Gig Gab - The Working Musician's Podcast cover art

Gig Gab - The Working Musician's Podcast

Gig Gab - The Working Musician's Podcast

By: Dave Hamilton & Friends
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Welcome to Gig Gab—the podcast sanctuary for working musicians and anyone fascinated by the vibrant, often unseen world behind every note played on stage. Whether you’re a musician, a member of the crew, or just someone who loves peeking behind the curtain to discover the secrets of live performances, you’ve found your tribe.BackBeat Media, LLC 2026 Music
Episodes
  • Patrice Peris on Sync, Survival, and Why You Don't Need a Backup Plan

    Patrice Peris on Sync, Survival, and Why You Don't Need a Backup Plan
    Jun 29 2026
    This week singer-songwriter Patrice Peris joins Dave to flip the script on building a music career. That question musicians always get – what’s your backup plan? – is a terrible one, because Plan A was never required to land where you first mapped it. Through COVID, a cancer diagnosis, and a bone-marrow transplant she now calls a rebirth, Patrice kept asking what each detour was teaching her and never stopped writing, landing sync placements on Netflix, HBO Max, and The Voice along the way. Want to break into sync licensing yourself? Get resourceful and bullheaded: take a class, build multiple streams of revenue, and gamify the grind: how many gigs can you find, how many music supervisors can you email? Every musician is an entrepreneur, and the numbers game rewards whoever keeps opening doors. Then Patrice gets practical, because gigging musicians are athletes. You get her playbook for protecting your voice across three-set nights: a real warmup, scale work, stretching, smart placement that pulls the sound out of your throat and into the mask, and the vocal rest you keep skipping. From there comes the band conversation nobody wants to have: in-ear monitors and the whole mix exist to serve the lead vocalist, so drop the ego and decide together what you actually want your band to sound like. Build a backup bench while you’re at it, because life happens and roles need filling. Patrice stepped back from the stage but never stopped creating, and that’s the whole point: keep writing, keep adapting, and Always Be Performing. 00:00:00 Gig Gab 540 – Monday, June 29th, 2026 June 29th: National Waffle Iron DayGuest co-hosts: Patrice Peris 00:02:36 Live has given me things in waves that weren’t what I wanted Welcoming the unexpected 00:05:20 “What’s your Plan B?” Is a terrible question And Plan A doesn’t have to go where you planned 00:07:55 COVID and Cancer…all a journey00:09:10 Perspective… always be asking: what is this teaching me?00:10:43 Always writing00:11:40 How do you get started writing for sync? A nod to bullheaded persistence 00:15:10 Starting a Sync Business Always have multiple streams of revenueTake a class (or two) 00:19:44 Being resourceful is the key to bullheaded persistence Gamify it all!How many gigs can I find?How many people can I email? 00:22:57 Learn to be strategic and mindful Anytime you’re climbing the ladder, failure is inevitableInvest energy into the creative realm and also into the business realm 00:25:54 “No Plan” isn’t a plan Listen to your inner 16 year old…sometimes! 00:29:47 Coaching people to let go of the hat The 80% Rule 00:35:20 Growing your music business00:35:38 Vocal blowout Learn to Sing Like the Pro’s with Patrice Peris Voice StudiosGigging musicians are athletesGood warmupScale workPhysically stretchingTake some vocal rest 00:41:00 Listening for Placement Where is the voice going? 00:42:31 In Ear Monitors can make a big difference Bands need to understand the sound has to serve the lead vocalist 00:44:42 What do we want our band to sound like to people listening? Bands need to come together as a groupCommunicate and decide upon the goal for what the BAND is going to sound like 00:49:38 Get two of everything00:50:56 Gig Gab 540 Outtro Follow Patrice Peris Patrice Peris Voice Studios Contact Gig Gab! @GigGabPodcast on Instagramfeedback@giggabpodcast.comSign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List The post Patrice Peris on Sync, Survival, and Why You Don’t Need a Backup Plan – Gig Gab 540 appeared first on Gig Gab.
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    53 mins
  • Sub Gigs, Mic Mutes & the Art of Mixing Live with Jesus Hernandez

