Brad Madix, Front-of-House Engineer for Rush, Bruce Hornsby, Shania Twain, Shakira, Queensrÿche, Jane’s Addiction, Mr. Big, and more joins Paul and Dave today to chat sound, mixing, stories, and Gig Gab!

Brad’s tales and advice are endless – and endlessly valuable! Listen to hear Brad share stories about finding himself behind the console in an arena for the first time, tweaking Geddy Lee’s bass sound, taking the stage with Queensrÿche, and so much more.

Brad also shares his tips and advice about getting the sound right in clubs, large and small, trusting your ears, and protecting your hearing in the process.

A man who happily says that he has “years of practice” in the space tells us all why we should “never runs towards a fire.”

Press play and enjoy, folks. This is a good one!

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Today it’s time to talk gear. And gain staging. And effects. And audio interfaces. And Microphones. Oh, wait, those last two are gear, too, aren’t they? And effects… that can be gear? Are effects considered “gear” if it’s a digital plugin versus a piece of outboard equipment?

Oh the questions you have! Well, Paul and Dave have questions, too… and a few answers. Really, though, it’s all about just learning how to make yourself sound great. And is there a better thing to work on during quarantine? Join in the fun and press play!

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How do your fans feel? Do you know? If not, what can you do to find out? Well, Paul and Dave talk through all of this and more. The good news is you can be a fan now, too, and learn what it feels like when someone asks you to tip or share or visit or more. And you can apply that compassion to crafting your own fan environment. Are tips the right answer? Or are subscriptions a better model? Listen as your two favorite weekend warriors talk this through.

The bookends to this weeks show are tech tips, first about recording techniques, lastly about streaming. Listen as Paul and Dave share the new things they’ve learned about this week. Remember, always be performing!

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Paul and Dave start today’s show with a detour about… playing live! Sure, we can’t do this right now, but that means now is a great time to stop and think about some of the more overlooked aspects of your live show and setup. We’re out of the grind of playing every week (or every night), sure, and that allows us the gift of perspective. What things about our live shows can we change? What can we work on right now? Dave has a few ideas that he and Paul talk through.

Then it’s time to talk about mixing your streams, and whether streaming is the right thing for you versus record-and-release.

Listen as your two favorite weekend warriors talk about how they played this weekend and what they did!

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Steve Witschel returns to Gig Gab after four years to talk about the evolution of his Cover Band Central site and Facebook groups. Things have grown quite a bit for CBC since Steve chatted with your two favorite weekend warriors, and they go through that evolution together.

Steve’s also spent quite a bit of time perfecting – and teaching – the nuances of live-streaming. He, Paul, and Dave talk through all of this, too, offering you a ton of great tips and tricks to make your live streams even more successful for you and your audiences.

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As promised, Paul and Dave talk through what they know and have learned about setting yourself up to live stream from your house or studio. There are definitely some tips and tricks, and your two favorite weekend warriors share as many of them as they’ve found.

Then it’s on to embracing the muse. Dave had an epiphany moment this past weekend when he broke through his sadness of sequester and started tracking drums, only to find that there was an even better drum part for a new FLING song waiting right around the corner. Listen as he dissects these two and compares live in the show.

Have fun, experiment, and remember: always be performing!

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Dave watched the new “Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time” movie that premiered (virtually) at SXSW 2020 last week, so he starts us off with a review about that. Great stories and great memories abound.

Online busking has become more a thing than ever, and Paul and Dave talk through some of what they’re seeing, what the future holds, and how the beginnings of podcasting give us some perspective on it all.

Next week, we’ll talk about the tech that you’ll eventually be using to do all your online busking, so please send in your questions for your two favorite weekend warriors to consider: [email protected] – For now, just keep doing what you’re doing. We love you for it!

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Paul and Dave both had gig cancelations, as did many of you. Some of you figured out how to perform anyway, in a safe manner, and that’s inspiring to all of us. Your two favorite weekend warriors talk through some of the things they’re doing, and you’ll even get to hear a sneak peek at the Bitter Pill album Dave recently discussed recording. Always be performing, indeed!

Pre-Order Desperate Times on the New Hampshire State Line (just ten bucks!)

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Mike Dias, long-time in-ear industry expert and now Executive Director of the In-Ear Monitor International Trade Organization, joins Paul and Dave this week. They chat about the history of in-ears, the future, solving problems, and more. They even touch on a few “hot button” topics, too, but you’ll have to listen to hear about that!

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One of the best questions you can answer before you start to do anything musical is: who’s driving the bus?

Paul and Dave take this question through a few permutations. First, Dave laments some of the struggles he’s having getting his studio setup to the point where he can track some new Fling songs, and the question of who’s driving the bus of the recording project comes up.

Then it’s on to the topic of the Houserockers. Paul discusses the evolution of his band… and who’s driving the bus!

Lastly, it’s on to the acoustic format. A listener asks: “Who drives the bus here?” Well, you’ll have to listen to find out, won’t you?

When you’re finished – or, really, any time – drive your bus over to [email protected] and share your thoughts, too!

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