In this episode, Jared interviews Steve Lyon, a former bassist turned solo acoustic guitarist and singer based in Rhode Island. Steve shares his incredible evolution from touring with national acts to building his solo music business, transitioning into high-end gigs. Learn how he mastered the art of entertainment, adopted tools like loop pedals, and shifted his mindset to succeed in weddings, corporate events, and private parties. Steve offers insights into networking, marketing, and using his unique groove-oriented style to stand out in the industry.

"When you approach music as a service to others, it’s not just about playing—it’s about making their moments unforgettable."

- BookLive: Everything you need to start marketing and booking your act online (without having to hire or rely on a tech team!)​
- Your First Gig: Everything you need to book your first high-paying gig.
- Fulltime Music Masterclass: The Secret To an Unlimited Stream of High-Paying Private Event Gigs …Without Spending a Fortune on Online Advertising or Having Any Connections!
- Fulltime Music Academy (Gig Vault): 24,665 High-End Venues + Event Planners: Use this directory to book your highest-paid gig to-date.
- Breaking Into High-end Gigs Masterclass: How I Went From Broke Musician to Thriving By Breaking Into These Largely Unknown High-Paying Gigs

What's up, gigging musicians? Welcome back to another episode of The Gigging Musician Podcast. I am here today with another special guest. This is actually the second musician who took me up on my offer of being featured on The Gigging Musician Podcast.

Because if you're a gigging musician, you probably want to get the word out about your services. Remember, the tagline of this podcast is, your music will not market itself. So the only way to do that is by putting yourself out there.

And so I'm so excited to be joined by an acoustic guitarist and singer based in Rhode Island, Steve Lyon. Hey, Steve, welcome to the podcast. Thanks for being here.

Hey, thanks for having me. I'm happy to be here. Awesome.

And Steve is also one of our gold members of Full Time Music Academy. Steve, this podcast is all about you. And I mentioned that you're a singer and guitarist, but tell me a bit about yourself as a musician.

And before we started recording, you kind of revealed to me that you weren't always an acoustic guitarist. So feel free to just share your background and your journey. Sure.

Yeah. That really evolved out of a couple decades, really, of playing music. The fact that I'm doing the guitar and singing now, I started as a bassist, and about 2002, I got a bass guitar and fell in love with it and started playing.

And I was about 18 at that time, I think, and my mother signed me up for lessons. She says, if you're going to play an instrument, you got to take lessons.

So there was a local guitar player that was incredible jazz and everything, and he took me and started teaching me bass.

And within less than. I'd say less than a year, I was gigging as a bassist. Wow.

In bands? Yeah. That's crazy. That's a very short time period from learning an instrument to gigging.

I'm curious, what do you think made that such a short time period? Just total dedication to the instrument. I just want to put it down.

Just really like a sort of like healthy obsession with the instrument and music and just studying and having the teacher be sort of like the, you know, the guy that was pointing me and what I needed to learn.

Because, I mean, this, he was a veteran musician, had been to Berkeley and everything. So he was just cutting through the fat and saying, you need to learn this, that, and this.

And then when I got the first couple auditions for gigs and things like that, I just put all my effort and time into it and study and really, like, I think a big part was playing along to the recordings because I would practice with headphones And I would play as if I was in the band.

So I would play like with bass. Obviously, like, the Motown stuff is really popular. It's where a lot of, like popular bass playing came from, was all the stuff that they did in Motown.

So I just put that on and just play one track for an hour to get the feel. And then when I would go and play with these bands, even if I didn't have all the chops, I had the feel. And that's really what they were looking for, is someone that can kind of, you know, connect with the drummer and have the feel and play for three hours or more.

Yeah. And yeah, right off the bat, I started playing with people that were much older than me. And one of the first bands I played with that I actually got a full time bass part and was the guitar player had been doing the south, you know, like the Texas circuit and stuff for years.

He was in his 50s, so he was. And I was in my 20s. So I was basically able to learn under these people that had been doing it and had all this experience.

