The Chosen 400

Most artists view playing 400 cap rooms as a stepping stone to playing 4,000 cap rooms or 40,000 cap rooms.

But what if (in a strange turn of sci-fi events) 400 per night was all you could have? What if the bigger rooms didn’t exist and in each city 400 was the max?

Once you get 400 in the room for the first time, from here on out the only thing that is ever going to change is which 400 people are there.

You only get 400 slots. Who do you choose? Tell me about those 400 people. Tell me everything about those 400 people.

Play for them.

***It’s worth noting that if you’re touring and selling out 400 cap rooms, you can pretty easily bring in a few million dollars a year. Not a bad stepping stone. Maybe even a stepping stone worth focusing on and ignoring the ones after it for a while.

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

Looking Forward

Looking forward to something is fun because you get to script it however you want.

That freedom in your mind to script the future however you want is seductive, because you are always the boss and there’s always more future to script and idealize.

So we forgo embracing the reality (the pain, disappointment, joy, contentment) of the present, because it’s just not as controllable as the future in our head.


If you’re constantly looking forward you’ll get really good at looking forward.

But getting good at looking forward is not the way to get good at embracing reality.

But in order to be present for when the thing you’re looking forward to finally comes around, you must stop constantly practicing looking forward and start opening your eyes to right now. It’s the only way to begin truly living in reality.

ie. What your show at Wembley Stadium in five years needs from you right now is to stop looking forward to it and instead fully immerse yourself in the show you have tonight.

If you can get good at that, you’re going to have a blast at Wembley.

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

Communication 101

If you’re willing to be the first one to say hello, you’ll always have someone to talk with.

Everyone is interesting enough to be famous…the internet confirms that time and time again.

The better you learn to listen, the better you’ll speak. Not the other way around.

***We were taught not to talk to strangers because they might kidnap you. But even if that was true back then (it’s not), we’re adults now, so go ahead and talk with strangers.

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

Selling What’s Next

Last night I bought a gray denim jacket on the internet.

Today I got shown advertisements for that jacket everywhere I went online.

But I don’t need to be told I need the jacket anymore. I already have it.

I need what comes after the jacket.

Of all the clothes on the internet the great algorithm in the sky is showing me the one article of clothing that I’m definitely not going to buy today.


It’s a lot more fun to sell to people who want and don’t yet have what you’re selling.

And if they already have what you’re selling, try selling what’s next.

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

Speaking Up

We have lots of practice thinking of what we should have said.

We don’t have a lot of practice speaking up in the moment.

And because we don’t have experience, we aren’t good at it, and because we aren’t good at it we resist doing it and just keep doing what we’re good at (which is to speak in hind sight).

The big underlying scary reason for not speaking up is that you’re probably going to have to be bad at speaking up before you’re good at it. And being bad at it could very well be painful for you and the people around you.

But you don’t get better at speaking up by working really hard at knowing what you should have said and then telling yourself you’ll do it next time.

You get better at speaking up by speaking up.


***Speaking up is not synonymous with confrontation.

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

Young Band Turns Down Booking Agent

The new young band starts booking shows.

They’re a new young band so they book the small clubs.

As the small clubs start getting full a booking agent comes along and wants to take over the booking for the band.

The band asks the booking agent what kind of rooms are going to get booked…answer: small clubs.

The band turns down the agent because why give up 20% of revenue when the band can already book the same small clubs as the agent was going to book.


I’ve been here before too. It seems so logical to keep all the money possible since you know how to do the work.

What the band doesn’t realize is that its purpose is to be a band, not a booking agent.

As soon as an agent is willing to do at least the same level of booking work the band should say yes and get back to its own work. The 20% is a bargain.


Just because you can already do it doesn’t mean you should keep doing it.

You didn’t get in a band to be a booking agent.

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