Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast The Self Portrait Gospel :: Podcast

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, LA-based filmmaker Jed Rosenberg captured an incredibly intimate portrait of a true original whose art and poetic performances expressed the esoteric essence of the human spirit to its full potential. Gary Young (Garrit Allan Robertson Young) first appeared in the indie rock zeitgeist as Pavement's original drummer from 1989 till his departure in 1993. During this time in the band's harmonious history, he recorded, and sometimes produced, some of the group's earliest works, such as "Slay Tracks: 1933-1969," "Demolition Plot J-7," "Perfect Sound Forever," and the band's magnificent 1992 debut album "Slanted and Enchanted."

Yes, that's Young playing those ritualistic rhythms on tracks like "Here," "Zurich Is Stained," "In The Mouth a Desert," "Frontwards," and "Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse)" to name a few, and we couldn't be more thankful for his creative contribution. His psychedelic presence helped shape the band into the melodic monster they are today, as his sonic spirit continues to inspire and challenge the status quo of "what is, and what isn't suppoed to work." Gary Young was 70. (5.3.53-8.17.23)

"Mounting mileage on the dash - Double darkness falling fast - I keep stressng, pressing on - Way deep down at some substratum - Feels like something really wrong has happened - And I confess I'm barely hanging on"

As we near the end of the first season of "And The Nights Were Perfect, Too," we've finally arrived at the intimate intersection where you can see the poetic peaks of the purple hills, and the gorgeous glow of the melodic moon reflecting off the silver lake, quite and still. Christian Patterson is an interdisciplinary artist based in New York who works primarily with photography, books, and installation. In late 2018, Berman contacted Patterson about his most recent music project, Purple Mountains, and how to incorporate the photographer's work in some way, shape, or form.

Initially meeting Berman in Memphis in 2003/3004, when he drove down from Music City with Harmony Korine, and Steve West in search of a William Eggleston photograph for the cover of the Joos' fifth studio album "Tanglewood Numbers," Patterson takes us down memory lane in this captivating episode, and what would eventually lead to the Purple Mountains collaboration over a decade later. 

On this very special episode of "And The Nights Were Perfect, Too" - A Silver Jews Podcast, we have legendary drummer Steve West (Pavement, Silver Jews, Marble Valley) and Andra Sherman on the show to talk about their unique connection and deep-rooted love for their friend and poetic partner, David "Cloud" Berman. From West's formative years attending high school with future bandmate Bob Nastanovich in Charlottesville, VA, to relocating to NYC with Kevin Guthrie, the veteran musician tells us how he initially came into conatct with Berman and future Pavement leader Stephen Malkmus, going down to Memphis and recording the Joos' first studio album, "Starlite Walker," watching Berman's poetic pursuit and creative career flourish over the years, "Tanglewood Numbers," Pavements's recent two-night run at the Ryman in Nashville, and much more.

After relocating to the Bay Area in 1970, multi-instrumentalist, author, and sound artist Jim Nollman began his melodic practice in the avant-garde under the intense influence and surrealist spell of the late great John Cage. Eventually branching into the natural world of the animal kingdom after gaining wide attention and high praise for his 1982 debut on Folkways Records, "Playing Music With Animals: The Interspecies Communication of Jim Nollman with 300 Turkeys, 12 Wolves, 20 Orca Whales," the multi-disciplinary artist soon found himself occupying the unique universe where ancient creatures have roamed for millions of years across the salted soundscapes.

Still, one in particular stands out: the Orca Whale (Orcinus Orca). Between 1985 and 2002, Nollman carefully collected over 60 hours of various revolutionary recordings that capture the aquatic alphabet of one of the ocean's most beloved animals. Nollman's story is fascinating, and one for the ages as we unpack the melodic mysteries and barnacled backdrops of this aquatic adventure.

Multi-instrumentalist and melodic mind behind the crimson curtains of UK-based label Bella Union, SImon Raymonde is a household name in creative culture and poetic production. The veteran musician joined the unparalleled universe of Cocteau Twins in 1984 for the band's third album "Treasure," helping secure the iconic lineup we've come to love and wildly worship today. With the recent success of his meditative memoir "In One Ear: Cocteau Twins, Ivor, and Me," and his beloved imprint Bella Union nearing its 30th anniversary, Raymonde's legacy has become something purely poetic over the decades, with new generations dropping in at all hours of the night. 

John Burroughs once said, "For anything worth having one must pay the price, and the price is always work, patience, love, self-sacrifice. No paper currency, no promises to pay, but the gold of real service." It's difficult, oftentimes delusional, being an artist, head of a label, or band, but someone has to do it, right? We'll answere that for you, yes, and Raymonde has given us all hope to keep pushing through the annoying algorithms and endless exhaustion of our creative climate.

Cincinnati, OH-based animator, illustrator, journalist, and longtime Aquarium Drunkard collaborator Mark Neeley has blessed viewers with iconic illustrations and awesome animations for several years. Having released his debut animated short "Fragments" (2020) and the minute-long masterpiece "Pure Animation For Now People" (2024), which featured sounds from the great Mark Mothersbaugh, Neeley returns to the drawing board with an aquatic adaptation of the 1964 underground classic "The Clambake Mutiny." Based on the children's book by Jerome Beatty Jr. and Tomi Ungerer, the salty scene takes place on Monhegan Island in Maine, where locals celebrate a car-free living lifestyle against the barnacled backdrop of 1604 as a designated lobster conservation area. 

