Monitoring the Artists' Monitors: IEM Wisdom from Kevin Glendinning

In this episode of Gig Gab, you get the full story of how Kevin “KG” Glendinning cold-emailed his way from a Chicago suburb into a 25-year career mixing monitors for Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Lorde, and more. You hear how a kid sweeping floors at dB Sound ended up on a Metallica tour bus with one piece of advice ringing in his ears: ask questions, stay late, and get a second job because you’re gonna need it. Kevin walks you through migrating artists to in-ear monitors, managing talkback culture for everyone from Eddie Vedder wanting baseball scores to Lorde’s tight production team, and what it takes to help reluctant guitar players finally ditch the wedges. If you’ve ever wondered what separates a good monitor engineer from a great one, this conversation lays it out. You also dive deep into the art and science of making IEMs sound right in every room, every night. Kevin shares his process of minimal reduction: fixing a bad mix by figuring out what to take away, not what to add, and explains why tuning for in-ears is just as critical as tuning a PA. You learn why he flies 4,700 miles for a single gig, why the best mixes sometimes come from a throw-and-go, and how setting up dummy channels lets you experiment without wrecking the artist’s mix. He and Dave talk hearing health, audiograms, the DPA capsule as the only open mic on the Lorde stage, and why knowing your own ears matters more than knowing your gear. Whether you’re mixing monitors at an arena or running sound at a club gig, this episode is packed with wisdom you can use tonight. Always Be Performing, folks! 00:00:00 Gig Gab 528 – Monday, April 6th, 2026 April 6th: National Siamese Cat DayGuest co-host: Kevin Glendinning 00:02:25 Hotmailing his way into a career Watched the credits of a Metallica documentary, realized DB Sound was near the house, emailed Harry… “Hi, I’m Kevin, and I’m interested in audio…” and the rest is history! 00:07:58 Got put on the road as an audio team assistant Trial by fireAdvice from the team: Here’s what to doHere’s what not to doAsk questions, stay late, and get a second job because you’re gonna need it 00:11:22 Learning the personal touch parts of being on tour00:12:52 Being the stage left PA tech, Kevin gravitated towards monitors00:13:50 Talkback Culture Eddie Vedder wanted baseball scores in his talkbackSOMBR for Coachella 2026 (Chris Rabold at FOH) 00:16:18 Managing multiple talkback channels00:18:08 LORDE on Talkback Phil Harvey on FOHSarah Parker is LD 00:19:00 Talkback stories Jaret Reddick’s use of talkback mics in Bowling For Soup 00:20:51 Migrating to in-ears IEMs can preserve your hearing, if done rightFuture Sonics uses dynamic drivers 00:25:09 Helping guitar players to IEMs Mike Dias on Gig GabSensaphonics 3MAX IEMs on LORDE tour 00:32:08 SPONSOR: Gusto. Get three months free when you run your first payroll when you start at https://gusto.com/giggab00:33:44 Back to helping guitar players with IEMs Problem: when a vocal mic is downstage from a guitar ampIan Beveridge with Foo FightersPaul Simon prefers wedgesAlways be learningFirst: Learn the human being you’re going to be mixing for 00:41:27 The differences between mixing monitors for Miley Cyrus and Ella LORDE00:42:48 Monitoring the Artists Monitors TX1 Wireless TransmittersREMI with Brad Madix on Gig Gab 00:47:50 Different rooms sound different on IEMs AFAS Live (formerly Heineken Music Hall) in Amsterdam sounds greatDave says Alamodome in San Antonio is one of the worst-soundingTo fix IEMs in a bad-sounding room: what can we reduce to make it sound better?Last night it was a bongo mic that was making the drumset sound too washy in the IEM mix“The process of minimal reduction”Ella’s DPA capsule is the only open mic on-stage on the LORDE tourTune for the IEMs, too: listen to something you know, and EQ itTuning the podcast for JH Audio Laylas 01:04:06 Learn your own ears (not your IEMs, your human ears) first Take a hearing test with your phone if you canKevin and Alicia Keys would go and get their hearing tested together, getting audiograms to compare 01:07:09 IEMs are the most personal audio interaction You have to be psychic! 01:09:46 Flying 4,700 miles to save the day Sometimes the throw-and-go results in the best mix because you’re not overthinking itTip from Kevin: set up dummy channels to experiment without messing with the actual mix for the IEMs 01:15:57 Gig Gab 528 Outtro Follow Kevin Glendinning IG: @kev_chitownLinkedIn: Kevin ‘KG’ Glendinning Contact Gig Gab! @GigGabPodcast on [e-mail] Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List The post Monitoring the Artists’ Monitors: IEM Wisdom from Kevin Glendinning – Gig Gab 528 appeared first on Gig Gab.