Gab and Jam

Ep 149 Take a break? Why it's important for the D.I.Y. Rock Star Video Description We know this seems counter-intuitive to many of the things that we’ve said, because we’re all about that D.I.Y. Rock Star hustle, but there are REALLY good reasons to step back every now and again, and to take a break in the action, for the following 4 reasons (among others). Why take a break? 1. To figure out if yo...

Ep 160 Today’s music sucks! 🤮 Video Description This is a sentiment that we have uttered quite a few times, but have we given this idea the 4 QUESTION TEST? If you’re saying this, then it will benefit you to check out our discussion. What do you think? Does ALL music suck? We’d love to hear what you think. Leave us a comment. #newmusicsucks #oldschool #bettermusic #howtofindgoodmusic #diyrockstar...

199 D.I.Y. Rock Star Preview Video Description We’re heading into the end of the year and there’s quite a lot going on (as we alluded to in episode 196—D.I.Y. Rock Star Holiday Planning). We just wanted to let you all know what’s on tap for the end of the year, because we are super excited that despite Covid, we’re continuing to finetune our creative voice. Here are a few quick highlights: 1. Vlog...

Health & Wellness (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star) Blogmas 2021 Video Description Blogmas 2021 consists of 12 days of podcast/video episodes and, for the sake of our sanity, we’ll do one big ass blog post—that’s THIS one right here—that will sum it all up! 😳🤷🏽‍♀️😬 We’re focusing on health and wellness for the D.I.Y. Rock Star. This is going to be a different kind of challenge for us, but we think it...

Eating Better is today’s topic for Blogmas 2021. Check it out! Blogmas is 12 days of podcast/video episodes and, for the sake of our sanity, we’ll do one big ass blog post that will sum it all up! 😳🤷🏽‍♀️😬 Thanks for joining us December 12 through the 24th to get your holiday--and upcoming year--started right! 👋🏾 #wellness #health #fitness #nutrition #diyrockstar #prejippie #bloomingprejippie...

Health & Wellness (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star) Blogmas 2021 Video Description Blogmas 2021 consists of 12 days of podcast/video episodes and, for the sake of our sanity, we’ll do one big ass blog post—that’s THIS one right here—that will sum it all up! 😳🤷🏽‍♀️😬 We’re focusing on health and wellness for the D.I.Y. Rock Star. This is going to be a different kind of challenge for us, but we think it...

Ep 148 The 6 Costs of Being an Artist Video Description This topic is the part 2 to the last episode (ep 147 How to Handle Listeners Who Receive Messages that you weren’t Trying to Send). This is the cost of what it means to be an artist. What do you think? Are these possible costs worth it? What additional costs have not even talked about here? We’d love to hear about it. Leave it in the comments...

Ep 147 How to Handle Listeners who Receive Messages that You weren’t Trying to Send Video Description This is a nice follow up to our recent episode 146, entitled “How Transparent Should Your Lyrics Be?” This seems to be a topic that has plagued artists since the dawn of art being shared with the world. What do you do—how do you respond—when the people who support your music receive messages that...

Ep 146 How transparent should your lyrics be? Writing lyrics is one of our favorite parts of writing songs. There are so many different ways to approach it, so that you capture a feeling, a mood, or a theme. The question on the table today is how transparent should your lyrics be? We have a few ideas about this one. Reasons to let lyrics NOT be too concrete: 1. Try to open the message up so that m...

Ep 145 Pandemic Check-In for the D.I.Y. Rock Star: 5 Strategies to Re-Ignite Your Creativity Video Description It’s unlikely that it’s going to be over any time soon, so we’ve got to get beyond JUST surviving; we’ve got to get to thriving again. In fact, our album, “Sugar Fit,” captures a little of what it’s like to freak the f**k out. So, yes, this a coronavirus-created project with accompanying...

Ep 158 Empower yourself in 2021(for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)! Though these past 10 months have seemed like something out of sci fi movie—with many of us NOT feeling in control of what happens to us—there are aspects of your life that you ABSOLUTELY have influence over. That is related to the hopes and dreams BEYOND simply surviving; BEYOND simply having a roof over your head and something to eat. Tha...

Ep 159 My husband says I’m cheating (Digital Planner Pros and Cons) Video Description Bruce says that the year hasn’t started and I am ALREADY “cheating” on my Plum Paper Planner—that I JUST unboxed (http://bit.ly/cheatingdigitalblog )! 😳🙄🤷🏽‍♀‍😬 We have decided, upon popular demand, to offer you, our listeners, a chance to get a fully loaded two-disc vinyl version of our new funk album, “Suga...

