In this season of the podcast, I decided to try and start my own business. It's going to be a multimedia podcast studio and retail space. And I'm doing it in an old 1930's train car! One of the things I need to figure out is what I'm going to sell and what online shopping cart I want to use. So I meet with two artists here in Madison, WI to talk about the different cart options out there and ask why they are in the process of leaving Etsy?
Jun 16, 2019•29 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Today I get to meet Emily Balsley . She's a full-time self-employed artist whose illustration work I really admire. We've tried to get together to talk a few times. When she started working on a mural here at the University of Wisconsin , I stopped by and we were finally able to get together and talk. Links https://www.emilybalsley.com Instagram: @emilybluestar...
Mar 03, 2019•33 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Grant Baciocco is a puppeteer, comedian, writer and professional wrestling host from time to time. He also is the creator of the podcast series The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd which I happened to make an animated cartoon pilot for . He is known for his work on Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return (2017), Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later (2017) and The Happytime Murders to name just a few of the many creative things he's done. We've known each other for years, there's just one thing...
Feb 24, 2019•32 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Ben Walker Storey had listened to the podcast and contacted me on Instagram. The funny thing is I had actually been looking at his work online earlier that day. So I asked him if he wanted to meet with me on the show. He runs a podcast of his own called The Cheap Chills Show where he and his wife watch trailers of old horror movies and talk about them. His artwork also lends itself to that style which I really dig. But what really interested me about him was that he had his own Amazon Print-On-D...
Feb 17, 2019•32 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Peter Krsko had been listening to the podcast and contacted me. And meeting him was a delight! I had checked out some of his stuff on his website and one thing that caught my eye was these large sculptures that he did. They were these giant wooden things sprouting out of the ground. It also said that he discovered a way to use a traditional scanning electron microscope as a focused electron beam lithography instrument, enabling him to create artwork viewable only with a microscope. So needless t...
Feb 10, 2019•27 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Spencer Blesi and Rob Griffen are two guys I used to work with at a corporate job. They were in the video department. Spencer even recorded a video for my band Lorenzo's Music. After I left that company I later heard that they also left and started their own video production company, Tack Video. I met with them at a coffee shop to talk about running their own business. I also have kind of a revelation while continuing my experiment to create sales for the things I make one piece at a time. Tack ...
Feb 03, 2019•23 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Steev Baker & Shauna Koszegi work at the library. They spend their whole day trying to get people to think about it as a place that has tons of resources for creative people. So how do you get people to come to a place that has just always been there? One of the things they did is start a podcast about it. Tallest Building In Town https://tallestbuildingintown.com Music for the show by Lorenzo's Music https://www.lorenzosmusic.com Get my graphic novel "Then This Happened..." on Amazon https:...
Jan 27, 2019•21 min•Season 4Ep. 4
There was an art installation at a local coffee shop in the fall and the artist, Bradley Flora heard my podcast and asked if I wanted to stop by and check it out. We ended up sitting down to talk, and he told me about how he’s been expanding on what he wants to do, going from photography to painting. Listen to the episode Listen on: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube I also ponder ideas about other options for income besides freelancing. Check out Bradley's work on his webs...
Jan 20, 2019•20 min•Season 4Ep. 3
My wife and I were taking a weekend trip to Minnesota. I took that opportunity to meet someone that lives there that I'm friends with on Instagram, Emily Mehr. Listen to the episode Listen on: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Like me, Emily also draws a personal daily comic and you can check out her work on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/ejoymehr
Jan 13, 2019•23 min•Season 4Ep. 2
What cool way to start off the new season of the show, I got the opportunity to meet Jessica Abel!! Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube She is the comic book writer and artist who has made so many books, ranging from stories to instructional including the books Life Sucks, Drawing Words & Writing Pictures, La Perdida, Growing Gills and Radio: An Illustrated Guide (with collaborator Ira Glass) just to name a few. You can check out her latest graphic novel Trish Tr...
Jan 06, 2019•30 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Previously on American Bandito, I spoke with artist Rachal Duggan and I discovered we had a mutual person that inspired us both. After I posted that interview, I got a silly idea in my head. I figured it would never work but it was worth a try. I sent Ivan Brunetti a link to that episode and just told him I would love to talk with him on the show. I figured what could it hurt? If he didn’t respond or said no at least I tried right?...
Sep 30, 2018•36 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Back in the first season of the show, I talked to a young artist named Salma Carreon. During the interview, she told me about how she briefly apprenticed at a tattoo shop. And it occurred to me I didn’t really know much about tattoo artists. How they start out, what it takes to become one, anything really. And since then I thought I should talk to one and find out. And it turns out one found me. He had messaged me on the American B...
Sep 23, 2018•22 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube The person that I meet today I read about in the Isthmus. He was creating a stop-motion film with the students he teaches in his art class at Crestwood Elementary school. And the film they made was screened at this year’s Wisconsin Film Festival. After reading that article I kind of had to talk to him. How could I not? And he’s a musician too. We decided to meet at the Monona Terrace during the Mini Makers Fair. But the pop-up inte...
Sep 16, 2018•23 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube The first thing I saw by Heather Boggs of Stitch Boom Bang, was a portrait of Hall & Oates she embroidered on a doily. After seeing that, I kinda needed to meet this person. And it turned out she was also a fan of zines. So we met each other at a zine event that was happening in the downtown Madison library. And in another one of my pop-up interviews, I meet Elliot and his friend who walked up to my booth at Hibernation Liberat...
Sep 09, 2018•20 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube The person I asked to meet with me today I contacted out of pure curiosity. I’ve driven past the lakeside press on Willy street like a million times and have never known a thing about it. And I always turn and look at it when I drive by. So I decided to contact them see if I could just come by and ask about the place. The story took so many turns as I listened. It was fascinating. Learn more about Lakeside Press - www.lakesidepress...
