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MAKE // BREAK, a Survival Guide for Creatives, Hosted by Lance Marwood

V13 Media Group

MAKE // BREAK is a creative industry podcast for artists who want the truth, not the pitch. Hosted by Lance Marwood and presented by Lowkey Hellish, his imprint at V13 Press.

Each episode is a long-form conversation with musicians, songwriters, producers, and industry veterans about what actually works in a post-development industry (touring, streaming, content, community) and what it costs (burnout, ego, identity, obscurity).

Make art. Break algorithms.

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#31
Monday · 15 min
Labels Want Sure Things. Nobody Is Coming to Save You.
Episode 031 – Nobody Is Coming to Save You | MAKE // BREAK Labels sign the finished package. Nobody's buying potential anymore. Labels want sure things. They're a profit-making exercise, the majors, and what they do is capitalize off of something that already exists. A major wants to cash in. They don't want to invest in. You have artists that do it all and there's no label coming to greet them. The artist who's waiting around thinks that somebody's gonna come and save them. If your answer to the question of is somebody coming to save me is yes, then I have really terrible news for you. They're not. No one is coming to save you. Stop waiting. Start creating. In this episode: • Labels want sure things: a major wants to cash in, they don't want to invest in • The TikTok-era artists who blew up, went mega viral, and then just wouldn't stick • Artists that do it all and there's no label coming to greet them • If life needs to be some sort of cinematic scene, you're gonna get disappointed every single time • Every endeavour has a shit sandwich, and for musicians there's more stuff that sucks than most industries • The easiest, fastest way to get towards being present is to be grateful — → Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1831627966 → Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUBRjKMVTI9g9dYHn-G1Eib-LfKLZso6_ → Follow: https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish → V13 Media: https://v13.net → V13 Store: https://v13.store → The Cherale (horror novella): https://a.co/d/1SZhhwS → Newsletters: https://v13.net/newsletter/ Contains explicit language. Subscribe and leave a review if this one helped you.
#30
November 3 · 1 hr 20 min
Ezra Vancil: Stop Chasing Streams and Let the Art Change You
Ezra Vancil is a Texas Americana songwriter who signed his first record deal at nineteen and spent the next twenty years learning what it cost. Sober since 40, he now runs Near Home Records and is finishing Morning & Midnight: a double album, a book of poetry and a body of artwork made during the sessions. On MAKE // BREAK, Ezra and Lance Marwood get into the label manipulation that followed him from his teens into his forties, the house concerts and community that kept him afloat, making records with his daughter, and why music became a by-product of his life rather than the goal. In this episode: • Getting signed at 19 and the label manipulation that followed him into his forties • Paying the bills through crowdfunding, busking, house concerts and community • Ezra's two-part test for knowing when a record is finished • Music as a by-product of life, and why that tripled his output • Making records with his daughter Cozi, and the two rules that made it work Guest links: → https://ezravancil.com → https://youtube.com/@ezravancil — → Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1831627966 → Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUBRjKMVTI9g9dYHn-G1Eib-LfKLZso6_ → Follow: https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish → V13 Media: https://v13.net → V13 Store: https://v13.store → The Cherale (horror novella): https://a.co/d/1SZhhwS → Newsletters: https://v13.net/newsletter/ Follow MAKE // BREAK wherever you listen, and leave a review if Ezra's "moves me, nothing annoys me" test helped you.
#29
October 20 · 1 hr 42 min
Joel Gale Turned Down Amazon and Built a Career on Word of Mouth
Joel Gale is a Toronto commercial photographer and the owner of Joel Gale Imaging, shooting corporate headshots, events, product work and video since 2016, alongside the musician portraits, album covers and live shows he started with. In this episode of MAKE // BREAK with host Lance Marwood, Joel traces the distance between the studio career his photography program promised and the $200-a-day product shoots he actually got, the pandemic pivot to headshots that became his bread and butter, the Amazon job he turned down, and a decade of work built entirely on word of mouth. A frank look at surviving as an independent freelancer when budgets keep dropping and AI keeps coming. In this episode: • The studio dream vs nine-hour days shooting products on white for $200 • Losing a part-time contract and being thrown into full-time freelance with no plan • The pandemic pivot to corporate headshots, and how a 200-person shoot day runs • Turning down Amazon twice, and the clients he keeps out of his portfolio • Ten years of work with zero self-promotion, a near-bankruptcy in 2024 and a best year in 2025 • Why both of them think community is where creative work goes next Guest links: → https://www.joelgaleimaging.com → https://www.instagram.com/joelgale.imaging/ — → Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1831627966 → Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUBRjKMVTI9g9dYHn-G1Eib-LfKLZso6_ → Follow: https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish → V13 Media: https://v13.net → V13 Store: https://v13.store → The Cherale (horror novella): https://a.co/d/1SZhhwS → Newsletters: https://v13.net/newsletter/ Contains explicit language. Subscribe and leave a review if this one helped you.
