Best Michael Molenda Podcasts (2024)

1
Booklive App - A Lifelong Calling to Serve & Make a Living in Music 24:33

5y ago24:33

24:33

Very few of us know exactly what we want to do when we grow up, regardless of our current age (under 20 and over 80, I’m talking to you too!). In fact, for most of the human race and society, the expectation to go from childhood, to grade school, to high school, to college, to career, to family, and end in retirement has become a bit of a scary “co…

1
Dave Hillis - From Aspiring Musician to Multi-Platinum Recording Engineer 34:51

5y ago34:51

34:51

The music industry is an interesting place to be. A path you might start down might not be the path you end up on. What you think you want to do may not be the thing the industry picks for you. For creative musician types, there isn’t necessarily a typical “corporate ladder” structure that provides a single path like other industries. In fact, the …

1
Michael Molenda - Guitar Player Magazine, Music Journalism & Beyond 32:41

5y ago32:41

32:41

No one can predict the future. No one can ever know what’s coming next (except me, just kidding). A lot of times we have to roll with what life throws at us, regardless of how predictable we want our life to be. As humans we are creatures of habit, loving every minute of having a routine, going to work, coming home, advancing our career, staying or…

1
Bluesman Vintage Guitars - A Family Business Powered by Passion and Fate 46:09

5y ago46:09

46:09

Most people who go into business have an idea they want to try and make a valiant effort and are aware that things are either moving or not moving. Most people need to put in the work to watch the seed they plant grow. Every once in awhile, though, it seems God and fate are in the driver’s seat and you just come along for the ride. That’s what happ…

1
Capital Music Gear - An Online Music Gear Store With Heart 28:09

5y ago28:09

28:09

Let’s face it: online retail store options are pretty cut and dry. Predictable discounts and sales. The same standard website design and layout. The same old shopping cart experience (unless you’re Amazon). And most online music gear stores aren’t much different. But there’s one online store that hopes to change all that. Less than a year old, Capi…

1
Death By Audio - Effect Pedals That Cause Total Sonic Annihilation 30:10

5y ago30:10

30:10

DISCLAIMER: No cats were harmed in the making of this episode. But one was seen in the background of our video chat. Fuzz War. Cats. Absolute Destruction. Cats. Apocalypse. Cats. Interstellar Overdriver. Cats. Evil Filter. Cats. Robot. Cats. Supersonic Fuzz Gun. You get the picture (of cats in your head). This conversation was anything but your sta…

1
Baldman Percussion - Pushing the Drumming Boundaries With “Junk" 23:53

5y ago23:53

23:53

First of all, 3 drummers on a podcast don’t make a right. But they do make the occasional awful pun and have lots of fun! Hell they even rhyme sometimes! And to top it all off, 2 of them are bald and one resembles Andy Samberg! Lonely Island anyone? DON’T JUDGE A BOOK (OR INSTRUMENT) BY ITS COVER Sometimes a product comes along that may not give yo…

1
Chance Productions - Chasing Your Dream in a Tale of Two Cities 33:20

5y ago33:20

33:20

DISCLAIMER: YES, this is our one-year anniversary episode! NO, this is not our last episode. NO, this guest does not kill podcasts! Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. Everyone personal story and every business story comes from humble beginnings of some kind. This story, like many others, could be chalked up to a supportive family, a m…

1
Drumnetics - Beating New Life Into The Bass Drum Pedal 36:06

5y ago36:06

36:06

As a drummer for 25 years, I feel it’s fairly safe to say this: for years, the concept of the bass drum pedal has remained fairly unchanged. Aside from a few variations on the chain drive, such as the bike chain, fabric strap, or other materials used for the strap, and perhaps some enhancements to the spring mechanism, the overall design and operat…

1
CenterStaging - Providing Backline Gear For the Greatest Shows on Earth 30:14

5y ago30:14

30:14

For most of us, we will never be directly involved with the production of a major television production. Sad but true. But that doesn’t mean we can’t hear the stories from someone who is and use our imagination to transport ourselves to those stages, right? While most every day people probably haven’t heard of CenterStaging, there’s a pretty good c…

1
Carolina Drumworks - Finding a Deeper Appreciation for Drums Through Building 28:31

5+ y ago28:31

28:31

For most people who come into contact with drums, they have a very basic understanding of the relationship between a drummer and his tools. And the case is the same for some drummers too, who only enjoy the basic level of understanding when playing and performing live. But for some, where the art of drum building and performance is serious business…

1
INDeDrum Lab - Crafting a Better Drum by Building on a Legend 20:22

5+ y ago20:22

20:22

How do you make the drummer from Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire and Jewel drop his jaw? All it takes is three simple steps: 1.) Work for a legendary drum brand for 5 years 2.) Observe and see where their process could stand to make improvements 3.) Start your own drum brand to make those changes happen Easy right? 😃 Humble Beginnings Independent Drum…

1
DrumART.com - Custom Bass Drum Heads to Make Your Drummer (More) Important* 32:12

5+ y ago32:12

32:12

Have you ever been to a concert and noticed the sexy, awesome band logo or custom artwork that the drummer has on his front bass drum head? Have you ever wondered how they do that or where they get it from? You haven’t? Well, tough noodles. I’m still going to tell you. Be prepared to be amazed! DrumART has been around since the early days of the In…

