Who’s Really Working?

Everyone wants just enough going on so that they have something to talk about, but not so much going on that they don’t have time to tell everyone what they have going on.

Who’s really working? The people you haven’t heard from in a while.

Even Roger Federer when he won the semi-final at the US Open last week said it was fun to play in front of a crowd because he spends most of his time training alone with no one watching or paying attention.  

The thankless, unseen, uninteresting work. That’s the real work.

If someone is bragging they’re usually losing.

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

Early And Late

It never feels like it makes sense to do things early until you’re running out of time.

You could have done it early, but you had so much time…so it could wait.

For a lot of things, there’s no moment where you’re doing it on time.  It either feels too early or too late.

Why was it late? Why were you late? Because you were busy.

Doing what?  Waiting till the last minute.

Why? Because being early feels weird.

Get it done. Now.

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

So You’re Still Working On Your Record?

A lot of times I hear an album and think, wow, they had way too much time on their hands.

Time is a luxury and also a trap.

It’s true, God is in the details, so don’t skip digging into those. But you’re not God, so as much as you think you can make the perfect song and album, you can’t.

As the self indulgent, bravado induced Noel Gallagher said “True perfection has to be imperfect.”

Stop spending days weeks and months making your songs “INTERESTING”, and spend a little time making GREAT songs.

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

Band Emailing

Your email list is an extremely valuable asset.  It’s people who have granted you permission and invited you to speak to them about what’s going on with you and your music.

Make your emails a pleasant experience for your readers.  For goodness sake.

Make it easy.

So many bands do a horrible job at the actual email.  Maybe it’s great content, but they fail to write it and structure it in an easily digestible way.

We should be able to scroll the email and get the gist.  If we love the gist we’ll read the details.

Don’t write long paragraphs.  Don’t put a million links in those paragraphs.  Don’t try and make a hundred main points.  Focus on one or maybe two.  Make it personal, not mechanical.  Email often enough so we don’t forget you and then be consistent with it, so your fans get used to the flow.

Go and sign up for a handful of your favorite bands email lists.  You’ll see some who do a good job and some that are dreadful. Spoiler: Grace Potter has awesome music but her emails make me nauseous.

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

Rubik’s Cube

If you walk into someone’s office and they have a Rubik’s’ cube sitting on their desk…you clearly understand something about what that person values.

If you walk into someones office and they have a completed Rubik’s cube sitting on their desk…you have an even deeper insight into their value system and how they view the world.

Your goal is to create something like a Rubik’s cube…only it’s a song, an album, an image, a sound that has a distinct value system interwoven in it.

If you walk into someone’s office and they have your record sitting on their desk…what does that say about them?

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

Clapping And Tapping

In a crowd of a thousand, you clap because the person next to you is clapping and cheering.  They started clapping because the person in front of them decided to clap.

Follow this through the progression and you’ll get to the first person who started clapping.  The person who, at least for a second, was the only one clapping.  The person who needed no one’s affirmation in order to show that they believe.

In the music business we have a bunch of people looking to their right and left before they start clapping and cheering and championing an artist.

The visionaries are the ones who clap first.  The ones who are willing to tap their toes without first seeing who else is tapping their toes.

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