And yeah, I just took to it and just completely devoted all my time to it. And yeah, I was playing full time. And so it's just like, this is what I want to do.

Yeah, that's amazing. And I'm curious, like, what made you choose bass out of all the instruments that you could have chosen? I think the rhythm part of it. So I had, you know, when I was younger, I got an electric guitar, but I was so passionate about it and trying to rock out that I was like breaking the strings and stuff.

So the bass was the first instrument. It was more physical and it's also more rhythmic. And it's like I could, you know, get my, you know, the.

The physical part of it and also the grooving and also it's just. It just took to it naturally, you know. Yeah.

And I think part of it is the, you know, now I'm. I play a lot of finger style guitar. You know, I do all kinds of guitar techniques, but the finger style and I feel that like the transition was from base to nylon string guitar, which you play with your fingers, then to steel string.

So it was like this natural progression, you know, and it all, you know, like the bass being the root of it. Yeah. So I did that for a few years and at the same time I found another teacher that was this virtuoso six string bass player that was about two hours away.

And I was studying with him while I was doing these gigs. A lot of jazz and things like that. A lot of like lead bass playing and just really cutting edge techniques.

And then he helped me get a scholarship for a school in California. Bass? Yeah. That's awesome.

So I mean I was studying really hard. Like he was, it was really intense, you know, a lot of the jazz stuff and everything. And he said, you know, I was talking about I really would like to go to school for music.

And he says, you know, Berkeley might not be the best thing for you. I suggest you go out to California and do like a one year intensive program versus like a four year education at like Berkeley or something. Plus there was also, you know, the funds.

It's a big, big expense to go to school for, you know, four or five years at a prestigious school like that. So he helped me get into this school and set me up with these great musicians to make a demo and I got a scholarship and then I think it was around 2006 I just took off to California to study bass. Yeah, that's awesome.

I've always wanted to play the bass. I actually have a bass guitar lying around here that is just in its case. But yeah, I mean it's so much fun to listen to and I've tried a couple of the little bass techniques but I just don't have the patience to learn another instrument at this point.

Yeah, yeah, so it's great. Yeah, it's just even just like the simplest grooves and stuff. You know, just put on one of your favorite James Brown tracks and just play to it for an hour and it's, you know, it's fulfilling know because of the rhythm and everything.

So yeah, so I went out there and at this school it was great. It was a one year intensive thing. The school had, was still forming.

It's called, then it was called the LA Music Academy and now I think it's called the LA College of Music because they became accredited later. But it was still in its formative years and they just had these incredible like world class musicians that all sort of like base themselves in the LA area and you just, I just got to be exposed to like that level of musicianship and commitment that these guys had. It was like it was unparalleled to see, you know, just the level of commitment these guys had and they, and it was cool because it was a lot of ensembles.

So basically you'd have a class where they'd say, okay, this is the song we're working on, we'd study the song and then they'd have these session players come in and you'd Play. You just get up in front of the class and play the songs. And.

Yeah, it was really. It was a really great way to learn because there's just so much playing. And.

Yeah, so I did that for the year. And then, you know, from there I branched out and did cover gigs out there. And then also a couple original bands I went on the road with and did, like, these tours in a band kind of thing.

And I lived out there for three years and really studied and got experience. And then I came back to Massachusetts, where I'm originally from, to go on the road with another original band. And we did a whole national tour, just all over the whole country.

And then after that, I. Then I was like, okay, well, I'm going to take a break and just settle down here. I don't need to be going on the road as much anymore.

It's kind of. It's a lot. But then I found my way into this Aerosmith tribute band that was also a national act.

And. But the level. The level of gigs they were doing were much higher.

They were, like, doing these outdoor festivals with, like, over 5,000 people that would come in theaters, and we played in Las Vegas for a week straight. Things like that. That's awesome.

The Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton Library and just all these really nice, like, really great venues and stuff. But it was just constantly traveling and, you know, it started to get a little much.

And again, I'm just like, I was ready to take a break from traveling before I joined that band. And after a couple years of that, I was like, yeah, it's time to just kind of settle down for a little bit. Yeah, cool.

