You’re diving into the power of persistence and adaptability in this episode of Gig Gab with guest co-host Steve Witschel. From building and moderating a 132,000-member Cover Band Central group to navigating Facebook’s monetization chaos with the nearly-1,000,000-member Facebook page, Steve shares how he transformed challenges into content gold. You’ll learn how he separates community-driven interaction in the group from content curation on the page—and how both have become invaluable tools. If you’re not treating your Facebook group like an encyclopedia, you’re missing out.
It’s not just about posts, it’s about presence. Steve walks you through using AI tools like Sora to streamline video creation and embraces the idea of turning everyday gig life into engaging fan-building content. Whether it’s filming someone lugging gear or crafting posts that stir emotions, your goal is to create superfans between shows.
And yes, Rush is back on tour with Anika Nilles on drums—Steve’s take? She’s approaching it like a seasoned cover band pro. Dave’s take? You gotta listen to hear it straight from the source!
Through it all, you’re reminded: embrace failure, evolve with tech, and above all… Always Be Performing.


00:00:00 Gig Gab 503 – Monday, October 13th, 2025

October 6th: International Day for Failure
Guest co-host: Steve Witschel


00:03:59 Growing Cover Band Central

Dave’s Business Brain podcast
Handling the group differently than the page
The group has the audience provide the comment.
The page is Steve provide the content


00:05:49 Moderating the Cover Band Central group of 132,000 members

Setting the group private and setting post approval


00:10:48 Searching the group is an encyclopedia of information
00:12:09 Publishing the Cover Band Central page

Meta invited the page to a bonus program – Steve decided it was time to publish original content
Drummer jokes!


00:14:26 Rehearsing Thriller…and Human Nature, especially
00:18:34 Locking in with other musicians

Steve, the bass player: “I am the drums”
Learning about being locked-in from watching Dio and Dokken in 1988


Monetizing the group or page?


00:23:53 SPONSOR: Mechanical Licensing Collective – Are you a songwriter, music publisher, or administrator? Every month, The MLC collects the streaming data and royalties from Spotify and Apple Music, matches the money to the creator who has earned it, and then pays out the royalties due. Visit TheMLC.com today to sign up!
00:25:58 Making money from the Facebook group

The Facebook BreakthroughBonus program
Getting dinged for Facebook’s community standards (with no information)
Facebook’s Content Monetization Program


00:29:33 Time to Make Videos
00:30:25 Getting clients to advertise on Facebook

Selling an ad, and then buying Facebook ads to serve that on his page


00:35:08 Using AI as a work Assistant

Technology advances, and you have to roll with it!
Embrace change, folks.