#28
September 22 · 55 min
John Penman on Anxiety, Imposter Syndrome and Doing It Anyway
John Penman, drummer for Detroit hard rock band Armada Lodge, took a pay cut on purpose — leaving restaurant management to stock shelves so every spare thought could go to the band. On MAKE // BREAK, he tells Lance Marwood how the trade works: affirmations on the bathroom mirror, a rolling whiteboard planning Armada Lodge six months out, section-testing songs with ads until the data humbles you, and RuneScape as nervous-system maintenance. It's the most practical systems conversation the show has aired — and it only exists because Penman sent a cold email and refused to treat silence as a no. In this episode: The deliberate pay cut: stocking shelves to buy back brain space for the band Affirmations, bedtimes and a rolling six-month whiteboard Section-testing songs with ads — and getting humbled by the data Anxiety, imposter syndrome and not letting the horse into the city A self-booked tour and the cold email that made this episode exist Guest links: → https://open.spotify.com/artist/3TTblhnGaob5EH1umVfK27 → https://www.instagram.com/jnpnmn/ — → Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1831627966 → Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUBRjKMVTI9g9dYHn-G1Eib-LfKLZso6_ → Follow: https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish → V13 Media: https://v13.net → V13 Store: https://v13.store → The Cherale (horror novella): https://a.co/d/1SZhhwS → V13 newsletters: https://v13.net/newsletter/ Subscribe — and then send the cold email you've been sitting on. Silence isn't a no.
#27
September 15 · 55 min
Streaming Can Wait: Jonny Hetherington on How Art of Dying Is Betting On Their Fans
Jonny Hetherington is keeping Art of Dying's new album off streaming entirely — vinyl, CD, and digital download only. Two decades, eight albums, a Warner deal through Disturbed, and 200 million streams later, the frontman tells Lance Marwood on MAKE // BREAK exactly why: the maths that never recoups, the 1,000-stream rule that pays new artists nothing, the AI clog, and the analog revival pulling fans back to owning music. It's the clearest case this show has captured for going direct-to-fan — plus the $12,000 Suburban story every band signing a major deal should hear first. In this episode: Two decades in: busking, Disturbed, Warner, and 200 million streams Keeping the new album off streaming — vinyl, CD, digital download only The 1,000-stream rule and the maths that never recoups AI artwork fatigue and spotting fake bands in seconds Bandcamp, the analog revival, and direct-to-fan done right Guest links: → https://artofdyingmusic.com → https://artofdying.bandcamp.com/ — → Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1831627966 → Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUBRjKMVTI9g9dYHn-G1Eib-LfKLZso6_ → Follow: https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish → V13 Media: https://v13.net → V13 Store: https://v13.store → The Cherale (horror novella): https://a.co/d/1SZhhwS → V13 newsletters: https://v13.net/newsletter/ Subscribe — and then go buy an album straight from a band you love. That's the whole model.
#26
September 1 · 34 min
Zandrew Sonnemaker and Jacob Riddle: Silent Film, Grindcore and Chaos
Zandrew Sonnemaker and Jacob Riddle made a silent film in 48 hours — La Salope, The Funk's entry in the Montana 48 Hour Film Project. Filmmaker Zandrew directed, co-wrote, edited, and ran every piece of equipment; Detective Frog frontman Jacob co-wrote, took the lead role, and scored it with his grindcore side project Piss Fist (featuring a rubber chicken on lead vocals). They join Lance Marwood on MAKE // BREAK to talk drawing the one genre that made their $400 of new audio gear useless, casting actors the morning of the shoot, a finish fifteen seconds before deadline, and why you already have permission to make the thing. In this episode: Drawing silent film and the $400 of audio gear it made useless Six locations, day-of casting and a fifteen-second finish Piss Fist, grindcore and a rubber chicken on vocals Detective Frog's hiatus and Great Falls' quiet culture You already have permission — just do something Guest links: → https://www.detectivefrog.com → https://www.instagram.com/p0pezandy — → Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1831627966 → Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUBRjKMVTI9g9dYHn-G1Eib-LfKLZso6_ → Follow: https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish → V13 Media: https://v13.net → V13 Store: https://v13.store → The Cherale (horror novella): https://a.co/d/1SZhhwS → V13 newsletters: https://v13.net/newsletter/ Subscribe, and then go make your own seven minutes of chaos — you already have permission.
#25
August 25 · 59 min
How Little Ghosts Books Became a Horror Community Hub
Chris Krawczyk founded Little Ghosts Books (Canada's first horror bookstore) and grew it into a press, a festival, and a travelling book fair. On MAKE // BREAK, Lance Marwood asks how a COVID-era reading catalogue became a Dundas West shop, why Little Ghosts reads every single submission (including 600-plus stories for a monster erotica anthology), and what it took to publish for three years with no arts funding. It's a conversation about burnout, reading slumps, paying artists, and why the horror community turned out warmer than comics ever was. Plus three graphic novels that will convert any horror reader. In this episode: From COVID comic-shop catalogue to Canada's first horror bookstore Burnout, reading slumps and why paying artists breaks both Reading every submission — including 600-plus for a monster erotica anthology Three years of self-funded publishing to reach arts-funding eligibility Graphic novel recommendations and the warmth of the horror community Guest links: → https://www.littleghostsbooks.com → https://www.instagram.com/littleghostsbooks — → Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1831627966 → Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUBRjKMVTI9g9dYHn-G1Eib-LfKLZso6_ → Follow: https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish → V13 Media: https://v13.net → V13 Store: https://v13.store → The Cherale (horror novella): https://a.co/d/1SZhhwS → V13 newsletters: https://v13.net/newsletter/ Subscribe, and then go spend something at a local indie bookstore; Chris would tell you that's where the whole ecosystem starts.