    Sub Gigs, Mic Mutes & the Art of Mixing Live with Jesus Hernandez
    Jun 22 2026
    This week you start things off digging into the craft that separates good gigs from great ones. You’ll get the playbook for prepping and surviving sub gigs, learn (again!) why a splitter snake earns its place in your rig, and sort through the real options when you need a mic mute switch that actually works. Then you wrestle with a question every working band faces today: are fan-posted videos helping your brand or hurting it? It’s the kind of practical, in-the-trenches breakdown that reminds you to Always Be Performing, whether the camera’s rolling or not. Then guest co-host Jesus Hernandez joins, and you trace his path from a Portastudio kid to the engineer bands trust with their sound, along with the philosophy he’s built along the way: you’re serving people’s ears, and the console is your instrument. You’ll hear why you should ask a band what they want to sound like before you touch a fader, why learning to mix yourself turns your engineer into a producer, and how routing a digital mixer keeps everything simple when the power flickers. He shares the gear that’s earned his trust, hard-won war stories from the road, his time subbing as a bass player in Nashville, and life on tour with a Phil Collins and Genesis tribute. By the end you’ll be listening to your own gigs with sharper ears and a hungrier inner critic. 00:00:00 Gig Gab 539 – Monday, June 22nd, 2026 June 22nd: National Chocolate Éclair DayGuest co-host: Jesus Hernandez 00:01:32 Prepping for and playing Sub Gigs Ultimate-Guitar’s Pro Charts…now with lyrics! 00:04:25 The benefits of splitter snakeListener Questions 00:09:55 Mark-What’s the best MD Mic Switch? D’Addario Mic Mute Infrared Mic SensorOptogateRadial HotShot DM-1 or HotShot MDLILYP4D Mic Mute 00:20:25 Mark-Are fan-posted videos good or bad?00:24:36 SPONSOR: OneSkin. Get 15% off OneSkin with the code GIGGAB at https://www.oneskin.co/GIGGAB #oneskinpod00:26:54 Guest Co-host: Jesus Hernandez00:28:20 Lady and the Tramp Start taught him to record multi-track Then the PortastudioTascam Multitrack RecorderJesus became the go-to guy for recording bands and fixing sounds 00:34:27 A2 at a local theater Then the A1 went on vacation, and Jesus became the A1 00:35:38 Then a jazz club Sound reinforcement at the most basic levelUltimately what you’re trying to serve is people’s ears.Use your eyes to serve that purpose. 00:37:38 Recording was rough at first, but you learn! Making recordings with a live performance in mindLet it Be…Naked 00:41:24 Ask the band: what do you guys want to sound like on the recording? “Take a picture of the band, then paint on top of it!” 00:32:36 For live sound: how do you find out what the band sounds like? Before arriving: listen to the band’s records (or the band they’re covering) 00:47:26 When doing sound, consider yourself a band member “Playing the console” – The mixer is an instrumentI’m controlling the arrangement 00:48:50 Singing the praises of bands that can set levels on stage00:49:20 A band whose levels are ALL over the place So bad the band was sent home after the first set.You have to be your hardest critic 00:53:25 Learn to mix yourself, then your engineer can go from problem-solver to producer!00:55:26 “If the power goes out at the mixer, you’ll still sound good” Fixing it at the sourceThe night the power-flickered and factory reset the mixer!PreSonus StudioLive 01:00:19 Keeping it as simple as possible Soft-patching, routing, matrixes, oh my!Learn how to route a digital mixer 01:06:39 The downsides of strictly analog But you learn how to ring out frequenciesFix low-end feedback by popping in/out the polarity buttonRick Carmona (From “No Peace At All”), the engineer who mentored JesusEvery business is in the customer serviceDavis Thurston on Gig GabThe engineer has multiple customers: the band, the audience, and the staff at the venue 01:13:38 Bands vs. Reunion Gigs01:18:25 Bringing an analog mixer…and no snake!01:24:50 Soca Music01:26:00 Time for some war stories01:31:46 Subbing in Nashville as a bass player01:08:21 On the road with Face Value, Phil Collins & Genesis Tribute Band01:37:24 Jesus Hernandez Home Studio01:38:23 Gig Gab 539 Outtro Follow Jesus HernandezIG: @jesusandthecomplaintdepartmentJesus is my Sound Guy Contact Gig Gab! @GigGabPodcast on Instagramfeedback@giggabpodcast.comSign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List The post Sub Gigs, Mic Mutes & the Art of Mixing Live with Jesus Hernandez – Gig Gab 539 appeared first on Gig Gab.
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    1 hr and 39 mins
  • Three Rush Fans and Rush's 2026 Comeback Tour: From the Room and From Afar