With music by Jim Putnam (Radar Brothers, Maids of Gravity), field recordings of the Atlantic by Nick Keeling, and a splendid narration by our mutual friend Spencer Cullum Jr., "The Clambake Mutiny" is Neeley's most ambitious work thus far in his career, but a peaceful picture that'll surely connect you with your innermost child charisma and fundamental fascination with the natural world. Set for release in mid-Novemeber.

I first became of aware of longtime Nashville artist Kevin Guthrie's work when Pavement played two sold-out shows at the Ryman in late July, and later realized how important his relationship not just with Berman, but with both bands and their close communtiy family and friends truly is. Guthrie relocated to NYC in 1990 with Steve West, where he soon met Berman, Nastanovich, and the rest of the gang before eventually planting roots in Nashville. Over the decades, Guthrie has toured with the Silver Jews, accompanying them on their legendary shows as a familiar face and helping hand, slinging merch. Guthrie stops by the podcast to talk about his unique relationship with this unparalleled universe of music, expression, and historical harmony that continues to ring out for other generations to hear.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, American film director, writer, producer and son of Bill Pellington, an All-Pro linebaker who played for the Baltimore Colts, Mark Pellington crash-landed in the music industry as an MTV intern only a couple of years into its dynamic development in the early 1980s. The industrious artist began blending unused clips, bits, and lyrical leftovers from music videos for his experimental music series "BUZZ" in the spring of 1990, and would eventually venture into the weird and wonderful world of grunge and the alternative afterlife.

Throughout his career, Pellington has directed music videos for Pearl Jam (including their groundbreaking single "Jeremy"). R.E.M., Jungle Brothers, U2, De La Soul, Foo Fighters, and Public Enemy, among several others. Eventually stepping into the directorial spotlight with films such as the 1997 cult classic "Going All The Way," "Arlington Road," and 2002's "The Mothman Prophecies," Pellington's career is as legendary as some of the folks he's worked with over the years.

Longtime member of Nashville's beloved Lambchop and Silver Jews, multi-instrumentalist, and southern gentleman Tony Crow has been sharpening his tonal tools and wild weapons of melodic magic for almost half a century. We could have talked to the veteran musician about Lambchop for an hour and a half; maybe one day we will, but we stayed the course as he pulled back the creative curtain to reveal his precious participation in the Joos from 2001-2009 on albums: "Bright Flight," "Tanglewood Numbers," and "Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea." On this episode of "And The Nights Were Perfect, Too," Crow stops by to talk about how he initially met Berman and the gang, the golden days of Nashville, Chattanooga, Lambchop, "Bright Flight" anecdotes, hot chicken, Titans, and much more.

Maybe you've seen his work while endlessly doom scrolling through the mundane matrix that is social media, or maybe his intense illustrations have pierced through your portable phone and into you're eyes as you gaze out the window, hoping the world isn't what you see on Instagram. Jesse Duquette is a brilliant illustrator based in the Windy City who's earned the title of Meta's most "shadowbanned cartoonist" since meticulously meditating on this abusive administraion since 2017. On this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we sit down with Duquette to talk about his early influences: underground comics, National Lampoon's Magazine, counterculture creatives, music, and of course, politics. Neither of us is "political"; we're simply trying to express and understand the times we're living in.

Drummer extradordinaire Brian Kotzur, one half of the mighty Nashville duo Country Westerns, and Ultra Frog, among several other groups, and projects, first joined the Silver Jews a few years before the band recorded its fifth studio album "Tanglewood Numbers," back when the late great Steve McNair, who earned NLF Co-MVP, three Pro Bowl selections, and led the Tennessee Titans to Super Bowl XXXIV was still alive, and well walking the Earth's precious green field turf. Over the next five years, or so, the band went on their first major tour across the US and Europe, and eventually to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem during the filming of the documentary "Silver Jew" in the summer of 2006. Eventualy releasing their final album "Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea," the band played their very last show in the New Year of 2009 at the infamous Caverns in McMinnville, TN, before disbanding into the evaporating ether of space and time, leaving behind the lyrical legacy and poetic presence of Berman's soulful singing spirit for future generations.

We're joined by Nick Sutton, who famously played Tummler, for this two-part episode to explore the endless enviroments of an atmospheric apocalypse where character and personality complete and revolutionary relationships. Sutton is based in Portland, OR, where he provides endless services to folks who've fallen on extremely hard times; instead of turning his back on these individuals, as society has time and time again, Sutton and his team invest in them by building them up instead of tearing them back down. In many ways, this ties into Gummo, and what better way to start a conversation than by talking about the real thing.

An intimately inspired continuation of 2024's beloved "Somthing In The Room," "Materia," which was released just this past weekend on Domino, is a melodic meditation on the ghostly harmonies of the past, present, and future, and how expressing a lyrical language to the community can heal time's endless wounds better than any over-the-counter medicine on the market. LA-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Julia Holter has carefully crafted her soothing songbook for two decades and has grown closer to her medium with each new release. Like staring directly into the sun, Holter's discography is an adventurous alphabet that speaks of the human experience, and we're here for it.

When delving into the unparalleled universe of David Berman, you've probably run across the name Gate Pratt several times in your research. A fundamental fixture in our poetic pursuit to better understand the melodic mysteries and artisitc attitudes of the late great David "Cloud" Berman, Pratt attended UVA in the mid-1980s as an architecture student, where he met Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich (Pavement), Kylie Wright, James McNew (Yo La Tengo), and several others. It's here that some of the group would go on to establish the infamous house band collective Ectoslavia.

