Gab and Jam

Ep 139 Three Unusual Ways to Make Your Art More Attractive to New Fans Video Description Do you believe that “Great art sells itself”? THIS particular post concerns itself with getting that FIRST bit of attention from potential fans. This episode was inspired by “3 Unusual Ways How to Make Your Work More Attractive to New Fans” (Episode 284 of Andy J. Pizza “Creative Pep Talk” Podcast) ( https://c...

Ep 138 Here’s the 4 Step Secret to Immortality! Video Description As humans, we are obsessed with being immortal, right? Think about it; will Jimi Hendrix EVER die?! How about Jaco Pastorius? Janis Joplin? Elvis? You get the idea. Here are some SURE-FIRE strategies to assure that you become immortal. 4 Tips of Assuring Your Immortality: 1. Practice creating regularly 2. Put that shit out 3. Let fo...

Ep 137 Can Taylor Swift EVER Be Considered “Indie"? This was inspired by The Volume Show on SiriusXM Radio and is in response to Taylor Swift’s newest album, Folklore, being referred to as “Indie.” This prompts the question, “Can Taylor Swift EVER Be Considered “Indie"?” Questions: • What does indie actually mean? • Can Taylor Swift buy indie cred? • Can guests on the record imbue the indie label?...

Ep 136 Our Record Release Strategies Video Description As you probably already know, we are releasing a funk album (due out at the end of September). We thought we might share as much of the process as we can along the way, as this has truly been a learning experience for us. Listen to the full episode for more. As always, we are going to bring you along for the ride, so stay tuned. #recordrelease...

Ep 135 What is D.I.Y. and Why is it Necessary? Video Description What do you think? What do you think? What DIY thinking have you used to help grow your music empire? We would LOVE to hear about it! Please share in the comments below. MUSIC: “I Get Faded (No Voce),” courtesy of PMG Cool & Quirky Custom Music (available through Songtradr at http://bit.ly/2QGRatf ) More Ways to experience B L O O M...

Ep 134 My music is "dated"; so what? Video Description This episode piggybacks on Gab & Jam Ep 57, “What’s ‘retro’?” The topic relates to one that we overheard being discussed on SiriusXM’s show, “Volume,” where Larry Flick was talking about Evanescence’s new release. Flick mentioned that the new Evanescence sounds like the old Evanescence, which prompted him to ask what “lane” they fit in anymore...

Video Description Here’s a treat for both bass players and funk enthusiasts; Bruce plays his way through the top 10 funk bass lines. Here are the ones that I remember enjoying vividly: 1. For The Love Of Money (The O’Jays) 2. Superfly (Curtis Mayfield) 3. Fire (Ohio Players) 4. Higher Ground (Stevie Wonder) 5. Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof off the Sucker) (Parliament) 6. Glide (Pleasure) 7. Forg...

Ep 132 Getting Rid of Urban Music Category; Now What? This is a response to the Callie Ahlgrim (from The Insider.com), “The music industry is finally getting rid of the term 'urban' to categorize Black music — but it's not enough.” The post discusses the idea that, in the midst of showing solidarity with Black issues, Republic Records—followed by the Grammys—called themselves getting rid of labels...

Ep 131 Is Funk Music Dead? Video Description We’ve asked this question in more than one way over the years, but because we are finishing up our funk album, “Sugar Fit,” we really need to figure a few things out about the prospect of launching this kind of product. Is Funk Music Dead? 1. Only old music on many playlists 2. Other kinds of music with the funk label (dance, Jonas Bros.) 3. Nobody want...

Ep 130 10+ Social Media Strategies for the D.I.Y. Rock Star Video Description You may have already deduced our feeling about how critical social media is for the D.I.Y. Rock Star, so we won’t bother rehashing what you already know. Instead, we are going to focus on strategies to help you grow your knowledge and, that will further your creative empire by using social media. 10+ Social Media Strateg...

Ep 129 George Floyd Mourning: Ways Music Can Offer a Way Forward It’s just days after the funeral and after all the officers have been charged in the horrible death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department. –Not to mention that we’re still in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic…. It’s a lot for us humans of the Earth to take in. There is no way you are not affected in o...

Ep 128 5 Reasons to use a Pseudonym for a D.I.Y. Rock Star Video Description While we’ve only been on our recent journey only a few short years, we have been artists our whole life. Part of that journey requires that we ask the question of whether or not we want to don a pseudonym or two in order to advance our art. This episode explores this weird and wonderful idea. Here are our 5 Reasons for a...

