The More Time Spent Unfamous

A handful of years ago when two bands, Kings Of Leon and NeedToBreathe, were arriving at their respective pinnacles of their careers…some interesting chatter was happening around Nashville.

Namely….EVERYONE was subtly (and not so subtly) taking responsibility for being the one who blew up the band.

Every publisher was the publisher who discovered them first. Every manager had helped them get their first breaks.  Every label person had been there for the deal.  Every PR rep was the rep who did the tour that ended up being the tipping point.

It was super annoying.

BUT…there was some truth there.  And obviously these people felt proud and connected.

And what’s more, is it’s a real testament to those bands’ willingness to trust and work with a lot of different people while being unfamous.  All that time spent under the radar was time spent making other people feel connected to them.  Making others feel special for having worked with them.

If you get wildly successful but no one has helped you get there, then nobody is walking around telling stories about helping/being connected to you in that way.

Believe me, you want people telling the stories about you, believing their contribution was meaningful in your accent.

The more time spent unfamous is more time for you to plant more seeds so that when the rain comes, more people can take responsibility for the harvest.

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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

Have Some Business Friends

Hey Artists…

Have some friends on the business side. Some real friends, some buddies.

It’s a whole different perspective on what’s going on in the business.

Things stay pretty crazy inside the artist bubble…so when you get outside of it for a second and connect with someone on the business side, the things they say will sound weird…like they don’t know what’s going on.

But they probably do.

Fight hard to see it from their perspective, even for a few moments.

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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

I’m Not Sure If It’ll Work

“I’m not sure if it’ll work, let’s not do it.”

That’s how most new show ideas, tweaks, arcs go

With out realizing it you make an emotional reactive decision rather than an open thoughtful one. 

Putting something into the set that might not work, whether its a song, story, interlude, lighting effect, wardrobe choice, is the exact reason to put it in.

Think about your favorite artist(s) you’ve seen live.

You probably don’t remember most of what actually happened, but you definitely remember a couple things.

At some point, weeks or months or years before you personally saw that idea unfold before your eyes, someone came up with that idea.

And when that idea was shared, someone in the room said “I’m not sure if it’ll work, let’s not do it”.

But it was done anyway, and that’s the thing you’ll remember about the show for the rest of your life.

How about, “I’m not sure if it’ll work…perfect, we’re on the right track”. 

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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

Stealing Your Thunder

Ahhh…That ever elusive credit.

You were feeling good about what you’d done, your momentum, the trajectory, the realization of the plan, the pinnacle moment.  The dominos are busy falling over and you spent long hours pushing them over.

And then someone swipes your thunder.

Someone takes credit in front of someone YOU respect…someone you would like to impress.

Oh it burns.

But if someone is putting the time and effort into stealing your thunder…that means you have thunder to steal (and the robber is likely well aware).

It’s easy to want to call the cops when someone steals your thunder.  Seeking justice, or at least complain to a few people about it.

But the wise person knows that stolen thunder can never benefit the robber in the long run.

You can’t build on stolen thunder.

And it’s funny, in the long run, the thunder finds its way back to the original maker of it.

So if you’re in the business of stealing thunder, stop it, ultimately its worthless to you.

If you’re the one getting your thunder stolen, you’re on the right track.

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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

Don’t Bore Us

Kanye isn’t boring. Neither is Bono, Madonna, Cam Newton, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, Amy Poehler, or the Gallagher brothers.

You need to learn how to be not boring.  It’s show business baby.

It’s not about being better or worse, or likable vs. unlikable, it’s about being different…and not in a boring way.

Your vibe, your show, your schpeel, your interview…just don’t bore us.  

All those people listed above, we wonder what they’ll say. And kinda know the gist of what and how they’ll say it, but somehow we still wonder and don’t really know, and wait for it and are interested.

How is this done? 

Wrong question. Back up. Get underneath.

WHY do you want to know how?

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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

Blah Songs

You have them. The ones you just wanna get through in the set.

Songs that you’re looking forward to booting from the show.

But a blah song can be the perfect setup for one of the good ones.

Bring them low to make the rocket blast feel even bigger.

Suddenly the blah song has a specific purpose and therefore doesn’t feel so blah anymore.

Purpose reduces the blah.

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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