1
Lords of the Trident - The Most Metal Backline That’s 700 Years in the Making 32:48

5+ y ago32:48

32:48

Imagine if you were alive 700 years ago and, while hosting a concert that was giving out free rats for every ticket sold, you accidentally caused the Bubonic Plague? What would YOU do? If you were Lords of the Trident, the most immortal, most metal band on Earth, you would go into hiding for the next 700 years and let the whole “Bubonic Plague thin…

1
Sugar Percussion - Premium Drums Inspired by Family and Furniture Making 27:57

5+ y ago27:57

27:57

When you’re a drummer that has made custom furniture for 20 years and your drums age to the point of being unplayable, what options do you have? Well, you could wait to scrap together enough money to buy a new one, or decide to put those woodworking skills to even more use, learn how to build drum shells and build your own kit. I’m sure you can gue…

1
Mahalo Amps - Quality Guitar Amps Born From a Single Quality Doorstop 19:53

5+ y ago19:53

19:53

Most companies, new and old, can trace their origins back to a similar story of when their founder had an idea and how it evolved over the years to become the company we know and admire. This story starts with a doorstop (for real). Mahalo founder Richie Mays used to tinker a lot with building his own amps after finding that the amps he was using d…

1
Dream Cymbals & Gongs - High Quality Cymbals Born From a Grass Roots Movement 30:41

5+ y ago30:41

30:41

A lot of businesses usually follow a pattern of starting out family-based and traditionally small with a focus on the customer. But as growth happens, it can be really easy to lose sight of that in order to accommodate the ever-changing landscape of a growing business. Leadership changes, employee turnover, hiring people who can fill support jobs b…

1
Istanbul Mehmet Cymbals - 100% Hand-Crafted Cymbals from Turkey 32:44

5+ y ago32:44

32:44

In an industry that has evolved from making its products by hand to making them via machine in order to ensure consistency, it can be hard to be the one that resists and insists that the original way is still the best way. Technology is changing all the time, and experts think that keeping up with it is the only way to stay relevant. But is that re…

1
Live Undiscovered Music (LÜM) - Music Streaming for the Other 90% of Music 27:27

6y ago27:27

27:27

It seems like everywhere you look these days there’s another music streaming service or music discovery tool that caters only to popular mainstream music, including Spotify and Pandora. But did you realize that by focusing on only this music demographic those services only really represent and promote the top 10% (or less) of music on the planet? W…

1
Broadjam - Giving Independent Musicians Opportunities for Placement in Radio, Film and TV 30:24

6y ago30:24

30:24

It can be hard for lesser-known bands and musicians to get a foothold in several areas of the music industry without having the right connections or, as old school as it sounds, a record label. This is true when it comes to trying to get licensing agreements to place their music in radio, film, TV shows, advertising campaigns, and video games. But …

1
DynaMount - Bringing Engineering Back to Sound Engineering 28:32

6y ago28:32

28:32

In the good ol’ days, songs and albums were recorded without technology like compression. At that time, it was imperative to find the sweet spot manually. Microphone positioning was everything. These days, we tend to rely quite a bit more on technology and post production methods to achieve the desired sounds. But what if there was a way to use new…

1
Drumeo - Making Music Education Online as Easy as Netflix 30:43

6y ago30:43

30:43

Taking online lessons for anything requires a lot of self-discipline, especially since your online instructor can’t necessarily hold you accountable like an in-person instructor can. But what if the platform allowed you to interact with your celebrity-level teachers and your fellow students in order to help keep you on track and provide encourageme…

1
Flattley Guitar Pedals - Creating Highly Personalized, Handmade Custom Guitar Pedals in the UK 24:37

6y ago24:37

24:37

What do aviation avionics and guitar pedals have in common? Paul Flattley, of course! Achieving perfection in sound, quality, and personalization can be quite the daunting task when it comes to making custom guitar pedals, but when perfection is basically a requirement when you’re working in the aviation avionics industry, the idea becomes second n…

1
Beier Drums - Custom Snare Drums from the Land of Beer and Cheese 29:26

6y ago29:26

29:26

Getting a compliment on the way you look can always make your day. But getting a compliment on the way your drum sounds when that person has never even seen the actual product but knows it right away in a crowded, noisy venue? That might be the best kind of compliment of all. Making a snare drum that over delivers on sound quality is far from easy,…

1
SJC Drums - Custom Drums as Unique as the Drummers that Play Them 29:38

6y ago29:38

29:38

Every business on the planet has a story that starts with humble beginnings. Some companies are created with well-intentioned goals, while some are formed by accident out of a passion or hobby. Some start in fancy business incubators while some start in garages or grandma’s basement. This is definitely one of those “hobbies in grandma’s basement” k…

