June 13, 2025 • 26 mins
Songwriter Gabe Schillman truly embodies the "living on the road" lifestyle—he doesn't even own a home. With 232 shows performed nationwide last year alone, this professional songwriter and touring artist has turned his nomadic existence into both an art form and a mission.
During our candid conversation, Gabe reveals the fascinating world of contract songwriting, where artists craft music to fit specific commercial, film, and entertainment needs. "Music is everywhere," he explains. "Every note sounds like something, whether it's sad, happy, mad—every note sounds like an emotion." This perspective has allowed him to create music that resonates across diverse audiences while working with industry legends like Ted Perlman, producer for Bob Dylan and Diana Ross.
What truly sets Gabe apart is his newest venture, the Rustic Revival Roadshow. This isn't just another concert tour—it's a purpose-driven mission bringing high-quality performances to rural communities while raising funds for local causes. From building veteran memorials to supporting organizations like TUGS.org that help struggling family farmers facing high suicide rates, Gabe has found a way to transform music into meaningful community impact.
Perhaps the most powerful moment comes when this fiercely independent artist admits that his greatest growth occurred when he finally allowed others to help. "Let your guard down just a little bit," he advises fellow artists. "Accept the help that you've been reluctant to accept." It's a vulnerable admission from someone who's spent decades building a career on self-reliance.
Ready to experience Gabe's music and mission? Follow him at KingGabe.com, join "King Gabe's Village" on social media, and watch for the Rustic Revival Roadshow launching this August. This is more than just music—it's a movement bringing hope, purpose, and world-class entertainment to the heart of rural America.
Want to be a guest on Living the Dream with Curveball? Send Curtis Jackson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1628631536976x919760049303001600
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with
Curveball, If you believe youcan achieve.
Welcome to the Living the Dreamwith Curveball Podcast, a show
where I interview guests thatteach, motivate and inspire.
(00:24):
Where I interview guests thatteach, motivate and inspire.
Today, I'm joined byprofessional songwriter and
recording touring artist, GabeShillman.
Gabe has 14 years of experienceof songwriting, of contract
writing, and he has 20 years ofexperience with touring, so
(00:47):
we're going to be talking to himabout everything that he's up
to and what he's going to be upto in the future.
So, Gabe, thank you so much forjoining me.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
It's my pleasure, so I'm very excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Why don't you start off by telling the listeners a
little bit about yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Well, I'm, as you said, a full-time artist,
songwriter, and I've been doingthis for a very long time.
I'm out on the road.
Right now I'm in Monroe,wisconsin, and I play a show
here tomorrow night and then Ihead up to north central
(01:27):
Wisconsin and then back toMichigan and then I'm down in
Nashville for the week for CMAFest, and I'm always on the road
.
I live on the road.
I don't have, I don't even havea home.
I just I just travel and tourand do my music and songwriter
showcases and things like that.
(01:48):
It's an amazing life and I'mvery, very grateful for it.
I feel like the most blessedman on the planet.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Absolutely Well, kind of explain to the listeners
what you do and how you gotstarted and what feels your
passion to do what you arecurrently doing it's very
(02:27):
important to get your songs outthere and um to make sure that
they're heard.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Um, if they're not heard, then you know you, you
can't sell them.
You can't, um, you know youcan't offer your services.
So I, I tour around a lot.
I play a lot of a lot, a lot, alot of shows.
Last year I played over 232shows nationwide and um, I don't
even know how many states, buta lot of states and um, um, so I
(02:49):
, I play a lot of live, liveshows, a lot of live
performances.
I do, uh, a lot of songwritershowcases and songwriter rounds.
I take every, every opportunitythat I can to get my name out
there and my exposure up.
I have an amazing band that Iplay with of just incredible
(03:13):
artists, and you knowaccomplished musicians.
You know guys with GrammyAwards behind them and you know
guys that play with megastarsand I'm always very, very
grateful.
You know that play with megastars and I'm always very, very
grateful.
You know to have the resourcesthat I do, but you know that's
come from.
You know 20, 25 years of umdoing exactly what I'm doing
(03:35):
right now, just putting myselfout there.
So it's um, you know it's atraveling life, it's a road life
and, um, um, you know, likeeverything else, it it's a
traveling life, it's a road lifeand, um, um, you know, like
everything else, it's it's a joband and I and I treat it like
such try to be as professionalas I can and punctual.
(03:56):
And, um, you know, when I, whenI do have the opportunity to
work and put myself in front ofpeople, I try to give my
absolute best every time that Ido so.
As far as you know what'sinspired me to to do this, um,
you know, I somebody told me along time ago that music chooses
(04:16):
you.
You know, you don't, you don'tchoose it.
