Giggs Podcast

Neville Shende — known on the road as NELVIS — has spent more than 40 years in the concert touring world. He started as a guitarist and guitar tech in Winnipeg, stumbled into bus driving on a 9/11-disrupted Aerosmith run, and spent the next four decades driving for some of the most iconic artists in the world: Prince, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Black Sabbath, Shakira, Ronnie James Dio, Papa Roach, Disturbed, and many more.
This one is full of stories. Prince skipping soundcheck to look at a lake, a secret code system developed for a 975-mile run, the convection oven bought at midnight from a Best Buy, the Elvis plate that became an early test, and the only person on the Musicology Tour who never signed an NDA. But it's also a masterclass in what elite service actually looks like: doing your homework before every city, reading the room, decorating the bus like a five-star hotel, and folding toilet paper with a gold dot.
Neville now serves as Fleet and Driver Operations Manager and Director of Tour Relations, and runs CDL Platinum — a 30-day training program built to bring commercial drivers into concert touring at the right level.
What you'll learn:
How Neville's CDL saved on the side of the road during an Aerosmith tour became a 40-year career
Why Prince rode the bus instead of private planes — and what that meant for the driver
The philosophy of five-star service from behind the wheel
Why Neville hires for character over experience every time
How to read the room at every level — artist, crew, venue, and road family
What the F.U.E.L. and G.R.E.A.T. frameworks actually mean in practice
The off-ramp for experienced commercial drivers who want to get into touring
Book and course: Pick up Neville's book — The Entertainer Bus Driver: An Inside Look: Concert Tour Transportation — and his onboarding courses at https://cdlplatinum.com/
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.

Neville Shende bio:
Neville Drew Shende, born May 10, 1961, in Winnipeg, is a 40+ year transportation veteran and respected figure in the concert touring industry. After moving to the United States in 1998 to pursue his music career, he built a unique path from guitarist and guitar technician to elite entertainer coach driver and industry leader.
Known as "NELVIS," Neville has worked with some of the world's most iconic artists, including Prince, Alicia Keys, Madonna, Black Sabbath, Papa Roach, Shakira, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Disturbed, and the list goes on.
His professionalism, discretion, and commitment to excellence have made him a trusted presence in the music industry.
Neville has advanced into leadership roles including Fleet and Driver Operations Manager and Director of Tour Relations for a leading Nashville-based entertainer transportation company.
He is also the founder of CDL Platinum, a 30-day commercial driver lifestyle transformation program built on his F.U.E.L. principles: Focus, Uplift, Energy, and Leverage — designed to help drivers become G.R.E.A.T.: Good, Reliable, Energetic, Accountable, and Trustworthy. Driven by passion and powered by purpose, Neville elevates and educates drivers to their highest level.
He is also the author of a published book titled The Entertainer Bus Driver: An Inside Look: Concert Tour Transportation, available on Amazon and Audible.
With a deep passion for music, service, and personal growth (Kaizen), Neville continues to inspire drivers and industry professionals to elevate their performance and live with purpose both on and off the road.
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Host: Nikki Sanz

Mandi Naylor has spent over a decade running food and beverage at some of the biggest events in the country — the NFL Draft, the Super Bowl, Bonnaroo, ACL, Lollapalooza, CMA Fest, KAABOO, and the NASCAR Chicago Street Race. She's managed catering for commissioners, artists, and crews of thousands. Now she leads events for the Robertson County Chamber of Commerce in Tennessee.
This conversation gets into what catering actually looks like at scale: feeding thousands of people three to four meals a day for a month at the NFL Draft, donating thousands of pounds of leftover food, and running the ice and water operation that nourishes every department on site. Mandi — better known as Festy Mom (#festymom) to anyone who's worked with her — also gets honest about coming off the road after a health scare, raising two kids while traveling, and why catering is one of the best places in this industry to start a career.
What you'll learn:
Why the NFL Draft is harder than the Super Bowl
How to spot a catering hire who's actually going to make it
What it really costs to feed thousands of people across a month-long build
Why decor, A/C, and music in the catering tent aren't extras — they're the job
The mental load of catering: small talk, performance, and being the only place crew can decompress
How to advance F&B numbers when half the departments forget to send theirs in
Mom guilt, the road, and knowing when it's time to come home
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.
Mandi Naylor bio:
Mandi Naylor is an experienced event professional with more than a decade of leadership in large-scale festivals, national sporting events, and community-driven productions. She currently serves as Event Manager for the Robertson County Chamber of Commerce, where she leads the planning and execution of events that support local business growth, community engagement, and regional visibility.
Mandi's background spans some of the country's most high-profile events, including the NFL Draft, Super Bowl, NASCAR Chicago Street Race, and major music festivals such as Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, CMA and Austin City Limits. Her expertise includes food and beverage management, credentialing, site operations, logistics coordination, and vendor management—often overseeing complex, multi-layered event environments with thousands of attendees.
Throughout her career, she has held key leadership roles including Catering Manager, Beverage Manager, Credential Manager, and Accreditation Inventory Manager. She is known for her ability to manage large teams, streamline operations, and deliver exceptional guest experiences under high-pressure conditions.
Mandi holds a degree in Organizational Communication from Middle Tennessee State University, where she focused on employee communication, special events, and fundraising. She combines her strong organizational skills with a passion for creating memorable, impactful events that bring people together.
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

