What happens when you expect a dance crowd and get one that wants to listen intently? Every gig is different, and many times you don’t get to control the vibe of the room you walk into. The only thing you can do is control what you deliver from the stage, and sometimes that means adjusting on-the-fly. Hear your two favorite weekend warriors talk through some of the recent scenarios they’ve encountered and how they’ve learned to deal with it. But first, a question from listener Michael about setlist creation tools. Press play and enjoy!

Chapters and Timestamps:

00:00:00 GigGab 83
00:01:14 Of playing and learning “Fool In The Rain”
00:08:42 Michael-Set List Creation Tools?
00:16:59 Choosing an opening song
00:22:06 Vocal and instrumental warmups
00:23:46 On the subject of weddings…
00:30:23 Managing the Party Vibe
00:34:37 Wedding Stories … and Racist Firemen!
00:39:16 Don Henley knows how to build and deliver a setlist
00:47:25 The job of a party band

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Autumn is almost here for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, and the gigs change right along with the New England leaves. Even though Paul’s not in New England (or, well, not usually), he’s experiencing the end-of-summer effect with his west coast gigs, too. Listen to what your two favorite working musicians have to say about this different time of year, and also about booking new gigs and supporting other acts. Name checks this time around include Paul Costley, Little Feat, JAM PATROL, Pitch Slap Percussion and Two Cheers!

Chapters:

00:00:00 GigGab 82
00:00:57 Playing a gig exhausted
00:04:19 Booking agents that work for the club vs. the band
00:06:27 The ethics of booking
00:09:02 The Houserockers back to the clubs
00:13:18 Ahh, drummers.
00:16:42 Blending harmonies … “Seven Bridges Road”
00:18:49 Little Feat – Let’s talk about grace and longevity!
00:25:22 Jam Patrol’s Acoustic Set (including a discussion about Skye using Dave’s wearable Pitch Slap cajon… and its new microphone!)
00:33:27 Shout out to/from Two Cheers Podcast

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Despite the shorter-than-usual gap between episodes, both Paul and Dave found themselves in intimidating scenarios they had to deal with in the moment. Caring about what you do and how you do it is an important trait of being a musician, and sometimes that means external factors drive you to perform better… or worse! Listen to what your two favorite weekend warrior musicians went through this week and how they coped!

Chapters/Timestamps:

00:00:00 GigGab 81
00:01:06 Paul’s back… is back!
00:02:42 Gigs for the weekend
00:04:20 When not to pickup a pickup band
00:09:53 Trust the Universe. It speaks to you!
00:12:12 Monkey Fist… with Johnnie D the “Man Angel”
00:13:16 The building anticipation before you go on stage
00:20:32 The challenge of friendly competition
00:23:58 Dave’s second Bitter Pill rehearsal: Intimidation

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Both musicians and bandleaders alike have to make split-second decisions and then live with them long-term, and today’s show is all about being a little more thoughtful about the things that both come out of and go into our mouths. Paul and Dave share some recent lessons along these lines to prove that time and wisdom don’t necessarily stay in sync!

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