Music chooses you and, um, whenit chooses you, you're you're,
you're chosen for life, you'regoing to be doing this for life,
and if you try to go againstthe grain of that, then you're
going to be absolutely miserable.
And there's been times in mylife where I've thought you know
what, maybe this isn't for meand I kind of veered off on
(04:42):
another path.
But at the end of the day, Ialways came back to it because
it chose me.
So I'm a lifer, and once youaccept that and you accept all
that comes along with that, itbecomes a high honor.
It's a, it becomes a high honorand and it becomes something
(05:04):
that you're um, you know, fullydedicated to.
And if you're not, then thenit's a uh, then it's a drag, but
when you fully dedicate to it,it becomes very much a high
honor.
So I I started out when I was15 years old and kind of just
(05:29):
been going ever since.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Okay, well, you are a contract writer, a professional
contract writer, so explain tolisteners what that is.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, so I'm not currently under contract at this
time, but I've been undercontract for most of my career
and what that means is that youknow music is everywhere.
It's in every store, it's inyour cars, it's in every you
(06:03):
know movie that you watch, it'sin every television commercial
that you watch.
Music you know when you trulylisten for it.
It's literally everywhere.
And there's a huge need forsongs, whether that's marketing,
whether that's.
You know other artists thatmaybe not, maybe they don't
(06:24):
consider themselves songwriters,but they're definitely
performing artists.
There's a need for songwritersand so when you, when you come
under contract it's usually arecord label or a marketing or
promotional company, uh, uh, youknow some sort and they, they
(06:46):
need music and it's your job towrite the music that they need.
So they'll give you outlinesand parameters.
Um, you know, maybe you'll geta storyboard that, um, um, you
know that you have to write asong to and you look at the
(07:08):
images and you try to think of.
You know the right chords, theright notes.
You know every, every, everynote sounds like something.
Whether it's sad, happy, mad,every note sounds like something
, an emotion.
Every note sounds likesomething, an emotion.
(07:30):
So when you look at astoryboard or you hear a concept
, you try to find the notes thatmatch that and you try to find
the tempo that matches that.
You try to find the, the lyricsthat that are going to fit with
that and you do your best as asongwriter to fit within those
parameters.
And that's essentially what acontract writer does.
You know they write songs tofit needs and you know,
(07:56):
occasionally I get to write asong.
You know that I want to writeand maybe that's appealing to
another artist, maybe they canhear that and say I really like
that song, which happensoccasionally and they say, oh
man, that's a great song, I'dlove to have that on my album.
And then you work out acontract with them and you
(08:16):
either sell that song or licensethat song in some way, shape or
form and you fill a need.
That's what I think we're allhere to do is see a need, fill a
need.
You know that's what I thinkwe're all here to do is see a
need, fill a need.
And as a contract writer,that's exactly what you do.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
OK, well, talk about who influences you to do what
you do.
You know any musicians oranything like that, Any people
in the industry.
Who influences you?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Man?
That's a great question and Iappreciate it.
The you know, early in mycareer there was an artist
there's still an artist, he'sstill.
He's still a songwriter career.
There was an artist and there'sstill an artist, he's still a
songwriter.
His name is John Cox, and JohnCox was a songwriter in the 80s
and 90s that was veryinfluential in the Christian
(09:10):
music scene and I just fell inlove with his music.
I fell in love with his lyricsand he was kind of the first
artist that inspired me.
I didn't grow up in a home thathad a heavy music influence or
presence and so, you know, as Istarted kind of getting into my
(09:31):
teen years, I started listeningto other things and I came
across John Cox and he had analbum called Sunny Day and I was
just mesmerized by this album.
I thought it was one of thegreatest things that I'd ever
ever heard and um, so John Coxwas a very big early influence
on me.
Um, I started listening to, umyou know, some other songwriters
(09:57):
the older I got.
There's an artist.
His name is Joe Cartoon.
Joe Cartoon is famous forcreating JoeCartooncom, but he's
also just an incredible,incredible songwriter and he's
one of the most originallyunique people that you've ever
seen or heard.
(10:26):
And then, most recently, I wouldsay, zach Bryan has probably
had a tremendous influence on me, I think.
Lyrically and melodically, he'sa breath of fresh air.
He's somebody who's bringingthree chords in the truth back
to songwriting, and those, thoseare, I would say, my, my top
(10:47):
three biggest influences as faras being a songwriter john cox
um, who else would be?
Um?
John prine, obviously I, youknow, I, I definitely love john
Prine as well.
But anyway, that would probablysum it up.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Okay, well, tell us about some of the you know
people, musicians, people in theindustry you've had the
opportunity to work with, andsome of the people that you
dream of working with one day.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Yeah, you know, early in my career I was, you know, I
considered myself a Christiansongwriter and I got to work
with.
