Caring About And For

It seems we have virtually unlimited capacity to care about things…

…and an extraordinarily limited capacity to care for things.

We’re here because we not only care ABOUT music but we care FOR it. We take care of it. We breathe into it. We do the thankless work. We work all night so someone can enjoy two and a half minutes six months from now.

We all care about lots of things but care for very few. There’s only so much time in the day.

So if we choose to care for music and the business of it, let’s make it count.

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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

One Republic- Sunny Opener

Last summer I saw U2 on the Joshua Tree tour. Loved it.

It was at an outdoor stadium and outdoor stadiums have noise ordinances for how late into the night the noise is allowed to go.

With that in mind, it’s vital that U2 start on time.

In order to make sure U2 starts on time, the opener has to go on pretty early.

i.e. The opener has to go on while it’s still sunny out.

One Republic was the opener. They played 40minutes of all hits. Front to back songs that everyone had heard before on the radio.

But it was sunny out.

So the video screens were washed out. The lighting had little to no effect on anything. It was hard to see the band…certainly couldn’t see any faces.

It basically looked like a high school band playing a county fair during the lunch rush.

(it wasn’t, but that’s what it looked like)


Opening for U2, that’s a good gig. A gig you can’t turn down. And if you have a bunch of hits, you might even convert some people.

In a lot of ways, as far as opening gigs go, it was tee’d up for One Republic.

But it was sunny out. So it was forgettable. (Except for my ‘one republic- sunny opener’ note I wrote in my phone)

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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

Attention Isn’t Selfish

It’s what you do with it that counts.

When you walk on stage the spotlight is on you.

No need to down play or deflect the attention.

A stage and a spotlight are a bad place for people who think of attention as something to get rid of, as something that’s selfish and innately narcissistic.

Your fans, your audience needs you to accept their attention and know what to do with it. To not shy away from it, but step into it with the possibility of magic happening.

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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

The Last Thing...

The last thing you’re going to do is leave them (the audience).

You need to make them wish you didn’t have to leave.

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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

Being A Writer Is Painful

Being an artist, being a writer is painful.

Always another blank page waiting for you, wanting to be filled up.

Connecting to songs and letting songs go.

Digging for the moments.

From down in the dumps all the way to cloud nine and back and forth, everyday.

Listening to others and listening to your gut.

Pushing for what you believe even when you’re not totally sure.

Rejection after rejection.

Success…..nope, actually more rejection.

Knowing you have it. Forgetting you have it. Wondering if you have it. Finding it. Losing it. Rebuilding it. Knowing you have it.

It’s painful.

But it’s a choice. Never forget that.

And now that we know it’s painful…perhaps the pain will serve as a guide post that you’re on the right track…or at least in the club.

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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

Wider Lanes

One possible solution to drivers slowly fading lanes while texting on their phones would be to make the lanes wider.

If lanes were bigger then the driver would have more room to veer back and forth without running into other cars.

But we all know wider lanes wouldn’t fix anything.

Driving straight instead of drifting, that would fix it.


The necessary fix requires me to change my behavior as opposed to having someone else (the department of transportation and bazillions of tax dollars) accommodate it.

If we’re willing to change, there’s no need for accommodation.


And of course this is a metaphor for so many things in the business.

A little change goes a long way.

A little change helps us crash less and cruise more.

Don’t miss a post. Sign up for free.

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