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My guest for Episode #206 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Ivan “Funkboy” Bodley. He is a bass player and music director for the stars. He has performed with 52 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and counting (ranging from Elvis Costello, The Temptations, Bo Diddley, and Wynonna Judd. He's the author of the book Am I Famous Yet?: Memoir of a Working-Class Rock Star — and it's also a podcast.

He’s played in 13 Broadway shows, the President Obama Inaugural Ball, many late-night shows (including Late Night with Conan O’Brien), and morning shows, including Today and Live with Regis & Kelly. Funkboy is a magna cum laude graduate of the Berklee College of Music and an inductee into the New York Blues Hall of Fame. He has traveled to 31 countries worldwide and played to audiences of up to 82,000 people. 

In this episode, Ivan shares his favorite mistake story about getting fired by a certain “disco diva” because he asked for a raise. But what did Ivan learn from that situation? What could he have done better? Does he second-guess what he should have done before any of his “epic firings”? We discuss what it's like to be a musician who travels the world playing with household names and legends. We also talk about our mutual love of the film “This is Spinal Tap.” But, hey, enough of my yakkin'… Whadaya say? Let's boogie!

Questions and Topics:

• What was the audience of 82,000 you played for?

• Do you ever get bored playing the same music every night?