Gig Gab - The Working Musician's Podcast

You kick off this week with Dan Ray by reframing failure as a tool, not a verdict. Instead of obsessing over the “vanity listen” after a gig or rehearsal, you do the check-in listen and extract the lesson. You learn to fail fast the right way by making small bets that generate real data quickly, including testing demand before you invest rehearsal time. That mindset carries into band direction changes and the leadership realities that come with them: different people want different levels of ownership, and the job is to be a benevolent dictator who listens widely but decides cleanly. You also get practical about managing public perception and egos, taking cues from bands that protected the brand by being intentional about roles and visibility.

Then you dig into Dan’s origin stories and the nuts-and-bolts that keep working musicians moving: starting a band young, landing monthly gigs, and learning obvious-in-hindsight lessons like not running a vocal mic through a guitar amp. You hear how scrappy tools like a Tascam 4-track can solve real problems, why running a PA from the stage demands discipline, and why the room you rehearse in changes what you think you’re hearing. From there it gets wonderfully nerdy with quick hits that matter in real life, like using low-pass filters aggressively and remembering that time alignment starts with where sound sources physically live. You close in the feels with theater life and the emotional punch of closing night, a reminder that the tech and the business serve the same goal: show up ready, stay present, and Always Be Performing.

00:00:00 Gig Gab 521 – Monday, February 16th, 2026

February 16th: National Rationalization Day

00:02:08 Guest co-host: Dan Ray

Last visit: July 19, 2020 for GG 265 and CBC 100

00:03:23 Having a productive relationship with failure

Failure can a lesson you lean into

After gigs or rehearsals: the check-in listen vs. the vanity listen

Fail fast the right way: “make a bet” by setting up something that you can quickly get data from

00:08:47 Transitioning a band’s direction

Dan’s Big in the 80s band

00:10:10 Test your market before committing too much

Book the gig before you rehearse the songs. Make sure there’s demand and interest. If not… move on! (You failed fast!)

Cover Band Confidential

00:12:52 AI solves the blank page problem – use it often!

00:14:28 Leading bands (and people)

Be ready for people who want to engage with different levels of ownership

Learning how to be a benevolent dictator… but also learn to be the leader, and the decision-maker, the ultimate arbiter. Don’t do it in a vacuum, but I’ll be the last word.

The Pork Tornadoes are a democracy-ish. But decision-makers are pre-decided by a healthy division of labor.

Learning to manage the public perception of your band (and your egos) like R.E.M. and RUSH did.

00:22:37 Do you name your band after yourself?

My Thanks to Our Sponsors

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00:28:38 First kid in high school to start a band

Grew out of the school-run rock band

Decided to play some originals and covers at home, and got a gig!

The school librarian booked them monthly!

Lesson: don’t put a vocal mic through the guitar amp

Tascam 4-Track cassette recorder to use as a mixer

00:33:27 Dan Manages the PA from the stage

We rehearse in a 15×20 indoor, climate-controlled storage unit

00:36:32 Quick Tip: Use Low Pass Filters on everything

00:37:35 Time Alignment: A reminder that sound source locations matter

Check out the 16-minute mark of this episode with Robert Scovill for more

00:40:36 Having theater kids

Stagelights in Greensboro, NC

00:43:05 The emotions during closing night in musical theater

00:50:12 Gig Gab 522 Outtro

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@DanRayMusician

@CoverBandConfidential

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The post Cover Band Confidential’s Dan Ray: Test the Market, Then Rehearse – Gig Gab 521 appeared first on Gig Gab.

You jump into this episode balancing the reality of working gigs with the mindset that keeps musicians moving forward. From Dave’s recent experiences playing atypical rooms with Bitter Pill to cramming new material for Casual Gravity, you’re reminded that momentum matters even when the crowd is small. Always Be Performing is not about scale, it’s about consistency. That theme carries straight into the conversation with Laura Whitmore, whose career has been shaped by connecting people, creating opportunities, and knowing when to pull back just enough to build a sustainable life alongside the work.

As Laura walks you through the birth and growth of the She Rocks Awards, you hear what it actually takes to build something lasting. It started small, grew through trust and partnerships, and evolved by treating the event like a show, with pacing, flow, and intention. You dig into what real visibility looks like, how to define success on your own terms, and why borrowed platforms are never enough to build a career. The takeaway is practical and clear: start with a big vision, set measurable goals, build community deliberately, and own your audience.

This episode is a reminder that longevity comes from intention, preparation, and showing up with purpose, gig after gig.

00:00:00 Gig Gab 520 – Monday, February 9th, 2026

February 9th: National Pizza Day

00:01:00 Dave’s Gig Updates

Playing atypical venues with Bitter Pill

Learning new songs with Casual Gravity

Always Be Performing…even for the small crowds!

