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
    • feedback@giggabpodcast.com
    • 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
  • feedback@giggabpodcast.com
  • 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
    • feedback@giggabpodcast.com
    • 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.