#19
August 18 · 48 min
Greg Amici: Sixteen Years Away From Music and the Comeback After
Greg Amici is a singer-songwriter with one of music's stranger comeback arcs — fronting NYC's Big Honey until a vocal polyp ended it, then sixteen years of screenwriting and acting before his debut solo album Tragicomic arrived on Magic Door in 2025. He joins Lance Marwood on MAKE // BREAK to talk about the 1983 rejection letter that told him he'd make it, the surgery that turned out to be nothing after months of silence, why he hires people for what he can't do, and the freedom of making music with no expectations left. Dare to fail, control what you can, and if you can't not do it — keep going. In this episode: The 1983 rejection letter and the label-deal era The CMJ vocal polyp that ended Big Honey Sixteen years of screenwriting, acting and bouncing in LA Coming back with Tragicomic and no expectations Independence, control and daring to fail Guest links: → https://www.gregamici.com → https://www.instagram.com/gregamicimusic — → Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1831627966 → Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUBRjKMVTI9g9dYHn-G1Eib-LfKLZso6_ → Follow: https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish → V13 Media: https://v13.net → V13 Store: https://v13.store → The Cherale (horror novella): https://a.co/d/1SZhhwS → V13 newsletters: https://v13.net/newsletter/ Subscribe, and if you like this one, pass it to the artist in your life who's been sitting on finished work. Greg would tell them to put it out.
#23
August 11 · 59 min
Chip McCabe on Kindred, Folk Horror and the AI Publishing Problem
Chip McCabe is back on MAKE // BREAK — the horror author behind Kindred (as Creed Woodhouse), founder of The Metal Dad, and host of The Fiendish Five podcast. Part 2 with Lance Marwood picks up where Part 1's hard stop cut things off: whether Kindred is really extreme horror, the books and films that actually stick, writing novels while raising four kids, and pitching fiction in an era of AI-generated books and paid review offers. From Pet Sematary to Longlegs to the collapse of the review economy, it's a conversation about protecting the craft when the industry stops rewarding it. In this episode: Extreme horror vs occult folk horror — where Kindred really sits Writing novels while raising four kids, and getting time back AI-generated books, duped publishers and paid review offers Review ethics and the post-COVID review drought Pet Sematary, Longlegs and the horror that actually sticks Guest links: → https://themetaldad.com → https://www.instagram.com/creedwoodhouse — → Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1831627966 → Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUBRjKMVTI9g9dYHn-G1Eib-LfKLZso6_ → Follow: https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish → V13 Media: https://v13.net → V13 Store: https://v13.store → The Cherale (horror novella): https://a.co/d/1SZhhwS → V13 newsletters: https://v13.net/newsletter/ Subscribe, and if this episode earned it, leave an honest review — Chip and Lance would both tell you that's the only kind worth having.
#22
August 7 · 49 min
John W. Sharpe on Writing Dave Fowler's Memoir, BASSically Speaking
John W. Sharpe is the co-author of BASSically Speaking, the forthcoming memoir of Nashville bassist Dave Fowler, coming from V13 Press. A retired magazine publisher with a self-described helter-skelter résumé — water purification patents, early-internet SEO, a Tennessee neighbourhood magazine — Sharpe met Fowler on the Rock Legends Cruise in 2018, wrote a half-page article about him, and the conversation never stopped. He talks with Lance Marwood on MAKE // BREAK about six years chronicling a forty-year career, negotiating what stays out of the story, and telling Dave three times to find another writer — and why Dave refused. In this episode: The chronology problem — writing a forty-year career the musician half-remembers Creative flow, resistance, and the five minutes that become two hours Negotiating what stays out of the book — when to push and when to back off Trying to quit three times, and the answer that kept the book alive Guest links: → https://press.v13.net/releases/bassically-speaking-by-dave-fowler/ → https://press.v13.net/newsroom/from-small-town-roots-to-global-stages-dave-fowler-teams-with-v13-press-for-memoir-bassically-speaking/ — → Listen on all platforms: https://pod.link/1831627966 → Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUBRjKMVTI9g9dYHn-G1Eib-LfKLZso6_ → Follow: https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish → V13 Media: https://v13.net → V13 Store: https://v13.store → The Cherale (horror novella): https://a.co/d/1SZhhwS → Newsletters: https://v13.net/newsletter/ Subscribe and leave a review — and if you're deep in a long project of your own, The Green Room is free artist development from V13, and it's where these conversations continue: https://www.skool.com/v13-7161
#21
July 21 · 36 min
Chip McCabe on Self-Publishing His Horror Novel Kindred
