Who Did You Think I Was?

"You had my number/but I always knew the score
who did you think I was?"

- John Mayer

One of the dangers of negotiating the shark-infested waters of corporate America is in the image that you portray as a worker/subordinate/partner/teammate. You think it would be easy- show up, do your job with a smile on your face, and go home to your family. Not so fast. Not only is it necessary to be competent, you also have to keep in mind who you are perceived to be in the grand scheme of things.

Rock stars have the same kind of problems. Sometimes they can work it out. For instance, the song that inspired the title comes from the John Mayer Trio, a band put together by Mayer in order to distance himself ever so slightly from his image of the "Your Body is a Wonderland" crooner. The jury is out as to whether or not it will be enough to work, but if he stays with it, the odds are he will rise above. Keeping company with bassist Pino Palladino (Entwhistle's replacement in The Who, and master session player/ sideman) and drummer Steve Jordan (playing and/or producing with The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Los Lonely Boys, Eric Clapton, etc.) will do nothing but raise his stock in the industry.

That is what you must do as you progress in your chosen profession. Seek out opportunities to work with the people you think have the most star power. Your instincts may warn you that standing on stage with a talent like Jordan or Palladino will only minimize your ability to shine. That is not the truth. Once you are associated with these talents, your abilities will automatically be verified. You will find that the solutions that you come up when in the presence of these talents will be so much greater than the work you can come up with on your own, the shared spotlight won't matter.

A cautionary tale in this vein is the story of Rick Springfield. You may be shocked to realize that Rick has been an active and productive solo act since 1971. You may not know that he only took the "General Hospital" gig because of various issues regarding the management of his recording career and uncertainty with immigration paperwork. You may be surprised to hear he has sold over 20 million albums and has had 17 Top 40 hits (and no, not all are named "Jessie's Girl"). Yet, he is stuck in the bubble of being a "teen idol", with his good looks overshadowing his introspective and spiritual lyrical forays. What Rick (or his managers) never realized in his '80s heyday was that the short term loss of income due to collaborations would have translated into a more respected long term view of his career. As it turns out, he crashed and burned (literally and figuratively) in the late '80s, and didn't come back for 10 years. When he did, he finally reconciled his desires of critical approval with the reality of the image he created. It was only then, ironically, that he was free to pursue his musical goals through producing his own music through his own label. He even learned to collaborate with Matt Bissonnette (bassist that has also played with David Lee Roth, Joe Satriani, Ringo Starr, Brian Wilson, and Don Henley), on his latest album "Venus in Overdrive" which debuted at #28 in the Billboard charts last year.

The point is- if you don't work on your image, someone else will paint the picture for you. Once that happens, you are at the mercy of the artist(s). Don't make the same mistake as Rick, reach for collaborations and partnerships BEFORE the die is cast and your image is created. That way, you can have at least a little control over the development of your career. When the urge hits you to guard your place in the spotlight- THAT is the time to share the glory. It may not feel like the right thing to do at the moment, but it will pay off in the end!!