Ryan Goldbacher on Touring with Tom Keifer, Mixing FOH (and Monitors), and AI
Gig Gab - The Working Musician's Podcast
This week front-of-house engineer Ryan Goldbacher calls in from the road with Tom Keifer, and you’ll quickly learn that landing the next gig comes down to two things: competence, and not being miserable to be around. Word of mouth is the real currency of touring life, so Always Be Performing applies long after you step off stage: when the tour bus is smaller than your bedroom and there are twelve people on it, how you treat the room matters. You’ll pick up honest strategies for protecting your sanity on the road, from taking a walk to renting a car and disappearing into the mountains, plus why testing your limits only works if you actually know where they are.
Then you and Ryan get deep into the craft. You’ll hear why the way FOH mixes your band one night can shape how it sounds for gigs to come, why you’ve got about thirty seconds to describe your band to a house engineer at load-in, and the EQ lessons Ryan learned the hard way dialing in loud rock guitars and high-passing the bass. Stop calling a kick a bass drum, leave some air in it, and don’t be afraid to turn the knobs until it sounds good. From the pressure-cooker of mixing monitors on Mr. Big’s final US tour to a frank take on AI mixing and building the next generation of engineers, this one’s loaded for anyone serious about live sound.
00:00:00 Gig Gab 541 – Monday, July 6th, 2026
July 6th: National Fried Chicken Day
Guest co-hosts: Ryan Goldbacher
00:01:17 Ryan on tour with Tom Keifer
00:02:29 Word of mouth is the key
Competence is key…that’s number one.
Close number two: you’re not miserable to be around!
00:05:09 The tour bus is smaller than your bedroom, and there’s 12 people in it
00:07:19 Creating your own personal space
Take a walk
Rent a car and drive into the mountains
00:08:45 Week off between gigs
Fly me to Spokane, then I’ll drive to Alaska
Skagway, Alaska
00:11:11 FOH for Tom Keifer for Summer, 2026
You can’t spread yourself too thin
If it won’t fit on your plate, get it off
Having a dedicated monitor engineer makes a huge difference
00:13:50 Test your limits, but don’t be afraid to know where they are.
00:16:52 Always be communicating
00:18:46 This tour Ryan brings a FOH console
House monitor engineer
Band is all on wedges
A&H Avantis
Tom Keifer goes over the entire set with the house lighting designer
00:21:12 Tom Keifer helps Ryan with producing the show for the night
The benefits of working with an artist who tells you how to make yourself more valuable to them
00:23:32 The FOH and Band relationship
The way FOH mixes the band for one gig could affect the band for the future. Respect this!
Communicate what your band sounds like to the engineer…early on as you’re loading in
00:29:42 Developing trust with your engineer first
00:31:03 Thirty seconds to describe your band
00:32:33 Making the next generation of engineers better
00:33:59 Engineers who are musicians / Musicians who are engineers
ProTools…great software, dumb name!
00:38:18 Learning from mistakes
00:40:16 Stacking EQs on Rock Guitars by mistake…and then intentionally!
Working with loud guitars on Stiff Little Fingers
Steve Smith introduced Ryan to Stiff Little Fingers
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00:43:30 Accidentally learning to drop guitar EQ between 2k-4k
Adding a high-pass filter on the bass guitar in a rock band
00:48:21 Don’t call a kick drum a “bass” drum, otherwise you’ll mix it the wrong way.
You want some air in that kick!
00:49:07 Don’t be afraid to turn the knobs until it sounds good
00:51:27 The pressure of mixing monitors makes you a great engineer
Mixing monitors for Mr. Big’s final US tour
00:55:09 RTAs are great, but be able to do it by ear
00:58:29 Speaking of Toys…Let’s Talk AI Mixing
Mentorship and apprentice programs
01:08:43 Show Logistics
01:10:03 Gig Gab 541 Outtro
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