While occupying the infamous "Red House" on 14th Street near the school's campus, which served as a creative conduit for the local community for decades, Pratt takes us through the meditational mist of memory where he first met Berman and formed a relationship that would last over four decades. Having written songs with Berman and even toured with Pavement in Europe back in the day, Pratt's academic ability to explore the realms of recall truly allows listeners to imagine that they were there in the year 1987, tuning into a late-night radio show after a night of partying, or studying only to hear the airwaves slither through you and your roommates' ears as the narrative of the night continues to unfold in the prime of youth.

Journalist, documentarian, scientific researcher, and transcendental trailblazer in psychedelic phenomenon, Hamilton Morris has explored spirituality and the esoteric ecosystems of enlightenment around the world for nearly two decades since the publication of his first article, "The Magic Jew", in 2008. Since then, he's established himself as one of the world's leading psychoactive drug journalists, publishing dozens of atmospherical articles for VICE, Harper's Magazine, Hamilton's Pharmacopeia, and hosting the Hamilton Morris podcast.

We chat with him briefly about the counterculture movement, the legalization of drugs, and its intense impact on society and the population, to say the least, during the ongoing "War on Drugs" and prohibition, as well as his current research on 7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine). Check out his YouTube channel and subscribe to his Patreon for further explorations into the never-ending narrative and revolutionary research of the psychedelic experience.

Some of you may have kept up with our series "The Burning Never Ending Magic Podcast" - A Sun City Girls Story, so we'll start there with our most recent guest on the "And The Nights Were Perfect, Too" - A Silver Jews Podcast, Matt Hunter. Born, and raised in Phoenix when groups like J.F.A., Meat Puppets, Poet's Corner, and of course, the Sun City Girls, to name a few, creatively controlled the sun-baked culture of the "Valley of the Sun", Hunter immersed himself in the local scene before eventualy connecting with our poetic protagonist, David Berman, in later years. A lot of you may already know about Hunter and his work with the New Radiant Storm Kings, which he started with fellow bandmate Peyton Pinkerton, who also participated on the Silver Jews' 1996 masterpiece "Natural Bridge".

Named after the 215-foot horizontal limestone structure in Rockbridge County, VA, where the Cedar Creek once flowed, Hunter takes us through the secret backroads of where the album was recorded in a once-old gun manufactoring warehouse in Hartford, CT, in 1996; the band followed Berman's legendary lead into the atmospheric aether where romanticism, religion, geographical gestures, and vibrant visuals of America's lyrical landscape peaks the interest of the most iconic individuals to reflect upon its beauty. "Natural Bridge" is a classic that even Joyce, Steinbeck, and Kerouac would find themselves listening to for an epidural of endless enlightenment.

Born in Reading, PA, in the spring of 1963, Chris Stroffolino is an American poet, scholar, writer, multi-instrumentalist, and author, among many other things. His creatively confident career in the arts has spanned four decades, from literature to music to publishing poetry to appearing on the Silver Jews' 1998 masterpiece "American Water". Having met Berman in the early 1990s, the two poets immediately conected on both a lyrical and a spiritually sophisticated level, setting the tender tone of a friendship that would last for decades.

In this episode, we sit down with Stroffolino to talk about how he initially met Berman, working alongside Stephen Malkmus, Mike Fellows, TIm Barnes, and others on the band's iconic third album, their virtual correspondence over the years via email, and his last creative credit with Berman on Purple Mountains' 2019 classic. Over the last year or so, Stroffolino has suffered from a stoke, so we would like to include his GoFundMe in the description of this week's episode for anyone who would like to donate or support his efforts and financial goals during these rather difficult times.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/sa222t-support-chris-journey-to-healing

For the first episode of "And The Nights Were Perfect, Too" - A Silver Jews Podcast, we travel back in time before all the fame and fans in the mid-1980s to speak to one of Berman's oldest friends, Kylie Wright. A staple student in the infamous "Red Haus" scene, located on 14th St. near "The Corner", while the gang attented the University of Virginia (UVA) during the Ectoslavia/Silver Jews/Pavement corss-pollination, the crew consisted of Berman, Gate Pratt, Rob Chamberlin, Chris Marsden, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and, of course, Kylie Wright herself, to name a few. 

From spiritual shenanigans to the exploratory exercise of experimental music and art, Wright takes us through the humble beginnings of her foundational friendships, all-star ancedotes from the creative community that captivated Charlottesville, and  beyond, her relationship with Berman, and his lyrical legacy that has truly transcended the times, and much more!

While conjuring the soothing sounds of Carly Simon's 1972 classic "No Secret" and balancing her own poetic place in this world, singer-singwriter Haylie Davis has been cutting her teeth on the LA scene for several years, with early projects such as Lady Apple Tree, Sylvie/Sam Burton, and collaborations with artists from Drugdealer to Alex Amen. But it's her 2026 debut, "Wandering Star", that truly separates her from the prolific past, where a fruitful future can be seen through the suffocating smoke and sometimes confusing climate of the music industry today.

From the West Coast to the East Coast, Davis has spun a whispery web of intimate ideas about what it's like to be a female songwriter of her generation, a vibrant voice in this day and age, eagerly creating folk/country music that is so dreamy and translucent in an otherwise saturated society of bothersome bots and empty entities clawing for our attention and time. Music has always been the vessel for spiritual solace, and Davis has fully embraced the culture and its unique responsibilities to inspire the people who genuinely make the world a better place.

