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Forging Flame is a guided exploration of the creative process, set within our conversations with other creatives, artists, and entrepreneurs.

Join us as we dig deep at the heart of how and why they do what they do, investigating every fissure and vane along the way.

Featured Episode

Episode 5: Jessica Haeckel

Jessica is a multi-talented artist, and she joins us gearing up for the release of her long-awaited new album Empty Boat. For the first time ever, she shares the beautiful physical albums she created for this release.

Empty Boat will be out on July 15th, 2020, but you can head over to jessicahaeckel.com to pre-order the album.

All Episodes

Ep. 21 — Charles Burt

Ep. 21 — Charles Burt

In following up an episode like Charles Burt’s with a written piece, it can be incredibly difficult to even begin to sift out the useful or impactful bits and translate them into a format like this, due to the quantity of seemingly important words, and seamless way...

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Ep. 20 — Kim McCann

Ep. 20 — Kim McCann

Kim McCann is an artist to her core, and one of the most interesting, beautiful souls I’ve ever met. We had an exceptional conversation in Episode 20 of Forging Flame, and there’s much that could be discussed about it here in this heckin’ bloggo.  We could talk...

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Ep. 19 — Harder Brunch

Ep. 19 — Harder Brunch

In Episode 19, Ryan and I met up with the boys from Harder Brunch, Dyke Michaels and Kris King. Now, typically, when writing these blogs, especially since they correspond directly to an episode, we try to keep the content relevant somehow to a salient point that was...

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Ep. 18 — Ricardo Laranja

Ep. 18 — Ricardo Laranja

Ricardo Laranja is a world class musician, producer, composer, teacher, and he was my primary mentor during my time in college. I can't understate the positive impact this guy had on my life. In the beginning of this podcast, I stammered a bit trying not to say...

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Ep. 17 — Zach Rohn

Ep. 17 — Zach Rohn

In the future, if, for some unfortunate reason, Forging Flame crashes and explodes against the rocks in a ball of fiery glory, an individual motivated enough to look back through our ancient podcast archives and determine where was the starting point of our demise, is...

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Ep. 16 — On Suicide

Ep. 16 — On Suicide

This is our heaviest episode yet….by far, but Ryan and I felt it necessary to use our platform to help bring even more awareness to the topic of suicide, and suicide prevention. We’re obviously not professionals, and you shouldn’t confuse our advice with being...

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Ep. 15 — Ryan Penington

Ep. 15 — Ryan Penington

Ryan Penington is living out his own, personal Hero’s Journey. Hailing from the Home Base of Forging Flame, the Hoosier state, this prodigal son has lived an exceptional tale of following his heart and the creative pull that guides him. While he’s absolutely a...

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Ep. 14 — Joey Turner and Baby Nick

Ep. 14 — Joey Turner and Baby Nick

In this far-out episode of Forging Flame, Ryan and I sit down with Joey Turner and “Baby Nick”, from the yet-to-be-released “Mellow + Yellow” podcast. Joey is also a poet, a stay-at-home dad, and the founder of a work-in-progress collaborative art project called “Dojo...

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Ep 13 – Ryan M. Brewer

Ep 13 – Ryan M. Brewer

Adorcism is the term used to define the process of willing possession, or at least the acceptance of and assimilation with a possessing entity or force, typically with the intention of using the entity’s power for the benefit of the host. It’s also the name of Ryan M....

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Ep 12 – Mallory Hodgkin

Ep 12 – Mallory Hodgkin

Mallory Hodgkin is a beautiful human being. She came to do the typical Forging Flame thing, where she comes and talks about her creative process and inspiration and whatnot, and instead, wound up doing the typical Forging Flame thing, where we have a super-deep...

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Ep 11 – Perfectionism, Procrastination, Paralysis

Ep 11 – Perfectionism, Procrastination, Paralysis

Perfectionism is a thief in the night. It's the friend that betrays you. It presents itself as a positive ideal, meanwhile burying you in erroneous detail and increasing self-doubt. That’s why this episode needed to be made.  We’ve spoken amongst one-another...

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Ep 10 – Brandon Whittington

Ep 10 – Brandon Whittington

In Episode 10 (double digits! WOOT.) of Forging Flame, Ryan and I took the opportunity to go a slightly different direction than our norm, when scheduling a guest for the show.  Typically, we’re sitting down and talking with artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs...

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Ep 9 – Tommy Dant

Ep 9 – Tommy Dant

I think I speak for both Ryan and myself when I say that neither of us really have too much of a clue about what it means to be stylish, or really even why anyone would bother. In some ways, it can seem that those obsessed with fashion are, in the worst of cases,...

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Ep 8 – Joey Edwards

Ep 8 – Joey Edwards

This episode of Forging Flame features Joey Edwards—maker of weird and wonderful things! From wire sculptures to award winning photo-realistic pumpkin carvings, to paintings and mixed media visual art—Joey's work exudes his affinity for all things spooky and dark, but...

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Ep 7 – Drink Culture

Ep 7 – Drink Culture

We’ll start this blob by expressing our extreme gratitude to Jared & Fabian from the Drink Culture podcast for sharing their story with us. As Forging Flame is a very new show, it was incredibly beneficial for us to get multiple perspectives on the entire life...

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Ep 6 – Mike Angel

Ep 6 – Mike Angel

In this well-lubricated (thanks, Hotel Tango!) episode of Forging Flame, we sit down with hometown hero and Midwestern heartthrob, Mike Angel. On top of being one of the most charming and effortlessly charismatic dudes we’ve ever met, Mike is a super-talented musician...

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Ep 5 – Jessica Haeckel

Ep 5 – Jessica Haeckel

Past conversations with Jessica Haeckel may have been the key inspiration for starting this podcast. Jessica is a multi-talented, multi-faceted, multi-instrumental polymath artist with such a down to earth and unique relationship to her own creative process. She is...

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Ep 4 – Mike G

Ep 4 – Mike G

Our guest on this podcast is Mike Gillis. Mike G (@wheresmikeg on Instagram) is a cultural icon in Indianapolis and Chicago, cementing his foothold in the social media space as a digital marketing monolith. On top of building a subversive and burgeoning marketing...

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Ep 3 – Colby Holmes

Ep 3 – Colby Holmes

Colby was gracious enough to host our podcast recording sessions in his new studio rehearsal space called Prospect East. He's fresh off an album release for his latest project, Status Foe. He gives some insight into how the project came into being and how he manages...

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Episode 2

Episode 2

In our curious study of the creative process, we begin with ourselves. Our relationship with creativity is somewhat unconventional and mildly synaesthetic. This conversation covers a lot of ground! We start on how we met 14 years ago and move on to our experiences...

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Prologue

Prologue

July 2nd, 2020 marked the beginning of our new podcast Forging Flame, a freeform exploration of the creative process. And while it's only beginning, this has been a lifetime in the making.  In the first episode of Forging Flame, Nick and I talk briefly about our...

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