Ryan Goldbacher on Touring with Tom Keifer, Mixing FOH (and Monitors), and AI

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
• 00:41:21 SPONSOR: OneSkin. Born from over a decade of longevity research, OneSkin’s OS-01 Peptide is proven to target the visible signs of aging, helping you unlock your healthiest skin now and as you age. Get 15% off OneSkin with the code GigGab athttps://oneskin.co/GigGab  #oneskinpod #ad
• 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
  • Follow Ryan Goldbacher
    • @ryanthegoldbacher on IG
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