Gig Gab - The Working Musician's Podcast

This week on Gig Gab, Dave Hamilton sits down with guest co-host Rand Lempert of the Broken Rings, a two-piece recording project built on 15 years of musical kinship between Rand and guitarist Gio da Silva. You’ll hear how these two have crafted an intentional, travel-fueled recording process across cities, cutting live instruments and vocals together, passing files between New Orleans, Tampa, and now Denver, and why that friction and urgency is exactly the point. Rand makes a compelling case for keeping things analog as long as possible: real amps, minimal pedals, old-school mic placements like a modified Glyn Johns setup, and the conviction that nothing replaces the feeling of having a human being in the room when the tape (or hard drive) is rolling.

The conversation ranges wide, from Rand’s vivid 9/11 tour story, stranded in St. John’s Newfoundland on one of the last planes to land before U.S. airspace shut down, to a deep dive into the art of the perfect pop song, with nominations for Tempted by Squeeze, Big Star’s Thirteen, Bryan Adams’ Cuts Like a Knife, and Fastball’s Out of My Head. Whether you’re a working drummer obsessing over beat placement, a songwriter who only writes when the muse actually shows up, or a road veteran who knows that idle days on tour are far worse than grueling ones, this episode has your number. Get out there, stay curious, and Always Be Performing.

00:00:00 Gig Gab 537 – Monday, June 8th, 2026

June 8th: Name Your Poison Day

Guest co-host: Rand Lempert

00:01:38 The Broken Rings are a 2-man band

Drums, guitar, vocals all handled by Rand Lempert and Gio da Silva, his bandmate

They consider themselves musical kin: They agree on 95% of all music

Met in Houston, played in bands, then moved to different corners of the USA

00:04:48 Songwriting duo starts with a long distance relationship

Lutefish Stream

00:07:03 Recording remotely doesn’t have the muse of travel

So many different avenues to approach recording

Finding a way to record with technology in a less sterile way

00:15:08 Preserving analog recording to digital “tape”

00:17:07 The process of recording drums

Don’t mess up the end of the track!

00:21:14 Country music

00:23:25 Drummer kinship: Tris Imboden saves the day!

Learning by visual

00:31:41 SPONSOR: Claude.ai – Ready to tackle bigger problems? Sign up for Claude today, which includes access to Claude Cowork, too, when you visit https://Claude.ai/giggab

00:33:37 Surviving the road

00:34:45 Road story: hanging out in St. John’s Newfoundland for 5 days

Sonny James and the Centers in Europe in 2001

“There’s nothing wrong with this airplane, but this plane is being diverted because of terrorist attacks in the United States.”

Canadian authorities: “What do we do with these people? Bring them to a hockey arena!”

Memorial University of Newfoundland

00:44:35 Opening up for Bo Diddley in 2004

In Beaumont, Texas

Touring is a lot of driving, and you’re doing the driving

It’s a lot of lugging equipment, and you’re doing the lugging

You get a hotel room…for the entire band!

00:48:55 When touring, days off are worse than the grueling days on

00:51:02 It’s important to travel

Touring is the way to do that for a lot of us musicians

00:51:25 Making touring maps as a kid is a good sign Rand needed to do this as a career

00:52:50 First concerts, sound nerding, and getting lost in the music for the first time

Rand got lost at four years old!

Nerd out about sound and recording

First concerts!

Weather Report for Dave

Air Supply for Rand

00:58:05 The Best pop songs

Gravitating towards the hook!

Cuts Like a Knife – Bryan Adams

Tempted – Squeeze

Thirteen – Big Star

Out of My Head – Fastball

One Headlight – Wallflowers

No Matter What – Badfinger

01:12:22 Gig Gab 537 Outtro

Follow Rand Lempert

The Broken Rings

Sick in the city – The Broken Rings

Contact Gig Gab!

