Planetary Gig Talk

Raj Sagonakha is with the Devi Music Ashram in Rishikesh, India. I met Raj when I walked into the ashram almost entirely by chance in March 2020. I had gone to Rishikesh to visit the ashram of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, where the Beatles visited in 1968, and I felt a profound connection with all this. As background, Raj started playing music when he was ten years old, learning the tabla, or Indian drum. He and his sisters became musicians and Raj transitioned to the sitar. His family had traveled to Rishikesh, and he says there is “something in the air, in the environment, here that is so amazing.” They gradually developed the idea of starting a music ashram, making a space for people to share music, and for them to share what they know about Indian classical music. At the Devi Music Ashram, there is no guru or master, but music and nature, and knowledge, says Raj, are your master. “You are free to discover your own divinity through music.” At the ashram, they offer all sorts of music, sound healing, chanting, singing, dancing, and learning to play instruments. Raj says that, “In India, music is not just entertainment; it is also a part of spirituality, peace, and harmony in life.” He says there is a metaphysical concept where we believe that everything is a vibration, a cosmic vibration, an unending sound, the sound of the cosmos. And then there is also the sound that we create. Indian classical musicians were saints, spiritual seekers, and Indian music developed that way, where you try to connect with the ultimate source or reality through music. There are also different moods of notes and tones, and those are how the ragas were developed by the Indian saints so when you listen you can experience that deep connection. The Devi Music Ashram is a very special place and Raj says that everyone is welcome there. Personally, I believe there should be millions of music ashrams around the world and I urge people to support the Devi Music Ashram and more music ashrams around the planet.

Ria Marie’s mother was a singer and voice teacher, and Ria used to listen outside the lesson room at her house. “I was just captivated by singing,” she says. She has always loved powerhouse singers who had soul, like Ella Fitzgerald, Whitney Houston, and Christine Aguilera. Ria says music can teach you so many things. “Music puts you in the present moment,” she says. She also has learned through music not to compare herself to others. Ria says that music and Source came together for her and Source has really helped her singing. She says it’s important to surrender to Source when writing or singing; “sometimes you just have to let it go, … the beauty of it is in the imperfections and not being perfect and just letting it flow.” She also says, “Music teaches you how to be vulnerable with people and yourself and forgive yourself and forgive others.” Also, Ria says, “You have to let that ego go in music; … you can’t have the ego and be vulnerable at the same time.” She also says singing and breathing go hand in hand, just like meditation and breathing. Vibrations of sound can help change attitude and she knows there is more to learn about how frequency and vibration impact our emotions.

I met Hubert Gonthier-Blouin at the Spirit of Music camp at Wooten Woods and we hit it off right away. Both of Hubert’s parents were musicians, and his mother knew she was going to play piano at the age of three. Hubert’s father gave him a guitar when he was young, but later Hubert started on bass and realized that’s what he wanted to do. He says it is a gift to play music, and he has gotten to know so many people through music; people and community are so very important. He wanted to discover who he was through music, and he thinks it takes courage to speak your voice through music. Hubert says there is a magic in music that goes hand in hand with living and growing. He says being honest with yourself and looking at where you are and being able to give back to the listener is magic. He says, “I think music is a gift of peace. … Music is a doorway to peace, connection, cooperation. I’d just say people need to play more music.” When you are really playing music and putting your heart and soul into it, you can’t be angry; you can only be creative, peaceful, and happy, he says. “Whatever happens, I’m just going to keep playing music.”

Allen Holmes is an excellent musician and good friend, and was one of the first interviewed for the Planetary Gig Talk podcast. He remembers me saying that Victor Wooten talked about music being a living entity and he has reflected on that a lot recently. Allen says, “I believe that music is a living spirit, it’s alive, and that some people that devote themselves to it, that practice, are able to have a relationship with this spirit and learn from it.” He also believes there is another living entity whose purpose is to destroy or counter music; like yin and yang, they co-exist and help each other grow. Allen calls this, for lack of a better term, anti-music. He says some musicians choose anti-music. Allen says each of these have their own minions; the minions of music are things like pitch, tone, rhythm, skill, passion, emotion, and collaboration. Anti-music also has minions, such as passion without skill, materialistic and ego-driven playing, that pollutes music. The intention behind music is a key ingredient. Allen says, “I feel like I am an instrument for the entity of music.” Allen also says, “I believe everything is one; everything is interdependent in the biosphere of earth. We are all biospheres … we are all one. … I think it’s important to recognize that. … I believe that Mother Earth is a living entity.” And Allen says a change is coming. “I believe that mass consciousness is growing. … This is my new goal. … I want to write and make music that is going to help mass consciousness grow. … The people are rising. … I think there is a shift.”

Brent Paschke was co-founder of Spymob and is best known as Pharrell Williams’ guitarist, having worked with Pharrell since 2001. Brent was introduced to me by Linda Helms, who is a friend of Brent’s. Brent says that, “Music was just in me.” He knew the first day he got a guitar when he was about 12 years old that playing guitar is what he wanted to do with his life. He was always drawn to art and music, so he understood kids who struggled with school. As Brent got more into production, be began to see a lot of kids wanting to be in production, but there wasn’t much available in the schools. So, Brent started Tuniversity, to teach how to use an iOS device and the Garageband app to deconstruct and reconstruct songs. Brent says that the computer is really the instrument these days and he wants kids to be able to tap into music because you can really find yourself and learn how to express yourself through music. He says, as we get more comfortable with music, it is better for us. Brent also does a lot of mindful meditation, which parallels with playing music. Music provides such life lessons, he says. You can learn to forgive mistakes and yourself through music; it teaches you to be present, just like mindful meditation. “That’s life; it’s all about being present, forgiving, loving, caring. It all lines up with music, it’s all in synch with music.”

