Cover Band Confidential's Podcast (Music Business, Gigging Tips & Making Money as a Musician)

Episode 455: The Gigs We’ll Never Forget with Dave Hamilton of Gig Gab

Adam welcomes Dave Hamilton of Gig Gab for a change of pace: instead of another episode about bad gig behavior, they share the live music moments that remind them why the

Episode 454: Why Does the Band Take the Hit when the VENUE cancels?

A venue cancels the gig. The band loses the money, the promotional work, and sometimes the trust of the audience. Is that just part of being a working musician—or should

Episode 453: When Musicians Cancel, Who Has to Clean Up the Mess?

A musician cancelled less than an hour before a neighborhood concert. The event organizers called me, and because I happened to be off that night with my PA and lights st

Episode 452: Is the musician "bro code" real? (Adam's worst gig recap)

A client looked at Adam during a private party and asked, “Did I get screwed?” Adam’s band wasn’t performing—they couldn’t make the date with their core lineup. He was t

Episode 451: Your New Cover Band Isn’t Ready for Gigs..... Yet (Band Coaching with the Dial up Survivors)

The Dial-Up Survivors are a new four-piece band playing ’90s and 2000s alt rock, pop punk, and emo. They joined Adam and Dan for a band coaching session about what it tak

Episode 450: Being Good Isn’t Enough: 5 Things That Get You Hired—and Called Back

A band leader needs a sub musician.  You reply, “I’m your man.” Then they ask if you’re available—and you aren’t. That’s one way to make yourself memorable. This week,

Episode 449: They Stopped Booking Us. Then They Called Back.

What happens when a venue stops booking your band? You can get pissed. You can write the email. You can explain why they’re wrong. You can make sure everybody involved k

Episode 448: The Keyboard Player Episode: Gear, Parts, Patches & Playing Nice With Guitarists

A listener in Scotland asked us for an episode about keyboard players. There was only one problem: this is a podcast hosted by two guitar players. So rather than confid

Episode 447: The Gig Got Rained Out. Then Things Got Ugly. | Mike Schulte (Confused Breakfast / The Pork Tornadoes)

The soundboard was dripping water. Apparently, the band was still supposed to play. Mike Schulte of The Pork Tornadoes and the Confused Breakfast podcast joins Dan with

Episode 446: How to Get Your Band Booked—and Invited Back

You crushed your first gig. The venue wants you back. Now how do you get the OTHER venues to answer your emails? This week, a listener’s success story turns into a pract

Episode 445: The Gigs That Remind You Why You Do This

Most gigs aren’t life-changing. They’re work. You load in, fix whatever isn’t working, play the songs, collect the check, and eventually escape through a commercial kitc

Episode 444: 5 Skills Being in a Band Teaches You (Besides Music)

Being in a band teaches you much more than how to play music. Every rehearsal, equipment failure, difficult bandmate, last-minute song request, and immovable downbeat de

Episode 443: A Psychologist Explains Why Bands Are So Dysfunctional (with Dr. Jesse Erdheim)

Bands rarely fall apart because somebody missed a chord. They fall apart because expectations about money, gigs, rehearsals, song choices, musical standards, commitment,

Episode 442: What Do You Do When Your Regular Gig Disappears?

A regular gig is only regular until someone decides it isn’t. This week, Adam and Dan discuss what happens when a dependable venue date or residency suddenly dries up. D

Episode 441: The Fantasy of the Perfect Band Lineup (and the Trade-Offs You Can’t Avoid)

The perfect band member is an incredible player, always available, completely prepared, easy to work with, affordable, ambitious—but not *too* ambitious—and somehow has n

Episode 440: Fender’s CEO Called Cover Bands “Analog AI”... So We Had to Respond

This week, Adam recaps a nearly perfect live band karaoke night, including a packed room, a prospective wedding client who actually showed up, singing with his dad, and a

Episode 439: Musician Burn out? —Or Do You Just Not Want This Anymore?

Every working musician eventually has the post-gig drive home where they wonder, “Can I keep doing this?” But are you actually done with music—or are you exhausted by th

Episode 438: The Show Must Go On—Even If It’s Trying to Kill You?

Adam arrives at this week’s episode suffering from meat sweats and a pair of thoroughly abused shins. Dan is helping his daughter learn bass, Adam’s son has discovered wh

Episode 437: Is America Running Out of Fun? What the “Fun Shortage” Means for Working Bands

This week, Adam and Dan recap a Fourth of July gig in Newnan, GA—heat, big municipal-event logistics, a few new/old songs, and lingering monitor gremlins—then pivot into

Episode 436: Local Band, Big Festival: How Cover Bands Earn Their Respect (With Mike Schulte of The Pork Tornadoes)

Dan is joined by honorary co-host Mike Schulte for a loose, funny, and surprisingly useful conversation about what happens when cover bands stop getting treated like “jus