Ep 144 Is the Vinyl Album Back? Video Description Although we are in the digital age, where everything is online and available in bite-size easily-digestible chunks, there is this new movement of people who want vinyl albums. Our goal with this episode is to try to understand why. 4 Reasons Vinyl is Making a Comeback CHECK OUT THE EPISODE for the full discussion. What do you think? Are vinyl album...

Ep 161 Prince Music Marketing Mindset Video Description —I guess that’s the weird new thing for me is that I am NOT in awe of folks, like I used to be. Even—and maybe—especially listening to that behind the scenes Prince YouTube series—I realize that EVEN Prince had goals and challenges (including with influence and money and of the gatekeepers not believing in him and him having to figure out way...

Ep 163 6 Tips for Collaborating Better Video Description Hey, it’s Valentine’s Day and we thought we’d spend a little time talking about togetherness. No, we’re not trying to hook up all our single D.I.Y. Rock Stars! This is NOT a dating service. Instead, we wanted to share some tips that we’ve learned over the years for collaborating better, whether remotely or in-person. Here are 6 tips for coll...

Ep 162 The better the gear, the better you will sound? Video Description I know, I know…. Since you were a kid, you’ve been under the impression that if you get a Fender Strat—JUST like Jimi Hendrix’s—you would be imbued with magical guitar wizardry abilities. But we are sorry to tell you that this will NOT be the case. Here us out…. Here’s why the magic is not in the equipment: 1. Grass is greene...

Ep 164 Should I copy someone’s style? Video Description You’ve heard the saying that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”? Well, that probably works when you’re making pizza, but musical artists—and, dare we say, creators in general—want to be known for having your OWN individual style. So, why would you EVER copy someone ELSE’s style? It’s actually an age old question—whether to fit in o...

Ep 165 How to stop an upgrade from being a downgrade? Video Description This is DEFINITELY one of those D.I.Y. Rock Star problems. Have you ever seen ads, product reviews, and even testimonials for an app, a program, or a piece of equipment that promises to give you so much more than you have now, and then been disappointed when you ACTUALLY tried to use it? Yep, that’s what this episode is about....

As artists trying to make a life with our art, it seems natural that we might ask ourselves if we are aware of it—or when—we are selling out. What do we mean when we say “selling out”? We mean that you have started producing art that is more aimed at making money (and maybe even friends), that it does not align with your personal philosophy of artistic creation. We’ve faced this many times in our...

Ep 167 5 Tips for Making Music Videos (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star) Video Description We’re so excited to be finishing up yet another music video for our album, “Sugar Fit” and we see that others in our community have been working on creating music videos as well, so we thought we could share a little of what we have learned from the process of making our own music videos. So here are just 6 tips to...

Ep 166 Viewer Question: When should I take down a song that I realize needs work? Video Description This was our response to a songwriter in a Facebook group that asked if they should take a song down from SoundCloud. She said that it was her only finished work publicly available, but that she realized that it does not represent her well. She did not want this to be the ONLY creative product that...

We get it; being a D.I.Y. Rock Star takes grinding morning, noon, and night, right? In fact, it's your PRIMARY job to do ALL the things, because you are building your creative empire one brick at a time. So how do you prevent burn out? We've got 9 strategies that just might help. #preventburnout #diyrockstar #prejippie #bloomingprejippie #independentartists #music #hustle #creativejuicepodcast Blo...

Ep 142 How AVAILABLE should an entertainer be? Video Description This is in reaction to the Ellen “hostile work environment” claims by her employees—and even some fans—on the show. We have a few very definite opinions on this topic, but how available SHOULD an artist be to his/her fans? These are some of the points of our discussion: Why might folks think being accessibility is important: 1. Not a...

Ep 141 10 Reasons NOT to Have Only One Social Media Profile (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star) Video Description Don’t get us wrong; we LOVE to interact on Facebook! In fact, it is the number one place that we engage with you all. It’s just that there are ALL kinds of reasons NOT to focus ALL your networking efforts in one place. Would you be surprised to hear that we have over 23k+ followers on over 23 p...

Ep 140 Should artists have Freedom of Speech? Video Description This topic keeps rearing its ugly head, but is soooooo important now, during this heightened political moment. We’ve got social justice warriors on one side and you’ve got the White Power moment on the other. Do artists have the right to express an opinion either way? #socialjusticwarrior #freespeech #prejippie #bloomingprejippie #cor...