I mean, I would love to keep going, but I actually would love to dive in because you just casually mentioned, oh, I linked up with this Aerosmith band or somehow found. Found my. My way into these other original acts.

I don't think those things happen by accident. I'm curious, you know, for this Aerosmith band tribute band, how did you. How did you get the gig? I think it was through.

I mean, it was a while ago, so it was. I really think the way I got the gig. I would say this before.

Before you get, you know, how you got through the door. It was how I got the gigs by showing up and also just playing, like, really bringing it, you know, so they could see that my level of, you know, commitment and stuff. But as far as getting through the door, I think it was probably through, like, an ad or something like that.

You know, this was still. It still wasn't social media, you Know the era of how popular social media is now, and I believe it was just through like an ad somewhere, maybe, maybe at a store or something like that. Oh, cool.

But yeah, so once I. Yeah, so once I got in there I just. Well, actually, funny story is like.

So I got in on. I think I went in on like a Monday and they had to learn these three songs. So I went on Monday to audition and I played like three songs and they said, what are you doing Thursday? I said, well, I don't know.

And they're like, do you want to come to Ohio? And I said for what? They said to play, obviously. And the first gig was like this outdoor place in Akron, Ohio where there's thousands of people there. Wow.

That was my first gig with him and I had to learn the whole set. But luckily, you know, I think we were playing for 90 minutes. That was like the hour to 90 minutes.

So I had to learn. Basically I had learned three songs up to that point, so I had to fill out a 90 minute set within a couple days. Yeah.

And the first gig about three quarters away through a thunderstorm rolled in. So it got cut short and I was like, oh God, thank you, I can practice some more. And I stayed up with the guitar, one of, one of the guitar players for, you know, in the night, just learning all the parts and stuff.

So then the next time, the next gig, which was the next day, I was able to get through it and really do a good job. So, you know, there's definitely trial by fire for that one. Yeah, for sure.

And you bring up a very interesting point about, you know, we'll get to like the current pursuits and high end gigs. But recently we've been talking a lot in our coaching program about adding modern songs to people's set lists. And I think that is kind of one of the skills that we high end gig musicians have to have is the ability to learn music quickly.

Whether that that means you would shed it and learn the tune overnight or if you have some sort of sight reading ability that you don't need to practice that much to get it to sound decent. Would you say that that's been a valuable skill for you throughout your career? Absolutely. Throughout the whole career.

And then also even just up until I would say about a month ago, someone wanted me for a wedding on the beach. So. So no iPad.

Obviously I'm on the beach, there's no electricity, it's full acoustic. And they wanted two songs. One was Heaven by Brian Adams, which was relatively easy to learn, but then they Wanted Crush by Dave Matthews.

I don't know if you've ever heard this song, but to play that acoustic, it's a drop D song and Dave Matthews has some crazy chords, if for any of the guitar players. Like a lot of people don't play those songs because he's just got these really odd shaped chords, like just like three notes and two notes and things like that. And I don't know any of his songs.

But the, the wedding was about, I think less than two weeks out and he said, can you learn that? And I was sure, absolutely. So I just, yeah, every night I was, yeah. It takes a lot of work too.

I mean, that's the thing, it does take a lot of work. But if it's really, you know, out of, you know, if it's really a labor of love, it's, you know, I know that I'm developing, I'm continuing to develop. Like I'm going to be sharper on every other gig that I play coming because I'm putting in so much effort for this.

And it's also meaningful. I mean, it's their wedding, it's on the beach. Who's not.

I don't think there's a lot of people that would say yes to that. So you get to really make that special moment for them too, which really adds to the purpose behind all the effort and the practicing. So finding a reason to be motivated.

And that's. Yeah. Throughout the bass playing and stuff, it was, the reason was, oh our.

We need a bass player in two days. Here's the set list. Right.

So that's a reason because it's just super motivating to like. Okay, like there's the stakes are high kind of thing, you know. Yeah.

