Best High Resolution Tour Podcasts (2025)

1
Hide From Wrapped Season With Us 1:06:26

2h ago1:06:26

1:06:26

After we rage against Spotify Wrapped and follow up on our previous episodes, Carson unpacks three recent stories related by the theme of AI blowback: a maximally high-effort and human album, an anti-AI revival of Vine, and a platform that might get enshittified by its buyer. (0:00) Intro (4:11) Does Will do year-end lists? (5:57) Canada Music Fund…

1
Side Door Closing 1:22:53

14d ago1:22:53

1:22:53

We discuss the story of the Canadian live show platform "where every space is a venue" called Side Door, from the company's founding to its coming end, as announced on Nov. 4. Correction: at about 53 minutes, we say Arlene invested out of Dragon's Den, and we later say that Side Door didn't raise again afterward. Per Simpson's comment on the YouTub…

1
Famine at the Aura Farm 1:00:55

1M ago1:00:55

1:00:55

Carson declines to jinx the Jays. Then it's time to lock in for one of our most theoretical conversations yet, in response to the Never Post podcast episode titled "A.I. and New American Fascism". Will chases it with a Canadian story about the possible non-renewal of a $16 million boost to federal music funding. Correction: at pretty much the very …

1
Co-Ops, Labour, Touring, & Streaming w/ Madelyn Read 1:00:31

2M ago1:00:31

1:00:31

Madelyn Read (musician, songwriter, and BC Co-Op Association Community Engagement & Education Manager) is our first-ever guest! (01:07) Introducing Madelyn and her work (05:26) VSO musicians strike update (it's over) (10:33) How Madelyn set up her Europe tour in 2024 (21:54) Talking about streaming (26:44) Leaving Spotify (31:14) Madelyn's nuanced …

1
Ethical Hiring Practices for the Pit (with Joe LaRocca) 47:17

2M ago47:17

47:17

Back in 2021, we chatted with Joe LaRocca while he was playing on the 50th anniversary tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. Since then he has found the niche of actor/musician and talks about how that has changed his perspective before we get into our main topic: his observations for the current state of hiring practices for pit orchestras and what he t…

1
VSO Musicians Strike 31:45

3M ago31:45

31:45

Update from later today: VSO musicians have begun their strike. After Will vents about the Canadian Football League controversy, we discuss a potential strike by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) musicians (4:32), purported salary discrepancies (17:52), and we catch a brief response by the VSO in real time while recording (23:22). We jumped th…

1
People Love the Dead Internet 49:54

3M ago49:54

49:54

We begin by jinxing the Jays. Then we get into the KARRA story “I invested $100,000 to create my album & Spotify deleted it” & part 2 (2:24), are labels bad if they just use DistroKid? (19:49) and is this gonna make us all leave finally? (35:31) Recs: Carson - listen to God's Gonna Give You a Million Dollars by Shallowater, Will - watch Pablo Torre…

1
Challengers to Bandcamp's Throne 53:35

3M ago53:35

53:35

Be careful out there or you'll get yelled at by shirtless dudes in Pontiacs! Will has a music library app now on his desktop, and Carson needs a new website (02:10), Bandcamp launches Clubs (08:38), EVEN is a hip-hop-coded post-Bandcamp platform (25:35), we check out the familiar mission of another challenger called Ampwall (31:12), and some people…

1
No Fees, No Saxe, No 'AI Music Night' 1:09:03

4M ago1:09:03

1:09:03

(0:00) Will LOVES that you don't read his emails (1:52) Subvert turned down $200K and want to launch with no fees (18:15) "AI Music Night" in Texas (27:26) We need skills to make the platform internet suck less (38:28) Which tech move is Will going to make first? (48:19) JP Saxe's tour got canceled (1:05:18) Recommendations Subvert 0% Platform Fees…

1
Who Funds Your Bumbershoot? Vancouver City Council Don't Pass Our Agenda 56:19

4M ago56:19

56:19

We have closure on The Velvet Sundown! Then we get into the very creative ticket pricing, or lack thereof, at Bumbershoot in Seattle and the Guelph Jazz Festival in Ontario (11:43), and a Vancouver city council motion that put several of our favourite ideas on the table, but didn't pass (27:42). Recs: Carson - Tyler Childers album Snipe Hunter, Wil…

