Dan wasn’t just a grumpy teenager who refused to get out of bed—by his early teens (and even younger) he was severely depressed with suicidal ideation at times. Today, at age forty, he can sum up his chronic depression as a constant battle in his life. The other constant has been his music. A singer-songwriter, now with the artist-persona, Conner Eko, he was accepted to Berklee College of Music at age twenty. Inspired to attend John Mayer’s alma mater, Dan was dissuaded by his family's belief in being practical. Dan let go of his music dream.
Twenty years later, Dan and I discuss the many paths he walked down, making some music in between but never committing to it fully. After a freak accident left him with concussion syndrome in 2021, Dan could barely get off the couch. The only thing that didn’t intensify his severe headaches was playing the piano. Music was a life source again.
When a friend casually suggested magic mushrooms to help his concussion, Dan (now an astrophysicist) discovered that psychedelics were being used to treat both head trauma and chronic depression. Under the care of an accredited therapist, Dan did high-dose psilocybin treatments. But the most amazing outcome was far from trippy visuals, but a purposeful integration period of intensive therapy, journaling, and returning fully to his art.
Join me as we talk good trips, bad trips, (while I’ll never trip), and the exciting launch of a new live in-studio single, “Standing Up,” that was written to share his story and advocate for change.

Conner Eko releases his single “Standing Up” on January 24th.

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Website: connereko.com
@connereko
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Music composed and performed by guitarist, JD Cullum

Edited by Brandon Moran

Sponsored by Soar With Tapping