Ryan Rado

Nashville to Oregan 2026 ROAD SMASHIN 🙏

Stop trying to impress people - it’s corny. • @makeitperfectshow ep 73 @gamesweplay on YT now link in bio. • Timestamps 00:00 – “I’m nervous.” | Starting the painting 02:10 – Fear of making bad art 04:28 – Providing for a family as an artist 07:12 – Recording at Foo Fighters’ Studio 606 09:30 – The pressure of making a personal album 13:02 – Writing authentic music vs chasing hits 16:48 – Zach Bryan, storytelling, and honesty in songwriting 20:14 – Wanting people to sing your songs back to you 23:37 – Fatherhood, painting, and losing yourself in creativity 27:55 – Minecraft, failure, and the creative process 31:42 – YouTube views, validation, and why Make It Perfect exists 35:20 – Julien Baker, Boygenius, and vulnerable songwriting 40:11 – Writing a song about his mom 45:05 – Parenting, mistakes, and keeping communication open 49:48 – Turnstile, hardcore, and the dream of playing bigger shows 54:32 – Discovering what Games We Play is actually supposed to be 58:40 – Authenticity vs trying to impress people in LA 1:03:25 – The Artist’s Way, burnout, and creative blocks 1:07:44 – Feeling 15 years old while becoming an adult 1:12:18 – Starbucks, self-image, and body dysmorphia 1:17:03 – Why vulnerability matters in art 1:21:56 – Therapy, childhood instability, and emotional endurance 1:27:30 – Tough love, sensitivity, and becoming a father 1:33:48 – Learning to stand up for yourself 1:38:20 – Contradictions, identity, and what Make It Perfect is really about 1:43:15 – Dave Portnoy, Taylor Swift, and authenticity 1:46:57 – Forgiveness, discipline, and self-worth 1:51:12 – Painting reveals personality 1:54:40 – Julien Baker and painting her album artwork 1:59:08 – A message to Los Angeles 2:01:05 – Final paintings reveal + reflections ———

This dog almost ruint my 20min highway paint stop. Im doing these from now until the end of time and until the cows come home until the buzzer rings BC I love it. Coeur d'Alene Lake on the way to OR on a jet2 holiday

CLEARLY IM UP AND COMING NO GHOST WRITER THAT MEANS I WRITE ALL MY OWN JOKES.

I will report back on this.

Meeting people in bands who just want the fame. •’ Make It Perfect 73 X Emmyn Calleiro @gamesweplay on YT. Link in @makeitperfectshow bio • He’s 25, has a newborn, just left a major label deal — and he’s still chasing arenas. Emmyn (Games We Play) paints on a rooftop in DTLA with Ryan Rado to paint while unpacking the most vulnerable album of his career — one he wrote almost entirely alone.

How many threads run through different art practices? Make It Perfect 72 X Ken Andrews on YT. Link to ep in @makeitperfectshow bio • TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Intro / downtown LA parking lot 00:40 — Ryan watched the Failure documentary 01:02 — How long the documentary actually took (5 years editing, 10 years total) 02:28 — How Failure writes: uncovering something that already exists 03:39 — Ken asks Ryan about the painting process 04:12 — Working with Teenage Wrist / active shooter situation at the hotel 05:28 — Moving from producing into mixing, the solitary life of a mixer 07:09 — Mixing as the frame around the song 09:07 — Music recording vs. filmmaking: the DP is the recording engineer 10:26 — Would Ken ever make a movie? 11:21 — Why song creation is Ken’s drug (dopamine, fast results) 13:36 — Listening back to Magnified — what’s cringe, what’s untouchable 14:39 — The drum machine secret in Magnified’s recording 17:04 — The Failure documentary origins, Sony Handycam tapes from the 90s 18:34 — Greg’s heroin premonition — caught on tape and Ken didn’t even know 22:40 — Greg Edwards at Exit Inn, a moment Ryan won’t forget 23:33 — Lyric writing: a burden Ken didn’t always want 25:24 — Heliotropic took 2.5 weeks and almost got scrapped 27:14 — The 50/50 songwriting deal that changed everything for Failure 28:17 — Being a band’s band — is it a compliment or a box? 29:58 — When your friends are in bigger bands 31:01 — One person. That’s enough. (Greg says it in the doc, Ken lives it) 32:02 — Wrapping up / Walter Schreifels parking lot story

