Politicians’ Replies

Politicians operate under the idea that the question the interviewer asks is merely a prompt for whatever they themselves actually want to talk about.

They never answer the question. They always find a way to bend it back towards their agenda of whatever they want to say.

Artists could learn a thing or two from politicians.

Too often artists answer the questions. They forget to be creative. They forget they’re in the entertainment business not the information business.

Isn’t it interesting…

Politicians don’t answer the questions, but we wish they would…we wish they would inform us.

Artists do answer questions, but we wish they wouldn’t…we wish they would entertain us.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

The Key Feature

I like the way the buttons on my keyboard sound. That pleasing click sound probably wasn’t invented the same year it came out.

Someone on the development team came up with it and then passed it off to a marketing or vision team and they’re the ones who decided when it would be best to include the new keys.

Computer companies know there are going to be iterations. So they plan which elements and new things they’re going to feature this time around…because there’s gonna be a next time too.

That melancholy acoustic song you have, maybe it’s the perfect time for it or maybe it needs to wait and it’ll make more sense to feature it later.

But just because you have it now doesn’t mean it needs to be released now.

***Which features, iterations, angles are you highlighting right now? Which ones are you going to feature next year and the year after? Which ones need tweaking? Which ones still need to be invented?

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

What You Practice

If you’re practicing your songs, at first you make a bunch of mistakes and then you get a lot better.

But practicing your songs is different than practicing your show. Your show is about entertainment, not how many correct notes you play.

Many artists practice really hard at social media and are surprised to find out they got good at it but that it doesn’t translate into having an actual music career, much less great show.

You get good at what you practice.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Smooth Sailing

If everything has been right on track for a while, no blips or bugs, you might consider a couple things

1. Speeding up. You’ve mastered your pace. You can autopilot at your current speed. And even though auto pilot is fun for a while, that’s not why you got into this.

2. Incremental change. This can go hand in hand with speeding up, but incremental change involves trying new things not just doing the current things better and faster.

Smooth sailing is a relief after years of rough waters so it’s tempting to try and stay there forever. It feels like the ultimate prize at the end of the race.

But smooth sailing doesn’t last forever, so better to speed up and/or change while you’ve got a little control.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Chase And Wait

First Monday of the month, new Hum Love playlist on Spotify and Apple.

We wish the best songs would last forever. That we could bask in the magic and it would never go away.

And that’s the sweet heartbreak of music. That it can’t last. Another dimension opens for a few moments and then it’s gone. And we have to wait.

As listeners we wait. As artists we chase and wait.


When I first heard the last song on the playlist I didn’t know if I loved it or hated it, so I had to include it.

***Hum Love archive is here and here.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com

Bands Are Awesome

Everyone wants to be in a band but most are afraid to actually make one or join one.

A band has a different soul than a solo artist.

But when faced with the actual opportunity be a part of one, most musicians hesitate.

Not that it’s a decision to be taken lightly…the perfect band is still one of compromise, arguing, getting paid later instead of now, boredom, letdown, weird van smells and someone always believing they should be louder in the mix. That’s best case scenario.

So foreseeing any of these aspects when thinking about being in a band shouldn’t be a deterrent…it simply leads to a question: are you willing to stick with these people despite these aspects?

Are you willing to compromise your control and creativity over a long period of time for the sake of the synergy and soul changing-ness of being in a band?


***In Nashville anyway there’s definitely less bands now than fifteen years ago.

’Starting a band is hard, so go be the star…or go play for one so you can get paid now not later.’

And being a solo artist is great. It’s a great endeavor. But a lot of solo artists and musicians want to be in bands but they’re just too afraid. And that’s too band, because bands are awesome and worth the compromise.

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Drop me an email: gabe@gabethebassplayer.com