The Artist's Work Ethic

Oliver Trevena is an actor/producer/entrepreneur who’s worked on a number of projects including “Hotel Tehran” with Liam Neeson and Zachary Levi, TIFF’s “The Cut” with Orlando Bloom, and “Ice Fall” opposite Joel Kinnaman, for which he also served as executive producer.  Oliver was honored by the Rome Film Festival with the “Breakout Actor” award by his friend and “Plane” co-star, Gerard Butler at the premiere screening of his film, “The Paradox Effect” in which he stars opposite Harvey Keitel and Olga Kurylenko. He recently released the film “Misdirection” which he also produced, and stars alongside Olga Kurylenko and Frank Grillo.  

After a year and a half away, The Artist’s Work Ethic Podcast is officially coming back.In this short relaunch episode, I share why I stepped away, what changed during the break, and how the podcast is evolving moving forward.This next chapter focuses less on schedules and numbers—and more on meaningful, in-depth conversations with artists across music, film, writing, and more.Expect a less formulaic approach, video episodes where possible, and a renewed focus on the habits, mindset, and work ethic behind creative success.

Tim Montana is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. Tim’s music ranges from country rock to straightforward radio friendly hard rock. He’s toured and collaborated with Kid Rock and ZZ Top, played on The Late Show with David Letterman, and is hitting the road with Bush, Jerry Cantrell and Candlebox. 

Paul Redford is a television writer and producer. He is best known as a writer for The West Wing. His other writing credits include work on Designated Survivor, Big Love, The Newsroom, and Madam Secretary. His work as a producer includes The West Wing, The Unit, and Journeyman. In 2023, Paul joined the Hallmark Channel series When Calls the Heart in its 10th season as a co-executive producer.

Cyrus is the drummer for the pop-punk band, New Found Glory. New Found Glory has multiple gold records, and went platinum for the record Sticks and Stones. They continue to tour relentlessly, and are heading out soon on the 20th anniversary tour for their record Catalyst. 

Deirdre Lovejoy is actor best known for her role as Assistant State’s Attorney Rhonda Pearlman on the HBO series, The Wire, where she appeared in all 60 episodes. She is also known for her roles as serial killer Heather Taffet (aka "The Gravedigger") on the Fox series Bones, White House Counsel Cynthia Panabaker on NBC's series The Blacklist, and in the Steven Spielberg film The Post with Tom Hanks.

Rebecca Elliot is an author best known for her New York Times bestselling children’s series, The Owl Diaries, which was adapted into a show on Apple TV. She’s also the author of the acclaimed Young Adult novels, Pretty Funny for a Girl, and Pretty Rude for a Girl. My kids love The Owl Diaries, and her similar series The Unicorn Diaries, so I’ve spent a lot of time reading her books, and this interview really impressed my kids.

Allison Wolfe co-founded and sings for the punk band Bratmobile, which helped to establish the feminist punk movement riot grrrl. Allison has also played in a slew of other bands and created the non-profit music festival Ladyfest. She currently teaches music journalism at UCLA, hosts and co-produces a podcast “I’m in the Band,” does freelance music journalism, public speaking, teaches ESL/EFL, DJ-ing and continues to sing in Bratmobile.

Stacey Dee sings and plays guitar in the punk band Bad Cop/Bad Cop. Bad Cop/Bad Cop are currently signed to Fat Wreck Chords, and have toured the world. As Stacey mentions, they’re currently working on a new record, and can be seen supporting NOFX on select dates of NOFX’s final tour.

Ted Bowne  is a musician best known as the singer and guitar player for the reggae rock band, Passafire. Passafire has had multiple albums reach #1 on Billboard’s Top Reggae Albums Chart. Passafire has toured with bands such as Pepper, 311, Rebelution, Matisyahu, The Wailers, and Slightly Stoopid.