Barnes has been incredibly busy all summer long with AFC-related projects and performances, their recent split cassette collaboration with LA-based duo Law, and the transcendental takeover of the beloved Gun Outfit all across the West Coast. But with all the excitement of our present times comes the feverish feedback of the past's poetic prolificacy. Barnes takes us through the process and atmospheric approach of perhaps one of AFC's most beloved releases, 1999's "Circuits". A brilliant body of work that captivates the human consciousness, the album eagerly explores monumental melodies, centuries of cosmic communication, and the fundamentals of folklore magic.

Featuring beloved songs like "Eyes That Shine", Nico's "Desert Shore" classic "Janitor Of Lunacy", "The Grey Funnel Line", and of course "Edward", Barnes walks us through the organic process of working alongside longtime collaborators and creative colleagues Tara "Tikki" Tavi, Joel Connell, Erika Anderson, and several others, to capture the profound purity, and timelessness of this metaphysical masterpiece.

From one end of the shore of some spiritually secluded sanctuary, resides a melodic memory of a time that has long since passed. Where world-renowned National Geographic photographers carefully captured the elemental essence of the natural world, a melodic meditation was eventually born from its atmospheric ashes. LA-based psych pirates and students of the sonic sunset Allah-Las have been creatively conjuring their blissful brand of surf sounds and intimate instrumental breaks for nearly two decades.

A local favorite, and a soothing staple in their community and culture, the Allah-Las have become an incredible institution for their generation's backdrop, while simutaneously representing as a conduit for the melodic magic of the 1960s and 1970s counterculture. We sit down to talk with Miles Michaud about the band's origins, their epic explorations in music, world travel, Bob Dylan's Patreon, the band's latest effort, "Sirenas," which is set for release on the Brooklyn-based label Mexican Summer in late August, and much more.

Portland, Oregon-based singer-songwriter, teacher, and DJ, Jeffery Silverstein, first came on the scene during his participation in groups such as the Brooklyn-based duo Nassau and Baltimore's Secret Mountains, before releasing his 2020 solo debut "You Become The Mountain." Since living in "Rose City," he has carefully crafted his atmospheric artisry within the cinemtaic cascades of spiritual soundscapes and the liberating landscapes that make up the cosmic country community, and beyond. Following up on his 2023 sophomore album "Western Sky Music," Silverstein returns to the sonic surface with perhaps his most eagerly ecstatic effort yet, 2026's debut on the London-based label Full Time Hobby, "Doggone." 

On this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we sit down with Silverstein to talk about the unique universe of friends and collaborators he's built in his Pacific Northwest, private press record rarities, finding one's voice, working with muscians like Dana Buoy (Akron/Family), Ryan Oxford (Y La Bamba, Rose City Band), and Devendra Banhart, to name a few, touring London, and Sweden with Bobby Lee, no not the comedian, and much more.

Bulverde, Texas-based singer-songwriter, producer, and beverage connoisseur, Jerry David DeCicca, has been intimatley involved in music for more than two decades, tending the gardens of a creative career that has seen him both on the scene as well as behind it, working with folks such as our mutual friend Ralph E. White, Larry Jon Wilson, Bob Martin, and our main focal point for this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, the late great Edward Crane Askew. Having met each other over a decade ago, the dynamic duo not only toured together on the release of 2013's "For The World," but have since secured a friendship that has explored melody, memory, philosophy, and the poetic production of sound.

After a decade between projects, DeCicca and Askew's paths crossed again for what would soon become the legend's last breath of melodic meditation on life and death, 2026's "The Final Painting". A postumous masterpiece that echoes from the artistic afterlife, DeCicca sits down to chat with us about his personal and professional relationship with the late artist, the overall process, and approach to the album's metamorphosis from one song to another, and critical contributions from the likes of Sharon Van Etten, Eve Searls, Canaan Faulkner, Bill Callahan, William Tyler, Ryan Jewell, Dustin Laurenzi, and Fulvio Sigurta. With another single out on June 22nd, the album is set for release on the beloved Drag City on July 31st in all its gripping glory. "The Final Painting" may be Askwe's last album, but the metaphysical mist will soon clear, eventually revealing a body of work that truly stands the test of time.

Longtime friend and cosmic collaborator on such works as 1997's "Thorny Path" and 2024's "Rising Phoenix" Erik Shumpert, and his twin brother Paul first met Snarb in the early 1980s, and would soon all move in together in a tiny, historic abode on Brooks St. in LA county where Barnes had been laying down some of Amps For Christ's earlier works like "Plains Of Alluvial," and "Beggars Garden." Influenced by the West Coast punk explosion, Thorn takes us through the melodic memories of Claremont's thriving community of creative culture, catching some of the most influential acts of the Hardcore/Punk scene, recording the infamous track "Pain Of The Fire," and receiving spiritual schooling from Barnes and his unique universe of electronic ecstasy.

This episode takes place right in the harmonious heart of Barnes' liberating laboratory at the legendary Folk Music Center and Museum, located in Claremont, California, where he's worked as a luthier specializing in the setup and repair of sitars, banjos, mandolins, and volins, fret replacement and fret dressing of all stringed instruments, neck resets, electronics, and pickup installation for over two decades. Our journey picks up with Barnes telling us about the early releases of AFC, such as the highly influential debut cassette "The Plains Of Alluvial" that came out on the legendary Shrimper label back in the mid-1990s, which has since become a sonic staple in the legend's radical repertoire, as well as 1997's "Thorny Path." With freedom, the overall goal for everything and anything, AFC, Barnes' cosmic connection to science and spirituality collide in an esoteric explosion, making his sacred style seem like something from a time that reflected riches under the ancient sun, similar to a metaphysical mystery in music that only he knows the secret song to.