Episode 021 – Chip McCabe | MAKE // BREAK Chip McCabe (aka Creed Woodhouse, his fiction pen name) has spent decades covering extreme music and horror for outlets like Metal Insider and the Chicago Tribune, while running The Metal Dad and hosting The Fiendish Five podcast. After the gloriously unhinged 666 Days of Metal, he's just released his debut horror novel, Kindred. In this episode of MAKE // BREAK with host Lance Marwood, Chip opens up about the gatekeeping of traditional publishing, why he quietly self-released under a pen name to chase honest feedback, and the disciplined five-week writing regimen that finally beat his self-doubt and got the book done. It's a candid, funny conversation about the loneliness of the craft, discovery writing, and refusing to run real art through an AI machine. 🎯 ONE MORE THING // free, weekly, zero fillerV13 runs three newsletters: one for artists building a career on their own terms (Industry Insider), one for writers who refuse to be ignored (Verse & Vision), and one weekly roundup of music, entertainment, culture & literature (V1LLAG3 Voice). Pick your lane, or take all three.→ https://v13.net/newsletter 👀 What you'll hear Why traditional publishing is gatekept to the core, and what that means for a first-time novelist trying to break in How a five-week nightly writing regimen turned a decade of false starts into a finished 98,000-word novel The case for a pen name, and using it to chase genuinely honest feedback from people who already know you Why discovery writing beats over-outlining, and how the best plot turns surprise even the writer who made them A candid take on refusing generative AI in creative work, and how both hosts can spot it a mile away 🕰️ Chapters 00:00 Meet Chip McCabe aka Creed Woodhouse 01:43 Writing Kindred during the pandemic and cold feet 05:16 Self-publishing versus indie and major publishers 10:50 The lonely road and creative self-doubt 13:50 Using a pen name for honest feedback 16:02 Being your own worst critic 21:50 The five-week writing regimen 26:49 Outliner versus discovery writing 30:04 Writing by hand in the age of AI 31:42 The ChatGPT cover letter and refusing AI in fiction 🔗 Guest Links https://themetaldad.com/ https://www.instagram.com/creedwoodhouse/ https://www.facebook.com/creedwoodhouse/ https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/57677927.Creed_Woodhouse 🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20 https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish [Note: contains explicit language] #MakeBreak #ChipMcCabe #HorrorWriting
#20
June 22 · 1 hr 4 min
The Quarantined's Sean Martin on 900K Streams, 40M TikTok Views, and No Label
Episode 020 – Sean Martin | MAKE // BREAK Sean Martin is the vocalist, guitarist, and executive producer behind The Quarantined, a grunge/punk/metal project rooted in socially critical songwriting and real lived experience. A U.S. Army Airborne Infantry veteran who deployed to Iraq with the 3/509th, Sean channeled his post-service recovery into music, graduating from Musicians Institute in Hollywood and building The Quarantined from the ground up across LA, Florida, Boston, and Nashville. The band's latest album, Aversion to Normalcy, was recorded at Blackbird Studios with producer Nathan Yarborough (Halestorm, Alice in Chains, Evanescence) and has surpassed 900,000 Spotify streams and 40 million TikTok views. In this episode, Sean gets into what it really takes to make uncompromising art as an independent artist — from surviving the DIY grind to turning trauma into something that resonates worldwide. 🎯 ONE MORE THING // free, weekly, zero fillerV13 runs three newsletters: one for artists building a career on their own terms (Industry Insider), one for writers who refuse to be ignored (Verse & Vision), and one weekly roundup of music, entertainment, culture & literature (V1LLAG3 Voice). Pick your lane, or take all three.→ https://v13.net/newsletter 👀 What you'll hear Hear how Sean turned an Iraq deployment and a Musicians Institute degree into a fully independent grunge project Unpack how Aversion to Normalcy got cut at Blackbird Studios with producer Nathan Yarborough on a DIY budget Break down the TikTok and Spotify run that pushed The Quarantined past 40M views and 900K streams Trace the move across LA, Florida, Boston, and Nashville and what that grind actually costs an artist Talk veteran mental health, PTSD, and writing songs that double as survival tools instead of branding Get tactical on what professionalism, content discipline, and audience-building look like with no label in the room 🕰️ Chapters 00:00 Cold open and intro 01:30 Iraq deployment to Musicians Institute 06:45 Starting The Quarantined in LA 13:10 Moving the project to Nashville 19:20 Tracking Aversion to Normalcy at Blackbird Studios 25:40 Working with producer Nathan Yarborough 32:15 The 40 million TikTok view run 38:50 Hitting 900K Spotify streams independently 45:30 Veteran mental health and PTSD songwriting 52:00 DIY systems for music business survival 58:25 What it costs to keep going 01:04:10 Recalibration and what's next 🔗 Guest Links https://www.thequarantined.com https://www.instagram.com/thequarantined https://www.tiktok.com/@thequarantined https://www.youtube.com/@thequarantined 🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20 https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish 🔗 V13 Media Links https://v13.net [Contains explicit language and discussion of combat experience and mental health.] #MakeBreak #SeanMartin #TheQuarantined
#19
April 28 · 50 min
Mark Winters: From Aerospace Engineer to 107-Date Tour