Some have said that Failure is a band’s band; here is the most honest take on that from Ken Andrews. • Make It Perfect 72 X Ken Andrews on YT. Link in @makeitperfectshow bio • TIMESTAMPS 28:17 — Being a band’s band — is it a compliment or a box? 29:58 — When your friends are in bigger bands 31:01 — One person. That’s enough. (Greg says it in the doc, Ken lives it)

Ken Andrews paints a version of Failure’s album cover for Location Lost - plein air painting for you painters out there. Watch the full episode - YT link in @makeitperfectshow bio • Make It Perfect 72 X Ken Andrews @andrewsken @failurebandig • This is Make It Perfect at its finest. Subscribe for more. • Ken Andrews (Failure, ON, Year Of The Rabbit) gets to painting with Ryan in a downtown Los Angeles parking lot for one of the most honest conversations about making music we’ve had on this show. • ⏱ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Intro / downtown LA parking lot 00:40 — Ryan watched the Failure documentary 01:02 — How long the documentary actually took (5 years editing, 10 years total) 02:28 — How Failure writes: uncovering something that already exists 03:39 — Ken asks Ryan about the painting process 04:12 — Working with Teenage Wrist / active shooter situation at the hotel 05:28 — Moving from producing into mixing, the solitary life of a mixer 07:09 — Mixing as the frame around the song 09:07 — Music recording vs. filmmaking: the DP is the recording engineer 10:26 — Would Ken ever make a movie? 11:21 — Why song creation is Ken's drug (dopamine, fast results) 13:36 — Listening back to Magnified — what's cringe, what's untouchable 14:39 — The drum machine secret in Magnified's recording 17:04 — The Failure documentary origins, Sony Handycam tapes from the 90s 18:34 — Greg's heroin premonition — caught on tape and Ken didn't even know 22:40 — Greg Edwards at Exit Inn, a moment Ryan won't forget 23:33 — Lyric writing: a burden Ken didn't always want 25:24 — Heliotropic took 2.5 weeks and almost got scrapped 27:14 — The 50/50 songwriting deal that changed everything for Failure 28:17 — Being a band's band — is it a compliment or a box? 29:58 — When your friends are in bigger bands 31:01 — One person. That's enough.

What if you didn’t have any tattoos.. • Meeting @buzzyjenkins dad back in the day.. • A theory ab Tourette’s Syndrome lore.. • The difference between grabbing and grazing.. • Link to full episode in @makeitperfectshow description. • We party. 00:00 – Opening chaos + setting the tone 01:03 – Buzzy Jenkins + Canyon Electric Tattoo 03:12 – Painting begins (“paint your emotions”) 05:30 – Losing their fathers 09:40 – Grief, closure, and last conversations 13:20 – Becoming a dad + thinking about death 16:05 – First day your kid goes to school (panic) 19:00 – Opening a tattoo shop (real talk) 25:10 – Tattooing = vulnerability + trust 30:05 – Why people get tattoos (vanity vs meaning) 34:45 – Adrenaline, identity, and permanent choices 40:12 – What makes a good tattooer (it’s not what you think) 46:25 – The physical + mental toll of tattooing 52:15 – Tattoo identity vs “artist” ego 58:05 – Tattoo culture: then vs now 1:01:10 – Social media + how it changed everything 1:09:00 – Bad tattoo stories + accountability 1:13:15 – Are tattoos still rebellious? 1:20:20 – Control vs trust in tattooing 1:29:00 – Perfection in art (does it exist?) 1:36:00 – Final painting + closing thoughts

Band formed in 2003?? Something like that - we play every 7 years or something like that. Colson 4ever. At @endnashville with the great @celebrity.band and @tenkiller_band April 10 2026. So many old friend. Love jamming.

Why do you get tattooed? Make It Perfect 71 X @buzzyjenkins on YT - link to full on @makeitperfectshow bio go watch • 30:05 – Why people get tattoos (vanity vs meaning)