1
Our First Look at Subvert 59:54

5M ago59:54

59:54

After clearing the WeTransfer air, we get into subvert.fm, a collectively owned music commerce platform in development. The Subvert team calls the platform a direct alternative to Bandcamp. We discuss the concept of Subvert and who founded it (11:17), Bandcamp controversies: being sold twice and union drama (15:08), Carson vs. Will on enshittificat…

1
It's Time to Leave Spotify, Right? 50:02

5M ago50:02

50:02

The story around Daniel Ek's military tech investments has reached a fever pitch, and nothing about it is likely to improve. Is now finally the time to quit using Spotify? We dive into Deerhoof's announcement about pulling their music from Spotify (4:03), our feelings about what to do as an artist (18:30), and what to do as a user (36:57). Recs: Wi…

1
Granville Timbaland 1:06:37

5M ago1:06:37

1:06:37

We're back from going to festivals! We kick it off in urban affairs with "The Uncertain Future of Granville Island" by Uytae Lee on the YouTube channel About Here (2:23), then swing into AI as Carson shares the Timbaland music training/generating controversy (24:31) and Will gets into The Velvet Sundown, an accelerationist mix of AI-generated every…

1
Theatre Keyboards Revisited (with John Eldridge) 49:24

6M ago49:24

49:24

In 2021, John Eldridge and I had a 2-part episode series on keyboard programming in musical theatre, and I felt it was time to check in for a 2025 update. Software like MainStage and Q-Lab are becoming more and more expected at even a community theatre and high school level. A mid-end keyboard, even with a ton of sounds, just won't cut it for an av…

1
Rhythm Changes’ 5th Birthday! In-Person at Carson’s 1:13:29

6M ago1:13:29

1:13:29

We hang at Carson’s house to celebrate 5 years of Will’s music website Rhythm Changes! We talk about: (2:28) The very beginning of RC in the summer of 2020 with 50 email sign-ups, (7:11) “The worst gig of my life” story and reuniting with David Blake, (15:50) Is vancouverjazz dot-com lost forever? (20:04) The curse of always being The Podcast Guy, …

1
Wanna Pay More Tax, Yes or No? 56:04

6M ago56:04

56:04

Shout-out to our friends in The Shorties! We then get into a story called "Why it’s Time to Support Grassroots Venues with a £1 Ticket Levy" by Dan McCarthy in The Quietus (5:09), an out-of-nowhere but relevant reference to the 2015 vote on our local transit authority in Vancouver (21:41), and the video "Why EVERY Artist should be on YouTube" by Jo…

1
Is Being an Artist "Labour"? 1:07:49

6M ago1:07:49

1:07:49

After Will admits to giving Meta his money again, we get into a big hairy question: what is the meaning of ‘labour’ we use in the arts (03:14)? Anti-streaming labour activism (14:21), the labour economics of playing gigs and small local shows (21:38), a detour into Vancouver venues closing (32:46), the Cultural Land Trust (38:10), and which things …

1
This Can't Be Cake 55:38

7M ago55:38

55:38

(0:00) Will has a camera! (3:07) "'A Billion Streams and No Fans': Inside a $10 Million AI Music Fraud Case", by Kate Knibbs of WIRED (17:24) Spotify tracks on the wrong artist profiles (37:59) What happens when the AI-gen floodgates burst? (44:27) Is Will being too naive about AI videos? (52:52) Recommendations We reference Search Engine's podcast…

1
7 Studio Sketches 56:15

7M ago56:15

56:15

(0:00) Will dreams of his Brentwood show & advertiser bucks (05:47) Feature on studio owners written by Nathan Caddell in the Georgia Straight (32:12) André 3000's 7 Piano Sketches project (53:50) Recommendations Recs: Will - Giacomo Turra scandal & Adam Neely "The Ethics of Fake Guitar", Carson - album Under Tangled Silence by Djrum FIND US: Will …

