Explore every episode of the podcast The MoneyGigs
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Patrick (Hat Trick Productions): Parking Wars, Wedding Chaos, and Running a Party Band Like a Business | 28 Jul 2026 | 00:38:00 | |
Kevin Patrick is the bass player and bandleader behind Hat Trick Productions, a high-energy party band playing weddings, festivals, and private events across Cincinnati. In this episode, he breaks down what it actually takes to run a working band as a business — from surviving downtown parking wars, to getting stiffed on food during 12-hour wedding days, to building a band fund so his musicians never wait on a check. We get into:
Get access to the venue database and gig tools with invite code INV-KEVIN — $2/month, supports the show and the app. Follow The MoneyGigs Podcast for more real, unfiltered conversations with working musicians about the business side of gigging. Chapter markers: 0:00 Intro: sponsor message & welcome to the show Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| Opportunity Won't Come to You | Iqui Vinculado, Classical Guitarist | 11 Jul 2026 | 00:32:15 | |
Please leave a 5-star rating and review! Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| Cincinnati Musician Tracy Walker on Why Venues Don't Value You (And How to Change That) | 28 Nov 2025 | 00:15:40 | |
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 Explore more at https://themoneygigs.com 0:00 - Intro & Tracy's 25 years in the Cincinnati scene Show Summary:
Music provided by Strange Spaghetti Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| The Venue Was Packed. The Check Still Bounced. | Cybele McGazi | 21 Nov 2025 | 00:15:58 | |
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. Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| The Musician Who Wears Every Hat | Nicki Sage | 14 Nov 2025 | 00:13:38 | |
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.
📱 Download MoneyGigs for iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/moneygigs-know-your-worth/id6752310856 Explore more at https://themoneygigs.com Music provided by Strange Spaghetti #musicianlife #cincinnatimusic #giglife #singersongwriter #moneygigs Copyright © 2025 MoneyGigs, LLC Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| MoneyGigs - Introduction | 14 Nov 2025 | 00:04:20 | |
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. Music provided by Strange Spaghetti Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| Joe Cowels - The Playing Part's Free | 01 Jul 2026 | 00:48:40 | |
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 venues that respect your time, why a simple email is better protection than a contract, how AI jingle software has changed the session work landscape, and why Joe tells every kid who wants his life to go be a dentist instead (then explains exactly why he means it). This episode also kicks off a giveaway. Joe hand built a Plum Crazy Purple Strat style guitar, and he's giving it to one MoneyGigs listener. Download the app, use code INV-JCWLS, and you're entered. Full rules at themoneygigs.com/giveaway. Find Joe at https://joecowelsmusic.com/. 00:00 - Intro & Sponsor Know your worth. Download MoneyGigs free on iOS and Android. Sign up for the public venue database and arrive more prepared for gigs and help other musicians do the same. Just $2/month. #GiggingMusician #MusicBusiness #LiveMusic #BluesRock #SessionMusician #MusicianLife #IndependentMusician #MusicPodcast #GuitarGiveaway #KnowYourWorth Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| Heart Attacks, Mosh Pits & the Gig Life - with JR Stoffel of BYNHOPOD.COM | 25 Jun 2026 | 00:58:38 | |
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 survived a heart attack he didn't know he was having — in a Dropkick Murphys mosh pit — then played a gig two days before triple bypass surgery. He was back on stage two months later. This one's a genuine peer conversation. We talked about the invisible workload of being in a loud rock band that plays quiet venues, why JR trusts Gary to book everything, and what that feedback loop actually looks like, how a rising tide floats all the boats when your podcast guests promote their own episodes, and what it means to treat every unsigned band like the rock star they're going to be. We also got into self-promotion squeamishness, the identity bridge between musician and businessperson, whether listeners actually want authenticity or just say they do, and why the cliche podcast questions are the ones that kill the vibe. JR is real. This episode is real. If you're doing it all at once and wondering how long you can sustain it, this one's for you. Find JR: Bands You've Never Heard Of | wherever you listen to podcasts MoneyGigs App: themoneygigs.com — track your gigs, know your worth Guitar Giveaway: themoneygigs.com/giveaway Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| Phil Carillo - Me No Play, Me No Roof | 01 Jun 2026 | 00:48:33 | |
Phil Carillo has spent 45 years gigging in Southern California on steel 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 surprisingly balanced take on AI, and the "Free Expression Sessions" that taught him quality is the enemy of a finished idea. If you've ever wondered what your time is actually worth on a gig, this one's for you. In this episode: - Why "no playing equals no eating" — and how to price like it - Running a band: pay for everything, but never be late once - Banned from the OC Fair for making too many people dance - A 45-year veteran's honest take on AI in music - "Quality is your enemy": creating without fear Guest: Phil Carrillo — Steel Parade steelparade.com TikTok @philj.carillo 00:00 Meet Phil: 45 years gigging, steel pan & Long Beach roots MoneyGigs helps gigging musicians track their pay, see their real hourly rate, and tap a crowdsourced venue database. Use code INV-PHILC for access to the venue database for $2/mo. Did you like the show? Well then.. Join the Facebook community Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| Dan Karlsberg — The Playing Was Never the Problem | 15 May 2026 | 00:32:07 | |
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 >>>> https://dankarlsberg.bandcamp.com/album/rooms-without-walls We talk about what it actually feels like to gig — the driving, the parking, the day-of call you weren't ready for, and the internal voice that tells you mid-performance that you can't do this. We talk about why his gig floor has gone from a hundred dollars to now three or four hundred, why he shifted his income to teaching, and the anxiety he carried for twenty years before he had a name for it. 1:25 Who is Dan Karlsberg — the baseball card 4:26 Life outside music — exploring, obsessing, Nadia Boulanger & Elvis 7:04 Rooms Without Walls — making a solo piano record 17:32 The gigging landscape — when the playing isn't the hard part 19:04 Gigging rates flat since 1980 — the economics of working musicians 22:01 My biggest challenge is myself 26:03 Panic attacks, therapy, and finally understanding himself 27:32 Teaching ages 4 to 91 — playing without hurting yourself 🎸 Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2509891/support 📲 Download MoneyGigs — the app built for gigging musicians:
🌿 This episode is sponsored by Tryfloral: https://tryfloral.com/themoneygigs Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| Jim Pelz — Starting Over at 35: Reinvention, Resilience, and the Real Business of Gigging | 01 May 2026 | 00:19:42 | |
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. 🎸 Support the show: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2509891/support 📲 Download MoneyGigs — the app built for gigging musicians:
🌿 This episode is sponsored by Tryfloral: https://tryfloral.com/themoneygigs Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| Jan Diehl: What 50 Years of Gigging Actually Teaches You | 09 Apr 2026 | 00:25:54 | |
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 🌿 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. Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| Understanding Your Gigs: Touring and Funding Tips with Gregory McKillop | 13 Mar 2026 | 00:44:54 | |
Know your worth—see your real hourly rate and help fellow musicians avoid flying blind by rating the venues you play. Explore more at themoneygigs.com Visit Gregory's website, https://featherandahalf.itch.io/
Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||
| Know Your Worth: Why Partnership Beats the "Homebody Culture" in 2026 | 22 Jan 2026 | 00:26:57 | |
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:
🎁 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. https://www.facebook.com/brewrivercreolekitchen https://brewrivercreolekitchen.com/ Support the show by visiting our sponsor (and get a deal!): Copyright (c) 2026 MoneyGigs, LLC | |||