Nobody Plays You Like You: Wayne Linsey on Session Musician Etiquette and Live TV (Episode 27)

Reliability beats virtuosity.

When Wayne Linsey sits down at the piano, Nomad says, it stops being an instrument and becomes him. The list of people he has worked with includes Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Babyface and Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, plus live TV from American Idol to The Tonight Show.

In Episode 27 of The Career Musician, recorded at Nomad's studio, Wayne talks about session musician etiquette, the confidence it takes to sit in the hot seat on live TV, and why he started mentoring the next generation of LA players.

There is no competition, only you

Wayne opened with the mindset that keeps him from getting competitive with other players.

"Your musical voice is something that God gave only to you. And with that understanding should also come the confidence to know that you're the only you there'll ever be."

Wayne Linsey, 2:13

So when he meets someone who can play circles around him, he can admire it without it taking anything from him. That guy will never bring what Wayne brings. He found that the higher the level of the musicians, the more they understand this. At that level, we are vessels. You still have to put in the work to develop the gift, but there is nothing to get an ego about. That is Humility from the ETHOS code.

Lose the attachment to your part

Wayne once threw a session to a friend who had just moved to town, a chance to get his feet wet. During the session, Wayne reached over and turned a knob on the guy's pedal, trying a different sound. The guy got offended. That's my sound, he said.

"This ain't your record. So the first thing you got to do is lose the personal attachment to your performance. Your job is to make the producer and the artist happy."

Wayne Linsey, 16:16

You don't have to like it. If it is what they want, give it to them. Read the room, too: some producers don't know what they want and are calling you for your voice, while others know exactly what they want. Being easy to work with in both cases is Low maintenance / no drama.

On time is early, and $75 still counts

For Wayne, the main points of etiquette are punctuality and being prepared: your gear works, you know your way around it, and you can deliver. Even for this podcast hang, he told Nomad what time he would arrive and made a point of being there.

His rule applies far beyond the studio. If you can't show up on time for the hundred dollar gig, he is not calling you for the big one.

"You don't treat it like, oh, it's only $75, so I'ma show up and give them $75 worth of me."

Wayne Linsey, 18:19

If you committed to it, do what it takes to make it work, then negotiate better next time or say no. That is Reliability beats virtuosity in plain terms. The call for the big money goes to the player who treated the small gig like it mattered.

He added a story about a young player he was trying to bring into a project. Wayne asked him for a four bar drum loop. Days later, nothing. The kid said Wayne never told him when he needed it. Wayne's answer: then you should have asked. Find out what you need to know about a gig.

Don't take the gig you can't win

Wayne's advice to younger players: don't put yourself in situations where you will be unsuccessful. If you can't read, don't take a reading gig just because you don't want to miss the opportunity. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Everything you do is an audition, and a gig you can't handle is an audition you have already lost.

That ties into his message about reading. Plenty of successful people don't read, Babyface among them. But if you want to make a living as a career musician, you need to be able to take as many of the gigs that come your way as possible.

What live TV demands

Nomad called live TV for the biggest shows on earth the highest level a career musician can reach, and Wayne broke down what it takes.

As the pianist on American Idol, he often carried the intro and first verse for a contestant's big moment, live, with one chance. Mess up the intro and they sing badly, and then producers hear about the piano player. If you are not confident and prepared, you become the guy they quietly replace with somebody who can deliver under pressure.

For an awards show like the Oscars, there is often no rehearsal. They pre-record over two days, sometimes taping the very first pass. They record the music for every nominee in a category, because nobody knows who will win. All the music and charts go into a shared folder in advance, so you can do your homework. Arrive with time to spare for security, parking and credentials at the venue. On time is early. Right on time is late.

Confidence, saying no, and knowing who you are

Wayne signed his first record deal back in 1989, and Nomad asked him how he handles people who hire him as a sideman but might look down on him for being an artist. His answer: none of that matters, because he knows who he is. If you don't believe you belong somewhere, don't go.

That same confidence let him say no. After he quit Maze, he turned down an offer to tour with an act that was opening for Maze. He could have used the money. And with Stevie Wonder, he says they were always more friends than work. After touring in 1993, he told him it would take more money to go out again.

Nomad shared a story of his own. When he moved to LA in 2005, he asked Wayne whether to take a tour offer or stay home to chase sessions and film and TV. Wayne asked one question: is the tour paying you? Then why are you asking me? Go make the money. That is Make Music Your Business, from someone who has seen it all.

Restoration, and the people coming up

Wayne spoke openly about recovery. He had recently marked ten years free of cocaine, after a setback that cost him a lot, and he wants players to hear it because someone out there might be struggling. His key word in life, he said, is restoration.

He brought the same spirit to Whitney Houston, whose band he first joined in 1989 and who took him on the Bodyguard world tour. He wants her remembered for her gift, not her struggles. The obstacle was not her definition.

He also talked about the older players who poured into him and never treated him like a kid. Now he is doing the same, inviting a group of young working musicians into a mentoring collective. Inside the core group they don't charge each other for parts on demos. They hold family days at his studio to play together, and he shows them his archive of rehearsal footage to connect them to the history of the city. His reason was simple: he is not taking it with him.

The takeaway

Know your voice and stop competing. Leave your ego outside the session. Show up early for every gig, including the small ones, and don't take the gig you aren't ready for. If you are preparing to step into a bigger chair, start with the free Audition Secrets guide, and hear Wayne's music at waynelinseymusic.com.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

Watch on YouTube or find every episode on the TCM Podcast page.