In “The Grind,” I am joined by Chris Edwards, otherwise known as Meat, to talk about the daily labor, routine, pressure, and chaos of the restaurant industry. Meat was the chef at Art Boutiki, the music venue I operated until it closed in December 2025, and he saw firsthand the many grinds involved in keeping a venue running.

Later, I share a story from the 1990s about the day Jeff Smith, creator of BONE, walked into my comic book store and pitched us on carrying his book—and what that moment says about the work behind every creative success.

I am going to admit that, from a production standpoint, this one was another step backwards for me. Much like my previous decision to record in my car, this time I decided to record in my back yard and it turned out, not well. There was all kinds of road noise and wind that I tried my best to eliminate and I had the gain on the mic turned up so loud that every breath I took sounded like I was broadcasting from a hurricane.

Why didn't I just start over? Because the story itself is difficult to tell. Doing it again would have been a technical improvement, but I am not sure I would have had the energy to recount the incident as well as I did in the take that you are listening or watching.

And if you are watching the video version of this, yes I do have a face made for radio and yes I did leave the autofocus turned on.

Long story short, the story is worth listening to, I will get better at this and lastly thanks for your time and support.

To be honest, this episode is pretty solid, just not the sound or video quality I wanted. I got a lot of compliments on my first episode's production values, so I am now willing to take the lumps on this one. You let me know.

Episode four or five is going to be a Q&Q, AMA type thing so if you have questions for me, please direct them to my email at danvado@gmail.com

Next week, a story from Comic-Con

Before there is a book, a comic, a song, a podcast, a company, or a stage, there is usually one unreasonable belief: that the idea in your head is worth bringing into the world.

As SLG Publishing celebrates its 40th anniversary, Vado reflects on the confidence, delusion, ego, and blind faith involved in his own path through being a creativer professional..

This episode sets the tone for My Five Minutes: short, personal reflections on creativity, memory, mistakes, publishing, music, failure, and the strange art of not quitting.

Topics: creativity, ego, indie comics, SLG Publishing, podcast launch, independent publishing, creative risk, making art, failure, persistence.

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