Episode 019 – Mark Winters | MAKE // BREAK Mark Winters is a Texas-based singer-songwriter, poet, and former aerospace engineer who traded rocket science for rock with a positive vibe. Since his 2019 debut Slipstream, he's released four albums, built a loyal fanbase of over 36K monthly Spotify listeners, and launched his own label, Bernoulli Records. Now midway through a 107-date Good Vibes Highway Tour across the US and Canada, Mark is doing it all independently: writing, booking, touring, and looking forward to sharing some extra protons while out on the road. In this episode of MAKE // BREAK, he unpacks what it means to start a music career later in life, the unglamorous systems behind sustainable DIY touring, and why positivity is a strategy, not a cliché. 🎯 ONE MORE THING // free, weekly, zero fillerV13 runs three newsletters: one for artists building a career on their own terms (Industry Insider), one for writers who refuse to be ignored (Verse & Vision), and one weekly roundup of music, entertainment, culture & literature (V1LLAG3 Voice). Pick your lane, or take all three.→ https://v13.net/newsletter 👀 What you'll hear Hear how Mark Winters left aerospace engineering to chase the music business and build Bernoulli Records from scratch Learn the Instagram discipline host Lance Marwood and Mark dissect for organic growth without follow-for-follow gimmicks Unpack the booking timeline, venue myths, and community-first systems behind a 107-date Good Vibes Highway run Steal the two-week sprint method Mark uses to A/B test reels and find his highest converting content Wrestle with AI, AGI, and what it means to be human alongside a former rocket scientist turned songwriter Decide when ambition becomes hobby and how to know whether to push, pivot, or step away 🕰️ Chapters 00:00 Meet Mark Winters and Bernoulli Records 01:24 Booking a 107-date DIY tour 02:42 Industry illusions vs the reality of artist development 06:43 Why venues don't deliver community 08:13 Email capture and converting cover gigs to fans 10:24 Picking Instagram as the home base 14:45 The brutal discipline of judging your own content 16:15 Two-week sprint method for testing reels 25:39 The physics of positivity 30:00 AI, AGI, and what it means to be human 39:23 When to push, pivot, or quit 49:05 Good Vibes Highway Tour close 🔗 Guest Links https://markwintersmusic.com https://www.instagram.com/markwintersmusic/ https://www.tiktok.com/@markwintersmusic https://www.youtube.com/c/markwintersmusic 🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20 https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish 🔗 V13 Media Links https://v13.net Subscribe for new MAKE // BREAK episodes and drop a comment about your own home-base platform versus your discovery channels. #MakeBreak #MarkWinters #DIYTouring
#18
April 14 · 47 min
Samantha Willman: Truth, Poetry, and the Love It Demands
Episode 018 – Samantha Willman | MAKE // BREAK Samantha Willman is a Canadian writer, designer, and editor based in Montréal. She co-founded and co-edits Romanticon, a Substack literary magazine dedicated to neo-romanticism and new sincerity, alongside Anthony Galluzzo, Paul Franz, and Matthew Gasda. She also publishes Marbl, a personal newsletter exploring intimacy, symbolism, and the interior life. Her 2016 book Behind The First One was published through the Canadian Academy in Rome. In this episode of MAKE // BREAK, Samantha unpacks why irony culture has hollowed out creative life, how she built a thriving 60-person poetry reading series from nothing, and why approaching truth with love (not optimization) is the real survival strategy for artists. 🎯 ONE MORE THING // free, weekly, zero fillerV13 runs three newsletters: one for artists building a career on their own terms (Industry Insider), one for writers who refuse to be ignored (Verse & Vision), and one weekly roundup of music, entertainment, culture & literature (V1LLAG3 Voice). Pick your lane, or take all three.→ https://v13.net/newsletter 👀 What you'll hear Why writing poetry in Rome unlocked a felt sense of truth she couldn't access through logic alone How the new sincerity movement pushes back against layers of ironic artifice in online culture Building a 60-person poetry reading community from scratch with zero formal plan The case for keeping a day job so you can approach your art from love instead of desperation How Rilke wrote two masterworks in weeks and what that says about creative production vs. productivity Why philosophia means love of truth — and why that changes everything about how artists create 🕰️ Chapters 00:00 Introduction and how Lance discovered Samantha 03:00 Why poetry is hard to recommend and harder to consume 05:16 Writing poetry in Rome and the birth of creative instinct 08:59 Charles Taylor, intrinsic rightness, and felt truth 10:33 Favourite poets: Plath, Octavio Paz, Wallace Stevens 14:17 Neo-romanticism and new sincerity explained 19:17 Irony culture, meme politics, and the Vice magazine pipeline 22:41 Argumentation vs. dialogue — methods of thinking 30:00 Building Romanticon's live reading community 37:34 Why the Enlightenment was top-down and Romanticism is not 42:22 The starving artist myth and creating from a place of health 45:16 Rilke, the Sonnets to Orpheus, and creative production in bursts 🔗 Guest Links https://romanticon.substack.com https://marbl.substack.com https://instagram.com/sam.willman https://x.com/samanthawillman 🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20 https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish 🔗 V13 Media Links https://v13.net Subscribe and tell us in the comments: do you think sincerity is the real counterculture right now? [Contains occasional explicit language.] #MakeBreak #SamanthaWillman #NewSincerity
#17
April 2 · 1 hr 13 min
Workers Comp's Peter Mahoney on Surviving the DIY Scene