00:17:10 SPONSOR: Squarespace. Check out https://www.squarespace.com/GIGGAB to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code GIGGAB.

00:18:34 Guest co-host: Laura Whitmore

00:22:20 The love of connecting people and making things happen

00:23:08 Pulling back a little…to have a life

Backstory in partnership with Guitar World and Parade

00:26:28 The green room at The She Rocks Awards is the ultimate networking event!

00:29:33 The Birth of the She Rocks Awards

Writing a women-in-music blog at Guitar World, realizing the women in music didn’t know each other… yet!

Started as a breakfast (with sponsors…the cheapest meal of the day!). Orianthi performed, serendipitously.

After two successful years, NAMM invited She Rocks into the event officially, and The Bangles performed.

“You don’t really know what you’re capable of until you’re challenged and take that leap of faith.” – Laura Whitmore

2026 was the 14th year of She Rocks Awards.

170 She Rocks Awards have been presented in the last 14 years.

00:34:51 “Is this ever going to come together?” is scary

Reframe it with “how is this ever going to come together?”

It takes a village, folks!

00:38:12 Having good partners helps

00:38:59 Create the event for yourself as an audience member

That way you’ve got a stake in how it “feels” to attend, which means the audience is represented

00:41:16 Assembling the featured women

Nominations at TheWimn.com

Crafting the arc of the night by slotting the right people at the right spot. It’s a show!

00:43:49 Managing the flow of the night

She Rocks Awards YouTube Channel

00:46:58 People whose names became known after they were on She Rocks

Queen Herby (as Amy Heidemann)

Beaches

PRS Guitars brings in the opening act, with a fantastic Artist Relations team

00:49:40 Defining valuable visibility

What’s your end goal?

What are your metrics? What defines success?

For your band, those might be:

Did I get contact information?

Did I build on success that I had before?

Did this exposure opportunity help me grow to a new place/level?

Start with big vision, small goals

00:54:16 You don’t own social media platforms, so don’t leave your audience there.

Facebook used to let you message all your followers. Used to!

If your audience is a subset of Facebook’s audience, that’s not your audience. Give them a reason to give you their email address.

Gather those email addresses.

Keep those pieces of paper – scan them! Spam laws might require you to prove it!

01:00:18 Gear Gab!

Laura Whitmore is Sr. VP of Marketing at Positive Grid

Spark practice amps (with an app!)

Project BIAS X – Standalone or Plugin

01:07:36 Designing high-quality technology for a market with a budget

01:13:02 Gig Gab 520 Outtro

Follow Laura Whitmore

Check out TheWIMN.com (sign up for the mailing list for free!

On Instagram

On LinkedIn

Contact Gig Gab!

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[email protected]

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The post Creating the Room You Want to Be In: Laura Whitmore and the She Rocks Story – Gig Gab 520 appeared first on Gig Gab.

You walk into NAMM 2026 thinking you will just wander and see what grabs you. You leave reminded that wandering works best when paired with a plan and a willingness to torch a few sacred cows along the way. This episode is a fast-moving field report from the floor, where the real takeaway is not just gear but mindset. You hear why talking with people matters more than chasing booths, why listening beats pitching, and how staying flexible turns a chaotic show into a productive one. NAMM rewards curiosity, but only if you stay intentional and remember that Always Be Performing is not about being loud, it is about being present.

From there, you get a tight rundown of what actually stood out. You hear about clever mic and monitoring solutions, portable PA ideas that punch above their weight, smart tools for managing stage volume and feedback, and electronic drums and keyboards that feel less like compromises and more like real instruments. There is a clear throughline here: gear is getting smaller, smarter, and more musician-centric, solving real problems instead of adding features for the spec sheet. By the end, you are not just caught up on what Dave saw at NAMM 2026, you are thinking differently about how to approach shows, stages, and decisions long after the badges come off.

00:00:00 Gig Gab 519 – Monday, February 2nd, 2026

February 2nd: National Tater Tot Day

NAMM Coverage Sponsors

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Earthworks Audio

Rock-N-Roller Carts

00:02:23 NAMM Guidance

Wandering is fun. But have a plan also.

Be ready to abandon sacred cows

Talk with people… share and listen

00:05:11 DPA Microphones on the Yamaha Stage

00:13:12 JBL BANDBOX Solo ($250) and BANDBOX Trio ($600)

00:18:37 D’Addario IR Mic Mute

00:21:05 Card Chords

00:24:55 UE 350 from Ultimate Ears

00:27:57 Sensaphonics IEM dB Check Pro

00:35:27 Efnote Electronic Drums Efnote 3 (with optical hi-hats) – $2,499

00:36:52 KickPort KickTone Pro microphone

00:40:12 Alpha Labs De-Feedback in action

00:43:57 Nord Electro 7

00:46:27 Allen & Heath Qu-5

00:49:49 iCON P1-M (on Amazon)

00:52:31 QSC CB10

00:55:21 Gig Gab 519 Outtro

Thanks to Parthenon Huxley for today’s outro song. And thanks, Hux, for everything you gave us all while you were here on this earth!

