What I found enlightening is Jeff Baxter has played on sessions literally since he was a teenager. He has also toured with Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers and other bands so he has seen the creative process from both sides of the vinyl needle.

Jeff said that, as a touring musician, your job is to fill the empty spaces with music. You continually fill the air with music to build excitement.

As a session musician your job is to recognize the value of unfilled spaces and not overdo it. Your focus is the producer, the artist and the song. Do what's best for the song and no more.

At the point Jeff Baxter joined the Doobies they had played live and they had recorded their music but they had never been session musicians supporting other artists and recording other people's music. He thought the band would benefit from becoming session musicians and learning the session musician mindset. So he helped arrange some gigs for the whole band to be session players.

He knew his plan worked when, after a session was finished, someone mentioned they had hit too many licks on bar 57 and he wished he could go back and overdub that bar.

Jim Fogle - 2025 BiaB (Build 1128) RB (Build 5) - Ultra+ PAK
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