Update: No Update

Update: there is no update. 

People appreciate that, because they just wanna hear from you, regardless.

I hadn’t heard back in a week or so from a lady I was going to do some work for…and then she dropped me an email saying it was still up in the air and she didn’t know how she wanted to move forward quite yet.

So even though on the one had it was a completely meaningless email for her to send (information wise)…what she really communicated was that I was on her mind and she cared about us being connected.  

And that, at the root of it, speaks to a very deep part of all humans.

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

Choose Your Tough

The reason I talk about firing people a lot is because artists are always complaining. 

Constantly complaining about people they hired but won’t get rid of.

Every now and again we all need a good flail-on-the-floor complaint session, but you know what I mean.

Why do you keep people on YOUR team who are constantly being bad teammates?  That, in turn, makes you a bad leader.

A good leader makes the expectations clear.  When they are not met, a good leader reiterates them, explaining that if they’re not met, it might be better to part ways.  When they are not met again, there are no surprises, everyone pretty much knows what’s coming next.

So maybe you need to back up and tackle the first part of that equation first (and people in the music business are the WORST at this)…

Make your expectations abundantly clear.  Clearness is kindness.

Letting someone go can be pretty tough.

So you get to choose your method of “tough” in regards to the type of person we’re talking about…

Keep them on board…tough

Let them go…tough

But it’s time to choose…and stop complaining about “tough”.

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

How It Would Have Been

How it would have been. 

You’ll never know. 

If you would have released that single first instead of this one. 

If you wouldn’t have gone on that lousy tour. 

If you would have fired her earlier.

If you would have just stayed in the studio a week longer.

If you would have signed on with that company instead of passing. 

All you have is what’s here.

All you have is what’s going on now.

What are you going to do with it?

How is it? And how do you want it to be? And what needs to change in order to get there?

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

I Love March Madness

I love March Madness for lots of reasons (…and here’s some of the reasons why it works for the mass market).

I spend more time on my couch in these first few days of the tournament than any other time of year.  So today is the third day of the tournament…I have a fantastic assortment of snacks and drinks, and here’s some things that are striking me…

Momentum 

If you’ve ever wanted to see the power of momentum right in front of your eyes, this tournament is it.  

Momentum intensifies for a team and then is depleted at once, or sustained for ten minutes, or shifts to the other team while mounting a comeback.  And you can actually SEE it.  Players and entire teams making lots of shots in a row, playing better defense, making amazing passes…and then the opposite when the momentum leaves: missing layups, sloppy passing and defense.

It’s amazing. When one or two or three things in a row go very well, more things have a tendency of going well.  It doesn’t mean they will, but it’s more likely.

And when you don’t have momentum, how do you get it? How do you build it? Can it be built? Or how does it find you?

Recruiting

For those who don’t know how the tournament works, the first couple rounds happen Thurs-Sun, and then there’s a break till the next Thursday.  So there’s a window of down time.

With the down time some a lot of each of the coaching staffs are prepping for the next game.

However, in the midst of the tournament you know what the head coaches are doing with a day or two of that down time? Recruiting!

Why? Because there is no more magnetic of a time for a college basketball program than when they are IN the tournament.  When it is happening in real time.  

See, every kid who plays basketball has been watching the college basketball tournament since they were little kids. So when the team who is recruiting you is currently participating in the tournament and the head coach takes the time to call or visit during that time…that’s about the best recruiting tool ever.

I think this is akin to when you’re ABOUT to go make a record.  It’s a very magnetic time for you in regards to who you can get in a room with: writers, producers, engineers, etc.  When you’re about to make a record people who were thinking about jumping on board actually do jump on board because you’re in the thick of potential lift-off.

Maximum Effort Doesn’t Equal Desired Result

This is the true beauty of the tournament, as it is such an inspiring and heartbreaking reflection of life in so many ways.

There is no question that all of the kids are playing their guts out, trying as hard as they can, digging digging digging, giving everything they have to offer.

But despite all the training, practice, preparation, desire, hope, planning…everyone is heartbroken except for one team.

One team gets the big prize.  One team ends with a win.

It’s not that everyone else’s incredible effort is for nothing, it just doesn’t equate to getting what is desired.

So although we love associating ourselves with winners, I think it’s the sadness of all the teams that lose each round that causes us to connect.  

Because we all know that sadness.

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I Don’t Know How You’re Going To Make It

I don’t know how you’re going to make it.

It’s gonna be really tough.  To make it as an artist is one of the hardest pursuits in the world.

It feels like there are a million roads and no roads at the same time.

I don’t know what to tell you to do or say next.

But don’t worry about it.

The how is what unfolds as you deepen your understanding of the why and develop an extremely clear vision of the what.

To the level you solidify the why and the what, a magnetic force is amplified, pulling you towards the success you desire.

And the how is given to you as a byproduct. 

The “how” is the faith.  One foot in front of the other…in the pitch black…in the pouring rain.

p.s. Don’t get me wrong, the How is a really fun, important, exciting piece of the whole.  How you do it matters…a lot.



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The Thing About Bracket Picks

The right picks aren’t necessarily the good picks.

Yeah, you might have been the one person in a gazillion who picked that 15 seed over a 2 in the first round of the college basketball tournament.

And don’t get me wrong, you get to celebrate when it turns out.

But don’t tell me it was a good pick.

It was the right pick, but it wasn’t a good pick.

Any and every metric you could possibly use in making that pick would tell you that waaaaaaaaaay more than likely, the 2 seed will beat the 15.

But instead you chose an awful pick…a truly horrible decision when given the choice between the two. You were right, but you went against an overwhelming amount of information telling you otherwise.

Now the good thing is that making a way-too risky pick in your college bracket doesn’t have any fatal consequences in the grand scheme of life…and that’s why your mind lets you pick a 15 over 2.  There’s a 98% chance you’ll be wrong, which is fine, but if you’re right it’s really fun.

It’s the ol’ ends justifying the means, right?

Like when you decide to drive to the gig five hours away despite it being hurricane weather the whole way. Yes, you made the gig, but that was an awful decision…and one day you’ll realize that even though the show went on, it shouldn’t have.

Over time, your discernment develops to a point where even when the foreseeable/possible ends would justify the means, you’re aware that when the means have such an increased risk, the foreseeable/possible end isn’t justifiable as a good reason to push through.

But yes, I hope your 15 over 2 works out.

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