@GigGabPodcast on Instagram

[email protected]

Sign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List

The post Road Stories, Recording Secrets, and the Perfect Pop Song – Gig Gab 537 with Rand Lempert from The Broken Rings appeared first on Gig Gab.

This week Stu Dias joins Dave from a slightly different corner of Durham, New Hampshire, and after a quick detour through barefoot drumming, sweaty-hand fixes, and oversized triangle guitar picks, the conversation locks onto the question every working musician is wrestling with right now: what does AI mean for music? You’ll hear why Dave reframes it as Assistive Intelligence (and the best procrastination-killer and writer’s-block-buster going) even as you stare down the harder stuff: Suno-generated tracks, Jack Tempchin’s AI-assisted album, and the ouroboros of machines learning from the music we make. Should AI art be labeled? What happens when it conjures someone’s likeness? And does any of it move you the way a human in a room can?

That last question is the heartbeat of the episode. Dave and Stu weigh AI music against the cover-band hustle, remember what COVID lockdowns taught us about humans craving real humans together, and get honest about whose jobs are actually on the line and where AI mixing fits in your workflow. The kicker for every gigging musician: if the machines are going to use your voice and your playing, take a long-term cut of the sales. It’s a sharp, funny, occasionally unsettling look at the line between tool and threat…and a reminder that however the tech shakes out, you Always Be Performing. Hit play for the full conversation.

00:00:00 Gig Gab 536 – Monday, June 1st, 2026

May 25th: National Barefoot Day

Guest co-host: Stu Dias

00:00:56 Playing drums barefoot

00:02:34 Iontophoresis for sweaty feet and hands

00:05:05 We all have our own thing for ourselves

Large guitar picks for Stu. Equilateral triangles!

00:07:03 AI and Music

00:12:40 AI is the best procrastination eliminator

It helps with writer’s block

AI Based Plugins and Compressors are fantastic

For Dave, AI is Assistive Intelligence

00:13:59 AI Generated music like Suno

00:18:22 Should AI-generated art be labeled as such?

00:22:58 What about if AI generates the likeness of someone?

De-Feedback on Gig Gab

00:24:53 Ouroborotic

00:27:31 Using AI to create music

Business Brain theme music

Jack Tempchin’s AI-assisted album

Beck’s Song Reader

Creating walk-on music for your band

Bowling For Soup’s (non-AI-created) walk-on music for live shows

00:40:47 Comparing Human-Created Music vs. AI-Created music

00:45:11 AI Music vs. Cover Music

00:47:58 COVID Lockdowns taught us that we like to bring humans together

00:55:37 What’s AI going to make Dave say?

01:03:08 Jobs on the line

Elvis impersonators and sax players from rock songs in the 80’s

01:05:42 AI Mixing

Davis Thurston on Gig Gab

01:13:04 Do we have to

Take a long-term cut of the sales, folks!

01:18:06 Gig Gab 536 Outtro

Follow Stu Dias

Diaspora-Radio.com

Contact Gig Gab!

@GigGabPodcast on Instagram

[email protected]

Sign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List

The post AI and Music for Working Musicians: Tool, Threat, or Bandmate? – Gig Gab 536 appeared first on Gig Gab.

Ride shotgun with Dave as he records GigGab on the drive home from a Casual Gravity gig, finally living out the show’s original mission. You’ll hear why packing your own mixer saves the night when the venue only wants a single feed from the band, what it’s like when an in-ear band plays its first fully sober gig, and why counting songs in to a click track changes everything once adrenaline stops driving your tempo.

Then dig into relearning vocal harmonies for the Underground Band: using the Moises app to isolate vocals, pulling sheet music, and plunking out intervals on piano to lock stacks into your ear. Buddy Gibbons sparks a drumming debate on single strokes versus marching-style sticking through the Foreplay/Long Time triplets, and Dave gets honest about throat fatigue, Lyme disease aftermath, dust mite allergies, and the sublingual immunotherapy bringing his voice back. Listen to your body, learn the parts, and Always Be Performing.