1
"Monthly Listeners" Sucks 1:01:05

7M ago1:01:05

1:01:05

Spotify's favourite metric? We don't love it. We can't even guess our own monthly listener figures! (0:00) Will has the notebook out to plan his jazzfest (2:37) The monthly listener figure on Spotify (47:47) A Rhythm Changes SEO digression (50:34) "What number should we look at instead?" (55:50) Recommendations Recs: Carson - Blue Prince, Will - 20…

1
JazzMemes vs. Patrick Bartley: AI images 57:47

7M ago57:47

57:47

We discuss a controversial, but relatively tame and annoying online jazz battle: Patrick Bartley’s #BoycottAI vs. JazzMemes' Chase Maddox with the blog post "There's no 'AI' in Art" on AI-generated images. Was 'slop' invented in November 2022, does the fate of art itself hang in the balance, and what else can we do? (0:00) Reacting to our show bein…

1
Launch episode! Liz Pelly Mood Machine book 1:12:51

8M ago1:12:51

1:12:51

We’re live! To celebrate, we get into the topic that brought us together for the idea of this podcast in the first place: Liz Pelly’s book Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist. (0:00) We have a name (1:50) Liz Pelly's Mood Machine (1:09:57) Recommendations Recs: Carson - artist Queralt Lahoz, Will - Land & Lore Yo…

1
Streaming Level-Set, Living Wage for Musicians Act 1:33:46

8M ago1:33:46

1:33:46

We empty our thoughts about streaming and the labour economy of music today, in anticipation of the next episode on which we'll launch this podcast. Is it even worth it for a small indie artist to distribute on streaming? We cover the question of per-stream payouts, the UMAW and the push for a Penny Per Stream, whether or not DIY artists would make…

1
Careerism 1:20:31

8M ago1:20:31

1:20:31

How the heck did we end up on our musical and non-musical career paths? Is there a rise and fall of careerism in music? We uncover stories from our random walks through school and work so far. (0:00) Intro (3:39) Our early years (15:39) University (27:31) Covid (39:27) The big breaks that led to our current careers (59:21) Discussion of career mess…

1
Big Things Coming / Strong Music Scenes 1:29:05

8M ago1:29:05

1:29:05

We revisit each of our main previous think-pieces: Carson's “Big Things Coming” at Rhythm Changes published in 2024 and Will’s episode of The Strong Towns Podcast recorded in April 2022, alongside his writing about Strong Towns themes at Rhythm Changes. (0:00) Intro (4:36) Big Things Coming (39:26) Strong Towns, the writing, & the podcast (51:05) T…

1
The iPod Series by Digging the Greats 51:08

9M ago51:08

51:08

In the first-ever episode of the show, we discuss Brandon Shaw’s iPod series of videos from his YouTube channel called Digging The Greats. Find it starting here at part 1 of 4. FIND US: Will -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@williamchernoff/ -Rhythm Changes: https://www.rhythmchanges.ca/ -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/williamchernoff/ Carso…

1
Getting Started as a Musician with National Tours - Sachio Nang: keyboardist, bassist 49:19

10M ago49:19

49:19

CORRECTED: Original post was missing the interview, and has been updated. Sachio Nang chatted with Life in the Pit in 2021 talking about his recent high school experience and getting started with theatre music directing. Since then, he has done professional work including 3 national tours! He played keyboard 2 and was associate music director for E…

1
Music Directing as a High School Student - Sachio Nang (ENCORE) 35:14

11M ago35:14

35:14

Sachio Nang was recently a high school graduate in the Chicago area in 2021, and has since been part of 3 national tours since we originally spoke! Before we soon reconnect to talk about his very young career as a Broadway touring musician, here is an encore presentation of our interview from April 2021. Follow the podcast on Instagram or Facebook …

1
Bows and Exit Music 13:44

2y ago13:44

13:44

Life in the Pit had reached its end as a podcast a few months ago, but I resisted making it official. This episode was recorded and released simply because YOU the listener deserved a proper farewell, and I wanted to share just a little of why I'm not continuing here. As I mentioned in this episode, I'm very proud of the work accomplished in the ep…