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The post Gear, Gimmicks, and the Good Stuff at NAMM 2026 – Gig Gab 519 appeared first on Gig Gab.

Dave’s back from NAMM 2026 and has a little something to share about that. Actually three little somethings, so that’s where we start. But there’s more to say about that, and it’s not yet time, so we’ll extend the NAMM discussions into next week (and beyond?).

For today, well, you don’t become the Sauce Boss by chasing a gimmick. You hear how Bill Wharton built a real, working-musician career by leaning hard into what felt natural to him, starting with a Datil pepper, a pot of gumbo, and a simple idea: turn the gig into a gathering. From cooking onstage on New Year’s Eve 1989 to feeding hundreds of people at festivals and never charging a dime for the food, Bill shows how blending music and food transformed shows from transactions into shared experiences. By creating a kitchen onstage, he stopped entertaining people just long enough to take their money and run, and instead built something with a life of its own, something that keeps audiences leaning in and coming back.

As the conversation unfolds, you trace Bill’s path from top-40 bar gigs to one-man-band independence, full-band firepower, and stages as far-flung as Saudi Arabia. You hear why learning your strengths and ruthlessly discarding what doesn’t matter is not selfish, it’s survival. From dynamics, gear choices, and in-ear monitors to the lessons behind Blind Boy Billy, Bill makes the case that longevity comes from clarity, connection, and doing your thing without apology. The message for working musicians is direct and empowering: build the show you want to play, build the life that supports it, and keep showing up ready to give. Always Be Performing.

00:00:00 Gig Gab 518 – Monday, January 26th, 2026

January 26th: National Spouse Day

Guest co-host: Bill Wharton

NAMM Coverage Sponsors

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Rock-n-Roller

00:14:31 SPONSOR: Squarespace. Check out https://www.squarespace.com/GIGGAB to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code GIGGAB.

00:16:21 Guest co-host: Bill Wharton

00:18:41 How to become a sauce boss magnate…while also being a musician

Bill found the Datil pepper. Spicy and flavorful.

People would eat all the sauce at his house

So he made Liquid Summer hot sauce

But he wanted to sell hot sauce at gigs.

December 31, 1989 – made a pot of gumbo on stage to demo the hot sauce

No one would ever have to pay for for my gumbo… 240,000 bowls later, here we are!

00:23:26 Blending music and food.

It’s better than entertaining people, taking the money, and run!

00:25:12 Food and music are good together

Every good party has everyone hanging out in the kitchen

Bill creates the kitchen on stage

00:26:33 That first Sauce Boss gig

00:28:16 It has a life of its own and takes care of itself

It took 3.5 hours to know that this was going to work long-term

00:30:38 Bill: “Always looking for something distinctively mine…something unique”

It’s hard to do your own thing.

00:33:15 The typical sauce boss gig means cooking for 100 (or more) people

400 people at a festival (it took TWO pots of gumbo)

00:35:07 From Florida to Saudi Arabia

Sauce Boss plays/cooks at an Air Force base in Saudi Arabia

00:37:09 A soul-shouting picnic of Rock and Roll Brotherhood

One or two 75-minute sets

The show never ends

00:40:16 Learn, and then KNOW your strengths

Started playing top-40 gigs as a kid

…and then realized that’s a rat trap. Bill made a point of putting only the stuff that matters to him in his day…and his show.

Being “greedy” about putting my thing out there.

If I can do this, you can do this

Discard the things you don’t enjoy, embrace the things you do.

Story Time, it turns out!

00:43:23 Jimmy Buffett wrote a song about the Sauce Boss – “I Will Play For Gumbo”

Playing a gig at Jimmy Buffett’s club in New Orleans… and Jimmy was there!

“This is the best (bar) band I’ve seen in a long time.”

00:47:13 Where did “Sauce Boss” come from?

Tobacco Road, in Miami

00:49:47 Bread and Butter is the One Man Band

“But I have a music problem, and I like jammin’ with my buds!”

There’s something that happens when you have a little more firepower of a full band

00:53:13 Bill is his own funky one-man band with a kick drum, hi-hat, and a guitar

00:55:16 Dynamics are everything in terms of keeping a crowd

00:57:09 Bill’s thoughts on in-ear monitors

Future Sonics

01:02:17 Gear Gab: Create a portable screen/keyboard/mouse for your home studio

01:06:24 The Life and Times of Blind Boy Billy

A songbook, a recipe book, and Bill’s memoir.

