ALMOST FAMILIAR (Podcast) Ep.005 – w/ B.GETZ – Sept.2020

CLICK HERE 2 LISTEN: Almost Familiar ep.05

Available on most podcast platforms

photo- KARL BABA

EPISODE SUMMARY

Get familiar with one of the music scenes most active and knowledgeable journalists, our friend, B. Getz. B. started working in the music industry dating back to the 90’s. Throughout his career he has been to countless historic concerts/festivals, transcribing them in his incredibly captivating style of writing. Today he is still as active as ever as a journalist as well as the host for his own podcast, “The Upful Life”. B. takes us all the way to the back to his first Dead show, leading to his life-changing sun-rise encounter with Abraxis the Golden Dragon at Burning Man. B. schools us on what it means to live an Upful life. We also talk about the current state of the music industry and what folks can do to make a difference to keep live music alive. B. is a true living historian of our “neo-hippie” scene and it was an honor to catch up with this verbal alchemist. Interview starts at 11 minutes Support #NIVA (National Independent Venue Association) and the #saveourstages Act. Head on over to saveourstages.com to make your voice heard!

Email – almostfamiliarpodcast@gmail.com

Almost Familiar Podcast w/yours truly! Wes has been a pretty ardent & vocal supporter of my journalism, from the blog to the pod. So it was quite humbling to be invited on Almost Familiar, as a GUEST! Usually I am the one doing the inviting & interviewing, so to have the shoe on the other foot was quite an experience. I love the hosting role on my own show, but I was pretty nervous & frankly, uncomfortable, at the notion of telling my own story. But I was also very honored that Wes & Elizabeth thought my personal journey would be of interest to their listeners & community. I must acknowledge, it was pretty damn cleansing to share so much of myself in this format. And wouldn’t ya know, I shared ALOT, lol.

From JamBase to L4LM to Upful LIFE, a crippling 12-year drug addiction, my childhood music experiences, catching Garcia in my early teens, reliving the GD/Phish cultural transition in 95-96 & how fanbases responded/evolved, juxtaposed w Pretty Lights vs Bassnectar communities right today. The impact of JazzFest, Bear Creek, Burning Man, transformational festivals, the joys of working in the ganja garden, how I finally embraced electronic music. Of course, incarceration, what I learned & am grateful for on the other side of that traumatic chapter. Plus the reality of our current socio-cultural predicament, focusing on the musicians, venues, & all those affected. We talk a little Bay Area-centric music culture minutiae. The spiritual mysticism I find within reggae music. All kinds of rabbit holes, with some special personal shares from the gracious hosts Wes & Elizabeth as well.

It was really weird yammering on about myself for a couple hours. But if you’re at all curious, about how i got to wherever it is I am, here’s a good synopsis of my story.

Deep bow of gratitude to Almost Familiar Podcast for having me on their show.

-bg