple thousand dollars a month (gross), you need two things.

A business manager and a monthly money meeting.

A business manager is not your uncle who knows how to add, your mom who knows how to pay your cell phone bill because you don’t, or the bass player who took accounting 101 in high school.

You need a pro.  And for the services they provide, it’s some of the best money you can spend on your career.  They are smarter than you, add better, know the laws, know how to save you money, know the tax code, know how to structure the business in the most advantageous way.

They’re worth it.  If you need suggestions, ask me.

Then also, talk about money with your band/team at least once a month.  At the very least, talk about what money is coming in and what expenses are happening.  Hopefully this leads to your team having financial plans/goals/vision…but if nothing else, adopt the baby step of talking about money once a month.

Even if you don’t think you’re organization is making a ton of money, it’s an excellent practice to start now. That way as the money grows, you’ll have good habits already in place…as opposed to bad habits, which will be the result of doing nothing.

I know you hate talking about money but you’re going to have to get over it if you ever want to have any.

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

Drip Drop. Drip Drop.

Committing to do something daily that is beneficial to your career is beneficial for your career.

Commitment is beneficial for your mind as well.  We all need a little robotic nature in our lives (…and the truth is some of us need a little less, but go with me…).  It exercises the commitment, loyalty, vision, goal setting muscles in a very simple way.  

But simple things done everyday turn into significant results.

I’m not saying you should release an album every day or vow to play a show every day or spend five hours at the gym every day.

Find something that you can quietly commit to on a daily basis.  Something small.

Reading a blogger, writing a blog, singing a song, writing a poem, sitting outside for 5mins, doing 20 pushups, starting your day with a glass of water.

And you don’t have to be perfect, you just have to commit to not letting yourself off the hook.

When you start doing something everyday you learn how to stick with things in general.  But for whatever simple thing you choose, don’t fool yourself into thinking that just because it’s simple that the voices trying to get you to not do it are going to stop.  They won’t.

But having at least one tiny victory each day will start redefining the fight.

Do something everyday. Starting today.

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

Lining Up To Pay $100

Paying U2 $100 to get into the show doesn’t create the feeling I get when I go to there show.  The money doesn’t cause the result.

Paying Jerry Seinfeld $100 to get into the show doesn’t make him funny and cause me to laugh all night.  The money is just the price to get in.

Paying someone $100 to clean your house causes your house to get clean. It’s a transaction where I give $100 worth of money and a company gives me $100 worth of cleaning services.  It equals out.  Zero sum.

But artists like U2 or Seinfeld give me something I can’t really compensate them for.  I get much much more from Bono than he does from my $100.  It’s a feeling, an inspiration, hope, community…it’s invaluable.

That’s what artists do.  They understand that their true gift is to give, knowing that the transaction will leave the audience with far more than the artist will take home in their guarantee.

That’s why when we find artists who get this and can do this and connect with us, we line up to pay, to get inside, to receive and experience a gift that can’t possibly have a price tag.

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

Leading As Influence

Leading is all about influencing.

Not manipulating, influencing.

The difference, as I’ve heard it described, is that manipulating is getting someone to do something that they’ll regret later. Influencing is getting someone to do something that will benefit them, and possibly you too.

Being the smart one in the band, the most talkative, the prettiest, the most talented, the one who started the band, the micro-manager…doesn’t make you a good leader, or even a leader at all.

Leading is about building influence through trust, communication, honesty and a genuine care for others.

Who is doing that? Are you doing that? Should you, could you be doing that?

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

Ego Bombing

Ego-Bombing:
When taking a band picture with fans, the lead singer does something crazy, different, dumb, childish, wild, sexual, egocentric so that the fans don’t forget who the top dog is when they look back at the pic later.

Ego Bombing has several different appearances. Here are a few:

-pointing at someone else in the picture
-blue steel
-a raised eyebrow
-crazy eyes
-general dis-interest
-rock n roll hands
-surf’s up hands
-double thumbs up
-single thumbs up
-hands in pockets/no physical touch with others
-wide eyed
-lifting up someones leg and playing it like a guitar

To the Ego Bombers: Hopefully by dragging this phenomenon out into the open, your Ego Bombing will get more interesting and creative.

To those who aren’t Ego Bombers: put your arm around someone who is and remind them they are loved and special even without doing a bunch of attention seeking, dumb stuff in pictures.

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