The MoneyGigs Podcast

By Cliff Adams

By gigging musicians, for gigging musicians.
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FAQs about The MoneyGigs Podcast:

How many episodes does The MoneyGigs Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 18 episodes available.

The MoneyGigs Podcast episodes:

May 01, 2026Jim Pelz — Starting Over at 35: Reinvention, Resilience, and the Real Business of Gigging
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Jim Pelz started as a jazz trombonist in Boston, moved to Cincinnati, and then a rare neurological condition robbed him of his embouchure. Instead of quitting, he picked up the guitar and basically started over at 35. Today he plays the gigs he wants, says no to the ones he doesn't, and made more money from music this past year than ever — with a full-time warehouse day job and zero regrets.
We talk about focal dystonia, imposter syndrome, the moment COVID changed everything, why doing less keeps it fun, and what it really means to know your worth as a working musician.

Jim's Upcoming Performance Schedule in Cincinnati:
5/2 Crow’s Nest 8 pm
6/6 the Esplanade 5 pm
6/23 Kroger Oakley 5 pm
6/24 Taste of Belgium 6 pm
6/25 Taste of Belgium 6 pm
6/26 w/Tyler Christopher, Fitton Center

If anything Jim described sounds familiar, the Dystonia Foundation at dystonia-foundation.org is a starting point.
🎸 Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2509891/support
📲 Download MoneyGigs — the app built for gigging musicians:
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/moneygigs-know-your-worth/id6752310856
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.themoneygigs.moneygigs
Use invite code INV-JIMPELZ for access to the community venue database at $2/mo. Cancel any time directly from the app.
Curious what you made last night, hourly? https://themoneygigs.com/calculator
🌿 This episode is sponsored by Tryfloral: https://tryfloral.com/themoneygigs
Support the show
Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!):
TryFloral THC Beverages https://tryfloral.com/themoneygigs
Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC
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20min
April 09, 2026 Jan Diehl: What 50 Years of Gigging Actually Teaches You
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Jan Diehl has been playing professionally since he was 12 years old. Saxophone, clarinet, flute, bass — 50 years of gigs, 35 years as a music educator, and more wisdom per sentence than most podcasts deliver in an hour.
I showed Jan my app. He told me he'd never use it. And he's right — because Jan isn't who I built it for. I built it for the version of me in 2015. The guy with 142 gigs that year, making $3.85 an hour without knowing it, losing his family to the grind while thinking he was doing everything right.
This conversation is honest, funny, and practical. Jan talks about showing up an hour early, why gigs are relationships not transactions, and what he wishes every gigging musician understood from day one.
📲 Download The Money Gigs free:
iOS: https://tinyurl.com/yc3hnxbs
Android: https://tinyurl.com/46vbt69h

Curious what you made last night, hourly? https://themoneygigs.com/calculator
🌿 This episode is sponsored by TryFloral — THC beverages in 2.5, 5, and 10mg varieties. Visit tryfloral.com/themoneygigs for your discount.
If this episode gave you something, share it with one musician who needs to hear it. That's how this show grows.

You can support the podcast as well:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2509891/support↗️
Support the show
Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!):
TryFloral THC Beverages https://tryfloral.com/themoneygigs
Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC
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26min
March 13, 2026Understanding Your Gigs: Touring and Funding Tips with Gregory McKillop
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Know your worth—see your real hourly rate and help fellow musicians avoid flying blind by rating the venues you play.
🍎 Download for iOS
🤖 Download for Android
Explore more at themoneygigs.com

Curious what you made last night, hourly? https://themoneygigs.com/calculator
Visit Gregory's website, https://featherandahalf.itch.io/

Show Summary:
🎹 Creative vs. Technical Skill: Lockdown music theory learning made songwriting deliberate, sometimes stifling creative freedom.
🚐 Touring Strategy: Gregory's band saw 100-200 attendees at shows, focusing on intimate engagements with limited audience sizes.
💰 Funding Strategies: How Gregory raised $2,000 for tour expenses, showcasing creative financial approaches.
📱Social Media Dynamics: TikTok success led to new fan interactions, but managing emotional connections remains challenging.