1
78. Arranging Pop Songs for ”& Juliet” - Dominic Fallacaro 51:35

2+ y ago51:35

51:35

"& Juliet" is a musical reimagining of Romeo and Juliet with a different fate for Juliet, all told with music from the legendary song writer Max Martin, whose songs have made the charts when sung by Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Bon Jovi, The Backstreet Boys, and more. Dominic Fallacaro is the music director and also the co-orchestrator (along with B…

1
77a. Resolution? Local 802 AFM and Here Lies Love 7:43

2+ y ago7:43

7:43

This is a brief follow-up to Episode 77 with Jason Loffredo, where we talked about the conflict of the new show, Here Lies Love, wanting to open with only pre-recorded tracks in a union theatre that required 19 live musicians. An agreement was reached earlier today. This is a reading of the news followed by a few brief thoughts on what it means. Th…

1
77. Local 802 AFM and Here Lies Love -Jason Loffredo 24:45

2+ y ago24:45

24:45

After a longer than intended hiatus, Life in the Pit is back for a couple of episodes this month. This was an impromptu meant to address an ongoing conflict between the Local 802 AFM (the union for Broadway musicians) and the pending opening of Here Lies Love in a Broadway house. The production has announced that it will be employing NO live musici…

1
TRAILER for The Musician Toolkit with David Lane 3:33

3y ago3:33

3:33

LIFE IN THE PIT listeners, here is the trailer for David Lane's new podcast. If you'd like to add this to your podcasts, you can find all available apps at https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/ For Apple Podcasts, click here. For Spotify, click here. Please follow the show! Is it your goal to become a great musician? Are you already a working musici…

1
76. End of Year Update 32:51

3y ago32:51

32:51

Life in the Pit is still temporarily on hiatus, but David Lane wanted to come on to thank all of you for listening, talk a little about the state of the podcast, and what's going on for 2023. This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) wi…

1
75. Dare to Be Seen: Taming Performance Anxiety - Elisa Di Napoli 59:56

3y ago59:56

59:56

Whether you're in the pit or any kind of musician who has to perform to an expected standard, you may often or even occasionally struggle with stage fright or performance anxiety. Elisa Di Napoli specializes in ways of treating this to allow you to become a confident performer. She is the author of "Dare To Be Seen", which you can get for free for …

1
74. Managing a Theatre Company - Marci Shegogue 1:05:30

3y ago1:05:30

1:05:30

Marci Shegogue is a music director and keyboardist who has been active for decades in the Maryland/DC area. In 2018, she started the Free Theatre in Silver Spring, MD (https://www.instagram.com/thefreetheatre/) and talks about the admin side of running a theatre and how that crosses over with her life as a music director. This episode is sponsored …

1
73. End of an Act and the 3 Keys to Success 16:49

3+ y ago16:49

16:49

Life in the Pit is going to go on a hiatus, hopefully a short one. For more details, listen to this episode as David Lane talks about what's going on with the podcast and why. Also, we do a deeper dive into the 3 keys to making it big that was touched on in the previous episode. This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps priva…

1
72. Subbing on Percussion for Broadway - Dennis J. Arcano 52:49

3+ y ago52:49

52:49

Dennis J. Arcano has played for several dozen shows including the national tour of Tick, Tick,...Boom! as drummer and assistant music director. He is also frequently a sub on drums and percussion for Broadway productions such as Follies, Jagged Little Pill, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. We talk about all of that, the high quality …

1
71. NAMM experience and Community Theatre Musician Compensation 49:45

3+ y ago49:45

49:45

Episode 71 begins with David Lane reporting on his very fun first-time experience at NAMM 2022 in Anaheim. Then he brings up a topic that might be uncomfortable but one that is important and widespread: non-union musicians for community theatre are, for the most part, still being paid the same amount they were receiving at the beginning of the cent…