Having first met the late great David "Cloud" Berman sometime in Dallas in 1984, poetic painter Chris Kysor has been an incredibly important individual in the world of the Silver Jews before they even lifted off the ghostly ground in the 1990s. Friends since high school, Kysor tells us about his dear friend, and poet, the only way he knows how: through his intimate connection and precious friendship with one of the greatest artists of our time. From local concerts where they saw the Cure together, and several of the punk pioneers that were coming through the "Big D" in the 1980s, to Berman's days briefly spent in Austin, the two would eventually reconnect in 1998 while Kysor was living and working in Brooklyn as a painter, and Berman during the Jews' recording of their definitive album, "American Water".

The story goes that Berman visited the artist's studio where he first encountered the unnamed painting, which he instantly became transfixed by, and would later call Kysor to ask if they could use it for their next album. Stunned by his dear friend's interest, Kysor happily agreed, and the rest is harmonious history. Neither of the two knew what was coming their way, both personally as well as their careers, but it's the stuff legends are made of. Kysor breaks down the atmospheric anecdotes that make this episode so enduring and a delight to hear, just how "American Water" became so intensely iconic from the music to its fanous cover.

Logtime Providence-based rockers Deer Tick have been releasing aggressively atmospheric, sonically seductive music for over two decades now. Since forming in the winter of '04 as a duo dynamic for McCauley's melodies, the group has spiritually secured a poetic place in the creative cosmos, alongside their peers and critical contemporaries. We had the chance to sit down with McCauley to talk about the band's brand new album, "Coin-O-Matic", which is set for release on ATO Records in early June, and the thriving traditions, historical harmonies, and memories of the mafia that once thrived in New England at that time. With everything that's going on in this country, the madness and the cruelty, Deer Tick hace risen from the artistic ashes since the release of the their 2023 album "Emotional Contracts" to serve the people a delightful dose of splendid songwriting and self-produced purity, but above all, superb storytelling.

Hailing from Claremont, California, a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, Henry Branes (Ranger Barnes, Enid Snarb) first began connecting with the meditative melodies of music through his incredibly talented parents. With a mother who played guitar and a father who was a member of the local collective The Real Jazz Band, Barnes' exciting enviroment eventually led him down the endless path of folklore, melodic mythology, and traditional tunes. Having participated in several groups in grade school and high school, the young industrious musician began to hone his craft during the cultural crossover from rock and roll to punk in the late 1970s, and decided to combine the two in one liberating location, and hasn't looked back since.

In this first episode of "When I Didn't Have A Home," An Amps For Christ Podcast, Barnes takes us all the way back to the biblical beginning when he was born in La Verne before relocating to Mexico with his family and siblings, for a few years before returning to California, where he would eventually begin to connect with the spiritual sounds, and tonal textures that would later go on to define the visceral vibrations, and enviromentally epic messeages of LA-based "power violence" trailblazers Man Is The Bastard, and later Amps For Christ. Join us as we unpack the unique universe of all things AFC on this season's first episode, "The End Is The Beginning and The Beginning Is The End", where we initiate the first peel of the Glass Onion before discovering what lurks within its cosmic center.

Born and raised in Princeton, New Jersery, Wilkes relocated to the West Coast with his family, where he would go on to earn a BA at UC Santa Cruz, before eventually deciding to study screenwriting at the American Film Institute (AFI). Having worked as a screnwriter on such cult classics as 1994's "Airheads" (Adam Sandler, Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi, Chris Farley, and Michael Richards) and "The Stoned Age" (Michael Kopelow, Bradford Tatum, and Clifton Collins Jr.), which was released this past Monday as an exclusive cult collectible Blu-Ray in celebration of 420, Wilkes officially made his semi-autobiographical coming of age tale "Glory Daze", starring a pre-Kevin Smith Ben Affleck, Sam Rockwell, and French Stewart, and has since paved way as a legend in an intense industry that is changing quicker than you, and I could ever fathom.

While combining the existential elements of youth, relationships, career, and the brave balance of life, Wilkes may be your new favorite obsession when it comes to cult comedies, and subliminal stoner stories. On this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we sit down with the veteran screenwriter/director to discuss the old glory daze of long-lasting youth in the 1990s, films legends such as Spielberg, Fincher, and Soderbergh, the never-ending narrative of nostalgia, the impact of AI, and much more.

Remaining a romantically revolutionary voice among his peers and contemporaries for nearly two decades, Durham, North Carolina-based singer, songwriter, and producer MC Taylor (Hiss Golden Messenger) returns to the sonic surface with his latest effort, "I'm People", which he says is "An intensely human record." Written and recorded throughout Bolinas, the North Carolina Piedmont, and a Santa Fe motel room, with the harmonious help from some of his longtime friends and creative collaborators, Sam Beam, Bruce Hornsby, Marcus King, Sara Watkins, Eric D. Johnson, Amy Helm, and members of Dawes, Taylor effortlessly exposes a liberating light to help guid listeners to a much safer soundscape where endless wars, polluted politics, and chaos cease to exist if only for a moment.

For this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we had the wonderful oppurtunity to sit down the veteran songwriter and producer to talk about the album, the Grateful Dead (of course), skateboarding, Jack Johnson, and the intimate influence of music and its harmonious healing properties. "I'm People" is a brilliant collection of songs that push against the body like a whispering wind in an open field during a spirtual storm somewhere near the Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area in Hillsborough. This will be an album people call on during the inevitable hardships of life to recieve peace and ultimate understanding.

