We tell the big fish story over and over. Dinner parties, meetings, family reunions. The big fish story is a winner.
We never tell the stories about catching the other stuff…the pan fish or the seaweed or the carp…even though we were in the same boat with the same hook, eating the same snacks.
We tell the big fish story cause it sells…but it’s the pan fish, seaweed and carp stories that make us fishermen.
It narrows options. And by doing so, it makes decisions for you.
It frees your mind up to use your ears.
That was one of the features when music was made on outboard gear.
You were limited to the gear at the studio and it was gonna be expensive to get more.
If the compressor has a 2:1 ratio setting and then jumps to a ratio of 8:1…looks like 4:1 isn’t even worth thinking about.
These days we all have access to all the same gear…and there’s a lot of it. And it’s cheap.
The glory isn’t in having more gear anymore. It’s in intentionally selecting gear in a way that it makes decisions that further the creative idea, so that we can get back to the creative idea.
The fear you should have worked on it longer
The fear it should be released already
The fear no one is going to like it
The fear the people we care about won’t get it
The fear you’re too late
The fear that the mix is all wrong
The fear that it was all too easy
The fear you’re going to be found out
That fear you feel is the fear we seek. It’s part of the creative, musician, artist deal. It’s part of the hard part of the overall great thing.
If there’s only two of us…
I’m on my side.
And you’re on yours.
That’s why adding a third to the band is interesting.
Now we have sides. Now we have unevenness and compromise that can’t be kept track of.
That’s what makes it good. No one got their way…and because of that we have magic.
There aren’t many.
Sure, if you’re a musician there’s a bigger pool of live show moments that you and all your friends reference…
But the general public?
Lots of hit songs, not many hit live show moments.
Whitney’s national anthem.
Freddie at Live Aid.
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan.
We can all think of more great moments but are they known by twenty year olds and seventy year olds?
There aren’t many hit moments because most live show magic…well, you had to be there. And it isn’t easily captured and reproduced in video.
Maybe that’s the way it should be.
There’s an ethos in Nashville where if you’re offered a gig that is better than the one you have, you can jump ship and no one will blame you.
And there’s lots of reasons the new gig could be better…better pay, better travel, better music, better people, bigger stages, better food, more shows, less shows.
But in most cases it’s mainly the money.
So take the better gig. It’s hard to make money and if you’re offered more of it, go for it.
But remember, there’s always a better gig.
Eventually it’s worth prioritizing how you make the gig better rather than only focusing on the better gig.