A Trick On The Road

Being on the road is a long road.

You’ve been with these people not only for the past two weeks day after day, night after night, but the tour before that, and the one before that…

These people are your friends, your best friends…but again, the road is long, and everyone gets pesky. Pesky and annoying and frustrating and belittling and a lot of other bad things.

So here’s a helpful little trick it took me years to learn…

When you are feeling upset and frustrated at a band mate or road mate, ask to help them. 

It helps. 

Carry their pedal board, get them a beer, open the door for them.

Helping someone you’re mad at wrangles some perspective into the situation too.

Try it. 

If I’m wrong at least you did something nice.

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

Stop Playing Your Songs

Stop playing your songs and put on a show instead.

In the studio it was your job to play your songs very very well.

But now the job has changed.

Playing your songs perfectly isn’t the point anymore.  Calling another rehearsal to try and tighten up the music that last 1% isn’t worth it, because unless you’re the New York Philharmonic no one cares if you’re perfectly perfect.

If people wanted to hear your songs played really really well they’d stay at home and fire up Spotify.

Once you’re out of the studio and on to the road your job is to put on a show via the songs that you play.  

The show is what brings people out of their house and into your zone 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

The Back Hall

The back hall. 

We all wanna believe it’s clean. But I’ve worked in the back hall and you probably have too. 

It’s not.

But it doesn’t matter. 

Because the people sitting around the dinner table at least temporarily believe the back hall (where their food is coming from) is clean…even though they KNOW the back hall is most likely stinky and nowhere near as clean as their kitchen at home.

We will temporarily suspend the truth for the sake of what will benefit the situation…which is to simply enjoy the food with friends without internally or openly speculating the cleanliness of the kitchen and food.


And this is exactly why my first band worked.

We were a cover band with a name so dumb I can’t even bring myself to type it out.

We were not good, but we played the best songs of all time so people were willing to enjoy the night and not let themselves focus on how horribly we played Don’t Stop Believing.

Having fun was more important to the people than if the band was good.  Thank goodness.


This is a fine place to start, but a very bad place to remain.

Onward and upward.

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

Performing While Judging

Artists know the feedback is going to be there, good and bad, or that it could be there, or that it might be there, and that if there isn’t any feedback that that is feedback in and of itself…so they perform hoping they do a good job rather than simply doing the job.

Artists (especially young artists) nowadays judge themselves on stage in real time because they know everyone else is too and have a device in their pocket that will allow their snark to be heard by tens or hundreds or thousands of people.

Great performers just forget about it because they’re too busy being great performers.

p.s. So the next reasonable question is: As an artist, HOW do I get there? 

Just breathe baby, you’ll get there, it’s happening right now.



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

What Could Be & What Will Be

If thinking about what could be has no bearing on what will be then it’s best to think about something else. 

When you send an email to book a show, get an endorsement, work with that out-of-reach person, etc and then dwell on what the response is going to be…It’s our brains searching for control in a completely uncontrollable situation.  

It’s easy to think that scripting the future response in your brain will have bearing on what the actual response will be.

It doesn’t. And you know that. But you still get lulled into thinking otherwise.

You did good work by sending the thoughtful, genuine email, and then got distracted by a make believe story…

…let it go.

Get back to work.

 
p.s. If thinking about what could be DOES have bearing on what will be, think away.  But be careful that thinking about what could be doesn’t keep you too long from doing what you need to do right now.



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

Proving And Giving

I think all of us in this business walk around with a little something to prove.

Some of us with a LOT to prove, some of us hide it and some of us parade it around like a badge of honor.

I’m not sure it ever completely goes away.

But I think over time, Lord willing, the chip erodes.

And in equal and opposite fashion “what you have to prove” erodes in direct correlation as you are uncovering “what you have to give”.

Now don’t get me wrong, there have been some GREAT performers and performances along the way from people who obviously have a lot to prove (and very little clue of what it is they’re giving).  It can certainly make for great fireworks.

And I’m not necessarily arguing that you totally ignore what it is you feel you have to prove.

But for the long run, and for your life, it’s worth considering what you have to GIVE…and my guess is you’ll find it’s related in a strange way to what you have to prove.

See…walking into a room with something to give as oppose to something to prove sets you free.  Free to care, free to help, free to inspire in the way that only you can.

It’s true. I’ll prove it to you :)

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