For the last live show that Gabrels performed with Bowie, for VH1 Storytellers, Gabrels had Plati join the band so that David would "get used to him." Said Gabrels, "I put Mark next to David where I used to stand. I cannot remember whether that was conscious or unconscious." After Bowie died in 2016, Gabrels said of his departure, "I was running out of ideas for him. I was afraid that if I stayed, I would become a bitter kind of person. I’m sure you’ve spoken to people who have done one thing for too long, and they start to lose respect for the people they work for, and I didn’t want to be that guy. The most logical thing for me to do at that point was to leave and do something else. I departed on good terms."