Roberto R. Hernandez joins Paul and Dave to talk about the genesis of his new book, The Unstarving Musician’s Guide to Getting Paid Gigs. The discussion starts with how Roberto set about to write the book, and then opens up into more of a GigGab-style chat about some of the topics covered within. Relationship management, venue interaction, negotiating, personality and, yes folks, subbing are all on the list of topics your three Weekend Warriors discussed during this week’s GigGab. Listen to the podcast, then go check out the book!

Timestamps/Chapters:

00:00:00 GigGab 88 – October 31, 2016
00:01:38 Roberto R. Hernandez
00:02:28 The Unstarving Musician’s Guide to Getting Paid Gigs
00:02:50 WHY did you write this book
00:05:14 From Mindmap to Published Book!
00:07:55 Relationships matter above all
00:10:03 Venues have frustration, too.
00:11:45 It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
00:13:10 Advice from the book: Getting paid what you’re worth
00:15:12 Evaluating the ego check
00:16:10 What are you worth?
00:19:00 Negotiating with confidence
00:21:09 Don’t try to be the best musician in the room
00:23:36 Become the best sub in the world
00:29:31 The dark side of subbing
00:32:50 Tips from Roberto
00:35:00 Make your own Posters
00:37:00 Buy the Book!

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Phish cites their new “No Analysis” rule as a foundational reason they’re still playing together. Paul and Dave take a look at this and discuss whether or not this might work in your band (or theirs!).

But first, Dave’s just finished two weeks of Bitter Pill, and he debriefs the experience thus far with Paul, going into some uncharted waters and discussing how important it is to push outside your comfort zone, even if only just a bit.

Paul and his band, The Houserockers, are considering some new songs so he and Dave talk a bit about what it takes to turn a new song into a hit for your band.

All this and more in this week’s GigGab!

Chapters/Timestamps:

00:00:00 GigGab 87 – October 24, 2016
00:04:30 Being on stage with naked people
00:07:12 Wearing makeup when you play
00:11:06 The Houserockers T-Shirt Saves Dave’s Day
00:12:48 Artists are Vessels for Truth
00:14:30 The Hi-Hat Breaks!
00:16:22 Drummer (equipment) issues
00:18:36 Don’t Lose Your Ears
00:22:19 Using a Click on Stage
00:25:27 Adding More Hits To Your Setlist
00:33:29 Analyzing the “No Analysis” Rule
00:43:21 Next week: Roberto Hernandez

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Jerry Harvey, founder of Ultimate Ears and JH Audio, joins your two favorite weekend warriors to talk in-ear monitors and more. Jerry has seen so much during his career that his advice likely outweighs his stories, and his stories are epic.

Today he offers tips on not only mixing your in-ears, but mixing drums and how to run a successful sound-check, as well. Plus, if you were ever curious about how to go about choosing a set of in-ear monitors, Jerry’s got more than a few things to help get you on your way.

The stories? Well, let’s just say that if you’re driving the right red car down the right street at the right time you might just get introduced to the future singer of Van Halen. Or perhaps hanging out in the right bar at the right time might get you introduced to the former singer of the same. Plus, a scoop on the new universal-fit line coming from JH Audio! Want more? Press play and enjoy the episode. We sure did!

Chapters/Timestamps:

00:00:00 GigGab 86 – October 17, 2016
00:01:39 Jerry Harvey
00:02:38 Hearing Loss leads to invention
00:03:42 Multiple drivers in each ear
00:05:37 Started as a roadie that wanted to mix
00:07:14 A red car can attract the right rock star
00:09:05 Dave invites Jerry to Eat ‘em and Smile
00:09:54 Don’t engage the egos!
00:10:49 A lesson on mixing drums from Alex Van Halen
00:15:57 Who doesn’t like IEMs?
00:18:43 Slash says JH Audio Roxanne IEMs made him a better player.
00:19:40 Hard to get the mix right
00:22:07 Advice for drummers
00:25:03 Proper sound check structure is key
00:27:05 Vulture Capital plus General Aviation leads to In-Ear Monitors again!
00:28:31 How to choose In-Ear Monitors
00:35:28 Find Jerry and the team at JH Audio
00:36:18 New Universal line coming from JH Audio!

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Another crazy week for your two favorite working musicians means another episode chock full of stories and lessons learned. Dave just finished one theater show and loaded his drums in for another. The show he just finished had him and the rest of the “pit” band prominently on stage, so there were some interesting on-the-job lessons there. Paul played his first show in a new club in a new area, and that taught him a few things about building a new following (hint: elbow grease is only part of it, but it’s a big part!).

Paul and Dave spend the remainder of this week’s episode talking about bandmate availability. Part of that includes reasons (good and bad) why you might not make yourself available for gigs, and the other is just the nuts and bolts of putting together a process to efficiently share that information amongst your bandmates.

How do YOU keep things organized? Let us know!

Chapters/Timestamps:

00:00:00 GigGab 85 – October 10, 2016
00:01:08 Dave’s between shows
00:07:50 Sometimes you can’t build trust
00:08:46 Gone are the couches, back come the bands!
00:10:31 Building a following with elbow grease
00:19:44 Beware the Hassle Factor
00:22:42 Managing availability?

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It’s one thing to put on a great show, it’s quite another to convince people to attend and put their butts in the seats or their feet on the dance floor! Today Paul and Dave talk through a few ways to market Paul’s upcoming gig on Saturday. This is a real world workshop between your two favorite working musicians. We hope you’ll learn something from this… we certainly learned something making it! First, though, we have to address the sad scenario of losing a gig and what to do about it. There’s plenty to learn there, too!

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