The Artist's Work Ethic
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
Laura Moran is a TV writer and producer who has worked on shows such as How I Met Your Mother, Ground Floor, Undateable, Harley Quinn, The Neighborhood, Universal Basic Guys and Going Dutch. In 2023, she co-wrote and executive produced an animated comedy for Paramount+ with Daniel Cole. In 2024, she, Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt sold a workplace comedy to CBS. She currently has a book proposal out to publishers that's a memoir...
Today's guest is CJ Ramone. From playing bass in The Ramones during the band's final chapter to building a successful solo career of his own, and now with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, CJ has spent decades living and breathing punk rock. We talk about joining one of the most iconic bands in music history, life on the road, and how he made it all happen.
Chris Barker is a musician who is the singer and guitar player in Day at the Fair. Day at the Fair was previously on Rushmore Records, a subsidiary of Drive Thru Records and they spent years playing clubs, festivals, and tours across the country. Prior to Day at the Fair, Chris was also in the beloved New Jersey band, Lanemeyer.
Drawing inspiration from surf culture, tiki culture, hot rods, vintage comics, and the Southern California lifestyle, Tom has spent decades creating a distinctive body of work that blends humor, nostalgia, and vibrant storytelling. His art has been exhibited around the world, featured in galleries, books, magazines, merchandise, and tiki collectibles, and collected by fans ranging from everyday enthusiasts to notable figures in mus...
Terry Walters is an actor who has starred in films such as Crimes and Misdemeanors, La La Land, and Babylon. Her television credits include Euphoria, All Rise, Undone, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Desperate Housewives, and Santa Clarita Diet. Terry has also appeared in national commercials and stars in Facetiming with Mommy with Olivia Hamilton. She recently completed filming a recurring role on American Classic for MGM+/Amazon Prime, act...
Steven Wiig is a filmmaker, musician and actor best known for his roles in Sean Penn's "Into The Wild", Gus Van Sant's "Milk" and James Franco's childhood-inspired "Yosemite". He’s also been part of the Metallica inner circle for decades working as a videographer and photographer, assisting Lars, and a number of other roles.
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 ...
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 formu...
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 impre...
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...
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.
Lew Temple is an actor who has appeared in many movies and TV shows. Notably, he appeared as the character Axel in season 3 of The Walking Dead. On the big screen he’s been seen in The Lone Ranger, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Unstoppable, Déjà Vu, Domino, Halloween, The Devils Rejects, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Waitress, and many more.
Chris Carter is a TV writer, producer, and director best known for creating The X-Files. Chris also created the shows Millennium, The Lone Gunmen, Harsh Realm, and The After. The X-Files earned 2 Primetime Emmys out of 16 nominations, and 5 Golden Globes out of 12 nominations. In addition to creating the show, Chris wrote and/or directed many episodes throughout the show’s run.
Richard Fancy is an actor best known for his long recurring role as Mr. Lippman, Elaine Benes’ boss on Seinfeld. Along his extensive career, Richard has been seen in films such as Being John Malkovich, The Girl Next Door, Hollywoodland, and Tango and Cash. On TV, in addition to Seinfeld, he’s been in The District, Ray Donavan, The Closer, The West Wing, Friends, The Wonder Years, and many more.
Kristopher Turner is an actor best known for his roles on the medical drama series Saving Hope and the teen drama Instant Star. Other film and TV credits include The LA Complex, Without a Paddle: Nature Calls, and A Little Bit Zombie.
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