Every local band shares at least one concern: keeping your show fresh for your audience. The real question is, how do you do it? Do you take requests? Do you mix up your setlist? Do you ask the audience to become part of your show?

There’s no right or wrong answer here, but one thing’s for sure: you need to answer this question. Dave and Paul have some ideas, too… and that’s what makes this a GigGab! Download, press play, and enjoy.

Chapters/Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 GigGab 125 – Monday, July 31, 2017
• 00:01:16 Phish’s Baker’s Dozen
  • Chocolate Rain
• 00:06:31 How can a cover band keep things fresh for the same audience?
• 00:07:27 35th Anniversary of “Eddie and the Cruisers”
• 00:12:34 Elasticity of money… as it applies to cover bands.
• 00:15:45 Targeting the same people over and over again
• 00:17:29 Springsteen’s on-the-fly covers
• 00:25:12 Something For Joey
• 00:28:33 As a band, why are you different?
• 00:32:56 Keeping the show the same can work
• 00:34:51 Coordinating a multi-band bill
• 00:37:39 GG Outtro

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:17 — 17.9MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More

Sometimes you have to cancel a gig. It happens. How do you deal with it? Your two favorite weekend warriors talk through the realities associated with it. Then it’s time to talk about renegotiating an existing gig. How can you do it? What’s the protocol? Is it OK? Paul and Dave muse on this and discover some answers for you! But first… it’s about tasty harmonies (literally) and hydration. Press play and enjoy!

Chapters/Timestamps:

• 00:00:00 GigGab 124 – Monday, July 24, 2017
• 00:00:59 Paul’s now-annual All-Star gig
  • Steve Siacotos on GigGab
• 00:03:53 Acoustic trio
• 00:06:14 Mad Haus!
• 00:09:20 Players Play!
• 00:11:00 Managing hydration
• 00:12:26 Canceling a gig
  • Paul Costley on GigGab
• 00:16:48 You’re running a business
• 00:19:23 Dave unintentionally furthers the stereotypical lazy musician!
• 00:20:38 Your word is part of your brand
• 00:21:26 The flipside of making your commitment
• 00:26:40 GigGab’s first baseball analogy
• 00:29:34 Honor your commitments … and Renegotiate!
• 00:31:55 Fair is fair, but work together for mutual benefit.
• 00:33:47 GG 124 Outtro

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:15 — 16.1MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More

As a musician, there are always so many things to learn and not all of them are music-related. How much camaraderie do you think you have as a band? How much do you help each other out? Paul and Dave wade into those waters here today and then surf over to discussing gig-specific strategies for setlists and pacing. Finally, it’s a revisit of the Klingon discussion… there were a few things left to say, it seems! Download, press play, and enjoy!

Chapters/Timestamps

• 00:00:00 GigGab 123 – Monday, July 17, 2017
• 00:00:54 Playing in the heat… and bringing the heat!
• 00:02:57 What to do when the stage clock says “you’re finished!”
• 00:03:59 Manage your hydration
• 00:05:34 Quick Tip: Learn how to project
• 00:07:34 Camaraderie Culture
• 00:10:22 Gig-specific strategy
• 00:12:50 Tailored setlists
• 00:17:35 We’re not saving lives here
• 00:17:52 Klingons Redux
• 00:20:08 Fans vs. Scene vs. Friends
• 00:26:52 The live music fan scene
• 00:27:42 Sometimes that stranger is a long-awaited friend
• 00:30:55 …but only if they’re truly a friend
• 00:33:20 GG Outtro

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:01 — 16.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More

One of the best things that can happen to your band – original or cover – is to gain devoted fans. They’re there at every gig, they are your best form of word-of-mouth promotion, and they make you feel like the rock star you are. But there’s a downside to them, sometimes right at the start. Sometimes that manifests itself before you’ve ever met… and they become KLINGONS!

Listen to Paul and Dave talk through all of this, and how they deal with it. Press play, sit back, and enjoy!

Chapters/Timestamps

• 00:00:00 GigGab 122 – Monday, July 10, 2017
• 00:00:52 Gigging is like Golfing
• 00:03:00 When you don’t have to deal… it’s Nirvana
• 00:04:23 The opening act for the fireworks
• 00:06:23 The Gigging Automoton
• 00:08:52 When you DO have to deal… where is the limit?
• 00:10:03 Kevin-How to Handle Those Pesky Klingons!
• 00:12:15 Comfort vs. Affability
• 00:15:09 “I can’t pretend a stranger is a long-awaited friend”
• 00:17:03 Dealing with it realistically, respectfully
• 00:20:09 The fan… is not a friend
• 00:21:59 Magic Phrases
  • “I have a system”
  • “I’ve gotta get some stuff done”
• 00:23:22 Be self-aware, especially when you get it wrong
• 00:25:52 Find ‘em a job!
  • But not using a tambourine.
• 00:27:49 …and find your limits
• 00:29:32 GG Outtro

(apologies to the Klingon band, bomwI’pu’, for the reference!)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:02 — 14.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More