Renting Out An Arena

That’s what the big mamma-jamma pros do to get their show ready.  It’s not to learn the songs, or argue about arrangements or even come up with the bulk of the show ideas. All this is done beforehand.

They rent the arena to implement and tweak, for the artist and the team to get used to the transitions and the flow.  To hit the banter while walking the catwalk, hit the lighting cues, the guitar switches, hear how the in-ears react to the room.

It’s getting the show so focused and on-purpose that the spirit just might start showing up to see what’s going on…and sprinkle a little fairy dust on the whole thing night after night.

If you’re playing arenas you probably have the money to rent one out for rehearsals.

If you’re playing dive bars, rent out your mom’s basement.  Whatever applies to you.

But not for rehearsal as you usually think of it.  Not to rehearse the songs…but to rehearse the SHOW in which you will play those songs.

Do this.

If all we want to do is hear your songs, we’ll fire up Spotify.

But we want to get out of our house and experience something “you had to be there for”.

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

To Be Known For It

It’s amazing how hard you have to stress your point, how many times you must share your message, how consistent you must live your story in order for people to even start picking up on it.

For the common person to think Lady GaGa is weird and artsy, she had to be weird and artsy a million times.

For Bono to have the flippant title of a do-gooder political activist, he had to actively to a lot of good and meet with lots of politicians.

For Steven Tyler and Joe Perry to ever start becoming known as the toxic twins, they had to do a lot of drugs and get it a lot of fights.

You rarely, if ever, become known for something you did once, an isolated expression.

Your only hope to become known as anything specific requires a long term message, always consistent, paired with action, genuine to the artist, with the clincher being found in the music.

If you don’t feel like you’re beating your message like a dead horse, you haven’t displayed it enough yet.

We want to know the thing you’re all about. But we’re dumb. You need to tell us (usually by not actually telling us) over and over and over and over.

p.s.  Yes, first things first, in order to push a message you have to have a message.  Yes, it will be helpful to know what your message is in order to push it.  Yes, even if you don’t know what your message is, you’re already pushing it, just not as effectively.

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

If They Would Just...

You’ve said it many times before haven’t you? Haven’t we all…

If the agent would just…

If the manager would just…

If the audience would just…

If the drummer would just…

But rather than filling your mind with what other people “just” need to do for you… 

Who is saying that about YOU? And what do they just need YOU to do?

Better to focus on that rather than be the one saying it.

p.s. If you do find yourself saying “If so-and-so would just…”, graciously and tactfully do something about it.  If you’re not willing to act, it’s not worth griping about at all.

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

The Music Money Mystery

Of the mysteries in the music business, one of the ones most often talked about, complained about, envied about…is the ever bewildering money mystery.

You know exactly what it looks like but here’s a refresher…

-struggling artist doesn’t have a side job
-songwriter without a pub deal (or hits) constantly going on “writer retreats”
-young producer has the nicest studio in town
-new band has all of the best gear known to man
-a 23 year old manager “owns” a condo downtown

You sit back and wonder how in the world are they doing this?? It’s a true money mystery!!!  
There’s always an answer and it’s never far away.

The answer to the mystery isn’t that they have writing credit on a Lady Gaga’s hit that they’ve been secretly collecting on all this time…

The answer is exactly what you think it is: They have someone giving/loaning them money!!  A parent, a trust, a rich dumb investor, a credit card, doesn’t matter…yes, they’re getting money, they’re not making it on their own.

It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re getting joy, fulfillment, respect, power, credibility or wisdom…but the money and what it buys can usually trick you into giving them prestige.

The answer to “HOW IN THE WORLD DID THEY GET…”, is someone gave it to them.

Mystery solved. Get over it. Onto more important things.

p.s.  The other, much much more rare answer to the money mystery is that they actually paid for it.  It took time, they worked hard, saved up, invested well, budgeted well, partnered with smart people and now they’re able to do whatever it is they want.  

Not so mysterious…and certainly attainable.

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

An Alternative To Firing

As the leader, if I expect my team member to do A and instead they do B…where B= not really doing a whole lot of work…there’s a breakdown happening and I should probably let the team member go because my clearly stated expectations and what’s actually being done are not lining up.

In order to not have to let this team member go, the expectations have to line up. 

The most natural lining up of expectations that comes to mind is to lead and inspire a change where I expect A and they perform A.

Duh.

But the other thing you could do is this…they’re only doing B and I change MY expectations to only ask for B.

It may sound strange but consider this…

The PR rep is expected to get your new album featured on ten major blogs the first week of release.  They’re a really nice person, easy to work with, but they only get the album featured on two blogs the first week.

This sort of thing keeps happening.  If the expectation is ten per week and only two come through, you either need to fire them or adjust you’re expectations of them down to two blogs a week. Either choice is beneficial to both of you.

Else you will go freaking crazy and be complaining about them all the time, when you are the one keeping them around.

Being on the same page, together, in unity, is ever important…even more important than which page it actually is.

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

Building The Kingdom

Being in a band (or being the artist) is like home ownership…in the long run it’s much more lucrative.

In the short term, it’s waaaay more expensive.

You’re the one on the hook 24hrs a day. Anything that goes wrong, anything that has to be rebuilt or renovated, you’re the one.

Welcome to ownership.

It kinda sucks, but over time it’s the only way to build a kingdom.

 p.s. It’s ok if you don’t want to be an owner.  But if you do…you’re probably the kind of person reading something like this.


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