My first album was produced byBarry Blair, which was the
guitar player for a very, verybig Christian band called Audio
(11:41):
Adrenaline.
Audio Adrenaline was just oneof the most influential bands of
um the mid and late 90s andbarry blair was the songwriter
for audio adrenaline wrote someof their biggest hits and he
became a very, very prominentproducer and I had the good
pleasure of working with him onmy first album when I was about
(12:03):
15, 16 years old.
He flew up to Grand Rapids,michigan, from Nashville and
produced my album.
So I was very proud of that.
And then that album took me toNashville when I was about 18.
And I got to work with somejust incredible people Winona
(12:24):
Judd I got to open for, you know, as as a performing artist I
got to open for REO, speedwagon,pat Green, gary Allen, styx you
know a number of amazing peopleand played a few shows with
Winona Judd.
(12:45):
And you know I got to beintroduced to the country music
scene and even the rock world alittle bit and I was very
honored to do that.
The first label that I signedwith was called Little Chucky
Records.
The first label that I signedwith was called Little Chucky
(13:08):
Records.
It was out of Oklahoma City andit was started by a guy named
Chuck Goff, which is he's thereason that I wear my cuff 30
plus years just an incredibleicon in the music industry, and
he introduced me to.
You know people like Kid Rockand Uncle Cracker and obviously,
toby Keith, and I got to spendsome time with those guys and
(13:31):
that was, you know, an amazing,amazing experience, very
inspiring.
Most recently, you know, I'vestarted working with.
You know different producersthat have that have just worked
with.
You know big artists, very,very iconic.
You know historic artists.
Ted Perlman is my producer andyou know he worked with Bob
(13:53):
Dylan and Diana Ross and BurtBacharach and Chicago and all
these amazing, amazing artists,and I got the opportunity to
record a Bob Dylan song with himand to record a Bob Dylan song
with with with Ted Perlman.
You know the guy that actuallyplayed guitar for Bob and
(14:14):
produced his albums and and, andknew him personally that that
was a very, very high honor and,um, yeah, just, you know, the
more you push into this industry, the more you get to meet these
people that are just very, veryreal and, um, you know, yes,
they're stars, but these, theseare normal people that that um
(14:38):
just have something to say andthey figured out a way to say it
and the conversation has beenmusic.
So I've been very fortunate inmy career, but that's to list a
few people.
There's a few.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Okay, well, tell us about any current projects or
anything upcoming that you'regoing to be working on that the
listeners need to be aware of.
You know, talk about it as muchas you can.
Talk about what inspired it andanything else you want to say
about it.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, absolutely.
I appreciate the opportunity todo that.
Last year we did a tour andwhen I say we, I've got an
amazing team of people behind meand supporters and investors,
and you know it takes a villageto do this.
You know, nobody can do it ontheir own and I think that's the
downfall of a lot of artists isthey're used to being
(15:30):
independent and they want to bethem.
You know, they want to doeverything themselves and that's
how I've been for a lot of mycareer everything themselves and
that's how I've been for a lotof my career.
But you know, once I startedopening the doors and letting
people in, it's, it's, it'sallowed me to do bigger things.
So last year we announced we,we launched the united states of
mind tour, which was a uh, uh,you know, a national tour, uh,
(15:52):
theater tour, full productionwith the full band and
everything, and, um, I had, uh,some amazing players play with
me.
And this year we're gettingready to launch, um, kind of the
follow-up to that, which isreally just taking that and that
concept that we did with theunited states mind tour and
(16:14):
honing it.
We're calling it the rusticrevivalival Roadshow and what
we're doing is going into ruralareas, finding a need or a cause
or a charity that we can workwith, where we can help them
raise funds, raise awareness,documenting everything with a
(16:34):
documentarian and drawingattention to their cause and
then raising money for that andthen putting on a very, very
good show.
The Rustic Revival Roadshowkind of did a soft launch here
recently where we raised somemoney for the city of Ridgeway,
(16:56):
wisconsin, where we actuallyraised a significant amount of
money and we're able to be aplatinum contributor to
assembling and constructing awar memorial in Ridgeway
Wisconsin to honor our veterans,and that made me feel very,
(17:16):
very good.
Um, I've also raised a lot offunds for uh, we care,
marinescom and tugs, tugsorg.
Tugsorg is a um organizationthat works with people that have
, you know, ptsd, um you know,um any kind of uh suicidal
(17:37):
thoughts or hardships, and kindof helps them get through it.
Tugs is an amazing organizationthat has worked with a lot of
farmers like mom and pop farmers.
