Giggs Podcast

Accurate Staging has spent 25 years building the structures underneath some of the biggest names in live entertainment — Travis Scott, Ye, Zara Larsson — without most of the audience ever knowing the company's name. 
Founded in 2001 by brothers-in-law Jose Cantu and Freddy Gomez, the company has grown from a single warehouse into facilities across Los Angeles, Nashville, and Atlanta, staffed by sons, grandsons, nephews, and decades-long employees who call each other family too. 
Giggs went behind the scenes at their LA and Nashville shops to see how a company this size builds everything from a viral Chevy commercial to the rolling stage that carried players onto the field for the FIFA World Cup at SoFi Stadium — and even certifies its own crew to build stages at the bottom of a lake.
What you'll learn:
What it takes to launch Travis Scott onstage from a hydraulic "toaster"
Inside the inflatable dome hiding a 32-foot scaffold structure that becomes Kanye West's rotating globe stage
The overnight scramble that built an NBA All-Star basketball court from 250 decks after a single 5 p.m. phone call
The behind-the-scenes story of a viral Chevy commercial build, including a custom track system built to roll five cars into position
Why some crew members are scuba certified, and what it actually takes to build a stage structure underwater
What it took to survive months without pay after opening four months before September 11, 2001 and again during the COVID pandemic
How three generations of one family — including Jose's grandson Adrian — are running the company's next chapter
Featured guests:
Jose Cantu — Co-Founder & COO
Jose started welding stages for another entertainment company at 18 years old in 1986, building the first Mötley Crüe drum riser early in his career. In 2001, he and his brother-in-law Freddy Gomez left steady jobs to start Accurate Staging from a single warehouse — surviving a near-total business wipeout after 9/11 and going on to build for Kanye West, Travis Scott, and a viral Chevy commercial, among hundreds of other projects.
Freddy Gomez — Co-Founder & CEO
Freddy came from construction and design, with earlier experience at Showlites, before partnering with his brother-in-law Jose to start Accurate Staging in 2001. He worked every role in the company's early years — designer, fabricator, installer — through 20- and 30-hour days, and has helped grow the company from a single flatbed truck's worth of gear to a multi-city operation.
Adrian Wexler — Project Manager & Executive Assistant
Jose's grandson, Adrian grew up in the company's warehouses and has worked his way from painting decks and washing truss as a kid to leading Accurate Staging's operational modernization — including introducing Slack-based systems for job communication and site updates.
Herman McDonough — Operations Manager & Crew Chief
Herman has spent over 20 years in the live events industry, starting out building props for Las Vegas magicians before moving into staging. As crew chief, he oversees inventory, crew staffing, and job prep across Accurate Staging's LA warehouse.
Johnny Cantu — Sales Rep
Jose's eldest son, Johnny has been around the family business most of his life and has worked professionally at Accurate Staging for over 15 years, handling client relationships across touring, corporate, and festival work.
Mike Munoz — Sales Rep
Mike, a member of the Cantu family, has spent 16 years at Accurate Staging and leads major touring accounts, including work with Kanye West and Travis Scott, out of the company's Nashville facility.
Joe Castellanos — Sales Rep
Joe has spent 16 years at Accurate Staging, starting out cold-calling from a client binder before building a career in sales and project management. He still gets in the field with the install crew on jobs.
Jake Lacher — Lead Project Manager & Technical Designer
Based in Nashville, Jake came from a background in technical theater direction before joining Accurate Staging, where he now leads custom design and CAD work for touring clients including The Red Clay Strays and Zara Larsson.
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

Stay up to date:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giggs.live
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giggs.live

Host: Nikki Sanz

On this edition of Ask Giggs, Nikki Sanz answers questions straight from the Giggs community on topics like when trying to look competent on a job site becomes the problem, how to know when to step in as a leader versus letting someone figure it out, and when to say yes or no to a gig.
What you'll learn:
Why pretending to know what's going on is the fastest way to look like "a big dummy" on a job site
The line between stepping in as a leader and letting someone learn it the hard way
Why the catering gig Nikki didn't want to take ended up leading to the gig that changed her career
Why asking someone how they take feedback matters more than the feedback itself
What actually makes a crew member irreplaceable
Why one bad moment doesn't have to define your reputation, and where the real line is
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

