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On this episode of Decoding the Muse, my longtime friend John "Slo" Maggard, bassist for Hero and the Horror and former bassist for the band Unearth, stops by for a chat about music and the creative process. We talk about where he draws his inspiration from for creating music even while having a family and a career, impacts of COVID-19 on his band's release and touring plans, and even get him to share some stories of the shenanigans that come from his time in Unearth on the road.Be sure to check out Hero and the Horror on Spotify and other music services. The band expects to release its EP of new music late May 2020 following on the success of their recent single, When They See Us.

On this episode of Decoding the Muse, we dive into the world of music with guitarist Mike Abdow. Mike has a long list of credits as a solo artist, touring guitarist for prog-metal pioneers Fates Warning, guitarist for Fates Warning front man Ray Alder's solo project, What the Water Wants, and years playing with New England hair metal cover band Aquanett. On this podcast, Mike talks about his roots as a guitarist, the differences between playing with established bands and writing his own solo music, and his musical influences.Mike's solo work, including his newest release Heart Signal (releasing April 24, 2020), can be found at www.michaelabdow.com.

On this episode of Decoding the Muse, Kedzie Teller talks about his marketing consultancy business, including advice for others seeking to take a similar path and some of the challenges he's facing during a challenging time of social distancing and isolation. He also shares what his favorite creative pursuits are and how to balance being creative with running a growing business.For more information about Kedzie and his business, visit www.kedziet.com or follow him on Twitter @kedz.

In this episode of Decoding the Muse, author J.E. Taylor talks about how she's written over 50 novels in 13 years, tips for working with a co-author, provides some editing advice, and how she's done so much work in organized writing "sprints." All that, along with details about her recently released trilogy "Running From The Devil" and upcoming novel "Spindle."Check out all of Jane's work at jetaylor75.com. 

On this episode of Decoding the Muse, author Shane Robitaille talks about his recently released book, Rockit Crew: The Adventures of Teenage Hip-hop Misfits, and the journey that led him to writing his first novel. We also talk about his professional journey, including time spent in the US Air Force and working at the White House ... along with some nontraditional writing advice for you aspiring authors out there.Shane's novel can be found on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Listeners may also be interested in checking out Shane's very active Tumblr account.