People don't realize thatthere's kind of an epidemic
across this country where momand pop farmers are dealing with
heavy debt loads and a lot ofstress trying to compete with
(18:01):
big ag and the suicide rate inthat community is very, very
high.
So Tugs has done a very amazingjob and taken on an amazing
mission to try to alleviate someof that and bring solution to
that problem.
(18:22):
So you know, I put a causebehind what I'm doing and the
Rustic Revival Roadshow istaking all of that and kind of
honing it down and we'll begoing to rural areas.
And we'll be going to ruralareas taking a big show to, you
know, 1,000 or 1,500 seat venuesand going into community not
(18:45):
just to play a show but to raisefunds for an organization that
is important to that community,documenting all and drawing
attention to that community andthat cause, raising the money
and then putting on a very, verygood quality show.
We'll have guest artists thatcome up and join me throughout
(19:08):
the tour.
You know everybody, fromCassidy Feasby, from the Dierks
Bentley Band to my producer, tedPerlman, and a number of others
, and that's in the works rightnow.
That'll launch sometime inAugust as we put the schedule
together.
I'll have that available on mywebsite at wwwkinggabecom and
(19:31):
that's kind of our main focusright now.
Other than that, you know I'mvery excited to get down there
and play, uh, cma fest innashville this, this, uh, this
year, 2025.
Uh, that'll start in the firstweek of june.
So here next week, I guess itis um, I'll be down at cma fest
and you know I'll be doing a lotof interviews and and playing
(19:53):
some shows right there indowntown nash.
So we try to, you know, keepthis train moving in any way,
shape or form that we can.
And that would be my bestadvice to anybody who is out
there.
You know, just go, just dive in, just get it going.
You know, know that you havevalue, know that what you're
bringing to the table has value,and know that it's going to
(20:17):
take tremendous sacrifice, youknow, to get what you want and
do the things that matter, butin the end it's going to matter
and you're going to feel verysatisfied and grateful for the
opportunity to do what you do.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Okay, well, you just answered my next question.
Your website KingGabecom.
So close us out with some finalthoughts.
Maybe, if that was something Iforgot to talk about, that you
would like to touch on, or anyfinal thoughts you have for the
listeners.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Well, you know, I I guess my final thoughts are I.
I mentioned earlier that you,you can't do this alone and so
many of us are so independent.
In order to get into thisindustry, to choose it, you have
(21:10):
to have a little bit of anindependent mindset.
So a lot of artists are very,very stubborn in that.
I can do it myself, I can carrymy amp myself, I can book my
shows myself.
But when you let your guarddown just a little bit and allow
people to come into your lifeand help because people want to
help, they want to, especiallyif they love your music and they
(21:34):
love what you're doing If youallow that to happen, the
magical things can happen.
You know where, where two ormore are gathered, it's, it's,
it's a it's, it's an incredibleforce.
So I want to give a shout outto you know my, my team, darren
Arand from Lena Illinois, veryunsuspecting contributor.
(21:56):
He's just been an incredibleforce behind me.
And then Michelle Simler.
She handles all of my bookingand she runs my fan club, which
is King Gabe's Village, onFacebook and TikTok.
And you know investors thathave come along and supporters,
from John Hammer to you knowPatty Wilkes, and you know a
(22:22):
number of others and, of course,my producer, ted Perlman, just
such an absolute legend and rockstar.
He believes in me and has just,you know, put a tremendous
amount of faith in me.
We're finishing up our LP rightnow and I'm very excited to
release that sometime in 2025.
But, you know, since I've putpurpose behind what I'm doing
(22:47):
and allowed people to come inand help man, that's made all
the difference.
It's not me against the worldanymore, and I would encourage
any artist out there that mightbe listening.
You know, let your guard downjust a little bit and, uh, let
some people in, you know, acceptthe help that you've been
reluctant to to accept.
And, um, you know, uh, I'm notan overly religious person, but
(23:12):
I, I I would say, trust God, youknow, take a deep breath and
trust that God's got you, andthat's a very important thing to
do because it's, you know, whenyou're in the driver's seat,
it's a terrifying experience,it's not the best feeling at all
, but when you know a higherpower has got you, you can sit
(23:37):
back, you can take a nap andbreathe for a second, and I
think that's very, veryimportant to do.
Otherwise the stress gets to you.
You know, the money problemswill get to you.
There's plenty of moneyproblems.
You know you're in an industrywhere a lot of times it just
doesn't produce a lot.
(23:57):
But then, when you trust othersand you trust God, magical
things happen, miracles happenand it's an amazing thing, well
said so, ladies and gentlemen,go to King Gabe dot com.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Get on Facebook, go to King Gabe Village Village and
check out that fan club.