Gab & Jam Ep 127 Top Music-Related Documentaries Video Description The older we get, the more we are willing and craving to know the historical significance of various artists and movements. Documentaries have been our way to tap into that knowledge in recent years. That’s why we thought this might be the perfect episode to put together, especially in this time of Quarantine, when many of us have...

Ep 126 Why are musical artists viewed differently from actors? Video Description In terms of “authenticity,” there is a difference between the way we see a musical artist versus how we see an actor. We want to explore that in this episode. The areas covered in our discussion include: • What do we mean? • Why is this important? • What is the impact? • How do you feel? To hear the full discussion, b...

Episode 125 What does it mean to hire a “professional”? Video Description This is one of those recurring topics around here. You see, we are the D.I.Y. Rock Stars, which means that we advocate doing shit for yourself (and not expecting and/or relying on anyone else to get things done that important to you). We cover: • What does “professional” mean? • Our history of hiring “professionals” • Our ul...

Gab & Jam Ep 124 How do you know when music is good? Video Description This episode picks up on a topic that was discussed last week on the Volume show (on Sirius radio). They were asking if art should be “difficult” in order for it to be legitimate. —When we say “difficult”, we mean in multiple senses of the word: sonically difficult (maybe dissonance, etc.), ideologically difficult (as in deep,...

Gab & Jam Ep 123 Top 10 Albums Impact Challenge Video Description We’ve been nominated separately to complete the 10 Albums Impact Challenge, so we thought this was the perfect opportunity to do a Gab & Jam episode, so here we are. –No cheating! You’ve got to listen/watch the episode to find out each of our top 10 albums and what they mean to us. #purpose #diyrockstar #prejippie #bloomingprejippie...

Gab & Jam Ep 122 D.I.Y. Rock Star Rewind Quarantine Edition Grove Studios Livestream Interview Video Description In this episode, we are going to share with you one of the partnerships that has blossomed during this Coronavirus quarantine period. The result of which was being a guest in our first livestream ever with Grice Studios in Ypsilanti, MI. (They run a rehearsal space, and now a podcast an...

Gab & Jam Ep 121 Coronavirus Evens the Playing Field for DIY Rock Stars Video Description We’ve been fascinated by all the positive things people have been doing in the midst of this unprecedented crisis, including streaming workouts, streaming concerts, helping distribute food to those affected, restaurants giving away lunches to school children, sharing resources for how to spend time, sharing r...

Gab & Jam Episode Ep 117 Haters are Your Elevators: Negative Comments are Your Proof Video Description This is a follow-up episode in response to the trolls that where on our Instagram comments related to a free download that we were offering aspiring, fellow D.I.Y. Rock Stars, called “15 Tips for Better Band Photos” (http://bit.ly/betterbandphotos ). We have addressed part of our sentiments in “F...

Gab & Jam Episode Ep 116 Shut Up and Sing: Cancel Culture and Artist’s Political Views Video Description We are in a very different artistic/political climate than we have been used to. And it is true that an artist can risk his/her musical viability when they express their honest political opinions—either inside or outside of their art. So, given that there is much to lose by doing so, we have to...

Gab & Jam Ep 120 Coronavirus Activities: 10 Purpose-Filled Things to Do During the Quarantine Video Description We’ve been fascinated by all the positive things people have been doing in the midst of this unprecedented crisis, including streaming workouts, streaming concerts, helping distribute food to those affected, restaurants giving away lunches to school children, sharing resources for how to...

Gab & Jam Episode Ep 119 Coronavirus Quarantine? 9 Things to Do for the D.I.Y. Rock Star Video Description As you may already know, our major trip for this year is to Austin, Texas, for the South By Southwest 2020 conference. Beyond just cancelling our spring travel and IRL networking plans, though, we have been advised—in this State of Emergency in Michigan—to self-quarantine for the next three w...

Gab & Jam Episode Ep 118 Coronavirus Canceled Our Trip; Now What? Video Description As you may already know, our major trip for this year is to Austin, Texas, for the South By Southwest 2020 conference. Needless to say, we were taken aback, since just a week ago, South By Southwest had said that they wouldn’t cancel. Here we were, in the middle of packing and there was no conference to go to. The...

Gab & Jam Episode Ep 115 Is Rock Music Dead? Video Description Is traditional rock and roll—with guitars and drums and everything—dead? That’s the discussion on this episode. Six Suggestions for finding new rock: 1. Find Facebook groups. (Some groups showcase new rock music.) 2. Find Spotify/Apple Music/Pandora/YouTube playlists. (Some share new rock music.) 3. Find Music Blogs [like Stratton Setl...