Support the show
Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!):
TryFloral THC Beverages https://tryfloral.com/themoneygigs
Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC
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45min
January 22, 2026Know Your Worth: Why Partnership Beats the "Homebody Culture" in 2026
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Most gigging musicians spend years mastering their craft, but zero hours learning the actual economy of the rooms they play. In an era where post-pandemic "homebody culture" is the new norm, simply showing up and playing a good set isn't enough to keep the doors open—for you or the venue.
Today, we sit down with Joby Bowman, owner of Cincinnati’s BrewRiver Creole Kitchen, to bridge the professionalism gap. Joby gives us a rare, vulnerable look at the "Restaurant Squeeze" of 2026, revealing why:
Playing a "good set" is only 50% of the reason you get booked.
A venue's utility costs have more than doubled since 2018, making every $35 cover critical for survival.
Your "posse" of 10 engaged friends is worth more to an owner than 10,000 cold followers on Instagram.
🎁 EXCLUSIVE BREWRIVER PERK: Joby is offering a $10 carry-out gift card to any listener who visits BrewRiver and mentions this podcast, along with the two iconic Cincinnati musicians discussed in this episode. This offer is valid through February 28th, 2026.
STOP THE NAPKIN MATH: This episode is powered by MoneyGigs, the app built by and for musicians to calculate real hourly rates and locate top-rated venues. Join our growing community of performers who are using data to protect their creative autonomy and Know Your Worth.

Curious what you made last night, hourly? https://themoneygigs.com/calculator
MoneyGigs Android
MoneyGigs Apple
https://www.facebook.com/brewrivercreolekitchen
https://brewrivercreolekitchen.com/
Support the show
Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!):
TryFloral THC Beverages https://tryfloral.com/themoneygigs
Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC
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27min
November 28, 2025Cincinnati Musician Tracy Walker on Why Venues Don't Value You (And How to Change That)
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Cincinnati music legend Tracy Walker has been gigging professionally for 25 years — and she's learned exactly which venues are worth your time, how to know your value, and when to walk away. We talk grocery store gigs, why musicians can't save a struggling venue, what authentic self-advocacy actually looks like, and the moment Tracy stepped in for herself.
Visit Tracy's website: https://tracywalker.com
📱 Download MoneyGigs for iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/moneygigs-know-your-worth/id6752310856
🤖 Download MoneyGigs for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.themoneygigs.moneygigs
Explore more at https://themoneygigs.com

Curious what you made last night, hourly? https://themoneygigs.com/calculator
0:00 - Intro & Tracy's 25 years in the Cincinnati scene
2:30 - Why authenticity is the only long-term strategy
6:00 - Grocery store gigs: the most honest stage in the city
10:00 - Venue red flags and how to spot them early
15:00 - Why musicians can't save a struggling venue
20:00 - Knowing your value in an open market
25:00 - The moment Tracy learned to step in for herself
30:00 - Advice for working musicians in a contracting economy
Show Summary:
🎯 Know your value: musicians who understand their true hourly rate make better decisions about which gigs to take — and which to walk away from.
🏢 Venues aren't your problem to solve: live music is a brand investment, not a lifeline. If an owner is counting on you to save their business, that's a red flag.
🤝 Relationships are the real currency: Tracy's best venue relationships — Finley Market, Braxton Brewing, Brew River Creole Kitchen — came from owners who already understood the value of live music.
💪 Step in for yourself: the same instinct Tracy has to advocate for others? It applies to you too.
Music provided by Strange Spaghetti
Support the show
Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!):
TryFloral THC Beverages https://tryfloral.com/themoneygigs
Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC
...more
16min
November 21, 2025 The Venue Was Packed. The Check Still Bounced. | Cybele McGazi
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Cybele McGazi is a veteran of the Greater Cincinnati music scene — singer, keyboardist, SCPA alum, and the woman running the live music department at Lytle Park Hotel. She wrote and produced her own album at 27, raised her kids through COVID while homeschooling for four years, and is now ready to get back in the studio. We talk about bounced checks, what it takes to sit down a venue owner at 23 and demand cash on arrival, and why the MoneyGigs calculator made her rethink variables she'd never considered.

0:00 - Intro & Cybele's background at SCPA
1:30 - Musical influences: Jewel, Alanis, Whitney, Julie Andrews
3:00 - Broadway dreams to gigging musician
4:30 - Writing and self-producing her first album at 27
6:00 - COVID, homeschooling, and the creative drought
8:00 - Getting back to the studio — what's next
9:30 - The bounced check venue: cash on arrival or I walk
11:30 - How Cliff handled his own bad-pay situation
13:00 - The courage it takes to confront a venue owner at 23
14:00 - Trying the MoneyGigs calculator for the first time
16:00 - The minimum rate goal and what it changes
18:00 - How Cybele landed the Lytle Park Hotel gig
20:30 - Becoming the live music director — surviving management turnover
22:00 - Where to find Cybele live around Cincinnati

Show Summary:

💸 Bounced checks are a red flag: Cybele had checks bounce multiple times at the same venue — and at 23, she sat down the owners and told them cash on arrival or she walks. They obliged. The venue closed within a year.
🎹 Know your real hourly rate: Cybele had never tracked her true earnings per hour until she used the MoneyGigs calculator — and immediately started using it for multiple gigs.
🏨 Entrepreneurial musicians create their own roles: what started as a performance gig at Lytle Park became running their entire live music department — because she showed up with a list of players and a plan.
🎤 Creativity has seasons: four years of homeschooling through COVID meant the album waited. That's not failure — that's a busy season of life. The songs are written. The studio is next.