Follow Rate Review.
Share this episode to as manypeople as possible.
If you have an opportunity togo, check Gabe out playing at a
show, check him out, check outhis music.
Follow us on your favoritepodcast platform.
Visit wwwcurveball337.com formore information on the Living
(24:38):
the Dream with Curveball podcast.
Thank you so much forsupporting and listening to the
show and Gabe.
Thank you for the greatcontributions that you have made
, the music, the great music andall that you do, and thank you
for joining me man Curtis, thankyou so much for having me, and
it's been an absolute pleasurefor more information on the
Living the Dream, joining me,man Curtis, thank you so much
(24:59):
for having me and it's been anabsolute pleasure.
For more information on theLiving the Dream with Curveball
podcast, visitwwwcurveball337.com.
Until next time, keep livingthe dream.
Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with
Curveball, If you believe youcan achieve.
Welcome to the Living the Dreamwith Curveball Podcast, a show
where I interview guests thatteach, motivate and inspire.
(00:24):
Where I interview guests thatteach, motivate and inspire.
Today, I'm joined byprofessional songwriter and
recording touring artist, GabeShillman.
Gabe has 14 years of experienceof songwriting, of contract
writing, and he has 20 years ofexperience with touring, so
(00:47):
we're going to be talking to himabout everything that he's up
to and what he's going to be upto in the future.
So, Gabe, thank you so much forjoining me.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
It's my pleasure, so I'm very excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Why don't you start off by telling the listeners a
little bit about yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Well, I'm, as you said, a full-time artist,
songwriter, and I've been doingthis for a very long time.
I'm out on the road.
Right now I'm in Monroe,wisconsin, and I play a show
here tomorrow night and then Ihead up to north central
(01:27):
Wisconsin and then back toMichigan and then I'm down in
Nashville for the week for CMAFest, and I'm always on the road
.
I live on the road.
I don't have, I don't even havea home.
I just I just travel and tourand do my music and songwriter
showcases and things like that.
(01:48):
It's an amazing life and I'mvery, very grateful for it.
I feel like the most blessedman on the planet.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Absolutely Well, kind of explain to the listeners
what you do and how you gotstarted and what feels your
passion to do what you arecurrently doing it's very
(02:27):
important to get your songs outthere and um to make sure that
they're heard.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Um, if they're not heard, then you know you, you
can't sell them.
You can't, um, you know youcan't offer your services.
So I, I tour around a lot.
I play a lot of a lot, a lot, alot of shows.
Last year I played over 232shows nationwide and um, I don't
even know how many states, buta lot of states and um, um, so I
(02:49):
, I play a lot of live, liveshows, a lot of live
performances.
I do, uh, a lot of songwritershowcases and songwriter rounds.
I take every, every opportunitythat I can to get my name out
there and my exposure up.
I have an amazing band that Iplay with of just incredible
(03:13):
artists, and you knowaccomplished musicians.
You know guys with GrammyAwards behind them and you know
guys that play with megastarsand I'm always very, very
grateful.
You know that play with megastars and I'm always very, very
grateful.
You know to have the resourcesthat I do, but you know that's
come from.
You know 20, 25 years of umdoing exactly what I'm doing
(03:35):
right now, just putting myselfout there.
So it's um, you know it's atraveling life, it's a road life
and, um, um, you know, likeeverything else, it it's a
traveling life, it's a road lifeand, um, um, you know, like
everything else, it's it's a joband and I and I treat it like
such try to be as professionalas I can and punctual.
(03:56):
And, um, you know, when I, whenI do have the opportunity to
work and put myself in front ofpeople, I try to give my
absolute best every time that Ido so.
As far as you know what'sinspired me to to do this, um,
you know, I somebody told me along time ago that music chooses
(04:16):
you.
You know, you don't, you don'tchoose it.
Music chooses you and, um, whenit chooses you, you're you're,
you're chosen for life, you'regoing to be doing this for life,
and if you try to go againstthe grain of that, then you're
going to be absolutely miserable.
And there's been times in mylife where I've thought you know
what, maybe this isn't for meand I kind of veered off on
(04:42):
another path.
But at the end of the day, Ialways came back to it because
it chose me.
So I'm a lifer, and once youaccept that and you accept all
that comes along with that, itbecomes a high honor.
It's a, it becomes a high honorand and it becomes something
(05:04):
that you're um, you know, fullydedicated to.
And if you're not, then thenit's a uh, then it's a drag, but
when you fully dedicate to it,it becomes very much a high
honor.
