Garrett Barbuto on songwriting: building songs that actually move people

Garrett Barbuto is the frontman of Garrett Barbuto & The Hot Pursuit, a Calgary-based rock outfit blending classic energy with modern grit. Known for his soulful voice and grounded songwriting, Barbuto has carved out a space between old-school musicianship and new-era independence. With the band’s 2024 EP One More Glimpse and recent collaborations like “Why Be Lonely?” with Accidental Martyr, he’s proven both versatile and fearless in his evolution. In this episode of MAKE // BREAK, Garrett joins host Lance Marwood to talk about building creative momentum, redefining success on your own terms, and how the best work often comes from chasing passion over perfection.👀 What you’ll hear (4–6 bullets, no quotes)Reframing “success” in the music business and why he chose to go slow and methodicalHow bar-band seasons forged his live instincts and what authenticity really looks like onstageA practical songwriting system that favours motion, multiple ideas, and deadlines over waitingCollaboration lessons with a mentor–producer and the moment he pushed back to keep a song’s soulTactics for beating creative blocks with inputs, routines, and small constraints that create momentum🕰️ Chapters00:00:00 Intro, why Garrett Barbuto is on MAKE // BREAK00:00:45 Move to Calgary, bar-band beginnings, deciding to lead a band00:02:42 Writing with a mentor, learning by failing fast, demo-to-studio pipeline00:05:48 Timmins roots, classic rock imprint, the open-mic setlist laboratory00:07:16 What still works in bars and why those songs matter for new writing00:19:20 Performance persona, crowd energy, and letting moments happen instead of forcing them00:22:05 Authenticity through subtraction, delegating banter, playing to strengths00:30:56 Measuring creative progress beyond metrics, phrasing, and micro-choices that level up songs00:36:22 Collaboration friction, earning your voice, and protecting a song’s character00:39:04 Advice to musicians: seek real pros, expand your writing toolkit beyond acoustic guitar00:50:41 Inspiration vs discipline, systems, deadlines, and making ideas move00:59:08 Non-musical inputs, Canada stories, and stealing like an artist01:04:14 Plugs, new solo project timeline, where to follow🔗 Guest Links (site first, then socials)https://www.thehotpursuityyc.comhttps://instagram.com/garrettbarbutomusichttps://instagram.com/thehotpursuityyc🔗 MAKE // BREAK & Host Linkshttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/makebreakhttps://instagram.com/lowkeyhellishhttps://tiktok.com/@lowkeyhellish🔗 V13 Media Linkshttps://v13.netIf this helped, subscribe and tell us in the comments: does discipline beat inspiration in your songwriting(explicit language)#MakeBreak #GarrettBarbuto #Songwriting