And that. And then sometimes maybe just creating that for yourself, but sometimes it does take that like outside pressure to really get you to be in that focus space to really see what you're capable of. Yeah, that's.

That's awesome. I love, love hearing that. So the, the tour with the, the Aerosmith.

Trippy Bend, that one went well. Yeah, it was great. And after a couple years of that, it was just, you know, just the traveling was just wild.

Like this, this, the scheduling of like where we were going, I mean, thousands of thousands of miles in days, you know, like flying and driving and playing and flying. And so at that point I was just like, you know what? I'm going to stay put. I'm just going to, you know, stay local and find some sort of like a part time job I can do and gig locally.

And I did that, and I ended up, you know, so I got into just a trade. I started just painting, you know, on the side so that I could just stay local and just do local gigs. And that's what I did.

And at one point, I got to three. There was one summer. I'm gonna say it was like 20.

It was 2017. I was playing like, three to five times a week. And I had started my own painting business.

So it got to the point where I was like, okay, I'm playing like, five times a week. And a lot of these gigs on base were like, this is before COVID So places were open to, like, 1:00 in the morning and stuff like that. So I would, you know, work doing house painting and then get in the car and drive an hour to go play till one in the morning.

And doing that, you know, every day sometimes, like, was just. It got to be a lot. So I said, you know, I gotta.

I'm doing well with the painting. I'm just gonna take a break, you know, from the bass playing for a minute. And when I did that, you know, I found this extra time, and that's when I started playing the guitar.

Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. So it was like this natural transition, right? And then what was the impact of transitioning from the bass, where you typically need other musicians in order to perform that solo? Not all the time.

Some people make it work without. But, you know, in general, what was that transition like to I can now accompany myself? That was where I developed kind of, like, how I play, like, to this day, like, at these gigs, like, I'm very, very focused on the groove, and that's how I can as.

You know, a lot of times, like, I'm just observing guitar players playing and stuff, doing the solo thing.

They'll do a lot of strumming with the pick and things like that, which is really nice. But when you can add, like, a backbeat with your thumb and, like, slap and create, like, something like, then you can start getting people moving. And that's what I realized.

Like, I played just at the local airport. They let musicians play for, like, a block of three hours for tips. And I did that a couple years ago, I want to say two years ago.

But I realized, like, playing that style was causing people to move. I was like, wow, okay. This is the same thing I used to do on bass.

And I can. As long as I'm. So basically, that whole concept of the groove and the pocket and all that, which is so huge for Bass and drums transition over to the guitar.

So without. I need to have that groove in that pocket when I'm playing guitar, or else it seems like it's just floating. So I hear the drums and bass in my head even though I'm just playing guitar.

So it forces me to find, like, a pocket, which makes a huge difference for the energy of the gig or whatever I'm playing. Absolutely.

And I'd also argue that that's one of the things that makes you stand out when people are considering who to hire.

They've got this unique approach to acoustic guitar that not many people in your area have. Yeah. And also once I started with the looping, so, you know, different gigs will call for different things, different types of music.

But recently I've been playing at a couple really nice restaurants and I'm playing a little bit more background music. But the looper has been huge because now I can. I can get my groove with the.

With the chord progression, but then I can turn on my octave pedal and actually play bass parts. And so I have all that experience playing bass into that. So it really.

When I'm making. When I'm crafting these loops, like, I'm using all that experience I had to make it sound like it's really happening live, so that the energy in those loops is. Feels like it's.

It's really happening, like as a bandwidth or something, you know, as opposed to just having it be a little more rigid or something like that, you know? Yeah. That's awesome. How long have you been playing with a looper pedal? I started using it.

Well, I really. This year was my first real big year, is the solo acoustic and singing. And I found pretty quickly that if I'm going to play some of these gigs, up to six hours I've done for these private parties.

Yeah, I need to have. I need to have. I need to be able to stop singing and just loop something so I can play some lead to fill some space.

And a lot of the time, that's what it's called for. You know, they don't. You know, it's a lot of these gigs, sometimes they just want the ambiance.