Kevin Roy Kramer has been listening to the Planetary Gig Talk podcasts, has attended Victor Wooten’s camps, and reached out to me so I invited him to do a podcast interview. What a smart, eclectic, thoughtful, cool guy! Kevin started with the recorder in 4th grade, trumpet in 5th grade, guitar in 8th grade, and now also plays drums and other instruments. Kevin says, “Music is a way for people to just express themselves as themselves.” He also says music “is a great way to connect and reconnect with yourself and it’s a source of renewable joy.” Kevin is a very spiritual human too, and has been practicing yoga for some time and also setting mantras to music, i.e., cosmic chants. He says we have been in a visually oriented society and the auditory has been overshadowed. He says sound and vibration are building blocks to our material world. “Music actively enriches our lives.” “I know how music has helped me and inspired me, and so if I can make music that down the road helps other people and inspires them, then mission accomplished, I suppose.” Kevin says that the power of music is really the power of love. It’s more than just the love of two people; “we have so much in common, we’re all in this together.”

I met Linda Helms at Victor Wooten’s Theory of Music camp; she’s a sound bowl practitioner. I had brought my sound bowl, so the energies brought us together. She says she always loved music, and could tap into something IN the music, some vibrational essence. When listening to music, she could feel the energies around her and the musicians and, by tuning in, could deepen the feeling of the musicians. She says, “Music is a conversation,” and when you listen deeply you give the musicians space. She says deep listening leads to deep connections. When she first heard a sound bowl, also called a singing or healing bowl, she just knew that was something she had to have and experience. She has a sound bowl teacher, who is from Nepal. She says that our bodies can get out of tune, and the bowls can help remedy that. She says intention is the key to the healing, and the bowls really help people heal themselves. She has worked with students with depression and anxiety, and the sound bowls really help them; she says their whole spirit and attitude have been uplifted by using the bowls. She says sound is a formidable, powerful treatment for depression and anxiety. Linda says Western medicine is great, but there is a separateness to it and another level that is missing that can help treat us. Linda also says there is an awaking happening on the planet, as people are becoming more aware of our connectedness and our common source energy.

Val Carter was referred to me because she wants to do a podcast on mid-adulting and asked if I would show her about producing podcasts. So, she came over to Studio 1 of the worldwide headquarters of the Planetary Gigs Society and we talked and did a test podcast. She asked a lot of questions about creating and hosting a podcast, and in this raw and unedited discussion, we talked about some of the things that go into doing a podcast and Planetary Gig Talk in particular. We also talked about considerations for someone wanting to do a podcast. I am hopeful that more people will consider starting podcasts, blogs, etc about the power of music, and this podcast conversation covers some of those issues. Enjoy this fun and different conversation that hopefully will also be informative. In addition, we talked about the upcoming house concert with Gaye Adegbalola on Nov 23!

I met Nathan at Victor Wooten’s Spirit of Music camp. We were talking about random stuff and Nathan said he runs a research firm and investment fund in which he focuses on volatility to understand the dynamics of markets, which he said relates to music in that volatility is really just vibrations, like music. So, I knew we had to do a podcast interview. Nathan grew up in a musical family; both of his parents played music. Nathan distinctly remembers seeing some kid play a drum solo in a talent show in 5th grade and knowing instantly he was going to play drums the rest of his life (he also plays bass and guitar). He is into listening, and sometimes hooks up to an EEG when playing, where he can observe his heart rate, brain waves, and internal rhythms. Nathan says, “The groove emerges from listening.” And being present starts from listening, too. “Everything emerges from listening and feeling.” Nathan says money is like a language; it’s a medium of exchange that conveys economic intent. Exchanging value is fundamental to cooperation, he says, and that we can express ourselves through money. “Money is a tool of communication,” he says. Music and money are both about expression. Nathan believes we can think of music as a life form, as Stephen Jay says, and then also as an organism, and the same could be said about money. How markets change is musical, he says. The market is like macro vibrations arising from micro vibrations, and is interrelated to so many things, just like music. He also says fear manifests in markets, and that humans are often playing out of tune in the markets, because of different national versions of money and tribal mindsets. To get the system operating better, Nathan believes that it starts with listening and understanding flows of money or blocks to the money flow. He says there is a lot of overlap in dynamics of money and music, how things change, the vibrations of the world, and Nathan thinks the markets are more natural than people think. He says we can be more in tune with our vibrations through this understanding.

Great conversation with Dylan Hughes at Victor Wooten’s Spirit of Music Camp! Dylan’s parents were theater actors and his father really loved music; even named him after Bob Dylan! Dylan knew he wanted to play music very early; at first it was the flute in 4th grade, which he played until 8th grade. But in 7th grade, Dylan got a bass, and that was it. “I just wanted to play … I just wanted to make music. … Music is always tapping me on the shoulder.” He played in a band in high school named the Missing Link; he had some great music teachers, including his friend Tyler Hamilton. Dylan got away from music for a while recently, but deciding to go to Spirit camp made a big difference this year, and he is back! Dylan currently plays a lot around Seattle, and his brother is a great guitar player, too. Dylan recently did a big show featuring John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme. We agreed that trying to learn a song or put on a show can give one’s life meaning. He was particularly taken by what Michael said in the Planetary Gig Talk interview about having the intention of bringing healing vibrations when playing. You can say or think before playing, “I offer you this healing vibration.” He told this to the audience prior to the Love Supreme show. “If you can do basically whatever you’re doing with the intention of healing, offering the vibration in a healing manner, I just believe that can make the world a better place, maybe that the ultimate intention,” Dylan says. He encourages other musicians to try that, offering healing vibrations when they play. He also thinks that one of the best things people can do is to find their passion and purpose, and to follow it; that would lead to a better world too, he says.