When People Like Your Songs...

A really good way for your live show to be more fun is if the people know your songs.

No duh.

What’s even more is if the audience not only knows your songs but likes them too.

Knowing and Liking.

Two fantastic ingredients to be working with.

When you have these ingredients (akin to, say, butter and sugar), the likelihood of something good happening is quite high.

Perhaps again, no duh.

But two things…

1. How much time, energy and resources went into securing these tasty ingredients for this show, on this night, with these people, in this city?  

It’s silly to complain about not having sugar when you don’t spend money on sugar.  It’s also silly to complain that the cookies didn’t come out sweet and tasty if you know there wasn’t any sugar in the recipe to begin with.

2. If you don’t have those two ingredients on hand…what else are you going to create an experience with?  What other tools will you summon in order to have a great night?


Butter and sugar are the best.  It’s a good idea to have them.

Knowing and Liking are great to work with.

But what about when you don’t have them…  

What then?

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

When The Road Becomes A River

“If it doesn’t work out we’ll just go back to the way it was.”

But eventually you can’t.

Maybe you can for a day or a week, but eventually “we’ll just go back” doesn’t work anymore.

You won’t be able to turn back the clocks and reset your life to the moment BEFORE you dove into the thing. Because you dove into the thing!

Pursuing a career in this music biz is a road that quickly becomes a river.  

You start a band or a record label or a management company and the fail-safe is that you can always go back.

But you can’t go back because life and time happen and things change and the place that you ‘can always go back to’ doesn’t exist anymore.

Hopefully this realization brings an added weight and responsibility to what you choose to do.  The things you do matter.  The way you spend your time matters.

The reason why what you’re doing right now is so vitally important is BECAUSE you can’t go back.

Perhaps the better way is to flip the phrase and consider what it means for you…

“If it doesn’t work out we’ll just keep going”…understanding this phrase and how it applies to you might very well be an actual fail safe.

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

One Simple Idea

I’ve probably done hundreds of blog posts pertaining to artists’ live shows.

The reason for all of those hundreds of posts (and probably hundreds more to come) is that they are inroads to one simple idea…

Here it is…

When you put on a show your job is to lead the people and follow the spirit.

There it is.  That’s the whole thing.  Everything else I write about putting on a live show is a derivative of that or a guide post pointing to that.

Lead the people and follow the spirit.

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

Playing Matchmaker

Playing matchmaker and being ok with not being invited to the wedding. 

That’s a leader. 

You did the hardest most unattainable work, and you did it so seamlessly that you were forgotten about in the celebration.

That is generous, thoughtful power and influence.

We need more of that in this biz.

p.s. To whoever I stole this metaphor from…thank you…you’re obviously this type of person.

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

What Do You Hope Happens?

You have a show.

What do you hope happens during it and because of it?

What is the likely hood that what you hope happens will then be supported by reality?

Does this particular show and what you hope happens line up?

I hope what you hope happens is happening at your shows, and as a result of your shows.

If not, I hope you adjust accordingly.

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

Stopping To Fix vs. Going And Not Fixing

The professional knows when to stop and fix things vs. when to keep going and skip the fix…when the keeping going is better more beneficial than the stopping and fixing.

For example: I know the hum coming out the guitar amp is a little annoying, but everyone is super psyched and channeling a lot of good energy laying down this track.  I would argue that the excitement trumps fixing the hum.

For example: I know the hum coming out the guitar amp is a little annoying, but it’s causing the guitar player to be super pissed off because “no one ever pays attention to me” and “I hate you guys”.  I would argue that it’s time to stop and fix.

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