Episode 017 – Peter Mahoney | MAKE // BREAK Peter Mahoney is a Toronto-based guitarist, recording engineer, and DJ rooted in the city's punk and hardcore underground. As guitarist for Workers Comp (who deliberately pulled their music from streaming in favour of Bandcamp) and a collaborator in UNWELL alongside Cursed/Burning Love/SECT vocalist Chris Colohan, Peter has spent two decades navigating pay-to-play scams, revolving lineups, and the real cost of making loud, fast music on your own terms. He also runs House of Trash, offering affordable recording and mixing to DIY bands. In this episode of MAKE // BREAK, Peter opens up about losing bassist Nick, rebuilding through grief, rejecting social media pressure, and why community built on genuine friendship outlasts every trend. 🎯 ONE MORE THING // free, weekly, zero fillerV13 runs three newsletters: one for artists building a career on their own terms (Industry Insider), one for writers who refuse to be ignored (Verse & Vision), and one weekly roundup of music, entertainment, culture & literature (V1LLAG3 Voice). Pick your lane, or take all three.→ https://v13.net/newsletter 👀 What you'll hear Discover how Peter identified pay-to-play scams and industry gatekeepers as a teenager in Toronto Learn why Workers Comp pulled their music from streaming and what they use instead Hear the gut-wrenching story of losing bassist Nick and deciding to keep the band alive Explore what community really looks like when you strip away the buzzwords and trend-chasers Find out why Peter built House of Trash to record bands affordably on his own terms Understand the internal resistance artists face when social media becomes a second unpaid job 🕰️ Chapters 00:00 Cold open: the real cost of playing music 00:51 Single Release Playbook promo 01:15 Meet Peter Mahoney — guitarist, engineer, cat dad 05:31 Early illusions about the music industry 09:42 Pay-to-play shows and industry scams in Toronto 13:21 Joining the wrong bands and learning to say no 19:28 Building community and finding the right people 25:27 Defining success on your own terms 33:34 The shit sandwich: social media and self-promotion 43:37 Leaving Spotify and the case for Bandcamp 51:53 Recording at House of Trash and learning to engineer 58:04 Losing Nick and pivoting through grief 1:06:15 Shameless plugs, upcoming shows, and final wisdom 🔗 Guest Links https://youreentitledtoworkerscomp.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/workerscompband/ https://unvvell.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/house.of_trash/ https://www.instagram.com/vernaltrash/ 🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20 https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish 🔗 V13 Media Links https://v13.net Subscribe and drop a comment: when have you had to pivot instead of quit in your own creative life? [Explicit language throughout.] #MakeBreak #Mahoney #DIYPunk
#16
February 24 · 53 min
Paul Van Valkenburgh of TubeFreeks shares music business survival lessons
Episode 016 – Paul Thomas Van Valkenburgh | MAKE // BREAK Paul Van Valkenburgh is the vocalist and frontman of hard rock and groove-metal outfit TubeFreeks. On MAKE // BREAK with host Lance Marwood, he breaks down the music business realities of keeping a long-running band alive: the early “make” spark, the “break” moments of lineup shifts and stalled momentum, and the habits that rebuild trust. Paul shares how writing during recovery from major surgery reshaped his confidence, why vocal coaching levelled up his delivery, and how delegation protects both the work and the people. He also previews the next chapter, including the upcoming single “Flower” and the album Canvas, co-written with Clint Lowery (Sevendust). 🎯 ONE MORE THING // free, weekly, zero fillerV13 runs three newsletters: one for artists building a career on their own terms (Industry Insider), one for writers who refuse to be ignored (Verse & Vision), and one weekly roundup of music, entertainment, culture & literature (V1LLAG3 Voice). Pick your lane, or take all three.→ https://v13.net/newsletter 👀 What you’ll hear Trace the moment TubeFreeks stopped being a project and became a real band Break down how a lineup collapse killed momentum, and what rebuilt it Learn why coaches and co-writers raised standards without flattening Paul’s voice completely Hear an in-house vocal recording process that avoids clock pressure and fixes phrasing fast Steal the anti-Franken-song veto rule that keeps great ideas from getting overworked Get the scoop on Flower and Canvas, and what a big 2026 slot means 🕰️ Chapters 00:00 TubeFreeks origin and the MAKE // BREAK frame 00:33 Make moment and the first riffs that made it feel real 05:19 Switching from drums to frontman mindset 08:06 Band chemistry, no-drama lineups, and why personnel is everything 15:32 Momentum collapse, touring stops, and rebuilding after a lineup split 24:34 Health crisis, recovery writing, and confidence after The Dry Tide 31:38 Delegation, coaches, and co-writing with Clint Lowery 39:15 In-house studio workflow and vocal takes without clock pressure 43:50 Vocal writing: cadence, phonics, and chasing cool 51:37 Lyric risk, emotion, and the God hear me out chorus decision 56:01 Franken-effing a song and the veto rule that protects great ideas 1:03:16 New single Flower, album Canvas, and opening for Black Stone Cherry 🔗 Guest Links https://tubefreeks.com/ https://www.instagram.com/tubefreeksrocks/ https://www.youtube.com/user/Tubefreeks https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gCE3tYHEDORDZLDQdimlp 🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20 https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish 🔗 V13 Media Links https://v13.net Subscribe, and comment: would you use the band-veto rule, or does it kill songs? [Mild profanity] #MakeBreak #TubeFreeks #MusicBusiness
#15
February 10 · 53 min
Eric Peterson on Testament and 40 Years in Thrash
