Aug 20, 2026 · 57 min · 15 segments
**Michael Stradford** may be the most interesting man in comics. He's worked in Radio, Film, the Music Industry and now Comics. His latest endeavor, Grindhouse Comics Presents, showcases one of his…
Michael StradfordGuest
BJ KicksHost
I think, you know, I guess for context, before I was ever in comics, I used to run or host a music marketing education channel.
And so I had a podcast where we spoke with music industry veterans to explain different roles, responsibilities and strategies for music industry success.
A&R meant like dude with blank check waiting to discover me, right? And, but I think for purpose of this conversation, the job of an A&R is not all that unlike the job of like a comic book editor, right? Like there is part of it that's like talent scouting, part of it that's project managing, you know, like having an idea for what the creative, you know, goals of the label are at this point, the publisher, right? And saying, you know what? Like this songwriter does really great stuff that might work with this voice, right? Like we can get them together.
I don't think people know how much of an industry, uh, you know, the music industry is, especially like once you get to like that top level, uh, you know, music publishing, like there's people, there's people whose jobs it is to like lock people up in contracts and say, all right, you sit in a studio and write songs and I'm going to listen to these songs and be like, okay,
And so that's how you end up with all these stories of like, Oh, I had this one first and this and that.
Like your favorite artist doesn't just sit in the studio, come up with a song and you know, boom, we've got gold.
Um, But, you know, comparing that to something like comics that, you know, can have just as much chaos going on around it, but often feels just as intimate as, you know, say your favorite R&B songs.
these creative passion projects, but also you've got a deep Rolodex and you know who to call to make it happen.
And so with that said, we got to talk about Grindhouse and, you know, how this became the next project for Gizmo and how you're bringing it all together.
I think, you know, I guess for context, before I was ever in comics, I used to run or host a music marketing education channel.
And so I had a podcast where we spoke with music industry veterans to explain different roles, responsibilities and strategies for music industry success.
A&R meant like dude with blank check waiting to discover me, right? And, but I think for purpose of this conversation, the job of an A&R is not all that unlike the job of like a comic book editor, right? Like there is part of it that's like talent scouting, part of it that's project managing, you know, like having an idea for what the creative, you know, goals of the label are at this point, the publisher, right? And saying, you know what? Like this songwriter does really great stuff that might work with this voice, right? Like we can get them together.
I don't think people know how much of an industry, uh, you know, the music industry is, especially like once you get to like that top level, uh, you know, music publishing, like there's people, there's people whose jobs it is to like lock people up in contracts and say, all right, you sit in a studio and write songs and I'm going to listen to these songs and be like, okay,
And so that's how you end up with all these stories of like, Oh, I had this one first and this and that.
Like your favorite artist doesn't just sit in the studio, come up with a song and you know, boom, we've got gold.
Um, But, you know, comparing that to something like comics that, you know, can have just as much chaos going on around it, but often feels just as intimate as, you know, say your favorite R&B songs.
these creative passion projects, but also you've got a deep Rolodex and you know who to call to make it happen.
And so with that said, we got to talk about Grindhouse and, you know, how this became the next project for Gizmo and how you're bringing it all together.
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