Maybe you've seen his vidoes while doom scrolling on your phone at two a.m. in search of elementary enlightenment or a break from the gravitational gloom of the world and its lunatic leaders. The universal use of his entire body through the meditational medium of the acoustic guitar, jaw harp, harmonica, nose flute, and vocals radically radiates the revolutionary reaction of the avant-garde in all its esoteric essence. Darcy Spidle, commonly known as Chik White, is a melodic moniker adopted by the Nova Scotia-based musician and performer for his work in films such as, (Lowlife, Tin Can, The Sinner) and music over the last twenty years. He is a force of great poetic power, improvisational intimacy, and elemental energy.

Having first come onto the punk scene in Halifax, White toured and performed with several bands and projects, which critically connected him with his love for improve and the sometimes romantic reality of not only challenging his audience and listeners but himself within the experimental ecosystem he's created around his art. With the release of his latest effort, "Face Across the Door" on the Italian-based label Music a la Coque, as well as a spring tour to follow, White brings his melodic messages to the mortal masses in hopes of connecting, inspiring, entertaining, and distracting various audiences, even if just for a moment, from the chaos of the world, with lyrical laughter and humble harmonies.

Frank Hurricane is much more that just a songwriter or spiritual soothsayer; he's a psychedelic pirate manning the ancient waters under the splintered sun's biblical breast. Like some cosmic character from J.M. Barrier's 1904 masterpiece "Peter Pan", Hurricane's artistic approach to life and his work are rare these days, as everything has been melted down into this galactic goop for social media, and the poisonous pull that is has on our senses and judgement of people, places, and things.

While we're making sure our posts are boosted and targeting our direct audience, you can find Hurricane riding shotgun on some of the most epic roller coasters across America as we take a much-needed spiritual journey with the musician and the colorfully capticating universe of atmospheric adrenaline he has created for an audience that he calls "Shrymps". His latest effort, "Southern Shrymp (In the Big City), which is set for release later this month on the Half Moon Bay, CA-based label Nudie Records, tells a tale of a young man on a quest in search of holy harmonies, exquisite experiences, and the songbook for spiritual survival in a world filled with chaos, and endless existentialism.

Both prolific, and poetic, Seattle, Washington-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and all-around spiritual splendor Chris Ballew has been writing and rapidly recording music for over thirty years like no one's business. As the frontman and bassist for the alternative rock band The Presidents Of The United States Of America, Ballew started his career busking in the busy streets of Boston in the late 1980s alongside Phil Franklin as the duo Egg, before relocating to LA, where he met and befriended a young Beck. Eventually moving back to the Emerald City, Ballew quickly formed the Presidents with Dave Dederer and Jason Finn, and by the time their iconic-self titled album was released in 1995, the group had become multi-platinum artists, and the rest is history!

His disography is impeccable, intimate, full of laughter, and just what we need during these radically dark times. These days, you can find Ballew writing and recording music nonstop under his own name and the children's music project, Caspar Babypants, which has brought a great deal of peace and comfort into homes around the world for young parents and their bubbly babies. We need people like Ballew, and so do you!

Rutili's Califone has been around for nearly 30 years, if you can believe that. Rutili can't, and we talk about that for a mortal moment. Still, there were bigger topics on our minds, like ICE, the Trump administration, the pulverizing politics running rampant in our country, the confusing violence that seems to continue painting the numbing narrative of the "American Dream", and of course, the Grateful Dead. Rutili's music is both magical and intimately intense, as we find several concepts for coping, expressing, and exploring how music truly heals all wounds. As 2026 continues to roll out, Rutili prepares with Califone and Ugly Casanova for the Ice Cream Floats boat tour from Miami to Puerto Plata and the Dominican Republic this weekend, a short spring tour in April, and much more!

After relocating to the Bay Area in the late 1990s to pursue a vibrant vision of becoming a professional skateboarder, life had other plans for future artist, illustrator, and psychedelic painter Joe Robert (LSD Worldpeace). To properly pivot in the throes of reality, one has to put one foot in front of the other, and Roberts did just that. Later, studying at SFAI, he eventually began releasing books and zines such as accalimed titles "LSD Worldpeace", We Ate The Acid (61)A3HT3TA3," and 2021's "Clowns of Hyperspace", and has had several works featured in galleries like Slow Culture in LA and Marlborough Gallery in New York. 

After a long break since the holidays, we sat down with Robert for an epic conversation about life's mysteries, creative chaos, youth, skateboarding, conspiracy theories, aliens, goverment mind control, world peace and his children, who have become his greatest inspiration. Roberts' work is influential, iconic and a radical reaction to the world and its cryptically comical side, while simultaneously allowing viewers to experience the spiritual secrets of the universe up close. 

For the final episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast of 2025, we had the great pleasure of sitting down with multi-instrumentalist, activist, composer, and multimedia artist Micah Nelson (Particle Kid) to discuss the future of music streaming services like Spotify and the revolutionary reclaiming of musicians'/artists' intellectual property through a newly developed, creator-owned music and social media ecosystem powered by human intelligence called The Flow, which was developed, and founded by Mike Hanuschik. Join us for a mind-blowing conversation that takes several unexpected turns into the depths of creative culture, industry, and the fight for sonic survival. This multi-part episode will continue to explore the controversy and complexity of how these elements have destroyed the essence of not only a musician's living through their craft, but also a war that is sweeping the plaet as we speak. 