Sep 02, 2018•20 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube I met Rachal Duggan at the Tone Madison anniversary party. She had a table set up to do butt portraits. People would turn around and she would draw a picture of their butt. Afterward, I sent her a message and asked if she would want to meet and talk. We decided to get together at Madison Sourdough in her neighborhood. During the interview, two surprising things happen. We ran into Hailee from episode 4 and I learn Rachal is one deg...
Aug 26, 2018•29 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Eli had contacted me through the American Bandito Facebook page. He's an illustrator and also tells me about work he's done as a 3D artist for game design. And it turns out he created the artwork for the Madison band Droids Attack as well as the artwork for their new microbrew from Ale Asylum. I got a chance to sit down with Eli in his neighborhood at the Barriques in Fitchburg. Plus, in my pop-up interview this week I meet someone...
Aug 26, 2018•18 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube I went to a local animation meet up in February and afterward Gavin had posted a stop-motion short he made on the meet up's Facebook event page. I've only made 2D animation and have always wanted to try stop-motion. So, I reached out to Gavin to learn more about what he does. He met with me at the Colectivo Coffee Shop on Monroe St. After the interview we got together and made this little claymation short film. https://youtu.be/lIO...
Aug 26, 2018•17 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube I found American Trash while looking at stories located in the Madison area on Instagram. I liked the style. It reminded me of the type of skateboard art that has always appealed to me. I sent him a message and we ended up meeting each other at the Johnson Public House. American Trash on Instagram - instagram.com/americantrashcorp And in the opening pop up interview this week - I meet Finn who makes soy-based candles. And don't for...
Aug 26, 2018•19 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube I saw Hailee's work on Instagram while searching for local artists. She is a fashion designer turned embroidery artist who recently graduated with a B.S. in Textile and Fashion Design from the University of Wisconsin. After a chance meeting at a gallery showing she was involved in, I asked if she wanted to tell me more about how she got started. So we met up at the Johnson Public House. And I do a pop-up interview with Laurel from ...
Jul 29, 2018•24 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube James Kreul has been very involved with films in Madison, he runs programs like The Rooftop Cinema at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and the upcoming Mills Folly Microcinema at the Arts + Literature Laboratory to name a few. The first time I went to one of his underground film screenings was last year at Coney Island Studio and I knew I wanted to meet with him to be on the show. I finally got a chance to talk to him on the ...
Jul 22, 2018•26 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Linda is a writer and blogger. She has a site called "Mixed Metaphors, Oh My!" that she has been doing since 2013. She joined a Facebook group called Madison Indie Filmmakers and after going to some of the meet-ups they encouraged her to start a new web series for one of the ideas she had. So she did. With the help of the people she met in this group, she is running a new show called "Hotel Bar". I met with her at the Madison Publi...
Jul 15, 2018•17 min
Listen: Apple Podcasts | RadioPublic | Google Podcasts | YouTube Kelly is a writer who contacted me through the American Bandito Facebook page. She's written a book called "Om Namah..." available on Amazon. As she explains it's a story of healing from betrayal, discovering spiritual discernment, and the best ribs on the east side of Madison. We talk about the book while walking around the Atwood neighborhood in the fall of last year. Plus, a segment from a series of pop-up interviews I did at th...
Jul 08, 2018•14 min
The shop owners this season should have some wisdom they can pass along to those of us trying to make it in the world creatively. So this week I ask the question: What mistakes do you wish you would have known when you started? Listen to the episode Subscribe to the show Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. This episode brought to you by Sticker Mule. Get $10 towards your first order! Get a copy of my graphic novel "Then This Happened... A diary about breast cancer" availa...
Mar 11, 2018•29 min
If you do create your own things it's really easy to let it take up all of your free time. But you don't want to do it at the expense of enjoying life, family or friends. There has to be a balance, but when you're in charge of yourself how do you manage that? So my question this week is: How do you make time for your personal life? Listen to the episode Subscribe to the show on the go Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. This episode brought to you by Sticker Mule. Get $10...
Mar 04, 2018•19 min
When you make things the goal is usually you want people to come check it out? Like these local shops do? But how do you promote something like that? And where do you find the people to tell about it? That leads to this weeks question: "How do you tell your story and promote it?" Listen to the episode Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. My graphic novel "Then This Happened... A diary about breast cancer" is available now at - americanbandito.com/b...
Feb 25, 2018•27 min
I get following your dream as a creative person and artist. And so far, learning that was inspiration enough. But is it worth it? Lifestyle-wise that is. The question this week is: "How Do You Pay Yourself?" Listen to the episode Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe you're just trying to get the guts to put it out there for the first time. S...
Feb 18, 2018•18 min
We've talked about how seeing the work in public makes a huge difference. But what about insurance in those places, not only for you but the items you display? What about planning for the future like emergencies or health issues? So, the question this week is: "What risks do you take?" Listen to the episode Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or may...
Feb 11, 2018•19 min
The question I ask this week: "How do you find creators & the work you display?" With all the things we've learned about the people I've talked with this season, I wanted to know how do they find the people they work with? And what should an artist or creator do to get involved? Listen to the episode: Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe...
Feb 04, 2018•35 min
The question I ask this week: "Why open a physical place instead of an online business?" With the ability to sell and promote anything you make online, why would anyone spend the extra time and money opening a brick and mortar store? I wondered about the benefits of both choices. Listen to the episode: Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts (iPhone), Google Play (Android) and YouTube. If you create things in your spare time, you've probably thought about trying to do it for a living or maybe yo...
Jan 28, 2018•31 min