So I I started out when I was15 years old and kind of just
(05:29):
been going ever since.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Okay, well, you are a contract writer, a professional
contract writer, so explain tolisteners what that is.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, so I'm not currently under contract at this
time, but I've been undercontract for most of my career
and what that means is that youknow music is everywhere.
It's in every store, it's inyour cars, it's in every you
(06:03):
know movie that you watch, it'sin every television commercial
that you watch.
Music you know when you trulylisten for it.
It's literally everywhere.
And there's a huge need forsongs, whether that's marketing,
whether that's.
You know other artists thatmaybe not, maybe they don't
(06:24):
consider themselves songwriters,but they're definitely
performing artists.
There's a need for songwritersand so when you, when you come
under contract it's usually arecord label or a marketing or
promotional company, uh, uh, youknow some sort and they, they
(06:46):
need music and it's your job towrite the music that they need.
So they'll give you outlinesand parameters.
Um, you know, maybe you'll geta storyboard that, um, um, you
know that you have to write asong to and you look at the
(07:08):
images and you try to think of.
You know the right chords, theright notes.
You know every, every, everynote sounds like something.
Whether it's sad, happy, mad,every note sounds like something
, an emotion.
Every note sounds likesomething, an emotion.
(07:30):
So when you look at astoryboard or you hear a concept
, you try to find the notes thatmatch that and you try to find
the tempo that matches that.
You try to find the, the lyricsthat that are going to fit with
that and you do your best as asongwriter to fit within those
parameters.
And that's essentially what acontract writer does.
You know they write songs tofit needs and you know,
(07:56):
occasionally I get to write asong.
You know that I want to writeand maybe that's appealing to
another artist, maybe they canhear that and say I really like
that song, which happensoccasionally and they say, oh
man, that's a great song, I'dlove to have that on my album.
And then you work out acontract with them and you
(08:16):
either sell that song or licensethat song in some way, shape or
form and you fill a need.
That's what I think we're allhere to do is see a need, fill a
need.
You know that's what I thinkwe're all here to do is see a
need, fill a need.
And as a contract writer,that's exactly what you do.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
OK, well, talk about who influences you to do what
you do.
You know any musicians oranything like that, Any people
in the industry.
Who influences you?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Man?
That's a great question and Iappreciate it.
The you know, early in mycareer there was an artist
there's still an artist, he'sstill.
He's still a songwriter career.
There was an artist and there'sstill an artist, he's still a
songwriter.
His name is John Cox, and JohnCox was a songwriter in the 80s
and 90s that was veryinfluential in the Christian
(09:10):
music scene and I just fell inlove with his music.
I fell in love with his lyricsand he was kind of the first
artist that inspired me.
I didn't grow up in a home thathad a heavy music influence or
presence and so, you know, as Istarted kind of getting into my
(09:31):
teen years, I started listeningto other things and I came
across John Cox and he had analbum called Sunny Day and I was
just mesmerized by this album.
I thought it was one of thegreatest things that I'd ever
ever heard and um, so John Coxwas a very big early influence
on me.
Um, I started listening to, umyou know, some other songwriters
(09:57):
the older I got.
There's an artist.
His name is Joe Cartoon.
Joe Cartoon is famous forcreating JoeCartooncom, but he's
also just an incredible,incredible songwriter and he's
one of the most originallyunique people that you've ever
seen or heard.
(10:26):
And then, most recently, I wouldsay, zach Bryan has probably
had a tremendous influence on me, I think.
Lyrically and melodically, he'sa breath of fresh air.
He's somebody who's bringingthree chords in the truth back
to songwriting, and those, thoseare, I would say, my, my top
(10:47):
three biggest influences as faras being a songwriter john cox
um, who else would be?
Um?
John prine, obviously I, youknow, I, I definitely love john
Prine as well.
But anyway, that would probablysum it up.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Okay, well, tell us about some of the you know
people, musicians, people in theindustry you've had the
opportunity to work with, andsome of the people that you
dream of working with one day.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Yeah, you know, early in my career I was, you know, I
considered myself a Christiansongwriter and I got to work
with.
My first album was produced byBarry Blair, which was the
guitar player for a very, verybig Christian band called Audio
(11:41):
Adrenaline.
Audio Adrenaline was just oneof the most influential bands of
um the mid and late 90s andbarry blair was the songwriter
for audio adrenaline wrote someof their biggest hits and he
became a very, very prominentproducer and I had the good
pleasure of working with him onmy first album when I was about
(12:03):
15, 16 years old.
He flew up to Grand Rapids,michigan, from Nashville and
produced my album.
So I was very proud of that.
And then that album took me toNashville when I was about 18.
And I got to work with somejust incredible people Winona
(12:24):
Judd I got to open for, you know, as as a performing artist I
got to open for REO, speedwagon,pat Green, gary Allen, styx you
know a number of amazing peopleand played a few shows with
Winona Judd.