Find Cybele: http://cybelesings.com | Cybele Sings on YouTube
Where to catch her live: Jeff Ruby's Wednesdays 5–8pm · Oriental Wok on Buttermilk Pike Thursdays 6:30pm · Marble in Bellevue Fridays 5:30pm · Lytle Park Hotel

📱 Download MoneyGigs for iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/moneygigs-know-your-worth/id6752310856
🤖 Download MoneyGigs for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.themoneygigs.moneygigs

Curious what you made last night, hourly? https://themoneygigs.com/calculator

Explore more at https://themoneygigs.com

Support the show
Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!):
TryFloral THC Beverages https://tryfloral.com/themoneygigs
Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC
...more
16min
November 14, 2025The Musician Who Wears Every Hat | Nicki Sage
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Nicki Sage is a singer, songwriter, dancer, photographer, cinematographer, and self-producing artist who has built a full music career across Nashville, Chicago, and now Cincinnati. We talk about why the singer-songwriter lane is oversaturated, what makes her genuinely hard to compete with, the difference between writer's rounds and open mics, and what it actually takes to build residencies from scratch in a new city.

Find Nicki: https://nickisageofficial.com | Nicki Sage on YouTube | LinkTree on her website

0:00 - Intro & Nicki's background
1:30 - Photography, choreography, cinematography — wearing every hat
2:30 - Starting with songwriter nights and writer's rounds
4:00 - Nashville, Chicago, and coming back to Cincinnati
5:00 - Goals: rebuilding a 3-4x/week residency schedule
6:30 - New releases and the artist strategy behind them
7:30 - Why residencies are for income, originals are for growth
8:00 - The Chicago showcase: Sony FX3, gimbals, smoke machine
9:00 - Why dancing is her competitive moat
10:30 - The three musician personas and where Nicki fits
12:00 - Southgate House booking — how that video closed the deal
13:30 - Motor Pub, Kroger Beechwood — upcoming Cincinnati gigs
15:00 - Self-producing her own album from scratch

Show Summary:
🎤 The singer-songwriter lane is oversaturated: Nicki's point is sharp — Lady Gaga got dropped before she added the performance element. Playing and singing alone isn't a differentiator anymore.
💃 Dance is her moat: very few working musicians can perform choreography and sing at a professional level simultaneously. That's not a hobby skill — it's a career-length competitive advantage.
🏙️ Building from zero in a new city: three to four residencies a week was her standard schedule. She moved back to Cincinnati less than a year ago and is methodically rebuilding that infrastructure.
🎬 Production value books gigs: the Chicago showcase footage shot on a Sony FX3 with gimbals directly landed her the Southgate House booking. Document everything.
📱 Download MoneyGigs for iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/moneygigs-know-your-worth/id6752310856
🤖 Download MoneyGigs for Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.themoneygigs.moneygigs
Explore more at https://themoneygigs.com

Curious what you made last night, hourly? https://themoneygigs.com/calculator
Music provided by Strange Spaghetti
#musicianlife #cincinnatimusic #giglife #singersongwriter #moneygigs
Copyright © 2025 MoneyGigs, LLC
Support the show
Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!):
TryFloral THC Beverages https://tryfloral.com/themoneygigs
Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC
...more
14min
November 14, 2025 MoneyGigs - Introduction
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Is it possible to truly make a living playing music? This brief introduction explains the intent and mission behind The Money Gigs Podcast and the companion MoneyGigs app. Learn what you can expect from our episodes: real-world advice, inspiring interviews, and practical music business tips designed specifically to help working musicians and singer-songwriters master the business side of the gig economy. Tune in to find out how we help you turn your passion into a profitable and sustainable career.

https://themoneygigs.com/
Music provided by Strange Spaghetti

Support the show
Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!):
TryFloral THC Beverages https://tryfloral.com/themoneygigs
Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC
...more
5min

FAQs about The MoneyGigs Podcast:

How many episodes does The MoneyGigs Podcast have?

The podcast currently has 18 episodes available.