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

V13 Media Group
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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.

  1. 1d ago

    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 bookstoreBurnout, reading slumps and why paying artists breaks bothReading every submission — including 600-plus for a monster erotica anthologyThree years of self-funded publishing to reach arts-funding eligibilityGraphic novel recommendations and the warmth of the horror communityGuest 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.

  2. Aug 18

    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 eraThe CMJ vocal polyp that ended Big HoneySixteen years of screenwriting, acting and bouncing in LAComing back with Tragicomic and no expectationsIndependence, control and daring to failGuest 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.

  3. Aug 11

    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 sitsWriting novels while raising four kids, and getting time backAI-generated books, duped publishers and paid review offersReview ethics and the post-COVID review droughtPet Sematary, Longlegs and the horror that actually sticksGuest 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.

  4. Aug 7

    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-remembersCreative flow, resistance, and the five minutes that become two hoursNegotiating what stays out of the book — when to push and when to back offTrying to quit three times, and the answer that kept the book aliveGuest 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

    John W. Sharpe on Writing Dave Fowler's Memoir, BASSically Speaking

  5. Jul 21

    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

    Chip McCabe on Self-Publishing His Horror Novel Kindred

  6. Jun 22

    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 projectUnpack how Aversion to Normalcy got cut at Blackbird Studios with producer Nathan Yarborough on a DIY budgetBreak down the TikTok and Spotify run that pushed The Quarantined past 40M views and 900K streamsTrace the move across LA, Florida, Boston, and Nashville and what that grind actually costs an artistTalk veteran mental health, PTSD, and writing songs that double as survival tools instead of brandingGet 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

    The Quarantined's Sean Martin on 900K Streams, 40M TikTok Views, and No Label

  7. Apr 28

    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 scratchLearn the Instagram discipline host Lance Marwood and Mark dissect for organic growth without follow-for-follow gimmicksUnpack the booking timeline, venue myths, and community-first systems behind a 107-date Good Vibes Highway runSteal the two-week sprint method Mark uses to A/B test reels and find his highest converting contentWrestle with AI, AGI, and what it means to be human alongside a former rocket scientist turned songwriterDecide 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

    Mark Winters: From Aerospace Engineer to 107-Date Tour

  8. Apr 14

    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 aloneHow the new sincerity movement pushes back against layers of ironic artifice in online cultureBuilding a 60-person poetry reading community from scratch with zero formal planThe case for keeping a day job so you can approach your art from love instead of desperationHow Rilke wrote two masterworks in weeks and what that says about creative production vs. productivityWhy 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

    Samantha Willman: Truth, Poetry, and the Love It Demands
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About

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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