1
Audiofusion - Using Wi-Fi to Turn Your Mobile Device into a Wireless Monitoring System 25:36

6y ago25:36

25:36

Musicians love their wireless in-ear monitoring systems. It gives them the freedom to move around the stage without worrying about tripping over extra cables or getting tangled while playing. But did you ever stop to think why you need to have a separate wireless monitor system when you already have an extremely powerful computer in your other pock…

1
Wampler Pedals - Achieving World Class Guitar Tones Through Experimentation 34:07

6y ago34:07

34:07

If you’re a guitar player, you already know there is an endless array of available guitar pedals on the market today that seems to provide any sound or tone you are looking for. But what if there isn’t? What if you still can’t find that perfect tone that you resonate with? Do you settle for the closest thing? Or do you take matters into your own ha…

1
Blipblox - Encouraging the Future of Music Through Creativity and Audio Exploration 21:34

6y ago21:34

21:34

These days it seems like there is an early learning process or product for everything, and it keeps targeting children at a younger and younger age. Except for the keyboard and “touch and learn” type educational toys for kids, there never seemed to be anything that truly developed a child’s imagination or nurtured their love of music and audio crea…

1
SMASHmouse - Giving You the Power to Kick It to Click It! 32:19

6y ago32:19

32:19

As technology and music continue to mesh and evolve, musicians sometimes find themselves in new and awkwardly frustrating situations. For example, when attempting to learn to play the guitar, while watching video lessons, and trying to play or record on the computer, it can feel like we’re expected to grow another limb just to be able to manage all…

1
Frettable - Combining Artificial Intelligence with Songwriting 25:53

6y ago25:53

25:53

Writing a song entirely by ear on your guitar and having a robot turn it into sheet music for you: sounds a bit like science fiction right? Now with Frettable, the future is here! Frettable is a new app for your smart phone or tablet that allows you to record your music and get it automatically analyzed and transformed into sheet music. Behind the …

1
The Drum Wallet - Expanding Your Drum Sounds with the Flick of a Stick 32:43

6y ago32:43

32:43

Every drummer in the world has their own unique way of setting up their drums, tuning their heads, and voicing their opinions on what sounds best and why. From those who love to over-muffle their kits to the purists who prefer getting a drum to sound the best it can without adding rings, gels or other unnecessary sound-altering products, the variat…

1
Signal Flow - Making Stage Plotting & Setup More Efficient 31:14

6y ago31:14

31:14

Are you an audio engineer who’s part of a team that’s responsible for setting up stages night after night, weekend after weekend? Do you feel like everyone on the team is always repeating themselves and having trouble trying to stay on the same page with how the stage is laid out and what device is plugged into which channel? Where does the audio m…

1
Fano Guitars - Crafting the Ultimate Boutique Guitar at the Highest Standards 33:15

6y ago33:15

33:15

After working for 30 years at one of the biggest names in guitars, it can be hard to accept and adapt to a change like retirement. So what's the alternative to that? Did you say start a new business, acquire an existing line of popular guitars, and keep the passion going? That’s exactly what we were going to say! Jack Schwarz joins us this week to …

1
DrumLite - Giving the Drummer Some With LED Lighting 27:03

6y ago27:03

27:03

Drum solos and stick twirling are so last year! Drummers need to continuously find new ways to stand out, demonstrate their worth, and get their share of the love from fans. So what’s a poor drummer to do? Light ‘em up! (without starting on fire!) Jeff Sevaldson, co-founder of DrumLite, joins us in this episode to tell the story of how DrumLite sta…

1
Welch Tuning Systems - Simplifying the Way We Tune Our Drums 34:00

6y ago34:00

34:00

What do you get when a drummer who’s had enough of individually tuning up to 20 points on a drum comes to his senses and realizes there’s got to be an easier way? You get Welch Tuning Systems! Welch Tuning Systems CEO Samuel Welch joins us in this episode to share his story of how his frustration when tuning his drums came to an end with the creati…

1
ToneAlly - Behind NAMM's 2018 Best Teaching Tool 31:21

6y ago31:21

31:21

What’s it like to come up with an idea for a drum teaching tool just a few short years ago and then be named the Best Teaching Tool in 2018 at the NAMM Show? Tony McNally, popular drummer and inventor, joins us from his studio in the UK to share his story of how he came up with the idea for the ToneAlly, the success he’s had with it so far, the fee…

1
Mukikim - Music and Childlike Wonder for Adults and Kids 27:38

6y ago27:38

27:38

Are you a parent looking to get your kids started on piano or drums but either can’t afford to purchase yet or don’t want to purchase one yet due to size and volume? Or are you a music industry veteran looking for a fast, convenient and affordable piano or drum option to take on the road with you? Mukikim, a toy brand based out of Milwaukee, Wiscon…

1
SN3 Innovations - Achieving True Sound Activation Mode in Entertainment Lighting 27:20

6y ago27:20

27:20

Episode 1 Are you a DJ or lighting technician who is sick of not having "true sound activation mode" on your fixtures? Greg Notaro, co-founder of SN3 Innovations Lighting Entertainment, joins Matt Jacoby of Octave Media in our first-ever podcast episode of Behind the Backline. After meeting Greg at the 2018 Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California t…

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Michael Molenda Podcasts

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