The Downward Facing Spiritual Spiral

When you create, do you ever think of your audience and how your work will be received or do you solely create for yourself? Can art be both a personal and cathartic experience while also being an attempt to connect with an audience? After a brief hiatus from podcasting, I'm excited to be back on the Spiritual Spiral for the first episode of 2024. I find myself in this odd and precarious spot emotionally. On the one hand, I'm thril...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I'm thrilled to welcome Portland based photographer and web designer, Nathaniel Perales, to the show. I've been a HUGE fan of Nathaniel's photography for a long time. So much so that most of the cover photos of my records or singles typically feature Nathaniel's work. He and I begin by dissecting the crazy intersection where technology and social media collide with the intimacy of creativity.  We talk...

Finding purpose, meditation and the meaning of life. Today on the Spiritual Spiral, you're in store for a deep and wonderful chat as I welcome my good friend, Aaron Bethune, to the show. Aaron and I have been talking about doing a podcast together for a LONG time so it's great to finally make it happen. Aaron's another one of those brilliant people I know who is truly a Renaissance man. He's an entrepreneur, storyteller, author, a ...

Well get ready for a FIRE episode for today's Spiritual Spiral as I welcome my friend from high school, Matt Dery, back to the show. Matt is an enormous sports fan with a ton of experience behind the podcast mic as he is currently the host of THREE podcasts; the Locked on Lions Podcast, The Pistons Pod and the Dery Bothers Guardian Cast where he talks Guardians baseball with his brother. But the thing about Matt that I probably lov...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, you're in store for a wonderful chat as I welcome Trygge Toven to the show. Because Trygge pursues multiple creative outlets while having a passion for business and app development, it's fair to say Trygge is a true "Renaissance Man." Trygge is probably best known as a music supervisor but he is also a singer, a music producer, an entrepreneur, a soon to be author and he also just released a new app c...

Over the last 8 months, I've been working on a bunch of new music to the point where I have five songs that are done. I'm beyond thrilled and I CAN NOT wait for people to hear these songs. But then my head spins to that exhausting head space of marketing, social media, making videos and then I wonder, what does it take to break through the cultural noise. Which then leads me to the bigger question... Is art REALLY about the quality...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, a little mash-up episode as I dive into a few topics that don't necessarily relate to one another, but they have been on my mind. First up... a quick dedication to Robbie Roberston who recently passed away. I was never really a fan of The Band, BUT I loved his solo record from 1987. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and features U2 and Peter Gabriel so definitely check it out. Then I discuss the new mo...

Well it appears Mt. Rainier has officially turned into a total snoozefest. I was on an airplane flying home from Seattle, with a bird's eye view of the tip of Mt. Rainier, right outside my window. And while I was mesmerized by the view, when I looked around the airplane, no one seemed to care. You know why? Because if your brain is stuck on Tiktok or IG, Mt. Rainier is SUPER boring. Oh, and are you a people watcher? I LOVE to peopl...

I know it may be CRAZY to imagine, but what if YOU could know more about your body than a board certified physician? What if, with a little more self awareness, some curiosity, and a little trial and error, YOU could be the greatest doctor your body and mind could ever need? On today's episode of the Spiritual Spiral, I begin a collection of episodes where I talk a bit more in-depth about health and the connection between the body ...

I LOVE MUSIC! You probably knew that already. As a DJ and songwriter, music has always been a huge outlet for me but I also love to listen to music. There are certain records that left a HUGE impact on me; Superunknown, Dirt, Parachutes, Wildflowers, Sea Change and of course OK Computer. And not to mention some of the incredible concerts I've been to which left me spellbound. Sure, I may be a BIT biased, but I believe the effects o...

Money-money-money. Not necessarily the most exciting talking point but maybe one of the most important topics for us to be discussing these days. Today on the show, I'm excited to welcome back to the show...drumroll please... Larissa Corso! This is Larissa's second appearance on the show. Since our first chat, Larissa has continued to grow her thriving business as a Junior Broker for World Financial Group. She continues to advise c...

For today's episode of the Spiritual Spiral, I welcome back actress/writer Polly Humphreys as we continue our chat about the world of Hollywood. In part one, we discussed the brilliance of Succession and for part two, we talk about the brand new documentary, Smartless on the Road. I TOTALLY understand the mass appeal of the Smartless podcast when it came out almost three years ago. Jason, Will and Sean have fantastic charm and char...

Are you just as excited as I am to watch the series finale of Succession? Who's going to succeed? Roman? Kendall? Tom? With arguably the greatest TV show coming to an end, it felt appropriate to welcome my friend Polly Humphreys back to the show as we celebrate the masterpiece that is Succession. This is Part One of two episodes I recorded with Polly, and while Part Two will be a look at the Smartless documentary, for this episode,...

It's been about a month since I recorded a podcast. Did you miss me? Did you even realize I was gone or did a sexy algorithm feed you something else to consume? I just got back from a weeklong vacation in the French Polynesia but even before my vacation, I was feeling like I needed a break. Not necessarily a break from podcasting but a break from the golden age of consumerism. Everything is being spoon fed directly to our brain ste...

Do you feel like you need to protect your creative process? Like the moment you "share" a part of your work, does the work lose some of its relevance or meaning? On today's episode of the podcast, I talk about the intimate process of creativity and how social media and "sharing" often tears down the unique qualities of art. I've been in the midst of working on my fifth record and while I'm eager to "share" my process, more often th...

Split screens. Fancy effects. Loud overbearing surround sound, but does this fancy movie have a heart?  Today on the Spiritual Spiral, I felt compelled to talk about this year's darling at the Oscars, Everything Everywhere All at Once. I'm not trying to be contrarian here when i say i couldn't watch more than 20 minutes of this movie. Sure the effects and the editing were fast and furious, pummeling my senses, but after 20 minutes,...

So one of your close friends was just admitted to the hospital for an emergency surgery. Will you be calling them on the phone to wish them good luck? Or will you opt for a text? Maybe a close friend of yours just scored a new acting gig on TV. Will you congratulate them with a phone call or instead choose a rapid-fire text? I know. I can sound so curmudgeon as I hammer my point home about texts but here I go again. On today's epis...

Today on the Spiritual Spiral, you're in store for a GREAT chat as I'm THRILLED to welcome back Troy Akers to the show. Troy is based in Nashville and he is an incredible singer/songwriter who goes by the moniker, Bandit Heart. I've been such a HUGE fan of his so when I saw he was releasing new music after a long hiatus, I was stoked to have him back on the show. FYI, all of the music on today's episode is of course from Bandit Hea...

I'm watching the Super Bowl and immediately feel the enthusiasm hit when I see a commercial for a new Indiana Jones movie! Except what happened to our beloved story of Indy? Did studio execs rehash the Indiana Jones franchise into a loud, over the top popcorn movie? Ugh. On today's episode of the Spiritual Spiral, I felt compelled to talk about my longing for the old days when we flocked to the theater to see a good movie. And I'm ...