Making It with Chris G.

Ron Richard is the owner of New Orleans based Artist Development and Promotions company, SimplePlay Presents, and the Talent Buyer for One Eyed Jacks. In this episode, we cover how to become an artist manager, artist development, booking shows, the advance process, opening for national acts, and much more. Ron has been a concert promoter in New Orleans for over 10 years, and has worked with all the major venues in the market.

Oliver Wood is one of the founders of The Wood Brothers, along with his brother, Chris Wood. After several years on their own path, they discovered their musical bond and have been on a wonderful journey ever since their first release in 2006. On February 2nd, 2018,The Wood Brothers are releasing their sixth album ‘One Drop of Truth,’ which dives headfirst into a deep wellspring of sounds, styles and influences.

In 2017, Basin Street Records celebrated it’s 20 Year Anniversary as an Independent Record Label. The label features the wonderful sounds of New Orleans with artists such as Kermit Ruffins, Irvin Mayfield, Rebirth Brass Band, Jon Cleary, Los Hombres Calientes, Jeremy Davenport, Bonerama, and so many more. Founder and Owner, Mark Samuels, started the label in 1997 with the release of Kermit Ruffins - the Barbecue Swingers Live.

Lennon Cihak is a writer for EDM.com, Noiseporn, Magnetic Magazine, and Digital Music News. He’s also started his own blog EDMinaSoda, where he explores his writing covering other interests in the world of EDM. In this episode, you’ll learn about Lennon’s journey, how he organized his homework schedule so he could take on more projects, how to build genuine relationships, how to get write-ups on music blogs, and much more.

Brad Mason is an attorney that graduated from Drake University School of Law and Vice President at a bank technology company. Regardless of working 60 to 80 hour weeks, he uses strategies to allow him to be more engaged, effective, happy in life and make time to give back. From running obstacle courses to marathons, Brad tries to make sure he’s always fully engaged and present in the moment.

In this episode we get into tips on creating content, the importance of content, how to apply the marketing sales funnel to build your brand and business, and much more. In 2017, he has successfully launched his TV Show Ambitious Adventures, which is distributed on Entrepreneur.com where Greg is also a consistent guest teaching lessons on entrepreneurship. Greg Rollett is a serial entrepreneur, Emmy Award Winning Producer, Multi-Time Amazon Best Selling Author, and much more.

This episode is all about Touring Strategy! How often to play, which cities or markets to play, what types of venues to play, what are promoters, talent buyers, and venue owners looking for, and how do you get a booking agent. This is my first solo, lecture style episode. One of my student's favorite classes is when I cover tour strategy, and it’s a lecture they always ask me to record.

Tommy Darker is a DIY Musician and Entrepreneur. He has mastered the Alexander Osterwalder concept of creating unique Business Models and has applied it to the music business for musicians. Tommy is also the founder of Whiise, a platform where any musician can go and ask their questions about the music business to industry leaders from around the world. He’s a regular guest lecturer at University of Westminster in London, England and the Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain.

Cathy Heller has built a career in the Sync Licensing world after building a career with placements in TV Shows, Movies, and Commercials. After her success, she started her own company, Catch The Moon Music, where she represents and helps other musicians with sync licensing success. She’s an incredible teacher and mentor, offering consultations, and courses for musicians. One of her newest passions as a teacher includes being the host of her own podcast, Don’t Keep Your Day Job.

Angela Mastrogiacomo is an entrepreneur, publicist, blogger, and founder of Muddy Paw PR and Infectious Magazine. What inspires me about Angela, is all the amazing content she puts out there for artists to learn more about email etiquette, social media management and marketing, mental health issues in the music business, motivation, and so much more.

This is our second annual Thanksgiving special. In this episode, show producer, Jason Trosclair, joins the show to discuss creative DIY approaches for musicians from past guests. I've gathered some of the best advice about how an independent musician can approach their career on their terms, with their own unique voice. These conversations are extremely valuable because they show you there is more than one way to achieve your goals.

The journey of Dawn Beyer began like so many musicians in Nashville, trying to find their niche, and playing endless hours for little money on Broadway. Everything changed for Dawn the first time she went live on Facebook, and had 10 strangers listening to her play while in her living room. These 10 viewers turned into earning $74,000 in one year using Facebook Live, to flying around the country to play private shows for her Facebook Live community.

Meg White is a Booking Agent at ICM Partners. Her journey at ICM began after an internship at Roadrunner Records, working with and cold calling College Radio Stations. At ICM she has worked as an assistant under three very different personalities, from which she has learned many amazing lessons. She has worked as an assistant first for Scott Morris, to Marsha Vlasic, and finally to Mark Siegel, before becoming an agent herself.

With a diverse background in fashion, food , music and theater, Holly brings a unique blend of creativity, passion and strategic planning to her life as a publicist--generating major results and leaving a lasting impact for each client she represents. Holly began her career as a press liaison at The Comcast Center for the Performing Arts outside of Boston where she guided on-site press efforts for Elton John, Cher, Ringo Starr, Aerosmith, Graham Nash, Phil Collins, Bon Jovi and more.

In 2017, Leslie Mendelson released a new album, 8 years after her grammy nominated debut “Swan Feathers.” This new album, “Love & Murder,” has taken her music in a new direction, and is a true representation of her authentic self. After struggles with her label, management, and an album that never got released, Leslie is in the driver's seat of her journey and making friends in unexpected places.