Joe Pug will not engage in the Left-Brained Vs Right-Brained debate. His artistry and pragmatic business sense have lived in actual parallel through his music career. His songwriting and creativity are fueled by passion and result in dramatic and exciting songs, as on his new album Sketch of a Promised Departure. He also has stayed ahead of the curve and created an ecosystem where self-reliance, growth and music business thrive especially with his latest venture, The Nation of Heat Vault that has every album, podcast, and newsletter up behind a paywall. In our interview, we dig into his creative process, artistic balance and family life while creating his latest project.

The album was made on his own time at his new home studio (which he's been working on for a decade). His reflection of having complete control over the music production is one of relief and joy in that he was able to take as long as he wanted. We go through several songs on the album, remarking on songs like "Then the Rain," which shines in it's simplicity just like many of Lucinda Williams songs, one of his biggest inspirations. We also talk about his life journey into adulthood when he moved to Chicago, which is a chapter in his life he is writing about in detail on the new album. He talks about what he hopes for his own young kids' futures and how parenting has changed since he first became a dad seven or eight years ago. And of course, we talk about his fantastic podcast, The Working Songwriter and how being an interviewer has changed his attitude about being the interviewee.

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