Em here! I called Dan this morning to tell him how nervous I was about this episode because we attempt to tackle so much in this short 30 minutes. We move from the idea of having a creative process to applying that process toward writing about identity to the use of identity as a pathway to creative genuineness... and all of the ways that telling a "genuine story" has shown up as a guiding light through Dan's career with SLG. Dan has a personal credo on the value of making art that one NEEDS to make as opposed to making stuff you want to make or think you should make, and that serves as a major undertone for a lot of these early episodes.

One big piece of SLG History you'll hear us referencing is Jhonen Vasquez's Johnny the Homocidal Maniac, which attracted a fair bit of attention when Dan was publishing it in the 90s. (Or so I've been told -- I was a baby at the time so my knowledge of alternative comics was somewhat limited.) I'll add that to the links below if you want to check it out.

BTW -- we have an instagram: @unexpectedmentorpod where I post little video clips of our favorite episodes bits.

Also check out The Unexpected Mentor Patreon. We're putting together a little list of nice things we can do for patrons, so if there's something you want to see or have (t-shirts, full uncut episodes, live recordings, etc) let us know on Insta.

Other links:

• The Unexpected Mentor official website
• The Art Boutiki official website
• Me on Instagram: @indie.sweetheart.emily
• The Art Boutiki's Instagram: @artboutiki
• Mentioned in this episode: Johnny the Homocidal Maniac

Okay thanks see you again soon :)

Hiya! Emily again. Episode three. Fear of screwing up.

Back in November when we recorded these first few episodes, I was so excited about the vision for this project that I would often go home and edit our long conversations down to a rough-cut episode just a day or two after recording. It became a ritual for Dan and I to sit around a laptop and listen to it together the next time we met and discuss (or, more often, vehemently disagree about) what was interesting and what needed to be cut. When we listened to this episode I remember he gave me a really skeptical look and said "Do you really think this is going to resonate with anyone?" -- In response to which I INSISTED that this episode was the best one yet.

I still believe it is. Let me know what you think.

BTW -- if you're not following us on Instagram, check us out: @unexpectedmentorpod (I mostly just post silly little video clips of me and Dan arguing)

If you like this thing and you want to see more things like it, join us on The Unexpected Mentor Patreon. Your support is immensely appreciated and we love you.

Here's a few other links:

• The Unexpected Mentor official website
• The Art Boutiki official website
• Me on Instagram: @indie.sweetheart.emily
• The Art Boutiki's Instagram: @artboutiki

That's all. Hope you love it. Hope you go make something cool. Hope we can all get a little braver and push through how scary it is to make that thing we NEED to make.

Love you. See you next Thursday.

Dan Vado here, welcome to the second episode of The Unexpected Mentor. I’m assuming you are here because you listened to and found something interesting in the first episode. As Emily mentioned in the previous episode notes, I was (at the time of this recording) involved mainly because I was trading my time for some help with my music venue's social media. I discovered that deep inside the person I was doing my best to make go away was an extraordinarily talented and smart young person whom I now have the privilege of working with and stealing the spotlight from where I can.

Mentorship is weird; I didn’t even realize it’s what I was doing, so the title here rings true. Since the first episode's release, I have heard from many people who told me that I had helped them in some way in their creative or professional lives.

I hope you get something from this as much as I have gained from being part of it.

Here's some links:

• The Unexpected Mentor Official Website
• Follow Us on Instagram
• Support Us on Patreon
• Emily's infamous book: Butterfly Net: Poems
• The Art Boutiki Music Hall and Comic Shop in San Jose

Produced and edited by Emily Parent. Music by Dillon Vado. Episodes post every Thursday.

Emily here. Truly, honestly, thanks for tuning in. This podcast means a lot to us.

This episode was our proof of concept. Neither of us were convinced at the time of recording this that the other party would have anything of value to say. At the time, I think Dan was just hoping to get some free social media consultation and I was certainly hoping to bring more exposure to my newly published book. It's not until somewhere in the middle of this first episode that we stop and listen to each other and realize that the other might have something interesting to offer.

The conversation in this episode was recorded in November 2024. Stay tuned for the next few weeks and you might find yourself inspired, like I was, to be a little more honest in your creative endeavors -- and in your overall life.

Love you. Here's some links.

• The Unexpected Mentor Official Website
• Follow Us on Instagram
• Support Us on Patreon
• Read for yourself that book we pick apart: Butterfly Net: Poems
• The Art Boutiki Music Hall and Comic Shop in San Jose

Produced and edited by Emily Parent. Music by Dillon Vado. Wise advice by Dan Vado. :) Episodes post every Thursday.

On The Unexpected Mentor, unlikely friends Dan Vado and Emily Parent attempt to sort out the truth of what it means to live – and attempt to make a living – as an authentic, independent artist.