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

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

Episode 435: 10 Things Bands need to STOP DOING

What are the things bands really need to stop doing? Not the usual Facebook-group purity tests about backing tracks, iPads, shorts, tip jars, or whether Mustang Sally sh

Episode 434: Does Your Cover Band Actually Need a Manager?

When does a band actually need a manager? A listener asked a great question: “Why do I need a manager with a small local cover band doing maybe five gigs a year?” And th

Episode 433: 10 Things Every Band Thinks Are Optional (But Aren't) | Solo Episode with Adam

Adam flies solo this week and delivers a full episode covering the 10 non-negotiable things every working cover band needs to stop treating as optional.  From your websi

Episode 432: How to Find a New Band Member (Without Losing Your Mind): 12 Steps to Hiring Musicians

Finding new musicians for your band sounds simple until your DMs turn into a crime scene. This week on Cover Band Confidential, Adam and Dan break down what actually goe

Episode 431: Holiday Ketchup (Catsup?) and LBK recap

This week on Cover Band Confidential, Adam and Dan do a quick Memorial Day catch-up and break down the first live band karaoke show under Adam’s new "ATL LBK" brand.  Th

Episode 430: 10 Ways Your Band Is Making Itself Harder to Hire

Is your band accidentally making itself harder to book? This week on *Cover Band Confidential*, Adam and Dan break down *10 very fixable ways bands create friction for b