

The Artist's Work Ethic
Mike Pelak
Join our host, Mike Pelak, as he talks to guests from across the arts to understand the work ethic, habits, and perspective that have brought them success.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 11, 2022 • 14min
Episode 25 - Musician Jon Pebsworth (Buck-O-Nine)
Jon Pebsworth is the lead singer for the California based ska punk band, Buck-O-Nine. During the mid-to-late 1990s, they experienced mainstream success with the release of the album Twenty-Eight Teeth and its most successful single, "My Town" which received national radio airplay and was in rotation on MTV. Buck-O-Nine stopped touring full-time in 2000, but continues to perform regularly throughout California and much of the Southwestern United States.

Jan 4, 2022 • 18min
Episode 24 - Pro Wrestler Al Snow
Al Snow is a professional wrestler, having portrayed a variety of characters, and best known for his time in the WWE where he was a Tag Team champion, Hardcore champion and European champion. Since leaving the ring, he owns Ohio Valley Wrestling, was a road agent for Impact Wrestling, has acted in a number of films, and has written a book.

Dec 14, 2021 • 12min
Episode 23 - Screenwriter John August
John August is a screenwriter known for writing Go, Big Fish, Charlie's Angels, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Frankenweenie, Aladdin, and more. He’s also written the Arlo Finch series of novels, created apps, games, and is the co-host of the screenwriting podcast Scriptnotes. John’s the recipient of the Writer's Guild’s Valentine Davis award, and has been nominated for a BAFTA and a Grammy.

Dec 7, 2021 • 26min
Episode 22 - Hollywood Score Mixer/Musician - Jason LaRocca
Jason LaRocca is a musician, engineer and scoring mixer. For years he played in The Briggs, releasing albums on Side One Dummy Records, and touring with Bad Religion, The Dropkick Murphys, and Anti-Flag. Since then, he’s found himself producing and mixing scores for film and TV. He’s mixed the scores for Aquaman, Bad Boys for Life, Black Mirror, the upcoming Marvel film Morbius, and a ton more.

Nov 23, 2021 • 14min
Episode 21 - Screenwriter/Producer Erik Bork
Erik Bork is a screenwriter best known for his work on the HBO miniseries BAND OF BROTHERS and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, and won two Emmys and two Golden Globe Awards as part of the producing team. He’s sold pitches (and written pilots) at NBC and FOX, worked on the writing staff for two primetime dramas, and written features on assignment for companies like Universal, HBO, TNT, and Playtone. He’s taught screenwriting at UCLA Extension, National University and The Writers Store, and offer one-on-one consulting to writers. His book THE IDEA: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage, or Fiction was released in 2018.

Nov 9, 2021 • 15min
Episode 20 - Musician Matt Pryor (The Get Up Kids)
Matt Pryor is the singer and guitar player in The Get Up Kids, and has also released a ton of music solo and with The New Amsterdams. The Get Up Kids are hugely influential, with bands such as Blink 182 and Fall Out Boy naming them as primary influences. They’ve sold a ton of records and toured with Dashboard Confessional, Weezer and Green Day. When he’s not touring with The Get Up Kids, Matt writes custom songs at mattpryorsongshop.com.

Oct 26, 2021 • 12min
Episode 19 - Rapper Mopreme Shakur
Mopreme Shakur is a rapper best known for his time in the groups Thug Life and The Outlawz, both with his brother, Tupac Shakur. More recently he’s been involved in film and TV, and has a slew of new projects coming out, which he talks about at the end of the interview. Coming up next week he’s got an NFT auction in conjunction with Rarible, so go check that out.

Oct 19, 2021 • 28min
Episode 18 - Artist Guerin Swing
Guerin Swing is an LA based artist and interior designer. His artwork ranges from commissioned art pieces for private clients to custom installations in public spaces. His Artwork has appeared at Regime Contemporary Gallery, West Chelsea Contemporary Gallery, 5 Art Gallery, and Lab. His permanent installations reside at The Edition Hotels -West Hollywood and Tokyo, La Pier Hotel, Hard Rock Hotels, and The Hilton Hotels.

Oct 5, 2021 • 39min
Episode 17 - Musician Marko Desantis (Sugarcult)
Marko Desantis is founding member and guitarist of the band Sugarcult and has also played with the bands Bad Astronaut, The Ataris, and the Swingin Utters. Sugarcult has sold over a million records worldwide, and toured the world with Green Day and Blink 182. In addition to Sugarcult, Marko is a DJ and teaches music business at a ton of different schools and colleges. This week Sugarcult is releasing the 20th anniversary edition of their record Start Static, with some new limited edition vinyl and merch and 3 bonus tracks, so go check that out.

Sep 21, 2021 • 19min
Episode 16 - Actor Dean Haglund
Dean Haglund is an actor best known as Ringo Langly of the Lone Gunmen on The X-Files. He is also a stand-up comedian, specializing in improv. In addition to The X-Files, he played the voice of Sid in Tom Sawyer, and portrayed Langly in the spin-off The Lone Gunmen.In this episode we talk about how to embrace always being productive, even if you don’t feel like you’re working on something specific….and the recent government UFO report.


