The Paul Show

Coming along at a time when there was the perfect amount of technology, shared culture, and opportunity to cause a global shift.

And out of that, a bunch of years later, The Beatles records found their way to a middle school kid growing up in Minnesota. The feeling I had listening to Hey Jude for the first time…the chord changes, the bgvs, the outro and everything else…it opened my eyes to what music could be and what it could do.

Cut to last night…I’ve been in Nashville for twenty years, played in bands, played all the gigs, written tons of songs…and then Paul shows up playing a 4000cap room five miles from where I live. This is a miracle.

That guy with those songs with that voice and all the history. The guy who sang to me on my Sanyo boombox in Motley, Minnesota is now twenty feet in front of me singing Hey Jude.

The poetry and beauty rolled up in all that is staggering to me.

It’s completing a loop…and then also a feast of new thoughts about creativity, fame, longevity, skill, luck, talent, connection and redemption.

And I don’t think I’m over selling it.

»» If you can find a way to go see him…save up your money, sell your shoe collection, drive Uber for a few weeks. Do it.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Paul

I saw him tonight.

Yes that Paul.

Gonna need some recovery time.

Probably the way it should be.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

Between Stimulus And Response

In between stimulus and response (or reaction) is belief.

Often we get distracted and overwhelmed by too many stimuli, which causes us to respond faster and faster in order to feel like we’re keeping up.

But belief is the filter it all goes through. The often forgotten filter. The ever important filter. The filter worth spending time focusing on. Even at the expense of some stimuli or responses.

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Not Based On Effort

At least not based on effort alone.

Why do some artists put in an exceptionally high level of effort but still not achieve the success they’re hoping planning for? And why do artists who seemingly put in a lot less effort sometimes achieve the highest heights?

Because effort doesn’t equal connection.

Success as an artist has more to do with connection than effort.

And there’s an emotional element to connection that effort alone can never replicate or sidestep…emotional connection is mysterious. As much as we want to bottle it up, it can’t be. It’s not transferrable and can’t be duplicated.

It’s both the most heartbreaking and inspiring thing about being a professional artist.

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Part Of The Charm

New Hum Love playlist on Spotify and Apple

We can’t live inside the magic of a song forever. We can play it again but it always comes to an end again.

But that vibe, that hook, the way the singer sings that word…for a moment we are lifted. A little taste of something higher. We wish we could stay there forever but we can’t…that’s part of the charm.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple

A Good Costume

A good costume has something specific about it that tells everyone what it is.

A uniform, a wig, a pair of glasses, certain shoes, face paint, a hat, a helmet…it’s immediately recognizable and tells the story.

Freddie Mercury, David Bowie, Stevie Nicks, Steven Tyler, Katie Perry, Bono, KISS, John Bonham, Amy Winehouse, Paul McCartney, Slash…

You know how to dress up as all of these artists. And that’s not a coincidence. Like Brian Epstein said, or at least thought, ‘if you wear the same thing all the time you’ll be more recognizable’.

Hum Love on Spotify and Apple