Episode 015 – Eric Peterson | MAKE // BREAK Eric Peterson is the founding guitarist and primary songwriter of Bay Area thrash legends Testament, a band that’s spent more than four decades pushing heavy music forward while peers have fallen away. With Testament’s fourteenth album Para Bellum, he’s still co-producing, evolving the band’s sound, and keeping the riffs sharper than players half his age. In this episode of MAKE // BREAK, Eric sits down with host Lance Marwood to unpack the real cost of that longevity: the grind of touring and airports, staying physically ready for extreme music, protecting creativity in an AI era, and why horror films, cult novels, and personal taste still shape everything he writes. 🎯 ONE MORE THING // free, weekly, zero fillerV13 runs three newsletters: one for artists building a career on their own terms (Industry Insider), one for writers who refuse to be ignored (Verse & Vision), and one weekly roundup of music, entertainment, culture & literature (V1LLAG3 Voice). Pick your lane, or take all three.→ https://v13.net/newsletter 👀 What you’ll hear Unpack how Eric turned flyering, bar gigs and bad jobs into a four decade thrash career Explore why Para Bellum still feels like a first album and how Testament keep evolving Dig into riff writing, flow states and what separates a cool idea from a career song Break down the ugliest parts of touring, airport purgatory and staying physically ready for stage intensity Debate AI, taste and keeping music human, plus horror movies, cult fiction and weird reading recs 🕰️ Chapters 00:00 Intro, Testament overview and setting up Para Bellum 01:15 Make or break moments, legacy decisions and early DIY grind 03:30 Old school flyering and networking vs today’s digital promotion 06:45 Ageing, health and playing extreme thrash into your 50s 09:30 Touring realities, airport lines, boredom and burnout on the road 14:30 Writing Para Bellum while chasing the feeling of the first records 20:20 Taste, identity and how horror and cult films feed Eric’s imagination 28:45 Books on the road, Master and Margarita and other strange reading recs 32:30 Riff writing, flow state jams, Logic demos and editing with the band 37:30 Surviving industry shifts from tape trading to streaming, algorithms and AI 44:20 Legacy, repeating yourself without cloning old riffs, and ACDC as a model 48:40 Honest advice for bedroom players learning Testament riffs on YouTube 🔗 Guest Links https://www.testamentlegions.com/site/ https://linktr.ee/TestamentLegions https://www.instagram.com/ericpetersonofficial/ http://www.enterthedragonlord.com/ 🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20 https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish 🔗 V13 Media Links https://v13.net Subscribe for more MAKE // BREAK conversations and drop a comment on how AI should shape metal’s future (explicit language) #MakeBreak #EricPeterson #Testament
#14
January 27 · 36 min
Kelsey Dower on collaboration and creative control
Episode 014 – Kelsey Dower | MAKE // BREAK Kelsey Maree Dower is a symphonic metal vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist whose cinematic writing style turns orchestration into front-line storytelling. Best known for her single “Rage” and the concept-driven album project Rebirth, she builds massive arrangements with a DIY, self-composed precision that still hits emotionally. She’s also a featured vocalist and co-writer on Björn Hofer’s In the Shadow symphonic metal trilogy through B-Track Records. In Episode 014 of MAKE // BREAK with host Lance Marwood, Kelsey digs into the real work behind ambitious music: MIDI composition, mixing battles between strings and guitars, creative control, and navigating the music business as an autistic artist. 🎯 ONE MORE THING // free, weekly, zero fillerV13 runs three newsletters: one for artists building a career on their own terms (Industry Insider), one for writers who refuse to be ignored (Verse & Vision), and one weekly roundup of music, entertainment, culture & literature (V1LLAG3 Voice). Pick your lane, or take all three.→ https://v13.net/newsletter 👀 What you’ll hear Trace her path from piano prodigy to symphonic metal songwriter with a clear creative compass Learn why orchestral parts feel easy, and why guitars and drums still challenge the mix Hear how collaboration stays open while protecting vision and keeping creative control intact Reframe ambition when your genre is niche, expensive, and hard for algorithms to surface Unpack the myth of getting signed young and the practical planning that replaced it Break down Rage, cathartic anger, and how growls became a new tool in her voice 🕰️ Chapters 00:00 Symphonic metal origin story and why it finally clicked 02:49 First metal exposure, emotional catharsis, Within Temptation moment 05:44 Moving childhood, Carnegie Hall, opening for Clay Aiken 08:09 Piano and vocals foundation, ear training, early performance discipline 09:40 MIDI composition workflow, Ableton-style arranging, finding the spark 11:58 Production challenge: orchestra width vs guitars, drums, and mixing presence 14:51 Collaboration mindset, creative control, and working through disagreements 17:35 Ambition in niche genres, costs of scale, algorithm invisibility 22:52 Inspiration vs showing up, building ideas over time without forcing it 26:50 Music industry myth: getting signed young, budgeting, planning, side jobs 30:54 Autism, gatekeepers, reading intent, navigating predatory dynamics 38:46 Rage single inspiration, bullying, catharsis, learning growls 42:58 Rebirth album arc: build-up, catharsis, post-release aftermath 🔗 Guest Links https://promo.v13.net/2025/11/kelsey-dower/ https://www.instagram.com/kelsey_music2024/ https://www.youtube.com/@kelsey_music2024 https://open.spotify.com/artist/23z1Xwhfvf5B0zVQyzlCdu 🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20 https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish 🔗 V13 Media Links https://v13.net Subscribe for more MAKE // BREAK, and comment: when has anger fuelled your best creative work? [Minor audio dropouts in the early minutes] #MakeBreak #KelseyDower #MusicBusiness
