The Trace

This last decade was an incredible time for film.  We are in a strange pause for movies right now while living through a pandemic.  This is a chance to look at some of the special ones from recent times.  I hope you enjoy the show and watch some of these movies afterwards.

Doug Lorig is a Seattle musician most known for his guitar playing in Roadside Monument and Raft of Dead Monkeys.  He currently plays in the band Graphic Nature.   We talk about falling in love with music, the Seattle mid-90's music scene, Tooth and Nail Records, and his time with Roadside Monument.  Enjoy the show and listen to Doug's music! 

Louie Romo is the house manager of the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle, Washington.  We both break down our top 10 horror films. These are subjective lists of course!  Get ready for some Carpenter, Romero, Lynch, Cronenberg, and more.  

Sherae Lascelles is running for Legislative District No. 43.  Sherae and I talk about radical authenticity, mutual aid, harm reduction, and how all these issues relate to both Seattle and life in general.    Check out Sherae's campaign page if you are interested in getting involved.   https://www.sheraeforstate.com  

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons is the author of the forthcoming Book "Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity".  In this talk we discuss the state of our times and how progressive Christianity has something to say about where we are and where we are headed. Guthrie has a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, where he was the William Sloane Coffin Scholar.  He and his husband, bot...

There is a cliche that horror films are immoral and cheap.  Here I explore the ethical value of watching scary movies.  How do fear and empathy relate to each other?  What good can be found in confronting the darkness both in yourself and in the world?  

Eric and Nate Stone were my guests this week on The Trace.  Eric wrote and directed the film "Two Pictures".  Nate did the score and helped produce the movie.  "Two Pictures" has just been released online where it is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.  Check out the movie!

I was so upset by Donald Trump's profane use of the Bible as a symbol of fascist authoritarianism that I felt the need to record an response to it.  The idea that Trump connects the Bible, and Christianity, to his hateful view of the world is absurd.  Trump exposes the biblical illiteracy that plagues Christians across America.  If only they actually took the words of Jesus seriously!  

Oscar is a long time friend of mine who is a therapist and musician in Tepic, Mexico.  We have collaborated on music in the past and always have incredible conversations.  Today we discuss life in Mexico during quarantine, what he has learned in his work as a psychologist, and how art can restore a person. We also talk about his band Monoceros and what it has been like being in a post-rock band in...

William and I love talking about religion.  He is on the the Buddhist path with a great interest in all religion.  I am currently reading the Bhagavad Gita which gave William and I the chance to discourse on Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and other traditions. The purpose of this talk is to build bridges between religious thought as opposed to debate or competition.  I found this conversation t...

Andrew Hiller and I have been friends for many years.   He is a musician/artist that I originally met in the late-90's/early-2000's.   We have stayed close ever since even though we never live near each other.   He has been making music for a long time with many bands inlcuding Mr Klein and the Wizards of Time, Yairms, Damn Union, Treasure Mammal, and as AlhhlA.   We discuss friendship, music coll...

Brian Durkin is an editor and musician from Los Angeles.   He is a major movie lover and I had been wanting to have him on The Trace for quite a while. Every interview I have done on The Trace has been in person but with the current quarantine it felt like the right time to have talks with people in other states and countries.   Brian and I discuss our top 5 films of the 1990's.   Everybody needs...

Back to it here on The Trace with some social distancing episodes.  We all need movies to watch, podcasts to listen to, and various ideas on how to best pass the time during this strange season of life. Today I discuss my top 5 Scarlett Johansson films.  She has done so much great work and it's a perfect time to go back to watch some of her best.  

A story about a woman who tries to jump off a bridge but is caught by the arm.

This is a breakdown of my favorite albums of the decade and their relation to cultural and political events of our time.  This is a subjective list that is more about feel and themes than genre.  Check out thetracepodcast.com for the full list of 200 albums.

This week I share a story I wrote and performed with the help of Seattle band Mount Savage.  This is a Halloween story that I shared at an event at Hotel Albatross last week.  I've never shared a fiction piece on here so this is a first.  I hope you enjoy!

This week my guest is Matt Johnson.  He is a drummer who has been in bands like Roadside Monument, Blenderhead, 90 Pound Wuss, and many more.  We discuss underground punk rock music in Seattle in the 90's and how times have changed since then.  I am so proud to have him as a guest!

This is my first installment of an idea I have wanted to do for a while: a deconstruction of a famous Bible story.  In this case it's Psalm 23.  I go through the text looking at the original language and searching for other possible readings.  Keep an open mind as you listen!

Seattle artist SPECSWIZARD is my guest on this episode where we discuss the movies The Shining and An American Werewolf in London . From there we vamp into talks on religion, the nature of evil, judgment culture, and the importance of checking yourself.  Listen to his music at  https://specswizard.bandcamp.com .

On this episode of The Trace we look at Richard Linklater's 1995 romantic drama "Before Sunrise".  This gives us a chance to talk about being seen, falling in love, commitment, and the nature of desire.  Plus we touch on Keith Green, Amy Grant, and The Joker at the end.

We discuss Hal Ashby's "Coming Home" along with current headlines like the new 1975 song "People", SNL, Taylor Swift, the VMA's, and Trump's desire to buy Greenland.

Brett Hamil is my guest this week.  He is a comedian and political voice in Seattle.  We talk about comedy, Seattle, politics, local news, and street papers like Real Change.  Wonderful conversation!

David Lynch explored the depths of mysterious beauty and ugliness in his 1986 film "Blue Velvet".  Hannah Haddix and Sam Sundquist are my guests as we discuss themes related to the movie like #MeToo, shadow work, meditation, 80's America, and violence in the movies.  Heavy stuff but necessary conversations.

This week Sam Sundquist and I used the 1990 bizzarro rom-com "Joe Versus the Volcano" to talk about some serious existential issues.   Themes covered are: What would you do if you found out you had 5 months to live?   When have you realized that there was more possible for you then you previously knew?   Are people generally "good" or "bad"?   We also admitted to some embarassing stuff from our yo...

This week Hannah Haddix, Sam Sundquist, and I discuss themes of despair, living in a world of injustice, and hope.  We use the movie "First Reformed" as a case study for the backdrop of these issues.  We get in some debates on how to react to climate change, our understandings of political responsibility, and even bring some references to "The Red Shoe Diaries" at the end!