The Unstarving Musician

Eli Lev, a return guest to the podcast, just released the 3rd in a 4 album project. He’ll wrap the project up with that 4th album in the later part of 2020. He’s incredibly inspirational, having done so much in the short span of his music career. He’s all about intentions. And I think he found love recently. You’ll hear more about that in our conversation. Global citizen and neo-folk singer Eli Lev is making the world a smaller place, one song at a time. Eli pens hymns for everyday...

Joshua Van Ness is a singer-songwriter, guitarist, drummer and native of New Jersey. To say that he has diverse interests and talents would be putting it mildly. Joshua is a regularly gigging artist with 2019 racking in over 170 shows. Joshua is intentional in how he carves his music career, keeping in mind that he has a day job and a family to add into the mix. We talk about the strategy behind his goal setting, how he goes about getting better gigs, better paying gigs, and gigs opening...

Judy Rodman is a return guest as well as an award winning vocal coach, recording artist, author, producer, singer-songwriter and more. I recently caught up with Judy in person in October and it was such a treat. Judy shares some of the powerful lessons and tips from her recently published book Singing In The Studio which include specialized vocal techniques and insider tips to create quality productions. We even get to hear a clip of the track “Somethin’ Like That” from the album Here We...

David Andrew Wiebe is not only a singer-songwriter, but also a music educator. He’s found a way to grow his music career and the business of his music through a project he calls Music Entrepreneur HQ. The website and podcast dedicated to this project provide resources and information for independent musicians. His goal is to help musicians with booking better shows, music sales and streaming, digital marketing, licensing, placement, and making a better income. We talk about all of this, and...

Marc Phoenix received a master’s degree in classical guitar and pedagogy from the University of Zurich. He also studied Jazz & songwriting at Berklee College of Music. Marc also spent a couple of decades as a producer in Los Angeles with compositions that would do well on radio and which were featured on Blood Diamond, Little Miss Sunshine, Sex & The City, Charmed, Scrubs, among others. He has produced a number of noteworthy artists including Celine Dion, Alice Cooper, Nelly Furtado, Enya...

This is the fourth installment of The Unstarving Musician’s Guide to Getting Paid Gigs. I’m reading from Chapter 7 of the book which is all about sales and marketing. A lot of what I’m discussing includes what we know we should be doing, but are we doing it? Use this episode and its tips as a chance to refocus your marketing and sales efforts so that you can increase bookings, your booking fee, and build your audience. Episode Highlights I start off by talking about how most musicians...

Ryan Kairalla is an artist advocate, entertainment lawyer and host of the Break The Business Podcast. He leverages his background in law, business, education, and entertainment to enhance the careers independent music artists–and to pursue big ideas. With his network of partners, collaborators, mentors, and friends, Ryan brings people together to share helpful advice with music artists, content creators, and more. We talk about his book, Break the Business: Declaring Your Independence and...

Chris Coles is the Founder of Musicians Unite, a community born out of the desire to support musicians of all ages, styles and skill levels together to help one another achieve their goals. Not only is it a group for musicians to share their challenges and successes, but it’s a place for them to learn from each other as well. Chris is an avid drummer and percussionist. He holds a B.S. in Music Education and has played in groups ranging from funk to orchestra, rock to jazz and everything in...

Frankie Raye is a powerhouse performer juggling over twenty shows a month. She is a singer-songwriter based out of Tampa, Florida. In 2019 Frankie launched her first album Brave. She has been recognized in several Best of the Bay categories including: singer, songwriter, vocalist, pop act - original, local band - original, cover band etc. Frankie shares what it’s like to gig on a consistent basis, how she has leveraged working with an agency, her songwriting and creativity process, and...

Adam and Michael Scharff are longtime working musicians and music teachers. These days they’re in the world of virtual artist artist development. With a focus on mentoring artists, Adam and Michael offer a compliment of production, writing, recording services. Their podcast Mentoring for the Modern Day Musician features the advice and expertise of the Scharff brothers, designed to help music artists shorten the learning curve of navigating the rapidly changing music business. Episode...

