No Answers In This Post

Remember, you’re doing something right.

In fact, you’re probably doing a lot right.

As for what you’re doing wrong, or where you’re deficient…

This blog, other blogs, podcasts, interviews…the answers aren’t there.  

I wish they would be…for you, and for me.

Maybe pieces of the answers, maybe the starting line, maybe a turn in a better direction or a gradual shift in perspective is somewhere in there. But not the answer.

Answers come via waaaaaaay more messiness than a blog post.  And way more time than it takes to read one.

But thank you for reading this one.  If this can be a jumping off point, or begin the slightest shift in vision, or stimulate an idea that you choose to run with…I’m happy with that answer.

**pass this along to three people who who are looking for the answers on the internet 

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

Noticing Leads To Knowing

Noticing leads to knowing.  

You can trust this simple progression.  It happens automatically.

So if noticing leads to knowing, then how and where you spend you’re time is going to be key as to which tendencies and truths you come to know and understand.

If you spend a lot of time sitting on your front porch, you will start to notice things about your street…and probably end up knowing some things you wish you didn’t.

If you spend a lot of time on tour, there’s plenty to notice, plenty to know.  But the road is so taxing its easy to forget to notice things. (The progression starts with noticing, which leads to knowing, automatically…however the noticing doesn’t happen automatically)

If you stay plugged into the music business for long enough, and keep noticing, and keep noticing, and keep your eyes open, and keep noticing…you’ll know.

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

Look What You’ve Done

Venturing into my interior painting experience, I bring you this…

The point is to get the entire house painted.  That’s the purpose of setting out on the journey.

But you stand back and look at the first wall you’ve painted and appreciate the success and completion of painting one wall. That looks good.

Then the whole room is finished…you stand at the door way looking in at the room you’ve completed, feel accomplished, and then close the door and on to the next.  It feels great to be done with one room and now there’s more to do.

Then all the bedrooms are done, great, the the whole floor, sweet relief, then the time-sucking bathrooms are completed, then the second floor is knocked out, then the third (wow, you have a big house).


In painting its easy to see and mentally celebrate lots of moments along the way to completing the entire house.  There’s visual and metal beauty to each step.

In music it is the exact opposite.  Most of the time it feels like there are zero moments to celebrate in the music business.

It’s all “onto the next room” and no “look at the room I just transformed”.

I’m not saying throw a party every time you update your website or get more than ten re-tweets…but along the way while you’re in process of completing your project, stand back and look what you’ve done.  

It looks great.

p.s. Celebrating takes practice.

p.p.s.  On a related note…Taking a break takes even more practice.  Both worth practicing and getting good at.



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

The Muse Is In The Planning

What do you hope happens at your show?

Whatever your answer is…DO things that will cause that to happen. On purpose. The muse is in your planning, not in your “lets just see what happens”. 

p.s. Great comedians never tell people to laugh, or even invite them to laugh…they tell jokes.  Most artists do the equivalent of telling, asking, demanding that people laugh, but then follow it up with a vanilla joke.

p.p.s. If you have to tell people to dance, you’re playing the wrong songs.



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

Sneak Peeks

Sneak peeks and teaser videos are for fans, not for new people or to get new fans. 

The fans are excited about the content.

The others are uninterested, teetering on annoyed…or most definitely annoyed.

Market accordingly. 

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

If You Don’t Have The Song pt. 2

The flip side to the post the other day would be….if you have the song.

What if you HAVE the song?  What if you have Uptown Funk sitting on your hard drive?

What do you do with it…could you get it heard? What’s the plan?

I know…THE song opens new opportunities and new plans precisely because it’s the song. But for all the wishing you had the song…what if you actually did?

Think about it.  Where do you take it…how to you make sure your Uptown Funk is as big as Uptown Funk?

Here’s one part of the plan…if you have the song…don’t stop playing it.  Even when it gets to be a year old, two years old, three years old.  Even when it hasn’t hit yet.  Don’t stop playing it.

You may or may not have the perfect chain of people to play your smash for, but keep leading with it.  Keep putting it into the world.

If you have the song, keep pushing, keep playing.

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