Making You Career Stand Out NOW

You don’t have to wait for permission.  You don’t have to wait for anyone.

If you want to be the person who follows through…the position is open.  

That person is rare and that person is considered highly valuable.

If you talk about getting together, making a call, sending an email, making a promise, connecting two parties…and you don’t, no one will mention it.  Because this type of dropping the ball happens ALL the time in the music business.  People not following through in these simple ways is “just the way it is”.

So you’re off the hook, you don’t have to follow through.  And no one will notice or think of you as a bad person.

BUT on the other hand, if you follow through on these simple things, you have the rare honor of becoming known as someone who follows through (on these simple things).  And over time people WILL notice, and think of you as an exceptional player in the business.

That reliable, credible identity is there for the taking.  

Are you willing to take it?

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

Harley Tattoos

People get Harley tattoos.

They don’t get Suzuki tattoos. 

You get to choose what type of company, brand, operation you spend your time building.

But in fact, if you don’t choose what type of company, brand, operation you spend your time building…you’ve also chosen.

You choose.

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

Grammatical Errors

Sorry about the one yesterday.  The first word in the subject line…I do know the difference between you’re and your…but it was kind of embarrassing.

Actually, only those who got it sent to their email witnessed the grammatical error.  I corrected it by the time it went up on the actual blog, Facebook and Twitter.

My wife tells me I need to let her proof read each post before I send it.  I should act on her wisdom more.

But alas, I sent it.  And that’s the most important thing to me.  That it gets sent.

I don’t spend too much time proof reading or even rewriting.  If I comb through it for too long, that can be a black hole for me.  I can easily get hyper analytical and stall myself. 

And then there’s lots of posts where the second it goes up I think of changes I’d like to make, a better way to say what I said, a better flip of the words.

So I send it quickly.  Sometimes there’s grammatical errors, probably every time there’s a better way I could have said something.

Sending out a 98% good post is better than not sending one at all.

So I’ll keep sending.

Thanks for raeding.

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

Your Beautiful Studios With Expensive Rates Are Safe

Here in Nashville, and I’m sure LA and some other places, there’s always chit chatter about some studio closing down, getting sold, being converted into a micro chip manufacturing plant

And every once and a while it turns out to be true.

But nice studios, the legendary rooms, will never die.

Why?

I’ve learned to make a pretty legit steak here at my house.  I also have developed the skills to make an old fashioned that rivals any swanky bar in Nashville.  

Both of these things I make at home, I have everything I need at home.  And the end result is delicious and I thoroughly enjoy the process of getting there.

BUT…I’d rather go to Kane Prime or Patterson House or Old Glory for the same food and drink and sit in a dimly lit, leather backed booth with a candle in the middle and a menu that doesn’t list the prices for things because you know its just all expensive.

That’s where I WANT to be.  It’s special.  It makes me feel different than eating and drinking at my kitchen table, even though I like my kitchen table too and it absolutely serves the purpose.


You’re beautiful studios with “expensive” rates are safe.

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

Writing Songs Is Not A Linear Process

When you build a model airplane and you’re about half way through, the plane looks about half way complete.  You did half the work and have half the result to show for it. 

You keep progressing down the path to the finish line.  60%, 70%, 80%, 90% done…and the plane looks 90% done.

Now, at 90% its obviously almost done.  It’s almost the masterpiece you set out to complete.  And then it’s completely done and you stand back proud of your diligent work and the fact that you made it.  You took it from 0 to 100.

Songwriting is not like that.

In songwriting, like in model airplanes, you start with nothing, at 0. 

But instead of a steady climb to 100 and a corresponding ‘thing’ to show all along the way, its more like this in the songwriting process…

It goes from 0 to 25 to 26 to 4 to 65 to -33 to 0 to -40 to 15 to 100!!!!!

Half way through doesn’t correspond to half way to 100.  Half way through in no way corresponds to having 50% to show.

That’s the sweet frustration of it all.  A perfect, complete 100 may be right around the corner or far far far away.  You’ll just have to keep going to find out.

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

Pumps

Pumps came out when I was a kid.  They were marketed as the cool shoe to buy.  Commercials with basketball players pressing the pump (the pump even looked like a basketball) before going out onto the court meant that if I bought those shows then I could press the pump before I went out onto the court too!

I am like them, they are like me. I think they are cool, others will think I am cool.

Then pumps went out of style.

Then, recently, pumps came back.

Only this time with a different message.  Now you buy pumps because they help you and you care about your health and wellness, and you are a smart person.  That’s the story now. Same technology, different story.

Pumps are sold as ‘if you really care about your feet, body, overall well-being, these are probably a good idea’.

The product, the story, the culture, the timing.

And it all comes and goes in waves.

Songs with banjos. Songs with no drums. Boy bands. Bad girls. Power chords. Reverb. Sampling. Synths. Your style of music.

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