(12:45):
And you know I got to beintroduced to the country music
scene and even the rock world alittle bit and I was very
honored to do that.
The first label that I signedwith was called Little Chucky
Records.
The first label that I signedwith was called Little Chucky
(13:08):
Records.
It was out of Oklahoma City andit was started by a guy named
Chuck Goff, which is he's thereason that I wear my cuff 30
plus years just an incredibleicon in the music industry, and
he introduced me to.
You know people like Kid Rockand Uncle Cracker and obviously,
toby Keith, and I got to spendsome time with those guys and
(13:31):
that was, you know, an amazing,amazing experience, very
inspiring.
Most recently, you know, I'vestarted working with.
You know different producersthat have that have just worked
with.
You know big artists, very,very iconic.
You know historic artists.
Ted Perlman is my producer andyou know he worked with Bob
(13:53):
Dylan and Diana Ross and BurtBacharach and Chicago and all
these amazing, amazing artists,and I got the opportunity to
record a Bob Dylan song with himand to record a Bob Dylan song
with with with Ted Perlman.
You know the guy that actuallyplayed guitar for Bob and
(14:14):
produced his albums and and, andknew him personally that that
was a very, very high honor and,um, yeah, just, you know, the
more you push into this industry, the more you get to meet these
people that are just very, veryreal and, um, you know, yes,
they're stars, but these, theseare normal people that that um
(14:38):
just have something to say andthey figured out a way to say it
and the conversation has beenmusic.
So I've been very fortunate inmy career, but that's to list a
few people.
There's a few.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Okay, well, tell us about any current projects or
anything upcoming that you'regoing to be working on that the
listeners need to be aware of.
You know, talk about it as muchas you can.
Talk about what inspired it andanything else you want to say
about it.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, absolutely.
I appreciate the opportunity todo that.
Last year we did a tour andwhen I say we, I've got an
amazing team of people behind meand supporters and investors,
and you know it takes a villageto do this.
You know, nobody can do it ontheir own and I think that's the
downfall of a lot of artists isthey're used to being
(15:30):
independent and they want to bethem.
You know, they want to doeverything themselves and that's
how I've been for a lot of mycareer everything themselves and
that's how I've been for a lotof my career.
But you know, once I startedopening the doors and letting
people in, it's, it's, it'sallowed me to do bigger things.
So last year we announced we,we launched the united states of
mind tour, which was a uh, uh,you know, a national tour, uh,
(15:52):
theater tour, full productionwith the full band and
everything, and, um, I had, uh,some amazing players play with
me.
And this year we're gettingready to launch, um, kind of the
follow-up to that, which isreally just taking that and that
concept that we did with theunited states mind tour and
(16:14):
honing it.
We're calling it the rusticrevivalival Roadshow and what
we're doing is going into ruralareas, finding a need or a cause
or a charity that we can workwith, where we can help them
raise funds, raise awareness,documenting everything with a
(16:34):
documentarian and drawingattention to their cause and
then raising money for that andthen putting on a very, very
good show.
The Rustic Revival Roadshowkind of did a soft launch here
recently where we raised somemoney for the city of Ridgeway,
(16:56):
wisconsin, where we actuallyraised a significant amount of
money and we're able to be aplatinum contributor to
assembling and constructing awar memorial in Ridgeway
Wisconsin to honor our veterans,and that made me feel very,
(17:16):
very good.
Um, I've also raised a lot offunds for uh, we care,
marinescom and tugs, tugsorg.
Tugsorg is a um organizationthat works with people that have
, you know, ptsd, um you know,um any kind of uh suicidal
(17:37):
thoughts or hardships, and kindof helps them get through it.
Tugs is an amazing organizationthat has worked with a lot of
farmers like mom and pop farmers.
People don't realize thatthere's kind of an epidemic
across this country where momand pop farmers are dealing with
heavy debt loads and a lot ofstress trying to compete with
(18:01):
big ag and the suicide rate inthat community is very, very
high.
So Tugs has done a very amazingjob and taken on an amazing
mission to try to alleviate someof that and bring solution to
that problem.
(18:22):
So you know, I put a causebehind what I'm doing and the
Rustic Revival Roadshow istaking all of that and kind of
honing it down and we'll begoing to rural areas.
And we'll be going to ruralareas taking a big show to, you
know, 1,000 or 1,500 seat venuesand going into community not
(18:45):
just to play a show but to raisefunds for an organization that
is important to that community,documenting all and drawing
attention to that community andthat cause, raising the money
and then putting on a very, verygood quality show.