My guest today is Bruce Wawrzyniak of Now Hear This. We talk about PR, promotions, social media, websites, placements and a whole lot more. I did a quick search for musician-focused podcasts and came across Now Hear This by our guest, Bruce Waryzyniak. His company has a focus on talent management, promotion and booking. He really knows his stuff, I learned so much during this episode. Bruce drops great tips and resources for indie musicians. We just scraped the surface of all the topics,...

This is a special announcement episode for Unstarving Musician gal pal Lindsay White and Lady Brain Presents. The conversation features Karyn Ann, who will be one of the performing artists for an upcoming Lady Brain Presents listening room event. (See press release below.) Karyn shares stories about networking on the road, and how new connections landed her a slot at this month’s Lady Brain Presents event. Karyn’s voice is said to “beguile the most inattentive bar-goer.” Her singing and...

My guest for this episode is LA-based musician, Miles Franco. We talk about balancing multiple projects and how he established himself after relocating from San Jose to LA. Miles reminds me a little bit of myself. He gigs with a number of bands, he’s in demand. He’s balancing a day job, music, multiple bands and it’s not that easy. I was that way in the Dallas Fort Worth and Silicon Valley areas for sometimes. Miles, however, is spending his time focused on original projects. Episode...

Greg Wilnau, host of the Musician Monster podcast, joins me this episode. We talk about the Musician Monster website, which is a treasure trove of free resources, branding your music and making more money as a performing artist and more. Greg Wilnau has been on my radar for quite some time. He is a working musician and a musician mentor. He’s all about helping other musicians make it and in Greg’s eyes making it doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with fame. He and I have a lot in...

In this episode I speak with musician mindset coach and mentor Suz Paulinski of The Rock/Star Advocate. We talk about the DIY Musician Conference, her upcoming MusicPreneur Mindset Summit and the one thing she recommends to musicians who seek a better way. We also talk about her MusicPreneur podcast, on which I’m an upcoming guest. Episode Highlights We begin by chatting about the DIY Musician Conference and go on to discuss: 3 Key Points Quotable “Even with a team, you’re still calling...

In this episode I speak with pianist, synthesist, producer, vocalist and songwriter Glasys. We talk about his immigration from Israel to Portland, Oregon, discovering a new local music scene, and the pivotal moments that lead to touring and recording with Todd Rundgren. I discovered Glasys while listening to the Music Business Hacks podcast and related to his big move from Israel to Portland, and how that affects your music career. In my case that was from Texas to California, and...

Brian Wolff of Fair City Fire is giving back to Austin’s youth as Community Engagement Coordinator with a nonprofit called Kids In a New Groove. In this episode we talk about how this work and the mission keeps him connected to his music, the release of his band’s new single Simple Stupid and much more. Episode Highlights We start the episode by talking about Kids In a New Groove and go on to discuss: Key Points Mentioned in this Episode Kids In a New Groove Fair City Fire Simple Stupid...

Only a few episodes ago I was joined by Bollywood Blues artist, Aki Kumar. Aki had some exciting news at the time that was under wraps, so I wanted to have him back to announce his signing with Sony Music India and the release of his single Dilruba. Episode Highlights We start by discussing the Sony Music India launch of his music video, and go on to discuss: Mentioned in this Episode Aki Kumar WebsiteDilruba Music VideoSony Music India YouTube Channel Related Episodes Why Musicians...

The artist known as My Name is Chapel releases a new single called Taxi Cab today. Chapel is also in the midst of producing and scoring his first film. We discuss this, his recent full-length album, the origins of his name, and more. Episode Highlights We start by discussing our shared connection of previous guest Chris Avetta and go on to discuss: Empire State Key Points Quotable “I’ve always been a singer, but I’ve also been a class clown, too… obviously I’m serious when I’m singing a...

In this dual interview episode, I speak with Simon Tam about all he’s doing for the music community through podcasting, public speaking and writing. We also talk about his activism and support for other artists. Then we switch seats and Simon interviews me for his Music Business Hacks podcast. Episode Highlights We start the conversation by talking about Simon’s process for creating 300+ podcast episodes to date, and go on to discuss: and Key Points Quotable “You need to tackle the...