And that's where the looper pedal for me really comes into play, because I can just create, you know, I kind of feel out the energy, figure out, you know, what sort of, like, tempo and groove is right for the moment, get that looped, and then play some tasty leads, you know? Tasty. That's awesome. Was it.

Was it hard to learn and incorporate the looper? Pedal? No, not really. I have the. I think it's the RC5.

So it's the one with just one channel in. And then I got the external pedal, the boss that has the two foot switches. And you know, I saw a tutorial on YouTube on how to set it up so that I could do a single tap for record and stop.

And really the biggest thing I've learned is just that when I tap to either start or stop a loop, I want to be tapping on the beat. So I just hear that just like I would be tapped. So sometimes I might just start tapping my foot to the beat and then hit it.

And then that's all you really got to do is once you're moving in the rhythm and then you hit it. It's. Yeah, if you think about it, then it's.

It's not always going to be right on the beat and then. But that's okay because then you can just hit. As long as you keep playing.

You can hit the other pedal if you have it set up right. And just clear it and just start another one. Okay, got it.

Yeah. I feel like I've. I haven't used a looper pedal myself yet, but I've heard a lot of people use it and I think from what they say the biggest couple of it hurdles is getting the timing right and then also figuring out what to play as far as the loop is concerned.

Yeah. And I think sounds like your experience as a bass player actually helped expedite that process. Absolutely.

Yeah. Just. Even just simply if you just have a, like really all I need is a good guitar part that has a groove and then a good bass groove.

And I really don't need to add much to that. And honestly it can get muddy if I start adding like higher chords and things. But I would like to get the, the next step, which I'm aiming for is to get the two channel one.

That way I can have the mic in. You know, I've seen some people like, they'll beatbox or you could add like vocal loops and things like that. But it's nice to go one step at a time.

And that's what I found through all my years playing music is that it's better to start with the simplest thing and really kind of master that before you start adding all the gadgets and things because then it's just, it's kind of confusing. So yeah, for sure. And I would argue you don't.

Right. You don't need to go all the way and do everything like all the Looping, all the grooving and everything to get started. Especially with higher end gigs, which that's kind of what I want to talk about now is like a lot of people misconstrue to be a high end gig musician.

People might think you have to be one of the best musicians on the planet. I am not that. And yet I play plenty of those high end gigs.

You also play plenty of high end gigs, although you are a very good musician.

I'm curious, what was it like transitioning from quote unquote artistic gigs, like touring to something like a wedding or corporate event? It's actually what other, what the clients had said to me, what they labeled me as, was an entertainer.

So as an artist, and especially like in an original artist, you're getting, you have your message that you're creating and your whole idea or concept or whatever the music is, it's your, it's your, it's your painting, it's your piece, it's your expression of your truth.

But as when I go into a high end gig, I'm going in as an entertainer, so I'm there. The audience is 100% first. Like they're the ones that I'm focused on and I'm trying to make their day better, make their event better in any way that I can.

And maybe not even better, but just add to it, you know, and really just, you know, taking a request. If maybe I'm not 100% on the, on the tune, I haven't played it, but they really want this song, I'll give it a shot and have fun with it.

And that makes that just, you know, even that like being candid like that can actually just make the whole mood shift. And, and it's really.

Yeah, the difference is really going to the, these gigs as an entertainer, as someone that's there of service to help with, help them with their event with all the musical knowledge that I have and experience.

And you know, and it's as simple as just like, you know, reading what the energy is, you know, it's a lot of it too I found is the iPad is the best tool for me because I can have all these songs on there and I can have this set list that I've catered to the event.

But then I go in, I say, well, now is not the time for this, so in a minute. And I also got it. I also got a Bluetooth pedal that connects to the iPad, which was a big breakthrough too because I can flip through songs, the whole, the whole song list.

And also through songs that I might need a little help on all with my foot. Yeah, I'm getting better at that too. So.