#13
January 13 · 1 hr
Scot “Little” Bihlman on touring and staying in the now
Episode 013 – Scot Little Bihlman | MAKE // BREAK Scot “Little” Bihlman is an Emmy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and SAG-AFTRA actor, best known as the drummer/vocalist in Grinder Blues alongside dUg Pinnick (King’s X). In Episode 013 of MAKE // BREAK with host Lance Marwood, he unpacks what it takes to last: choosing quality of life over noise, staying present through drumming and motorcycle riding, and protecting your creative identity in a culture obsessed with imitation. Little also gets real about touring pressure, the seductive comfort of sideman work, and why technique only matters if it serves the song, as he builds toward his next chapter under Little Bihlman. 🎯 ONE MORE THING // free, weekly, zero fillerV13 runs three newsletters: one for artists building a career on their own terms (Industry Insider), one for writers who refuse to be ignored (Verse & Vision), and one weekly roundup of music, entertainment, culture & literature (V1LLAG3 Voice). Pick your lane, or take all three.→ https://v13.net/newsletter 👀 What you’ll hear Hear how four Emmys happened through timing, fit, and staying ready for the call Unpack why motorcycle riding and drumming force presence, and how that unlocks writing Learn the boundary he draws around tribute bands, authenticity, and scene culture Get a candid look at tour pressure, sideman perks, and the hidden costs of what’s next Compare technique to songwriting, and why songs are the only currency that lasts 🕰️ Chapters 00:00 Intro, Emmys, and the Little Bihlman pivot 01:29 Emmy awards and luck in film/TV placements 03:22 Finding your voice and honouring influences 06:52 Tribute bands, covers, and authenticity 09:16 Hollywood sets, Spider-Man, and staying grounded 13:42 LA vs Nashville quality of life for artists 17:43 Motorcycle meditation and staying in the now 24:08 Tour pressure and make-or-break moments 38:56 Sideman life vs solo career focus 45:24 Drumming book, teaching, and technique in service of songs 51:58 Link Wray, Audioslave, and music that moves the room 57:24 Heavy Head singles and the upcoming book 🔗 Guest Links https://scotbihlman.com https://instagram.com/littlebihlman https://open.spotify.com/artist/2NNnYU4KcqqNMf1Qki92AP https://youtube.com/channel/UCwJRSkgFax5H8XNsGRhQ0mA 🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links https://open.spotify.com/show/5GDOUd909p7ir2W74M9teg?si=cbc7e01e13ba4a20 https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish 🔗 V13 Media Links https://v13.net Subscribe for more, and comment: are you chasing chops or songs right now? [Contains explicit language] #MakeBreak #Bihlman #Touring
#12
Dec 10, 2025 · 53 min
Aaron Farrell on Writing and Identity, from Barcelona to V13
Episode 012 – Aaron Farrell | MAKE // BREAK Welsh-born writer Aaron Farrell returns to MAKE // BREAK for a candid, high-signal conversation about discipline, identity, and creative survival. Author of The Lost and Found and the poetry collection Artbeat, The Ekphrastic Spastic, Aaron traces the path from lockdown essays and his “Violent Expression” column to an unflinching Barcelona manuscript, while reopening his work with V13. We get into stay-at-home parent realities, pandemic PPE and burnout, martial arts as a writing method, and why killing perfectionism is the only way forward. With Jung in one hand and Eastern philosophy in the other, Aaron makes a case for truthful prose, pragmatic publishing, and showing up when it’s hardest. 🎯 ONE MORE THING // free, weekly, zero fillerV13 runs three newsletters: one for artists building a career on their own terms (Industry Insider), one for writers who refuse to be ignored (Verse & Vision), and one weekly roundup of music, entertainment, culture & literature (V1LLAG3 Voice). Pick your lane, or take all three.→ https://v13.net/newsletter 👀 What you’ll hear Trace the leap from lockdown columns to longform books without waiting for permission Compare discipline in martial arts to muscle memory in writing and creative practice Unpack honest fatherhood, neurodivergence, and why progress is jagged not linear Reframe perfectionism with pragmatic publishing habits you can start today Map the “violent expression” era to a new V13 chapter and concrete next steps 🕰️ Chapters 00:00 Cold open and return-guest banter 00:22 Who is Aaron Farrell now and why he’s back on MAKE // BREAK 03:05 Stay-at-home dad energy, sick kids, showing up anyway 05:22 PPE reality check and pandemic life in hospitals 08:31 Barcelona move, curfews, and starting over 12:18 Transmetropolitan, Spider Jerusalem, media cynicism 16:45 Violent Expression origin, truth-telling, culture shock 22:06 Self-publishing in lockdown, first books and columns 26:24 Beat of Barcelona draft, decadence and discipline 32:48 Style over fitting in, permission to write as yourself 40:03 Breaking down, autism context, rebuilding identity 55:43 Jung, sense vs nonsense, closing notes and next time 🔗 Guest Links https://v13.net/tag/violent-expression 🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Links https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/makebreak https://instagram.com/lowkeyhellish https://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish 🔗 V13 Media https://v13.net Subscribe for more and drop a comment: do film or game scores help your writing focus? (explicit language) #MakeBreak #AaronFarrell #Writing

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