Now Everyone...

Now everyone can make music that sounds good.

Now everyone can cut a vocal with headphones and a pop filter (and take a picture of it).

Now everyone can have a photoshoot.

Now everyone can make a great looking video.

Now everyone can have lots of social media followers.

Now everyone can make it look like you wish you were them.

So what now?

Now that technology has stripped away so many of the old differentiators, what are you going to do?

It gets more worthless everyday to (only) say: Look over here, I have good music and I look cool and I have a cool video, don’t you wanna be a superfan?

So you have to trade on something more.

Think of the people who really love what you do. What human emotion would they attach to a trip inside your world?

That’s a good place to start.

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

The Hard Part Of ‘You Had To Be There’

If you’re putting time effort and energy into something where ‘you have to be there’ to partake (i.e. your live show)…you need to understand that you’re working on something very different than ‘check it out whenever you want’ (i.e. your recordings).

The hard part about building something where ‘you have to be there’ is that there can only be so many people in the room. A few hundred in a club or a few thousand in a theater or max twenty or thirty thousand in an arena or at a festival.

That’s it. That’s the total number of people who will get to experience the blood sweat and tears it takes to make and perform a great show.

(Most people on the planet will be left out)

Where as working on and pouring over your recordings for months and years to get them just right makes perfect sense because millions upon millions of people can and juuuuuust might check them out tonight.

More energy goes into making the recordings than the live show because one has very limited seating and the other has unlimited.

And that ‘unlimited’ carrot hanging out there is very seductive…it’s hard to take your eyes off of it.

Why would you put weeks and months of your creative energy and time into something that can only reach a tiny number of people when you can put weeks and months of your creative energy into something that can hypothetically reach everyone?

Because doing something where ‘you had to be there’ is still valuable, rare and desirable.

Spending the night taking care of (i.e. entertaining) four hundred people instead of working on something for four million people is rich. It’s special. It’s fleeting.

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

Brilliant Idea

So what’s your brilliant idea? - said somewhat sarcastically and somewhat hopefully

I don’t think anyone expects themselves or anyone else to walk into the room with a brilliant idea. If we knew the idea was in fact brilliant we’d be on our way to the bank already, cashing it in by ourselves.

We associate ‘brilliant idea’ with something that wins in the market, something that makes a lot of money, something that turns no’s into yes’s. So we only know whether or not it’s a brilliant idea after the fact.

I think what we’re really asking for when asking for a brilliant idea is this…

Do you have an idea that energizes the room? That elicits imagination and action? One that has the power to draw out the best of everyone? An idea that we can latch onto and contribute to in a way that we’re all proud of?

I think we’ll all take an idea like that.

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

Two Important Artistic Skills

Two important skills in tandem for the true artistic professional…

1. Moving on (from the song, production, design)

2. Coming back to it

Moving on when it’s time to let it go for right now. Taking a breath and admitting that it needs to rest.

Coming back to it with just as much energy and inspiration as when it first began. Becoming the type of artist who can revive the fire.

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

So This Is The New Year

Well depending on what time zone you’re in maybe not quite yet.

There seems to be a love hate with new years and goal setting, making changes, making promises.

As it’s been said: Everyday is the beginning of a new year.

So January 1st is no different. Another opportunity to commit, recommit, risk, grow, care, push and serve others.

***Perhaps the only new nudging I can offer is this: Make the timeline of at least some your goals shorter. A lot shorter. A week or a month, or max three months. Create your own urgency. I’m urging you.

***One other thing. It’s time to stop looking for the quick fix secret potion or secret bed time routine that will catapult you to glory. Instead: get back to work.

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

Posts That Have To Stop

Artist posts that have to stop in 2019 (or put on a new creative twist on it):

-Making an announcement about the announcement you’re going to announce.

-I can’t say too much right now but…

-Any post with a link to iTunes instead of a streaming service.

-It sounds like if this artist has a baby with that artist.

-Go vote for our video in this competition…

-We just stopped caring what anyone else thought…

-Epic


All of these posts had their moment in the sun but those suns have set.

So if you’re about to do one of these, don’t.

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