I Was On Bon Jovi’s Private Jet

But that’s not the point.  And it’s not what you think either.

A bunch of years ago I worked for a brief time for Dolly Parton and her management. I learned a bunch of things, not the least of which was this…

Dolly and the gang were getting ready to go on a European tour.  She hadn’t done Europe in a long time so this was a pretty big deal.

The day of departure I was responsible for hauling a car load of stuff to the plane.

The private plane. 

Jon Bon Jovi’s private plane…that Dolly was renting to go to Europe.

It turns out he owns quite a fleet, so this was just one of many.

I delivered my batch of suitcases and boxes to the plane (because private planes have private airports with private entrances and I was cleared to drive my 94’ Olds right up to that bird).

I took a stroll through the plane too.

Good not great.

I left the airport before Dolly and the entourage were due to arrive a few hours later.

Problem…as everyone was boarding the plane, a lady on the management team realized she’d forgotten to pack an important birthday gift for someone else on the management team who was having their birthday during the tour.

So she called me and said, “I need you to get that gift to Denmark by Thursday.  Do what you need to do, you have the company card, make it happen”.

Another problem…it was already Monday night.  

Ok, Denmark in two days. Here we go.

Another problem…when I go pick up the gift, I find out the gift is giant.  Boxed up about 4ft tall x 3ft wide x 1ft deep.  It’s also heavy.

I start calling shipping places. I have unlimited funds to make this happen. I’m feeling powerful and confident and I also bought a latte on the company card because it was getting late and I needed fuel.

I called UPS, I called Fedex, I called that company with the yellow and red logo, I called the airlines themselves, I called everyone.  I told everyone I will pay whatever astronomical price they charge, I just need this giant box in Denmark on Thursday.

(An important note for my egos sake here: I never dropped Dolly’s name)

These people won’t cooperate, they have nothing for me.  I reiterate my position of unlimited money.  Still nothing.

Everyone says they can ship the giant package to Denmark, but can’t get it there by Thursday.

I can’t accept that answer. If a human can mathematically get to Denmark by Thursday, then this box can too.

It’s getting late at night now. I’m visibly sweating and fussy at the FedEx/Kinkos I’d been sitting at for hours.

I call FedEx International back again for the millionth time.  I go deep. Each person I get on the phone I ask them to transfer me to their superior.  This is my only hope.  I need someone to dive into the fray with me.  Someone who’s willing to get it done even though they don’t immediately know HOW they’re going to do it.

I find the person to help me. I spend thousands.  The birthday party is saved.  No one knew of my struggle.


That’s a fun story.  And I learned a lot about getting things done…

I learned that unlimited money to get something done doesn’t get the thing done.  Money is pretty meaningless unless you have cooperation and know-how, people who are willing to figure things out with you, people who are willing to get in the dirt with you and dig.

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

Why Nashville Loves Nike Frees

Does Nike know why they sell so many of their Nike Free shoes in Nashville?

It’s not because Nashville has more runners than other cities, they don’t.  And the few running connoisseur’s I know certainly aren’t sporting the Frees. So it’s not a “this is the best running shoe so you should get it” thing.

Nike Free shoes are wildly popular here in Nashville…why? Because skinny jeans are wildly popular here.

See…people in Nashville wear skinny jeans and boots. Skinny jeans and high tops.  But mostly skinny jeans and boots.

Especially in musician world.  99% of artists walk on stage with some variation of this uniform.

BUT, boots hurt your feet after a while.  Unless you go the gel-insole rout (which almost no one does), long days with boots get old and painful after a few years.

So you want to take your boots off and switch to something more comfy.

The problem is most running shoes are much more bulky and look awful with skinny jeans.  And you’re definitely not in the business if changing your pants style just because your feet hurt.

So roll out the Nike Frees. The skinniest of all running/comfy/supportive shoes.  And they come in black.  

Artists need a comfortable shoe to wear with their skinny jeans when they’re not wearing boots with their skinny jeans. 

That’s why they sell so well here in Nashville.

Does Nike know this? No.  Or yes, but they haven’t done anything about it yet.

How do I know? Because they haven’t come out with something even skinnier that looks even better with skinny jeans.


It’s worth it to find out why you’re doing well in a certain city or a certain platform or radio station or playlist.  The analytics available to artists are better than ever.  

Why do you get the most streams on Wednesdays? Why is France your second most popular country?  Why did you have that one day where you had thousands more streams than any other day?  Why did that post get shared so much?  Where did the clicks come from?  How come Minneapolis is in your top 5 cities and you’ve never played there?

These aren’t things to dwell on, but it’s career limiting to dismiss them.

p.s. If anyone from Nike comes across this…you’re welcome.

