Pat O’Bryan recently wrote about some lessons Billy taught him during a photo session. There were several good points, but the one that struck a nerve with me was near the end:
He’s…created a persona. The Billy we hung out with during the photo shoot was all business. No BS at all. But, when he’s being interviewed, Billy falls into character, and that character has been consistent for over 40 years.
Billy Gibbons has created a public Billy Gibbons who is not exactly the same as the private Billy Gibbons. He has built that public persona into a brand that is instantly identifiable.
Pat says that he may fall short in this area himself, that he is “the same guy all the time, whether it’s speaking to hundreds of people at a seminar or sharing a beer with my buddies at the American Legion Hall in Terlingua.” And that has, by his own admission, probably cost him money.
There is a lot of emphasis put on being real and being yourself, and that is important. But with a caveat. Your public face needs to be a revved-up version of yourself. [Read more…]