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Tuning
“Now Youse Can’t Leave” -Sonny (A Bronx Tale)
I know, I know. Moshing Dark City with A Bronx Tale is like combining pasta primavera with licorice. It just isn’t done. But this is a special occasion as those two films happen to be favorites of this week’s guest, Angelo Spenillo, and therefore appropriate to share headliner space. Hey, I also unintentionally threw in a callback to a 1988 teen comedy in the main title to earmark issue 16. So pour yourself a tall glass of Coke Classic to accompany this quirky meal, put on your favorite headphones, crank up the volume, and get ready to rock 🎸.
-John
Moving Forward
Episode 469: Inspiring individuals: Angelo Spenillo 🎸
This week’s conversation reminds me of an intro that Steve Martin did for Tom Hanks during an awards broadcast many years ago. Martin rhetorically asked how Tom Hanks had such long lasting success before cheekily answering his own question: he only picked good movies to act in. While the words don’t reveal much, Martin’s tone and knowing smile acknowledged the years of struggle and hard work that underlined Hanks’ career; taking risks and never allowing himself to get stagnant or too comfortable.
Similarly, while this week’s episode may look like a best hits retrospective of a charmed life, Angelo Spenillo’s many achievements lie atop a consistent willingness to redefine himself by taking chances; even while enduring some hard punches in the process. I’ve known Angelo for over twenty years and seen some of the ups and downs he’s faced, sometimes choosing to take two steps back and only much later surging ahead four. His successes have come from doing everything to prevent himself from becoming caught in the word that is his new album’s title. He’s avoided the trappings of inertia, never letting one job or location define him. On one memorable occasion during our past life working for a big company, he took a risky leap that his ex-boss blasted as a “career ending move” over email. While replying with A Bronx Tale quote would have been the stuff of legend, his shrug-and-smirk proved to be equally badass (and more HR prudent for the time). Steve Martin would approve.
Since that “career ending move,” Angelo has worked for several successful tech companies, becoming one of the most lauded in-house attorneys in the nation; has performed in venues across the country as a rock guitarist; written an award winning book on careers (oh, the irony); and in between managed to build a life with a loving wife, two kids, and a dream home in Colorado. I should mention he’s also brilliant at picking audiobook voiceover talent (audible affiliate paid link).
In some ways, he’s still the metalhead from his teen years who prefers printed t-shirts and jeans over suits. Yet, he never allows his nostalgia to keep him stuck (or inert) in past glories. Rather, Angelo is an artist so determined to avoid the inertia of being too comfortable in one thing that it inspired him to compose a whole album around the subject. Once you listen to the story, listen to the music. Then find the courage to break out of your own inertias, whatever they may be. Angelo has lived, and continues to live his life and career according to this philosophy, which are his “liner notes” so to speak. That he’s done so while maintaining a fantastic post-grad school hairline (the only acceptable inertia) makes me a tad jealous, but I digress.
“The secret to great hair is a magical ingredient that can only be found within the feast of seven fishes.”
[Special thanks to Angelo for lending the track Walk Alone for this episode. Music credit: Walk Alone was composed and performed by Angelo Spenillo from the album Inertia. ©2024 by Angelo Spenillo. All Rights Reserved.]
Watch this week’s episode on Spotify and check out Angelo’s new album Inertia.
The audio-only version is available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, iHeart, CastBox, Pocket Casts, Spotify for Podcasters (formerly Anchor), and Audible.
More on Angelo
Moving forward as a professional metalhead
I first met Angelo in fall 1998. We were transfer students to Georgetown Law, lost in a sea of strange faces. In law school, you typically forge your deep friendships in the first year. You survive the trenches together, form study groups, get into high school-like drama, explore your new neighborhood, laugh, sometimes even cry over everything from breakups to getting a B on your final exam. That’s the law school bonding experience or surviving your first year. Both Angelo and I had this but at different schools. Being a transfer is, to use a trite cliché, like “being a fish out of water.” You’re in a new school, a new environment, surrounded by people you don’t know. It’s like being a first-year student all over again, only with the responsibilities and workload of a seasoned 2L.
Angelo and I first met at a library tour for transfer students (yes, we’re nerds). There were only three of us. Like me, Angelo was newly arrived, just trying to figure things out.
