A Good Example

A good example of a band that wins fans on the road.

A good example of an artist who is a beast in the studio.

A good example of a songwriter who also builds the artist thing.

A good example of an artist who also is a great producer.

A good example of a band that started over from scratch in order to make it.

A good example of an artist who plays the business well.

A good example of a band who stays busy…the right kind of busy.

A good example of a band who has built a great team with a great culture.

People talk in this business.  People love using examples when talking.

People talk about you.

What do they say you’re a good example of?

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

Waiting For The Fog To Clear

Are you waiting for the fog to clear, and then you’ll take a step?

Or are you willing to take a step while in the fog, with the hope and faith that you’ll step into more clarity and not off of a cliff?

Everyone SAYS they’re the second person…but KNOW in actuality, the first person resonates much more.

Stepping into the fog is scary and we tend to avoid scary.

No one will blame you for just sitting down and waiting for the fog to clear before you move. It’s easy to fool yourself into thinking “waiting for the fog to clear” is something you’re actively DOING.  Only lazy people are doing nothing…and that’s not you…

But the truth is in…the fog isn’t clearing.

You might get one fog-less moment every year or two.  It’ll last no more than a few seconds and then it’s gone.  So as a rule, it isn’t clearing.

And that’s ok.

Music is built of faith and hope waaaaaaay more than clarity.

Take a deep breath and step into your fog. Everyday.

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

Problems

“The problem you can’t talk about…is now two problems”

In the music business (a business of tip-toeing), this was too relevant not to pass along.

For every problem you can’t/won’t talk about, you’ve now doubled it.  

If there’s a problem, deal with it, go after it…it’s not getting better on it’s own.  For goodness sakes, even if you do in fact talk about it, it might not get better, but at least there’s a chance.

What’s the problem you can’t talk about?  Why?

So what are you going to do?

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

That New JT Song

I wasn’t planning on writing about it.

But I HAVE TO.

That new Justin Timberlake song, Can’t Stop The Feeling.

It made life better when I played it yesterday. And then played it again and again and again.

Obviously it’s the smash of 2016 and it’s only been out for 48 hours at this point.

You think you need a simple chord progression to have a smash?  

No way, you just need a progression that feels this GOOD.

You think you need to follow a certain verse/chorus structure?

No way, you just need parts that are this catchy!  You wanna have a verse and then a pre chorus and then another different pre chorus and then a chorus and THEN the hook? You can…this song does.

“Just imagine, just imagine, just imagine…”

Mmmmm, so good.

And that bass!! 

Could the bass guitar actually become cool instead of simply necessary??!!!!!

On top of it all…or maybe underneath it all…how does Max Martin keep doing it?

The track is fresh, the sounds are fresh, the melodies are insane….and this has been true of his tunes forever.

I don’t know anything about Max Martin other than his songs. I’ve never dove into his story or process as I’m sure many of you have…but man, the dude has an intuition for making people move their bodies through the power of music.

Give yourself over to it. Let it happen. Turn it up and move.

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

They’re Doing Something Right

They’re doing something right.

Who is?

Everyone.

We’ve trained ourselves to find the flaws, the short comings, to be the snarky peanut gallery.  And where has that gotten us?

Can we learn from others’ mistakes?  Yes…but in the music business and in show business it’s not black and white.  Its a continuum.  A thing, an idea, a decision, a set list choice could be better, could be worse…sometimes it suits someones career a little better, or a little worse.

It’s rare to truly have a case of “he shouldn’t have done that”…usually the truth is “he should have done that a little more this way, or that way” “he should have waited a little longer” “he needs to tweak it”.

No one succeeding in show business is a complete idiot (although some seem to continually make their case).

Get out of the mud and start learning from what other artists are doing right.

Growing your list of what not to do (that is, what you’ve decided you yourself are not going to do, or ways in which you won’t do things) is valuable.

But if that’s all you have, and haven’t built your list of things TO DO, you’ll never be great.

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

How Can We Save More Money?

Approaching the issue from “what’s best for my team” as opposed to “how can we save more money”, will save you more money.

I know, money is scarce. It almost always seems to be.

“How can we save more money?” triggers immediate scheming and thinking, short term solutions, often times sacrificing long term success.

You can always find a cheaper guitar player.  You can always negotiate one percentage point less for your agent.  That will save you money….but at what cost?

“What’s best for my team?” triggers long term thinking…long term solutions…and that always saves money, the right way.

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