    Three Rush Fans and Rush's 2026 Comeback Tour: From the Room and From Afar
    Jun 13 2026
    Three Rush fans — a father, a son, and Spartacus — walk into a podcast. There’s no punchline, just the tape rolling on a conversation that was going to happen anyway, and you get to be the fly on the wall. Two of them just flew home from LA, where they stood in the room and watched Rush kick off the tour nobody was sure would ever come. The third has been taking it all in from a distance, which is its own peculiar thing when you once mixed front of house for the band for years. You’ll get the origin stories — a kite-flying contest in early-seventies St. Louis, an R40 playlist that turned a kid into a lifer — plus enough on the drummer question (yes, Anika Nilles) and show-count stats to earn the Rush-nerd badge none of them will quite cop to. Then it gets real. This is a band that fans and insiders alike once quietly accepted was finished, now back out there proving otherwise, and that turns the talk toward something bigger than setlists. You get to do this. Whether it’s thousands of people or a Tuesday night for a dozen, that gratitude is the whole game — the reason to Always Be Performing no matter how rough the bus ride was. Stick around for a ten-year-old’s perfectly timed gut check that still lands two decades later. Press play, and join Lucas Hamilton, Robert Scovill, and Dave Hamilton for a tour through the opening of Rush’s comeback — from inside the room, and from afar. 00:00:00 Gig Gab 538 – Monday, June 15th, 2026 June 15th: British Beer DayGuest co-hosts: Lucas Hamilton and Robert Scovill 00:02:46 Rush Stats All three co-hosts have seen Rush live with 2 drummersLucas and Anika are tied for Rush shows… as of this recording 00:04:39 Robert Scovill was living in St. Louis when he saw Rush with Rutsey KC Kite Flying Contest 00:07:31 Lucas’s Rush origin story00:08:31 About that whole live concert sound thing Spoiler: Rush always sounded good 00:11:02 Favorite Rush heirlooms00:13:55 I want a Red Barchetta for my midlife crisis Rush 2026 Tour started with 12 dates 00:16:02 That opening song, that opening night Rick Beato’s Breakdown of Xanadu 00:23:40 Anika Nilles’ dropped stick recovery Getting the first mistake out of the way moments into the first song of Rush’s 2026 Reunion tour 00:27:21 Time Stand Still for those emotional moments00:33:11 Lights and video for 2112 – in the cave!00:34:00 Singing 2112: Presentation at the tops of our lungs00:38:50 Moving Pictures to open night 3 set 200:40:13 Loren Gold’s keys and vocal harmonies And Geddy Lee’s voice, too! 00:44:29 The composition of YYZ Alex Lifeson is the most underrated guitarist in rock and roll 00:45:48 Anika Nilles is just a star00:49:25 Anika grooving during A Passage to Bangkok00:52:22 The physicality of playing Rush music The wisdom of days off in between shows for the entire Rush Fifty Something tour 00:57:41 You know what we get to do today? We get to go play music in front of thousands of people! This is the best job on earth 01:01:23 Who is Spartacus?01:03:33 Gig Gab 538 Outtro Follow Lucas Hamilton On Instagram Follow Robert Scovill On FacebookOn InstagramOn LinkedInRobertScovill.com (where you’ll find The Back Lounge) Contact Gig Gab! @GigGabPodcast on Instagramfeedback@giggabpodcast.comSign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List The post Three Rush Fans and Rush’s 2026 Comeback Tour: From the Room and From Afar – Gig Gab 538 appeared first on Gig Gab.
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    1 hr and 5 mins
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