Performing For Dogs

Get your dog and a couple of your friends dogs, bring them into the studio and sing them a song.

If you can hold their attention you’re well on your way.

See, dogs don’t care about content. 

Dogs don’t care about how long it took you to write the song or that you have trouble hitting some of the high notes.

Dogs just want to be captivated.  They want to be entertained.

So do we.


***On another note…Since July I’ve been doing a special Sunday Night Email specifically for songwriters, producers and anyone who is interested in the latest happenings in the writer/producer world.

A world of truly hard, thankless, creative, inspiring, heartbreaking, rewarding work. .

The email gives some interesting info about the most popular songs of the week and has been helpful for writers and producers as they dive into their day-to-day work.

To my knowledge The Sunday Night Email has never been the thing that made anyone write a hit, but it has been the thing that made lots of people get unstuck.

If you’d like to subscribe, email ‘Sunday subscribe’ to gabethebassplayer@gmail.com

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

You Once Had An Idea

It’s worth pointing out that while we tend to get bogged down by all the ideas we’re not putting into action…the things that we are currently in action doing also began as ideas that we merely hoped to do.

See, you did it. You’re doing it.

It’s easy to forget.

Sure there are more things to do, more ideas to chase and realize…and it’s easy to wonder “how will I ever…”

But the truth is you already know HOW.

Maybe the thing you’re doing right now began as an idea a year ago, or two or five years ago…and now you’ve turned that idea into what you’re doing.

So good work.  You took a thought that entered your brain and turned it into real life.

That’s a big deal.

Keep going.

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

Folding Fitted Sheets

The reason why no one takes the time to learn how to fold fitted sheets is because sheets go in closets and closets are unspokenly off limits to guests.

We prefer to learn quasi-difficult things only if others will see and appreciate us for them.

(If the proper place to put fitted sheets was in the middle of the kitchen table, we would all know how to properly fold a fitted sheet nice and neat.) 

And yet most of what makes the great artists great are the things that are tremendously difficult that no one ever sees.  

Thankless, boring hours on the road.

Head splitting, un-inspired writing sessions.

Another reset and recalibration of your team.

These are things that no one will get mad at you for not getting good at but everyone who you respect went ahead and got good at them anyway.

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

The Most Climactic Day

Here’s why release day is always the biggest, climactic moment for an artists project…

Because you’re out of energy and tired of risking and trying things and staying up late working hard.

You’re depleted by the time you release.

And that’s ok…but you need a better plan for when you know you’re going to be depleted.

Here’s the plan: Have other people around you on your team who aren’t depleted, who haven’t been through the grueling emotional process you have in creating the thing.

It’s fine for release day to be a big, exciting, celebrated day. It should be.

But make sure release day isn’t the climactic end to the story.

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

Announcements And Stories

Are you telling a story on social media or are you merely announcing information and achievements?

Telling information and achievements is easy.

Telling a story is a much more thoughtful process and roll out.

Telling information and achievements will always need more information and bigger achievements, else it’s dead.

Telling a thoughtful story means you have a story unto itself and it doesn’t rely on information and achievements to keep being effective.

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

Hits And Classics

All artists (some more often than others) get in the writing room and want to write a HIT.

Sometimes that gets verbalized, as in some version of “We really need a single”…or it’s merely on everyone’s mind even though it doesn’t get stated.

And I’m not gonna enter into the fray at this point as to whether or not you should try to write hits or just write what comes out…

But what if you tried this…

Instead verbalizing and meditating on “lets write a hit”, what if you instead verbalized and meditated on,

“lets write a CLASSIC”.

Hits and classics are different. 

‘Classic’ brings different thoughts and ideas to mind. Doesn’t it? Perhaps more grandiose, more personal, bigger, quieter, bolder, tender-er, indulgent, simpler…

Hits are rare. Classics even more so.

But why not change your approach and see what happens…who knows, it might work.

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