00:00:00 Gig Gab 535 – Monday, May 25th, 2026

May 25th: National Tap Dance Day

00:00:10 Driving Home Experiment

00:01:42 Casino Gig Setup

00:06:38 Sober Show, Strong Set

00:08:19 Relearning Vocal Harmonies

00:18:15 Drumming Through Both Hands

00:21:47 Insurance And Smoke-Filled Gigs

00:26:42 Throat Troubles And Recovery

Stuff Mentioned:

Mackie DL32S

Moises

I Love a Piano

MusicPro Equipment Insurance

00:31:24 Gig Gab 535 Outtro

Contact Gig Gab!

@GigGabPodcast on Instagram

[email protected]

Sign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List

The post Loaded Out, Rolling Home, Rolling Tape – Gig Gab 535 appeared first on Gig Gab.

OG co-host Paul Kent rejoins Dave Hamilton to talk about how The Houserockers have stayed booked into their 27th year, and what your band can steal from their playbook. You’ll dig into the social media reality of 2026 (Reels are currently king), why your mailing list is the asset you actually own, and how to grow to 10,000 followers without losing your soul. Paul makes the case that if you want gigs, your band has to be a business, which means alignment on mission, passion, and musical style with the partners or employees standing next to you on stage. There’s nothing wrong with playing for fun, but go in eyes wide open about what you’re chasing.

From there you’ll dive into the value of scarcity, Kevin Kelly’s thousand true fans, and why mixing up your setlists is one way to keep audiences coming back. Paul breaks down the current Houserockers formula (civic concert series, experiential marketing, and ticketed off-season events) and why aging-up audiences mean you have to market harder and talk to fans like Springsteen does: a lifetime conversation, all with individuals. You’ll also get the real talk on finding bandmates (Craigslist included), the Gig Gab bookable-band checklist, and Paul’s (joking?) pitch for two new show segments. Whatever your lane, Always Be Performing, and start treating every touchpoint like the gig it is.

00:00:00 Gig Gab 534 – Monday, May 18th, 2026

May 18th: National Visit Your Relatives Day

00:01:27 Guest co-host: Paul Kent

The Houserockers in their 27th year!

00:04:21 Did someone call you an old man?!?

00:08:46 The Gig Gab social media approach

00:10:29 Your band can get 10,000 followers

Reels are it…today.

00:13:37 Gain a mailing list

00:16:41 It’s about the music business.

Is your band willing to be in business?

00:19:00 There’s nothing wrong with doing what you want to do.

Just go in eyes wide open.

00:20:49 Getting alignment within your band. You now have business partners or employees

Be aligned with mission, passion, style of music … the alchemy of it.

00:26:48 The value of scarcity

Does success equal quantity of gigs?

Some people want to play five times per month

00:30:43 Finding Your Thousand True Fans

00:32:05 Mixing up your setlists is another way to keep people coming back

00:36:00 Marketing 101 – you have to have something to say

Hopefully unique!

And then deliver.

00:37:13 The Houserockers formula for today

Civic Concert Series

Experiential Marketing

Ticketed Events in the off-season

00:39:13 Use your mailing list!

00:41:28 Ticketed events required more marketing this year

Audiences are aging up

00:43:04 How do you talk to your audience?

Springsteen: my career is a lifetime conversation with my audience

It’s about you, your personality, and each individual audience member

00:50:11 Finding band members is an imperfect science

Craigslist lets you find who is available THEN.

The Gig Gab Band checklist

00:56:41 Paul’s show ideas for Dave

Dave reads mean comments

Dave reads band ads from Craigslist, et al

00:59:47 Gig Gab 534 Outtro

Follow Paul Kent

SVHouserockers.com

Facebook Houserockers

Contact Gig Gab!