There are some folks you feel like you've known forever, and perhaps you have in some other life than the one you're currently occupying. Westerlund is one of those people. A sonic soul that shifts in and out of an atmospheric array of outfits and poetic projects, his presence is equal to his artistic output. Positive, curious, and above all, genuine. On this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we sit down with the Research Triangle-based producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and percussionist to talk about his unique connection to sound, working with several artists like Califone, Nathaniel Russel, Jake Xerxes Fusell, Bon Iver, and Sylvan Esso, writting, and recording his most recent effort "Curiosities from the Shift", and much more.

While conjouring those familiar relams of romanticism found within the captivating caves of Leonard Cohen, Eduardo Bort, and Donovan, Sao Paulo, Braizil-bases multi-instrumentalist Sergio Victor Sayeg, known professionally as Sessa, has sincerely brought to the sonic surface a mesmerizing meditation on life, lover, fatherhood, and cultural connection with his latest effort, "Pequena Vertigem de Amor (Lil' Love Vertigo)." A brilliant body of work that effortlessly flows from one end of the galaxy to the echoing canals of the listeners' eager ears who patiently wait for its humbling vibrations, Sessa takes us on a journey that is one for the books.

It's been almost a year since we last spoke to Nastanovich, and what a year it's been, to say the least. From touring to moving to Maco, GA, to an official docufiction about the band called "Pavements", and everything else in between, the group's lyrical legacy and existential existence have only grown over the decades, and we're here for every second of it. Nastanovich is one of those critical characters in the sonic story who takes you out on the harmonious horizon for the views, while simultaneously educating you on the elements along the way. Having been a member of Pavement for over three decades, Nastanovich has navigated all the visceral valleys and mountains of madness that bands experience, and lives to tell the tale.

Now one of the most celebrated and influential acts of their generation, Pavement is an iconic institution for indie artists everywhere. Join us on this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast as we traverse through the shadows of the past, present, and future to carefully collect the melodic memories and spellbinding efforts of one of the best to do it. Oh yeah, we also talk about plastic surgery, corporate corruption, building appliances, Chris Rock, and much more.

Since 2016, the LA-based supergroup, cover band, and iconic institution for all things Dead-related, Grateful Shred, has been a presence on the sonic scene for the last decade, emerging as one of the most well-respected and highly regarded acts of thier generation. Blending the essential efforts found within the Dead's early energy from the 1960s psychedelic era with the cosmic countryside of the early 1970s, the Shred, and its creative core have captured with incredible accuracy, the electrifying essence of the band with poetic precision.

After a lightning-in-the-bottle moment on Shakedown Street in 2017 during a Dead and Co. show at the Hollywood Bowl, the group's luck changed overnight when a viral video, "Busted at the Bowl," was uploaded to their YouTube channel, and the rest became harmonic history. On this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we sit down with Horne and McCutchen to chat about the group's origins, favorite eras/albums of the Dead, the Shred's debut album "Might As Well", Dan's Dubs, Blade's Boards, and much more.

On this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we sit down with the wizard behind the flowing crimson curtains of all things Uknown Mortal Orchestra, Ruban Nielson, to talk about his favorite cult classic horror films and how the unique process and trailblazing approach to some of those classics from the 1980s have inspired him on his melodic journey from the group's monumental 2011 self titled debut to their most recent EP "CURSE." Over the years, Nielson has kept a humbling philosophy on how he deals with the sonic success, and overall reality of being in a band that has not only transcended the cultural confines of "indie rock," but continues to create, and establish, exciting new melodic methods to bring out the best within.

Having recently stepped into the wide and winding world of jam band culture and the tonal tenacity of the tape trading subculture that iconically came about during the Grateful Dead's radical reign on society, Nielson eagerly encourages fans to document UMO shows by using analog equipment such as film cameras, reel-to-reel machines, and other various tape recording instruments to not only capture the essence of the band live, but to be a part of something much bigger than the band istself.

On this terrifyingly spooky and melodically macabre episode-well, not actually that terrifying at all-of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we had the wonderful privilege to sit with the great Cass McCombs to discuss his brilliant new effort, "Interior Live Oak," and other atmospheric anecdotes such as how West Coast skateboard culture adopted him, made him one of the thier own, his late friend and musician Travis Graves (Mt. Egypt), recording the labum on both the West and East Coast, his cosmic connection with songstress Chris Cohen, life on the road, the importance of music overall, and much more.

Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Zachary Cale first came onto the scene with his 2005 debut "Outlander Sessions" some 20 years ago, if you can believe that. Having navigated an eclectic era that's far beyond different from the one we currently occupy, Cale has kept a steady pulse on the melodic machine, while simultaneously sharing the stage with the likes of the great James Toth (Wooden Wand), Deer Tick, Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance), Kurt Vile, and several others over the course of his multi-layered career. Following up on the brilliant release of last year's "Next Year's Ghost" with the veteran musician's instrumental debut "Love's Work," we sit down with Cale to speak about his poetic perspective on this day, and age's so-called industry, while carefully balancing the hardships of life's complicated curveballs.

Embedded in the collected consciousness of popular culture, cinema, and creative charisma for the last four decades, legendary actor, filmmaker, and author Crispin Hellion Glover has danced on the elusive edge of artistic freedom, while simultaneously inhabiting an abstract atmosphere  like no one else of his generation. His almost alchemical approach to his craft is unparalleled and unpredictable, as he carefully uncovers the macabre mysteries of the human experience through characters you know and love. Having starred in such cineamtic classics as Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Back to the Future, River's Edge, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Doors, Hot Tub Time Machine, among several others, Glover's complex career on the big screen has truly cemeneted him as one of the greats of our time.