Stay up to date:
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Youtube: https://youtube.com/@giggs-live
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/giggs-llc/
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Host: Nikki Sanz

We're bringing back one of the most practical conversations from the Giggs archive. Nikki Sanz sits down with Rachael Bronstein, founder of Life's Jam — a financial coaching service built specifically for the touring and live events community.
70% of music industry professionals are freelancers. Just under half report feeling financially anxious or stressed. Rachael has spent the last few years building the resources most of this industry never had — coaching tour managers, road crew, and music professionals through the unique financial chaos of feast-and-famine income, 1099 tax surprises, and the lack of a safety net most W2 jobs come with.
This episode gets into the actual mechanics: how to handle 1099 tax planning, when to set up an LLC (and when not to), how to build an emergency fund big enough to handle the off-season, what order to put your money in (debt, retirement, brokerage), and why mental health and financial health are more interlaced than most people realize.
What you'll learn:
Why financial coaching is different from financial advising — and why most touring pros need the coach first
How to plan for taxes when you're paid as a 1099 freelancer
The pyramid approach to where your next dollar should go
Why MusiCares now subsidizes coaching for industry pros who qualify
How to use credit cards strategically (and when to cut them up)
Why "spend less than you make" is still the simplest financial wisdom there is
How to build a plan that handles both the tour high and the off-season low
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.
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

Recorded live at Rock Lititz, Brandon "Fitz" Fitzgerald is back by popular demand after his previous episode (#19) became one of the most-DM'd conversations we've ever put out. One year later, Fitz comes back with a year on the road that includes Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, Post Malone's world tour, Playboi Carti, and a set up in New Orleans during the city's biggest snowstorm in 55 years.
Fitz gets into what it was like joining a Beyoncé rigging team full of legends he watched as a 19-year-old stagehand, the mental upheaval of jumping camps tour after tour, and why sometimes the job means people stressed out crying in the corner 20 minutes before showtime but knowing you made it happen.
He also gets technical in a way that's accessible: snow load, dynamic load, why a 101,653-pound show isn't always a 101,653-pound show, and why riggers carry legal liability most fans never think about.
What you'll learn:
What it's like to logistically pull off Cowboy Carter
Why mentor relationships are the currency of a rigging career
How dynamic load and snow load can quietly threaten a show
The real mental health cost of going from camp to camp without a break
Why riggers are "the bad guys" — and why that's a good thing
The two golden rules of rigging (and which one matters more)
How memorizing your rig changes everything about how you problem-solve under pressure
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.
Brandon "Fitz" Fitzgerald bio:
Brandon "Fitz" Fitzgerald is a tour rigger from Washington, DC, with deep roots in IATSE Local 22 and a foundation built across stagehand work, permanent installs, counterweight rigging, Vectorworks drafting, and the full breadth of touring production. Over the last year, he's worked as a production rigger for Playboi Carti, Post Malone, and Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter Tour — joining a rigging team led by industry legends he watched as a 19-year-old stagehand. He's also crossed into creative production and one-off events, including a high-profile New Orleans gig that ran headfirst into the city's biggest snowstorm in 55 years. Fitz is a vocal advocate for mentorship, safety culture, and giving credit to the local rigging crews who keep this industry standing — literally.
Find your next Gigg and join the #1 community for the live events industry: https://www.giggs.live/

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Host: Nikki Sanz

We're bringing back one of the most popular conversations from the Giggs archive. Nikki Sanz sits down with Marty Hom — a true legend of the touring world with 40+ years of experience tour managing The Rolling Stones, Beyoncé, Fleetwood Mac, Barbra Streisand, Stevie Nicks, Shakira, Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson, Van Halen, Olivia Rodrigo, Lionel Richie, and more.
Marty started with Bill Withers in 1985 as one of the only Asian Americans in the industry. Four decades later, he's the guy making $150,000 calls in a control room during a Beyoncé stadium evacuation, canceling a sold-out Shakira show over a buckled stage roof, and staffing Olivia Rodrigo's world tour with a 49% female crew. This one is full of stories, hard-won wisdom, and real talk about what it takes to build a career, and a life, on the road.
What you'll learn:
How Marty got his first tour management gig with Bill Withers — and how his early mentor Howard Kaufman shaped his whole philosophy
The Beyoncé Renaissance Tour evacuation and the $150K decision made in a control room
Why he canceled a 60,000-person Shakira show in Romania over a buckled stage
How touring has changed from pay phones and binders to today's massive productions
The real challenge of work-life balance in a 40-year touring career
Why work ethic and attitude beat experience every time when hiring crew
How the industry is (slowly) becoming more diverse — and why representation on tour matters
Marty's push for healthcare access for touring professionals
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