This would become a recurring theme throughout our law school lives and beyond.
Flash forward several years and we’re waiting for the results of the bar exam. He’s working for the federal government and I’m working at a mid-sized law firm in DC. We meet up for lunch and we’re both miserable; so much so that we make a pact that if we fail, we’re going to enroll in a trucking school. At that time, any job other than the one I had seemed like a better path to happiness.
A few more years later, I’m working for a Fortune 500 company. Meanwhile, Angelo has done everything from working in a small law firm to guitar sales. I recruit him into the company and we reconnect. It’s during this time that I learn about Angelo’s passion for metal music.
In today’s conversation, we talk about how metal has influenced his career and life decisions. All of this is detailed in his new book I am a Professional Metalhead. Angelo credits last year’s book writing mini-series as the catalyst for writing it. But the truth is, he did all the work; writing a fantastic book in just 6 months.
Being a non-metalhead, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it would be an interesting story. What I didn’t anticipate was being swept up into Angelo’s past life, from his early days in high school to college. I also got insights into those years that our paths crossed in law school and beyond; all from the point of view of someone who has been a lifelong metalhead.
In today’s episode, we talk a lot about what motivated him to write this book, and share some lessons, including one of my favorite concepts:
"MCZ” or metal comfort zone.
This is a very unique framework that looks at how you can evolve in your musical tastes. It's also a great lens that helped Angelo make some major life decisions.
In this conversation, we also talk about his life, his many careers, which are as varied and twisty as mine, and of course, our favorite series, Cobra Kai.
Check it out and even if you’re not a metalhead, take it from me, this is a book that will send some great inspirational notes into your mind and heart as you take the next steps to move forward.
John
The audio-only version is available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart, CastBox, Pocket Casts, Spotify for Podcasters (formerly Anchor), and Audible.
The song is about people who are always saying ‘the time isn’t right, I just gotta wait for that right time’ and they’re in this inertia where they’re following this path … and the key is that you have to break that.
Some things I learned from and about Angelo on this week’s episode:
Why he’s not a breakfast guy.
Why he decided to record a new album 16 years after his last one.
What made recording an album in 2024 vastly different than in 2008.
How a modern day recording studio can fit into a laptop.
How someone who hates social media uses it without losing his sanity.
What convinced him to watch Cobra Kai seasons 4 and 5 (and his verdict).
Why the biggest Dune fan hasn’t seen Dune 2 yet.
Learn more about Angelo from past Moving Forward episodes:
Interview series with Angelo Spenillo (legacy website blogs)
MF 319 : Angelo Spenillo shares the “metal way” to make career transitions
MF 291 : A conversation with Angelo Spenillo on audiobooks, and being a metalhead
MF 273 : Angelo Spenillo on moving forward as a professional metalhead
MF 201 : A Christmas Carol (1984) Movie Commentary, with John Lim and Angelo Spenillo
MF 010 : How Angelo Spenillo Became a Rockstar Lawyer by Being Like Water
Connect with Angelo:
Listen to Inertia on your favorite platform.
Get Angelo’s book I Am a Professional Metalhead.
Weekly quirky news (career or “career ending” edition)
🎥🛫⏱, 🕙🥪😭, 🚗🚢⚙️⚗️, 🗣⁉️
Why you should never keep a Subway employee in inertia at closing time.
Inventions that were maybe a little too ahead of their time.
Yes, even speaking gibberish can be a viable a career path.
Resources
Teach a man to fish, you know the rest (if you don’t, check these out).
Book a coaching call with me on Clarity.
Follow me on Goodreads for book recommendations.
Check out one of my favorite daily newsletters Morning Brew (affiliate referral link).
Books
I wrote most of these so spruce up your home library and look smart in the process.
The Poshmark Guide for Individuals and Small Businesses (Paperback, Kindle, Audible)
The Poshmark Guide for Individuals and Small Businesses (Apple audiobooks)
I Am a Professional Metalhead (audiobook) (Audible affiliate link) written by Angelo Spenillo, narrated by John Lim
Support the newsletter and podcast
“What are you selling?!?” -actual quote from a b-school classmate
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Affiliate disclosure
Note: Links to Amazon and Audible products are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.