On this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we sit down with Glover to chat about his most recent film, "No! YOU'RE WRONG. or Spooky Action at a Distance," which was shot entirely on 35mm film negative over the course of several years, and what seems like a lifetime since its critical conception. Followed by a short tour in select theaters to showcase the industrious intensity and intimate imagery of this spellbinding effort, Glover pulls us into his incredible imagination by swiftly displaying the timeless tones and electrifying elements of the Dada/Surrealist movement, which has undeniably influenced the actor throughout his compelling career. Set to premiere at MoMA in New York City this Thursday, October 2nd, the film will continue to run through the spooky month with more available dates on his site below.

https://www.crispinglover.com 

Now based in East Nashville, not too far from our little operation here in Tennessee, the subliminal songstress and mistress of melodic mastery, Marissa Nadler, has been gracing the alchemical airwaves for nearly two decades with her majestic meditations on life, death, love, memory, and several other elements of the human experience. Having signed with the Brooklyn-based label Sacred Bones Records in 2013 for the release of her monumental classic "July." She has since carved a captivating path of poetic perfection and otherwordly observations into the heart and soul of some of the most trepidatious topics that her peers Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan articulated so well throughout their careers. 

We sit down to speak with Nadler about her new album "New Radiations" and just how private and personal this material is compared to her previous releases throughout her incredibly disciplined discography over the years, while simultaneously balancing being your own boss in the radically opinionated world that is the internet. "New Radiations" is a brilliant collection of songs that uplift the soul from the overwhelming depths of darkness by shining a lavish into the cryptic corners of the room, only to reveal the spiritual significance of beauty in its simplest form.

We're back for another exciting episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast with our friend, the talented multi-instrumentalist, artist, and fellow Nicolas Cage enthusiast, IIyas Ahmed. Pulling up a digital chair to chat with us about his visceral vision of the world and the people in it, the never-ending landscape of jazz, and its related juxtaposition, Ahmed tells the tonal tale joining the melodic machine that is Grails, his favorite films, a solo career that spans over two decades, and the intimate instincts it takes to be an artist in this day and age.

Having come from a Greek/Pakistani background, Ahmed, like most of his generation, connected with the critical climate of the punk and hardcore bands of the 1980s before establishing a more spiritual setting on the melodic meter of self-discovery and existential expression. While exploring the atmospheric alchemy of instrumental music and its cinematic nature, Ahmed's overall style and approach are undeniably universal, as he confidently communicates a language that is both lyrical and legitimate.

From the shapeshifting subleties of his spiritual practices in sound, tonal texture, and electrifying emotion, to the carefully cinematic essence of his eager expressions behind the scenes, there isn't much the West Coast-based, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Blake Mills can't do. He's come a long ways since his classic 2010 debut "Broken Mirrors," while simultaneously capturing the critical chemistry of some of your favorite artists in between his sonic shifts and radical responsibilities in the studio. 

On this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we sit down with Mills for a long-awaited chat to discuss his most recent effort with legendary bassist and all-around master of melody, Pino Palladino, "That Wasn't A Dream." A breathtaking entry into the fundamentals of fusion, ritualistic rhthms, and lucid language between two incredible artists, Mills take us on a journey through his unique process, atmospheric approach, and tonal theories, while we kick back and marvel at the totality of his techniques, amighty attention to detail, and much more.

Chicago-based drummer, producer, and multi-displinary artist Spencer Tweedy has played music as long as he can remember. Growing up in a musical household, to say the least, Spencer gravitated towards his father Jeff Tweedy, founding member of such notable acts as Unlce Tupelo and Wilco, and his profession by quickly navigating his very own unique path in music. On this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we speak to Spencer about the critical connection he has with music, participating in bands like Case Oats, Tweedy/Jeff Tweedy, who is set to release their brand-new triple LP "Twilight Override" later this year, touring with Waxahatchee, the balance of life, and work, the climate of the music industry, and much more. 

Hailing from a period in time that, to this day, continues to birth bands and artists all around the world, New York-based multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and one-half of perhaps one of the most influential bands of its time, The Holy Modal Rounders, Peter Stampfel has been creating music, and art for well over half a century. From the Rounders to the death-defying dynamics of The Fugs, and a million other lives inbetween, Stampfel's poetically prolific body of work is compelling to say the least, as the veteran musician takes us on a journey from one end of the galaxy to other end of the table in a cosmic conversation that ignites the spirit of creative change. His most recent effort, "Song Shards," carefully captures the essence of youth, eager advertisments of the past, and a friendly reminder to stop and appreciate the small things as the 46-track collection unfolds into a beautiful flower of friendliness. 

Sharing the same timeline as ATL-based singer-songwriter, poet activist, and lyrical legend Speech, born Todd Thomas, of the acclaimed American hip hop group Arrested Development, is something that should bring us all a little comfort and peace in these crazy times. Having first established the groundbreaking group nearly four decades ago, Arrested Development pried open our culture's sore soul with perhaps one of the most influential albums, not just in hip hop and conscious rap, but in American music, 1992's "3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days In The Life Of...." Over the next three decades, the artist would go on to record several albums with the group, as well as eagerly establishing a solo career that covers just as much groovy ground as time continues moving forward, and history horrifically repeats itself.

On this episode of The Self Portrait Gosple Podcast, we speak to Speech about his more formative years growing up in Tennessee before planting poetic roots Georgia in the mid to late 1980s, the influence of Southern hip hop on the world at large, the polarizing politics of the Trump administration, music's melodic meditation on the mind, the group's new album "Adult Contemporary Hip Hop," which was intentionally released on the Fourth of July, and much more.