Road Life

     For the first 3 months of 2015 I am playing bass in two awesome bands on the Pepsi On The Rise Tour. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to just be a player in a band and so far I have learned a lot from the experience.

1. Learn your part and play it with all your heart. When you have new songs to learn just make sure you learn it to the point you don't have to think about it anymore because then your heart starts taking over. 

2. Don't be the smelly guy. I forgot socks the first weekend out so I had the same crusty pair on the whole trip and it was terrible. I was super self-conscious and tried to keep my shoes on as much as possible or keep those nasty socks far away from people. 

3. Where what you want. I cut the sleeves off one of my favorite shirts before a show at a biker bar. I usually wear button up collared shirts but I wanted to unleash the inner rocker. After I got over the paranoia of thinking that everyone was judging me I felt ok again. I just had fun and got to wear a costume to be a rocking bass player. 

4. Be up for anything. On of my favorite lines in a song is "Nothing happens when you're asleep, so stay up until you wake up!" (Wallpaper. - #STUPiDFACEDD) I am usually pretty tired after these shows but I try and push through it because what goes down back when you go to the hotel are the experiences you will remember forever. It isn't the crazy rockstar trashing the room type of stuff, but more about hanging out with your friends and new friends in each town. If all you do is show up, do your job and go home, then you are doing it wrong. Music is amazing for the fact that it connects you with other people and you will never experience the connection if you are not open to it and seeking it out. People might connect with a lyric or fall in love with a melody, but that connection came from something you made and that my friends is what I love most about being a musician. 

5. Lastly, have fun!