Stay up to date:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giggs.live
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giggs.live

Host: Nikki Sanz

Adam Wells has spent nine years inside Ed Sheeran's touring operation, working his way from PA tech to audio systems engineer, the role responsible for the entire technical backbone of one of the most complex stadium shows on earth. He was offered the job twice before he finally said yes, then stepped into it for the first time in front of a quarter of a million people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Along the way he's worked on productions for Bryan Adams, Tom Jones, Queen & Adam Lambert, Russell Brand, Tim Minchin, and the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Adam sits down with Nikki to talk about coming up through South Wales' concert sound scene, losing his first freelance tour overnight before it even started, and what it actually takes to run audio for an artist who refuses to use a backing track or a click track anywhere in the show.
What you'll learn:
Why Adam turned down the top audio job on Ed Sheeran's tour twice before finally saying yes
What happened when his first freelance tour fell through nine months out, and how he rebuilt from zero
Why Ed Sheeran's show has never used a backing track or a click track, and what that actually costs the audio team
How growing up around South Wales' concert sound scene shaped the way he works
What it felt like to run audio for a quarter of a million people over two nights in Melbourne for the first time
Why humidity, elevation, and an empty stadium change how a show actually sounds
The one piece of advice Adam gives every young engineer starting out
Sponsor:
MOC is looking for new volunteers to help share the joys of live music. Volunteer Guides are the friendly faces who host the programs as volunteer musicians perform hopeful songs to put a smile on the faces of hospital patients, families, and caregivers. To learn more about becoming a Musicians On Call volunteer, visit https://www.musiciansoncall.org.

Adam Wells Bio:
Adam Wells is an audio system engineer who has spent nine years with Ed Sheeran — working his way from PA tech all the way to the top technical role on one of the most complex and distinctive stadium productions in the world. He grew up in South Wales and got his start at a production company called Sonalyst.
Adam has a vast array of experience not only in concert touring but in large scale theatre production, broadcast, festivals, and television. In addition to Ed Sheeran, he’s worked with Bryan Adams, Tom Jones, Queen & Adam Lambert, Russell Brand, Tim Minchin, Strictly Come Dancing UK, and the Tokyo Olympic Games to name a few.
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

Stay up to date:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giggs.live
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giggs.live

Host: Nikki Sanz

Rachel Deeb got fired from a cubicle job three months after moving to Nashville, sat in her closet crying, and called her dad for help with the car she'd just bought. That was the beginning.
Ten years later, she's the Media Director for The Lumineers — managing a global team of photographers and videographers across a two-year stadium tour cycle — Nashville Scene's Best Photographer three years in a row, and the founder of ELEKTRIK Haus Creative, a matchmaking agency connecting the music industry with visual creatives worldwide. 
Along the way she's toured with Maren Morris and Carly Pearce, painted Carrie Underwood's Vegas residency jacket on a beer pong table in three days, and built a custom art line — Elektrik Denim — that started with one birthday jacket and turned into guitars, railings, and boots for Megan Maroney and Kelsea Ballerini.
This episode covers the whole arc: the abandoned warehouse she broke into at night to paint her first mural, the Warner Music call she said yes to before she knew what BTS meant, the email she drafted to quit The Lumineers from Germany and decided not to send, and the agency she built because she kept meeting people who needed what she'd spent ten years learning the hard way.
Also in this episode: why she won't take coffee meetings, what it actually looks like to be a touring photographer at a stadium show, and why "say yes to everything, lower your ego, and don't expect anything from anybody" is the whole career advice.
What you'll learn:
What it actually takes to go from freelance photographer to media director within the same band
Why the touring photographer has one of the loneliest roles in a camp — and how to navigate it
What Rachel looks for when she's matching creatives to tours through ELEKTRIK Haus
Why she thinks coffee meetings are the wrong way to get into someone's world — and what works instead
How to ask for more within a camp once you've built trust
What burnout looks like for a touring creative — and how to know when you actually need to stop
Sponsor:
MOC is looking for new volunteers to help share the joys of live music. Volunteer Guides are the friendly faces who host the programs as volunteer musicians perform hopeful songs to put a smile on the faces of hospital patients, families, and caregivers. To learn more about becoming a Musicians On Call volunteer, visit https://www.musiciansoncall.org.
Rachel Deeb bio:
Rachel Deeb (RKDEEB) is a Southern California-born, Nashville-based photographer, creative director, muralist, and founder of ELEKTRIK Haus Creative. She holds a BA in Advertising and Graphic Design from the University of Alabama and has spent ten years building a full-time freelance career across lifestyle, music, fashion, fitness, and concert photography. Her work has been featured in Billboard, Rolling Stone, People, E!, Pollstar, Music Row, Nashville Scene, and more.
She has been voted Nashville Scene's Best Photographer three consecutive years (2018, 2019, 2020), was named to Nashville's 30 Under 30 in 2022, and currently serves as Media Director for The Lumineers, where she manages a global team of photographers and videographers across a two-year stadium tour cycle. Her past touring credits include Maren Morris, Carly Pearce, and a roster of country and independent artists. In addition to her touring work, Rachel has created murals and original artwork in locations throughout Nashville, and has painted custom pieces for artists including Carrie Underwood, Megan Maroney, and Ashley Cooke.
ELEKTRIK Haus Creative, her creative matchmaking agency, connects the music industry with photographers, videographers, designers, and visual artists worldwide — bridging the gap between industry professionals and the creatives who bring their visions to life.
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

