D.I.Y. Rock Star Round Up (August 2022)

This post loosely accompanies Gab & Jam, episodes 242-245.

We’re taking an August break, but we DIDN'T want to leave you hanging. That’s why we invite you to check out these episodes—and videos!—on topics you may have missed:

1. Unboxings

(We've shared two new ones this past week; http://bit.ly/unboxingsyoutube )

These videos, collectively, are the closest thing we’ve ever had to a studio tour. So, if you’re interested in seeing what’s in our studio, check out our unboxing videos.

2. Travel adventures

Here's to your adventure: https://bit.ly/travelplaylistvids ; https://bit.ly/sxsw2019playlist )

If you’d like to see some of the places that we’ve talked about over the years—Toronto, Nashville, South By Southwest, GearFest, Chicago—we have videos for all of our travels in the last few years. We can’t even do these places justice by talking about them, so we suggest that you take a few minutes—or half a day—to go check out what we do when we get to these awesome places.

3. Health and Wellness (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)

Series of health and wellness advice: https://bit.ly/blogmas2021playlist )

Finally, we cover health & wellness as our central topic for this past year’s podmas, so if you missed that, here’s the link to check out 12 days of health and wellness: https://bit.ly/blogmas2021post

Did you know that along with putting together our next album, we are working on our first book? Here’s the link, if you want to pre-order: https://bit.ly/prejippiebklanding

4. Bass Love

We have curated some videos specifically for our bass players and other folks who REALLY dig bass guitar. Included in our playlist are snippets of bass-groove songs, trips to go buy basses, and comparison videos. Check it out: https://bit.ly/bassloveplaylistvid

5. Songwriting

As you know, our PRIME passion around here is songwriting, so here are some of the tips that we have shared over these past few years.

· Tips for Songwriting: http://bit.ly/Ep104songwritingtipsblog

· Tips for Lyric Writing: http://bit.ly/Ep77BV2019blog3 · 5 Tips for Finding Your Creative, Musical Voice: http://bit.ly/findvoiceblog

6. Branding

Our NEXT favorite topic is “branding.” That’s why you will see MANY resources and advice related to making sure that folks have a clear vibe for who you are and what you do.

· Music is Not Your Most Important Asset! Branding 101 for Musicians: http://bit.ly/brandingassetblog

· 5 Reasons to Use a Pseudonym: http://bit.ly/stagenamedrule

· Tips for Discussing Politics: http://bit.ly/Ep87BV2019blog13

· D.I.Y. Rock Star branding checklist: http://bit.ly/diyrockstarbranding

· 17 Tips for Better Band Photos (ESPECIALLY if you’re taking them yourself): http://bit.ly/betterbandphotos

7. Social media

As you PROBABLY also know, we think social media is a BOTH a blessing and a curse. –It is NECESSARY upon which to build your creative empire and it’s FREE (which is an unprecedented advantage for up and coming artists). However, it can be a time-suck, its reach is unpredictable and can often have us imitating (instead of innovating) and comparing (instead of creating). Here are some resources to help use this valuable resource to grow your fanbase and build your brand more effectively:

· 10 Social Media Strategies for the D.I.Y. Rock Star: https://bit.ly/socmediablog

· 10 Reasons NOT to Have Only One Social Media Profile (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star): https://bit.ly/Ep141moresocmedblog

8. YouTube

One of the primary social media channels that we’ve taken quite a lot of time and effort to grow is our YouTube channel. As you MIGHT already know, we started in 2017 with 137 subscribers and with sheer determination—and with nearly 300 videos later—we have grown it to where it is today—at 11.5k subscribers.

· Goals-Oriented Playlist (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star): https://bit.ly/goalsplaylistvid

· 10k YouTube Subscribers: How did we get here? https://bit.ly/23010ksubsblog

9. Motivation/Mindset

Similarly, we feel STRONGLY that in order to even begin the journey to figuring out who you are and what you want as a D.I.Y. Rock Star that have to find your “Why” and constantly guide and guard your mindset. That’s why we talk about these topics A LOT! Here are a few of the episodes that highlight these discussions:

· Ways to say “no”: https://bit.ly/221saynovid

· Turn FOMO into JOMO: https://bit.ly/195fomotojomoblog

· Turn your critic into your coach: https://bit.ly/231criticcoachvid

10. Musical Discoveries

One of our FAVORITE things to do is to expose you all to “interesting” musical artists. So, as we discover someone who catches our attention, we try to share their music with you. Over the years, we have create 6 episodes of musical discoveries, which included our Top 20 Prince Countdown and our Isley Brothers’ favorites. So, if you’re looking for some music to listen to, check out these links.

· Prince Top 20 countdown (episodes 9,10: http://bit.ly/princecountdown and http://bit.ly/princecountdown )

· Isley Brothers favorites (https://bit.ly/218isleybroplaylist )

· Gab & Jam Musical Discoveries (Episodes: 1, 42, 43, 71, 181, 227 https://bit.ly/Musicaldisc3playlist )

11. Tips for the D.I.Y. Rock Star

We’ve amassed QUITE the playlist of episodes of tips to help us live this D.I.Y. Rock Star lifestyle better, including 30 episodes from Blog-vember 2019. This includes tips on items as diverse as how to travel with instruments to how to grill steak to tips for mixing. https://bit.ly/blogvember2019playlist

12. Hacks (Day to Day)

Finally, another BIG interest around here is working smart and not hard. Our episodes that include hacks for living a better life with less stress, when it comes to the business of building our creative empire. Here are just a few:

· How to stop an upgrade from becoming a downgrade: https://bit.ly/Ep165upgradeblog

· File Management for the D.I.Y. Rock Star: https://bit.ly/229filemgmtblog