We'll have guest artists thatcome up and join me throughout
(19:08):
the tour.
You know everybody, fromCassidy Feasby, from the Dierks
Bentley Band to my producer, tedPerlman, and a number of others
, and that's in the works rightnow.
That'll launch sometime inAugust as we put the schedule
together.
I'll have that available on mywebsite at wwwkinggabecom and
(19:31):
that's kind of our main focusright now.
Other than that, you know I'mvery excited to get down there
and play, uh, cma fest innashville this, this, uh, this
year, 2025.
Uh, that'll start in the firstweek of june.
So here next week, I guess itis um, I'll be down at cma fest
and you know I'll be doing a lotof interviews and and playing
(19:53):
some shows right there indowntown nash.
So we try to, you know, keepthis train moving in any way,
shape or form that we can.
And that would be my bestadvice to anybody who is out
there.
You know, just go, just dive in, just get it going.
You know, know that you havevalue, know that what you're
bringing to the table has value,and know that it's going to
(20:17):
take tremendous sacrifice, youknow, to get what you want and
do the things that matter, butin the end it's going to matter
and you're going to feel verysatisfied and grateful for the
opportunity to do what you do.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Okay, well, you just answered my next question.
Your website KingGabecom.
So close us out with some finalthoughts.
Maybe, if that was something Iforgot to talk about, that you
would like to touch on, or anyfinal thoughts you have for the
listeners.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Well, you know, I I guess my final thoughts are I.
I mentioned earlier that you,you can't do this alone and so
many of us are so independent.
In order to get into thisindustry, to choose it, you have
(21:10):
to have a little bit of anindependent mindset.
So a lot of artists are very,very stubborn in that.
I can do it myself, I can carrymy amp myself, I can book my
shows myself.
But when you let your guarddown just a little bit and allow
people to come into your lifeand help because people want to
help, they want to, especiallyif they love your music and they
(21:34):
love what you're doing If youallow that to happen, the
magical things can happen.
You know where, where two ormore are gathered, it's, it's,
it's a it's, it's an incredibleforce.
So I want to give a shout outto you know my, my team, darren
Arand from Lena Illinois, veryunsuspecting contributor.
(21:56):
He's just been an incredibleforce behind me.
And then Michelle Simler.
She handles all of my bookingand she runs my fan club, which
is King Gabe's Village, onFacebook and TikTok.
And you know investors thathave come along and supporters,
from John Hammer to you knowPatty Wilkes, and you know a
(22:22):
number of others and, of course,my producer, ted Perlman, just
such an absolute legend and rockstar.
He believes in me and has just,you know, put a tremendous
amount of faith in me.
We're finishing up our LP rightnow and I'm very excited to
release that sometime in 2025.
But, you know, since I've putpurpose behind what I'm doing
(22:47):
and allowed people to come inand help man, that's made all
the difference.
It's not me against the worldanymore, and I would encourage
any artist out there that mightbe listening.
You know, let your guard downjust a little bit and, uh, let
some people in, you know, acceptthe help that you've been
reluctant to to accept.
And, um, you know, uh, I'm notan overly religious person, but
(23:12):
I, I I would say, trust God, youknow, take a deep breath and
trust that God's got you, andthat's a very important thing to
do because it's, you know, whenyou're in the driver's seat,
it's a terrifying experience,it's not the best feeling at all
, but when you know a higherpower has got you, you can sit
(23:37):
back, you can take a nap andbreathe for a second, and I
think that's very, veryimportant to do.
Otherwise the stress gets to you.
You know, the money problemswill get to you.
There's plenty of moneyproblems.
You know you're in an industrywhere a lot of times it just
doesn't produce a lot.
(23:57):
But then, when you trust othersand you trust God, magical
things happen, miracles happenand it's an amazing thing, well
said so, ladies and gentlemen,go to King Gabe dot com.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Get on Facebook, go to King Gabe Village Village and
check out that fan club.
Follow Rate Review.
Share this episode to as manypeople as possible.
If you have an opportunity togo, check Gabe out playing at a
show, check him out, check outhis music.
Follow us on your favoritepodcast platform.
Visit wwwcurveball337.com formore information on the Living
(24:38):
the Dream with Curveball podcast.
Thank you so much forsupporting and listening to the
show and Gabe.
Thank you for the greatcontributions that you have made
, the music, the great music andall that you do, and thank you
for joining me man Curtis, thankyou so much for having me, and
it's been an absolute pleasurefor more information on the
Living the Dream, joining me,man Curtis, thank you so much
(24:59):
for having me and it's been anabsolute pleasure.
For more information on theLiving the Dream with Curveball
podcast, visitwwwcurveball337.com.
Until next time, keep livingthe dream.
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