Jeff Babko is a professional pianist/keyboardist who is in demand in recording, touring and TV and film.  I have been lucky enough to work with him a few times over the years and I wanted to talk to him about his journey in making it as a sought after “side guy” and professional always working musician.  

For the past 15+ years, most significantly, Babko has been the musical arranger, a composer, and house band member on ABC TV’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live”. 

He’s backed up countless rock, pop and jazz artists on the show, and has produced much of the music for its comedy segments (including co-writing “I’m F**king Ben Affleck”).

He’s been in the studio and on tour with major artists and Babko’s contributions to many film scores have included the recent #1 Toy Story 4, Frozen 2, Deadpool 2, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

 Babko has five solo albums out under his own name, including 2012’s critically acclaimed “Crux” for Tonequake Records, featuring Mark Isham, Tim Lefebvre and Matt Chamberlain, and his most recent vinyl release, “El Musico” (2019). 

In this episode we talk about:

• how he knew he was meant to be a musician
• how parents handle when their kids choose an out of the ordinary career and how that shows up in supporting them. 
• not having a Plan B in his career
• following my own passion and curiosity to choose a career that I didn’t even know what it was called as a sound enginner
• how I worked my way into my dream career from behind the scenes
• the value of asking questions and being vulnerable
• how people express love through fear and wanting to protect us (parents)
• how he know he was meant to be a “side guy” and not part of a band
• what being a hired musician looks like
• how he navigates saying NO to job offers
• dealing with the pressure of being the side guy showing up to play music and meet new people and major artists each week
• how he handles high pressure jobs like playing piano on the Toy Story 4 score and playing piano into on stadium with James Taylor
• how he gets over the fear of not being good enough
• breathing intentionally to calm his nerves
• the magic of creating music on the spot that I experienced in the studio recording Jason Mraz’s Love is a Four Letter Word album and how they do that
• making his music to add to the music and not take away from it, or try to stand out too much
• how he shows up for sessions/work when the music isn’t to his taste
• finding the beauty in every situation, in all music, in all people and having respect for them
• identifying behavior we want to shift
• taking responsibilities for our upsets and speaking up instead of sitting in upset. 
• how the mantra “it is what it is” that I got from touring has made a major difference in my life
• his experience working on the Jimmy Kimmel show for the past 12 years on how he keeps it being a fun place he wants to be (as all jobs can get old)
• what he does in his life to make sure he still finds joy in his work
• how any work (even your dream work) can still show up as work
• being prepared for jobs, work to end and being grateful for it while in it
• his touring ritual to stay grounded and enjoy the city
• stay tuned for a funny Steve Martin story at the end!
• the key to being able to be in the moment is his preparedness. 
• seeking validation on the outside and how we really must validate ourselves. 

• Which keychain she chose from my line and why!  see the good

LINKS to other things/people/music we mentioned!

PS.  If we mentioned something and I forgot to include it here leave a comment Beand I will track it down for you!

Jason Mraz’s Love is a Four Letter Word album

Find Jeff on tour with Steve Martin and Martin Short here

 Babko can be seen on Steve Martin & Martin Short’s Emmy nominated and wildly popular Netflix special, released in May 2018.

COME HANG WITH ME!