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

How Badly Do You Want To Put On A Great Show?

When it’s Saturday night, an hour before you walk on stage, you want to have a great show.  You want to get the setlist right, warm up your voice, talk through transitions, focus on the show, feel the desire to connect.  You’ll do whatever it takes to make the show great.  It’s game time.

Yeah yeah yeah.

But what about the Monday before the Saturday show?

What about the month before the Saturday show?

What are you doing then to ensure that the show will be great?

How badly do you want to put on a great show THEN?

Everyone wants to win when it’s game time.  

It’s the people who prepare with that same game day focus even when it’s not game day who really deliver.  Those are the pros.  The artists who understand that people are coming to see a SHOW, and so they prepare (well in advance) a show.

If you always wait till a day or an hour before the show to pay attention to, and act on, your desire to have a great show…you don’t really want it.  

And you will constantly be limiting yourself. Which will be frustrating.

So how badly do you want your next show to be great?

You can start getting to work right this moment.

If you need a helping hand to take you further into this (or simply a kick in the tushy), drop me an email.  This is an area I’ve really enjoyed helping artists in, and it seems to be making a big difference.

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

Which Chorus Is It?

When I turn on the radio (and I do indeed still turn on the radio), and the song has already started, and it’s in the chorus…I can tell which chorus it is.

It’s easy to tell. You probably can too.  You’re flipping through stations and hear a Katy Perry song, or Bruno Mars, or Elton John and you’re bummed because you instantly know it’s the last chorus and the song is almost over.

You “just know”.

But when you really think about it and break it down as a musician, you know that last chorus has the extra harmonies, the high string part, the counter melody, added synths, hand claps, ad libs, more emotion and audible texture, a triangle.

Each chorus builds.  That’s partly why we like those songs…each chorus is bigger and better than the last.  It builds throughout, so there’s subconscious anticipation and satisfaction happening all the time.

Do your songs do this?

If you want big songs, it might be worth modeling that success.

If someone flipped on your song could they tell what chorus it was?

The truth is it’s not important if the general population knows if they’re listening to the first, second or third chorus when they turn on your song mid-song.  That thought probably doesn’t register on most peoples’ radars.

But as an artist, if you want big songs, it might be helpful to consider what happens in (most) big songs.

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

Here’s How The Blog Works

I write each post the same day I send it out.  Well, almost always.  Every once and a while I’ll have something pre-written.

I keep a list of ideas in the Notes app on my phone.  When I use an idea from that list, I delete it off the list.

In time, instead of having list of only ideas I’d like to have a list of fully written posts.  I’d like to write the entire post as soon as I have the initial idea, because that tends to be a very clear, inspired moment for me.

But for now…at night when I sit down to write the days’ post, the first source of inspiration is what my brain thinks of at that moment.  What do I want to say tonight? What would I want to talk about if an artist or music biz person were sitting here in my office with me?  What did I notice earlier today?

If there’s something there, that’s the idea I write. If I come up empty, that’s when I revisit the ideas on the list.  

At this point the list is very long.  

The list is long because I notice lots of things.  I notice lots of things because I write everyday.  I write everyday because there’s lots of things to notice and write about.

So I scan the list until I find an idea I can reconnect with and enter in to.

Then I write it.  If I get stuck during the writing, I start talking about the idea out loud and that usually works out the kinks.  Or I imagine if someone were in the room with me, how would I explain this?

When finished I send it out to the email subscribers first, then post it on Facebook and Twitter.

I appreciate everyone who reads the blog but the people who subscribe and get the blog posts sent to their email also tend to be the ones who respond to the posts. And I love that…carrying on the conversation.

I think getting an email is more special than reading on Facebook or the website.  It feels more intentional and committal.

I write the blog because it keeps me participating in the industry in which I participate.  Writing something everyday for my world to love or criticize has created it’s own magnetic (and un-magnetic) field.  

It’s important to me to contribute to the idea that whether you’re in the music business for two weeks or twenty years, it can be worth your time.

Thank you for reading. Lets keep going.

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

A Painter Reading The Instructions

You don’t want to see the painter reading the instructions on the can muttering “Ok how do I put this stuff on”.  

Or over hear them on the phone asking a buddy what comes after the brush work.

Because they’re suppose to know. 

YOU would read the can.  YOU would phone a friend. They shouldn’t have to. 

They’re suppose to have done this a million times before. That’s what they advertised.  

That’s why you hired them for the day.


The audience doesn’t wanna see you fumble and mumble around on stage and not know what to do up there. 

THEY could get up there and fumble around.  THEY could get up there and do something forgettable.

But you’re suppose to know what to do. That’s what you’ve advertised.  

That’s why they hired you for the night. 

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