The MoneyGigs

Send us Fan Mail Joe Cowels has played over a hundred shows a year for two decades, from dive bars to studio sessions, and he's got the stories to prove it. Including the one where a venue owner sat him down at a desk with a notebook and a pistol to talk about a three minute overage fee. In this episode, Joe and Cliff talk about what actually pays the bills as a gigging musician: how to find...

Send us Fan Mail JR Stoffel has been at Crutchfield since June 3rd, 1996 — 30 years of training people to talk about audio gear — and he still comes home at 2 AM most nights. He's a drummer, a musical theater performer, a disc golfer, a Toastmasters president, and the co-host of Bands You've Never Heard Of , a podcast dedicated to finding artists before the world does. Oh, and he survive...

Send us Fan Mail Phil Carillo has spent 45 years gigging in Southern California on s teel pan and vocals — and he's the rare working musician who figured out the business and won't apologize for it. We get into why he charges $3,500 for a two-hour wedding, how he runs a band nobody burns out of, the time he got banned from the Orange County Fair for making too many people dance, his surp...

Send us Fan Mail Dan Karlsberg has been playing Cincinnati for a long time — CCM (University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music) grad, seven albums, and teaches piano to students from age four to ninety-one. He just released a solo record called Rooms Without Walls , built in late-night sessions, mostly not knowing where it was going. By the second session, he did. DAN'S NEW ALBUM &g...

Send us Fan Mail 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 a...

Send us Fan Mail 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....

Send us Fan Mail 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 Visit Gregory's website, https://featherandahalf.itch.io/ Show Summary: 🎹 Creative vs. Technical Skill: Lockdown music theory learning made songwriting deliberate, sometimes stifling...

Send us Fan Mail 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...

Send us Fan Mail 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&ap...

Send us Fan Mail 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 ven...

Send us Fan Mail 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 bu...

Send us Fan Mail 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...