@GigGabPodcast on Instagram

[email protected]

Sign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List

The post What’s Your Band’s Definition of Success? — Gig Gab 534 with Paul Kent appeared first on Gig Gab.

Guest co-host Mike Schulte joins Dave with 15 years of Pork Tornadoes social media wisdom, and the message is blunt: relentless consistency wins. You literally can’t post too much in 2026—nobody sees everything anymore, so repost that same flyer as a fresh post (not a share) and keep going. Give it 45 days before you judge results. Why invest? More fans mean more bodies at the gig, plus the social proof that signals to newcomers that other people already love you. And remember—you’re not competing with other bands, you’re competing with people’s couches.

From there, Dave and Mike dig into the live-show craft. Build a sound check formula so it stops being a nightmare, then cook up a Suno-generated theme song to walk on to—Always Be Performing means the show starts before the first chord lands. Treat your setlist like art: the opener’s a throwaway, but song three is the most important slot of the night. Then think about your saturation—the Pork Tornadoes cap themselves at two ticketed gigs per year inside a 30-mile radius, and the minute they got scarce, their pay jumped tenfold. Simple, not easy.

00:00:00 Gig Gab 533 – Monday, May 11th, 2026

May 11th: National Eat What You Want Day (also Hostess CupCake Day!)

Guest co-host: Mike Schulte

00:01:10 Did you ever watch Night Court

Dave reminds Mike of Harry

Confused Breakfast

Shows that were so far ahead of their time:

All In The Family

Roseanne

00:05:06 Managing your band’s social media

Relentless Consistency is the key (right now).

“You can never post too much” – Mike Schulte, May 11, 2026

Mike has been running social media for Pork Tornadoes for 15 years

Everyone doesn’t see every post (anymore)

It’s money-driven

Repost the same thing, the same flyer, the same idea (as a new post, not a “share”)

00:09:49 Getting “started” on social media in 2026

I tried to follow your model and nothing changed. In two weeks.

You’ve gotta spend a month or more (Dave says 45 days)

00:14:05 What’s the benefit of investing in social media

The more fans you have, there WILL be more people who come to your events

Also: social proof. Showing people that other people like you.

00:18:55 Social Proof + Bullheaded Persistence = Success.

00:22:00 People don’t go out like they used to

You’re not competing with other bands, you’re competing with people’s couches

00:24:39 A band retreat!

If 2020 hadn’t happened, Pork Tornadoes would’ve probably gone full time

00:26:04 SPONSOR: Claude.ai – Ready to tackle bigger problems? Sign up for Claude today, which includes access to Claude Cowork, too, when you visit https://Claude.ai/giggab

00:27:42 Recent Gig(s) Gab

Boston Cream Band at Seacoast Repertory Theater

Pork Tornadoes is a 2-hours straight-thru band

00:34:19 Orchestrate your sound check

Sound check used to be a nightmare, until we created a formula

00:38:27 Create a musical lead-in for your show

For the wranglers in the Gig Gab audience

Use Suno to create a theme song for your band

00:42:57 Writing a setlist is an art

Your first song is a throwaway

The third song is the FIRST most important song in the set (according to Dave)

Develop business-like rituals for your band

00:48:32 What’s Your Band’s Saturation?

Self-imposed proximity clauses

Pork Tornadoes Proximity Clause: No more than 2 ticketed events in a 30-mile radius per year

Plus one free-to-the-public festival gig to pull people in

To the venues who don’t have proximity clauses: why do you not?

The minute we started getting scarce, was the minute our pay increased 10-fold

01:00:12 The Pork Tornadoes formula: simple, not easy.

Gig Gab 532 Outtro

Follow Mike Schulte

Confused Breakfast

The Pork Tornadoes

Contact Gig Gab!

@GigGabPodcast on Instagram

[email protected]

Sign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List

The post Relentless Consistency and the Scarcity Premium with Mike Schulte from The Pork Tornadoes – Gig Gab 533 appeared first on Gig Gab.