Super Bowl Halftime

I guess I’ve written about Super Bowl halftime shows a lot.

Truly truly entertainment by committee. It’s so interesting to see a show that A LOT of people had to give thumbs up to beforehand.

The halftime show has one goal, which is: for you to watch it (aka to keep you from switching the channel)

It doesn’t matter how many people thought it was good or bad or whether you thought it was too this or too that, it only matters that you (and lots of others) watched. Then powers-that-be can take that number and charge more for ads next year.

Sure the Super Bowl halftime show gets advertised (ironically) as musical expression, self expression, culture, history, unity, etc…and true, that’s in there too. But that’s not why the show exists. If the show has all of those things but no eye balls, the show goes away.

And the interesting thing is the show only has to be good enough for people to watch it ONCE. The show doesn’t go on the road. They don’t have to do a good job tonight so the people will hear about it in the next town over and come out the following night.

It only has to be good enough so people will endure it.

It’s a low bar. And the NFL has a way of at least hitting that.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Outros Into Intros

New Hum Love playlist up on Spotify and Apple Music.

If you’re in the music business you should have a regularly updated playlist. Each week or each month. It’s a great exercise and its free and you’ll benefit a lot from it.

Since I know I need new songs each month I keep my ears open for new songs. I pay attention more. I check more stuff out. I click on the suggested artists. It’s fun.

It’s also a challenge to get better at putting the actual list together. The flow and the ups and downs. Figuring out what works together. The outro of one song going into the intro of the next.

And for those of you making records…if a song doesn’t seem to be fitting on the record, you might consider changing the outro that comes just before it. The way a song ends is the context (or background) for which the next song begins.

As always feel free to send in music suggestions.

And if you want to view past playlists you can do that on Spotify and Apple Music too.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Vision Is Timeless

It’s unlikely you’ll get as famous as The Beatles by sounding like The Beatles.

It’s foolish to think ‘we’ll just copy that sound and we’ll get the same result’.

It’s just not worth it to copy the tactics of their sound. Tactics change. Some evolve. Some become irrelevant. New ones are added.

Tactics are often time restricted.

But vision is timeless.

It’s worth trying to copy The Beatles (or insert your hero here) approach and attitude. Their vision. Their work ethic and willingness to take risks.

***Example: No need to try and write a new edition of All My Loving. But taking the time to write some poetry on the way to the gig and then finding a piano at the venue to work out the chords…yeah do that more.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Your Audience...Specifically

If you never specify your audience you can never be wrong. 

You can always sit on the throne of ‘they just don’t get it’. Because “they” are no one and everyone. Faceless.

When your song or album or video or project doesn’t connect you can blame your unpicked, unspecified audience…since they’re undefined they can’t be seen or heard to let you know any different.

It’s scary to specify your audience and then go to work making something for them. Because if you pick an audience and your thing doesn’t work it’s not on them, it’s on you. You tried to make something for them and it didn’t connect.

BUT when you specify your audience you can actually get to know them, make something for them that isn’t just a shot in the dark. And when it connects, it connects through relationship not luck or trying to shout the loudest from the tallest building.

It is scary to specify your audience. But you need to specify your audience. 

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Extra Credit

When I was in school, working on extra credit was always more exciting than working on regular credit.

Working on things I wasn’t required to work on was more fun.


Now that school is over, none of it’s required and it’s all extra credit.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Talking And Listening

You learn more when you listen.

But teaching usually requires talking.

More words doesn’t (necessarily) mean more meaning. But it can.

Talking less doesn’t (necessarily) mean more humility or maturity. But it can.

Above all…People recall your presence (your vibe) more than they recall your words.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com