1
70a. BONUS: Story of a Big Break - Angela McCuiston 11:31

3+ y ago11:31

11:31

This is a follow up to Episode 70 with Angela McCuiston, where we chatted about strength and injury prevention for musicians, but we never actually talked about her pit experience. This is a funny story of her "big break", and not in the way that phrase is normally used. Follow Angela and discover her resources at http://musicstrong.com. his episod…

1
70. Strength Training and Injury Prevention for Musicians - Angela McCuiston 1:02:17

3+ y ago1:02:17

1:02:17

We might not be discussing performance on Episode 70, but don't skip this week, because a reported 90% of musicians will go through some kind of performance-related injury in their career. Angela McCuiston is determined to see that number go down because of her services as a personal trainer for musicians through her company, Music Strong. Angela i…

1
Bonus: Nurturing Your Network or How to Book Your Pit (and not) 11:42

3+ y ago11:42

11:42

If you're a musician in any field, your network is paramount! If you're a music director who works a local market and are responsible for filling chairs in the pit for your production, are you taking shortcuts and possibly saving time while sacrificing the opportunity to build relationships? This is a mild rant from host David Lane about a trend he…

1
69. Into the Woods - Jeff Saver, music director 59:25

3+ y ago59:25

59:25

Jeff Saver took over music directing sometime around 1988 during the original Broadway run of Into The Woods. He talks about his experiences with that production, his friendship with the late great Stephen Sondheim, and his understanding of collaboration. This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types…

1
68. 14 Habits to Improve your Music Career 47:16

3+ y ago47:16

47:16

A lot of talented musicians sit around waiting for work, or struggle with plateauing. Whether you're just getting started or you've been a professional freelance musician for a while and just needing to take an honest assessment and maybe course-correct, David Lane offers 14 habits compiled from himself, past guests, and former listeners that can h…

1
67. Annie and All That Jazz - Arnold Gross, music director and pianist 1:07:39

3+ y ago1:07:39

1:07:39

Arnold "Arnie" Gross began his professional career as a pianist, and that included working on shows such as Company and Cabaret. For over 5 years, he was the music director for the original Broadway production of Annie. He was also the dance music arranger as well as the on-screen pianist in the 1979 film All That Jazz, starring Roy Scheider and di…

1
66a Listener Questions - To Accept the Gig or Not, Time Management 25:17

3+ y ago25:17

25:17

This is the first listener-generated episode, where David Lane answers two questions: The first question is asking about the pros and cons of accepting a theatre gig that doesn't pay much beyond travel expenses. The second question is asking about tips for managing a day job, family, and even meal times with evening gig life. This was produced as a…

1
66. The Lightning Thief Musical - Rob Rokicki 1:02:59

3+ y ago1:02:59

1:02:59

Rob Rokicki is a composer, lyricist, and orchestrator - including the musical adaptation of The Lightning Thief which had a short Broadway run but is currently very popular in local theaters around the nation! He chats about the musical itself and gets into some song-by-song musical elements. And, of course...we talk about his pit musicians! Find o…

1
65. Financial Basics for Freelance Musicians - Samantha Absher 34:59

4y ago34:59

34:59

Many musicians are their own employers, to a small extent if not entirely, making a significant of their portion from freelance gigs. While the vast majority of them are great at their instruments, making good decisions with finances isn't a strength for everyone. Samantha Absher of WTF is a Budget (and past cameo guest on an early episode about Te…

1
Bonus Episode 64a: Recent Audition Accompanist Stories 11:52

4y ago11:52

11:52

This is a brief follow-up to Episode 64 with Jose Simbulan where we talked about being an audition accompanist. Host David Lane has been doing a lot of audition accompanying this week for two community theaters, and shares some of his observations of dos and don'ts based on recent experiences. You can watch this video at https://youtu.be/dAC33G5mSY…

1
64. Being an Accompanist for Auditions - Jose Simbulan 1:10:55

4y ago1:10:55

1:10:55

Jose Simbulan has had a long successful career as a pianist, keyboardist, and music director, including a stint on Broadway. He has also accompanied no fewer than 35,000 actor auditions, many of them the high pressure 60-90 second variety such as those for professional divisions at the annual Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) where he is prepa…

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