01:09:29 Gig Gab 519 Outtro

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The post Gumbo, Gigs, and Grit: Bill Wharton’s Sauce Boss Path — Gig Gab 518 appeared first on Gig Gab.

You’ve done gigs where nothing goes according to plan, but this episode reminds you that chaos is often the classroom. From sleeping on road cases at the Puerto Rican Day Parade to riding a flatbed packed with servo-driven subs that overwhelmed even earplugs and shooting cans, you hear how real-world pressure forges real skills. Mike deAlmeida walks you through learning to roll with it, figuring out systems on the fly before tools like Smaart were common, and walking into unknown gigs where the unknown singer/songwriter turns out to be Shawn Colvin. The lesson is clear: when you don’t know the band, communication is everything. Ask how they sound, listen closely, and remember that for that moment, you are part of the band. You’re playing the “mixing keyboard” today, so Always Be Performing.

As the night wears on, the room changes and so must you. Heat, humidity, and ear fatigue quietly shift the mix, especially in the highs and high-mids, and Mike explains why gradual adjustments beat drastic moves every time. You’re reminded to watch the show, not just the meters, and to listen first before using tools like Smaart to confirm what your ears already know. From sweating out microphones and treating them like EQ devices to protecting your hearing with custom molds, active earplugs, and smart exposure management, this episode ties craft, tech, and longevity together. Layer in legendary Celebrity Week stories, the Van Halen M&Ms lesson, and Beach Boys theatrics, and you’re left with one guiding principle: mix a good show, every time, because that’s how careers last.

00:00:00 Gig Gab 517 – Monday, January 19th, 2026

January 19th: Tin Can Day

Guest co-host: Mike deAlmeida, Program Director, Audio Engineering at University of Hartford

NAMM coming up!

GG Coverage Sponsor: Ultimate Ears Pro!

00:01:50 Puerto Rican Day Parade

Sleeping on road cases overnight

An insane number of speakers

Earplugs + Shooting cans STILL were too loud

Servo drives – highly efficient, but not fast. They have motors in them.

Security wouldn’t let us off the truck.

00:06:43 Gig learning vs. classroom learning

Learning to roll with it

00:08:52 When you don’t know the band

A little jazz band…as wallpaper

Sussed out the system manually (before the Smaart Live days!)

And a singer/songwriter… who turned out to be Shawn Colvin

00:12:52 Communicating with a band you’ve never seen

Very helpful tips:

“Here’s how our band sounds.”

Guitar players who manage their levels between rhythm and solos

As an engineer, you are a member of the band (for that moment)

“You play mixing keyboard today”

00:20:37 Teaching the foundation in class, students often seek practical experience on their own

Finding practical applications WHILE you’re in class is gold. You learn so much.

It all comes back to communication skills

For FOH engineers, watch the show! Pay attention to the band members

00:24:30 Sound changes throughout the night

Heat and humidity will cause ebbs and flows (especially outdoors, but even inside)

Watch the highs and high-mids

Sound travels faster through a thick medium

Gradual adjustments so it sounds better

Increasing the mains throughout the show to keep the perceived level due to ear fatigue

Smaart Live for tweaking live sound

Listen first, then use the gear to confirm what you’re hearing

00:31:35 When I mix, I want to hear a good show

So I tell the sound guy (me) to mix a good show

00:32:57 Using the tech to isolate live to find (and fix) problems

Beyerdynamic MM1 – a measurement mic AND a podcast mic

00:33:48 Learning the nuances of problems

00:35:24 Hot lights to add to the sun!

Sweating out microphones… heat shrink tubing plus medical tape solves it

Microphones are EQ devices – Matt from Roswell Audio

00:39:38 Mixing with earplugs?

Westone custom mold earplugs with 15dB Etymotic filters

Hearing protection vs. exposure time

US Navy study on hearing health with submarine crew

Huberman Lab episode on hearing health

00:44:39 AirPods Pro “active earplugs” (aka Hearing Protection)

Comply Foam tips for AirPods Pro

DefendEar from Westone

00:52:25 Stories from Celebrity Week at North Shore Music Theatre

Almost got into a rumble with Al Martino

Face the wall when Wynona Judd walks by

Gallagher (or his brother!)

The Beach Boys

Weird Al

00:56:04 The Van Halen M&Ms story

00:57:37 The Beach Boys surfing on the revolving stage

00:59:41 Gig Gab 519 Outtro

Follow Mike deAlmeida

Check the University of Hartford’s BS in Audio Engineering Technology

Contact Gig Gab!

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[email protected]

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The post The Engineer Is in the Band: Instinct, Ears, and Live Sound with Mike deAlmeida — Gig Gab 517 appeared first on Gig Gab.