Yeah, it's really just bringing like the concept of like I'm there with my music to serve this whole event in this whole moment and how can I help enrich that? Was that a hard transition to make? No, I think honestly for me it's something that is kind of natural for me.

Like I feel like I'm actually learning more about who I am as a musician that I actually do have like this. This whole side of me as a musician that is there to entertain and you know, I didn't mention but you know, my mother was a guitar player.

She's a fingerstyle folk and Irish traditional singer and she had a. She had four sisters and they sang five part harmonies and things and. Oh wow.

I don't know if it's. Yeah, I don't know if it's a, you know a hand me down from her like genetic or whatever.

But all I know is that being able and also being able to be there of service as an entertainer is kind of liberating in a way too because it's as opposed to being like this musicians that's you know, just all about being the highest level possible and very self centered almost.

Whereas with this it's really about everybody else. So it's not even about judging myself. It's just about really just being of service to the people with music.

Yeah, I love that. Like I've. I've always recognized that in myself too.

Is like probably one of the reasons why people enjoy working with me is because I make it easy to work with me.

So. And that, that's from a customer service perspective when I'm talking to them and when I'm on stage playing music for them and adjusting my performance based on what's happening in front of me.

So cool. You've got some. You've got a high end gig coming up I think this weekend, right? Yeah, I have one at Foxwoods.

It's a corporate event for a laser company. I'm not sure, I think it's. I'm not sure what lasers they do, but they do lasers and they're the world, you know.

And they're having a corporate event at Foxwoods which is the casino. It's about an hour from me.

It's really nice, high end casino and they have a whole separate building called the Fox Tower where they just have ballrooms and meeting rooms and all these.

These perfect setups for any kind of corporate and Private event. So yeah, I'm gonna go there. And basically the only request they had was just they want music that everybody knows.

Yeah. So that's awesome. As I stay to the top 40 and classic songs and things like that, I'm sure I'll have it covered and I'll feel it out too when I'm there for sure.

But yeah, that's. That's great. And I'm glad you mentioned that because earlier we talked about modernizing your set list to music that people know and want to hear.

Yeah. And the thing too I wanted to mention too is like all those years to like this is a good thing to mention about the transition from being a bassist to being a side man to being like the solo performer.

Was that in all those years of bass playing, I think it was 20, 23 is when I had my first few private gigs, a couple corporate ones and private parties.

That on those gigs, what sold me on pursuing this more too was that each of those gigs were higher paying than any single gig I did as a bassist, as a side man.

So it's more responsibility I'm taking on, but it's also more money I'm able to make. So it's all like this.

It's all like this natural evolution from side man bassist to stepping into the solar performer and taking responsibility for the whole thing. And that actually is a big reason why it's. It's fun too, because it's lucrative.

Yeah, that's a great way of putting it. Like the more responsibility you take on, the more you deserve to be compensated. Yeah, that's awesome.

Cool. So we started working together a couple months ago. I'm curious, what have you like, what have we worked on together and how do you see that kind of shifting what you currently are doing? Yeah, absolutely.

The website and the way the marketing around it. The marketing around that I've just learned from, even osmosis, from being in the calls and things.

Just the mindset of, you know, that I am this high level entertainer that will has a lot to offer these corporate events and private parties and things.

And really that mindset shift and also like the realization that I am that, you know, and owning that and stepping into that and then using that in the way that I market myself and the way I just talk to people and in my marketing and stuff and really just.

Yeah, having a sense of direction and identity around the music has really, really helped a lot.

And also of course the calls are great because the coaching calls because not only am I able to ask questions to you on a regular basis.

I'm also in this sort of community of a bunch of musicians that are doing the same thing in their own way and everybody has their own identity and niche. But that's sort of what I'm learning is to find mine and then to be just have the head in the game on a weekly basis really, really helps. Yeah, for sure.

Well, I appreciate you saying that. And you're, you're about to transition to a new phase of our program. Would you tell us a bit about that and how you're going to go about reaching out to high end venues and event planners? Sure, yeah.

So I spent a lot of time and effort on the website, which is great. The Steve Lyon music, which is. I'm really grateful for the help on that Looks great.