Stay up to date:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giggs.live
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giggs.live

Host: Nikki Sanz

Two artist managers from Neon Coast — one who came up through the road with Kane Brown, one who came up through finance, record labels, and social media — and both will tell you the same thing: you just have to figure it out.
Nikki Boon has been with Kane Brown since before his first show — a 750-cap club in Darlington, South Carolina that sold out in 30 minutes, then again in 8 minutes the following night. She's been with him from van and RV to his own bar on Broadway. She also manages alt-pop band Nightly, who she recently took to Tokyo, Osaka, and Manila on a two-week run that sold out in two days — proving to everyone who said the numbers didn't add up that the fans were real.
Tyler Corrado came from accounting, then record label marketing — working on number one hits for Lainey Wilson, Jason Aldean, and Jelly Roll at BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville — before stepping into artist management. He manages Restless Road, stepped in as tour manager for Ella Langley right as "You Look Like You Love Me" was breaking, and has spent the last year building the UK market for one of his artists from pub shows to festival main stages to supporting Jon Pardi.
What you'll learn:
Why touring experience is the single biggest advantage in artist management
The Kane Brown origin story: Darlington, SC to two-times diamond certified artist
How to manage a major label artist and an independent one simultaneously — without either feeling it
The real difference between managing on a major and managing indie
How to chase a market that's raising its hand — Asia, the UK, wherever the fans are
Why a lull in your artist's career is not a red flag
What "you just have to figure it out" actually looks like in practice
Sponsor:
MOC is looking for new volunteers to help share the joys of live music. Volunteer Guides are the friendly faces who host the programs as volunteer musicians perform hopeful songs to put a smile on the faces of hospital patients, families, and caregivers. To learn more about becoming a Musicians On Call volunteer, visit https://www.musiciansoncall.org.
Nikki Boon Bio:
Nikki Boon is an artist manager at Neon Coast in Nashville. She's been part of Kane Brown's team since 2015, starting as his tour manager and helping grow him into a two-times diamond certified artist with 17 billion streams, 12 Billboard number ones, and the first Black solo artist to headline Fenway Park. She also manages indie pop band Nightly — signing them in 2021 and helping grow their TikTok following by 6,000 percent — and has taken them to Lollapalooza, Super Bowl Music Fest, and sold-out shows across Asia. She's also helped secure sync placements for the band on the Twisters soundtrack and Fast X.
Tyler Corrado Bio:
Tyler Corrado is an artist manager at Neon Coast in Nashville, where he manages Restless Road — who recently sold out their Europe and UK headline tour. Before Neon Coast, he led social media and fan engagement at BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville on number one hits for Lainey Wilson, Jason Aldean, and Jelly Roll, and stepped in as tour manager for Ella Langley right as "You Look Like You Love Me" was breaking. He also previously managed Niko Moon, whose single "GOOD TIME" hit number one on both Billboard Country charts.
Learn more at: https://neon-coast.com/ 
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

Stay up to date:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giggs.live
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@giggs.live

Host: Nikki Sanz