So now it's time to get out there and point people, get people to go to it and to use it in networking and marketing and reaching out to different venues that have private events and start to meet some private event planners, corporate planners, and use basically the tools that you're giving me as far as the approach and the templates and things like that to get meetings scheduled so I can get in front of these people and show them what I do, point them to the website so that I can get on these pervert vendors lists and basically build a group of people that know who I am that are comfortable to refer me to more of these private events. Yeah, and that, that makes sense.

And a while ago, or actually it was like last week you had mentioned that when you started your painting business, you were a member of different networking organizations such as bni.

Could you kind of describe how those worked and then compare that to in the private events industry, how you perceive it working? Sure.

So when I did B and I, it was a group of business owners that would get together on a regular basis to network, to actually just spend some time together and pick each other's brains, but also to make referrals to one another's business and out, not even just within the group, but within the referral group of everybody else.

So for example, someone I might meet someone and build a relationship with someone, they might not need their house painted, but their friends, cousins, neighbors might need their house painted.

And then they go back to this person who's, you know, a part of my network and say, do you know someone that can paint houses and things?

And then it would come to me and mainly it was about having people that you could refer, that you could trust because really, like it's not even about the thought that I just, you know, need somebody to know about me so that I can. They can refer me for a gig. It's not even about that.

They're actually. They might actually be happy to know someone that they can trust, that they can refer. And that was a big thing I realized too, is it's like the.

You're actually being of service to the person that's giving the referral out because they're now able to give somebody's name out that they can trust.

And that's pretty much, you know, invaluable to be able to have that, you know, and then that's, you know, it's just this constant, like, sort of like symbiotic and reciprocal relationship with your network overall.

And you don't really know where a referral might be coming from, but you just.

So you can't, like, pinpoint that. But if you just do good work and are honest and meet as many people as you can and have the, you know, the really wanting to help, you know, having that be where you're coming from, you know, that's how that works. And I see now too, like, with the.

How that applies to what we're doing now, it's similar. It's just I'm going to be going to different places in different organizations and different groups and places and things like that. Yeah, for sure.

I actually went to a BNI meeting once, like four or five years ago, and I. I actually really enjoyed it, but I didn't necessarily see how it would apply to this concept, like the getting on preferred vendor list and booking gigs, which is why I didn't join.

But what I loved about the BNI approach was how structured it was because at the meeting I went to, they literally had like, slips of paper for you to write down referrals and then hand those to other businesses.

And I kind of wish that it was a bit more structured in the private events industry because that would make life a lot easier.

But at the same time, you know, you can only play the hand that you're dealt, which is why we're visiting venues. We're going to NACE and MPI and ILIA and all these other organizations.

You're kind of recreating that experience in a way that works for the industry. So I appreciate you. You sharing your experience with me on that.

Sure. Very cool. We're kind of running out of time here.

Is there anything else that I didn't ask about that you would like to share with our audience?

I mean, I guess I'd like to share that, you know, as I've shared the evolution of this whole thing that in 2025, with the help of the program and everything that I've learned, I'm going to really go for my biggest year yet with this.

I had, I went in 2023, I think I had four or five private events, which was. Was great.

It got, you know, it got me hungry for it. And last year I went through, I think it was almost 60 gigs total and a bunch of them being private events. So for this year, I want to go 100 plus and just really go all in.

And I'm already getting going. It's December and I've already got some things booked in September. So, yeah, that's just the natural progression.

And then this year should be the biggest year yet. That's awesome. Well, I'm excited for you and I'm.

I'm happy to be a part of your journey. So, Steve, if our listeners wanted to learn more about you and your music, where would they go to find more about that? They go to the great website we created, which is www.steve lion l y o n music dot com.

Awesome. Well, thanks for sharing your story with us. And thanks for being a part of my my program.

And to our listeners, thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Gigi Musician podcast. And as Steve has just so eloquently reinforced, your music will not market itself. So get out there, promote it, and have a great rest of your year.

So thanks so much.