Show Notes
If something has changed you irrevocably in the past, its a kind of betrayal of yourself to not re-visit it and try to understand why. For this one I wanted to pull in one of the most sensitive and present people I know to help me out (Pat Sansone of Wilco & Autumn Defense) and he really rose to the test. I think we were able to bring Nick Drake's day to day world into focus with the excitement we felt over this new, unprecedented book in hand called 'Nick Drake : The Life' by Richard Morton Jack. This episode could function as a new kind of category I could roll out every once and awhile that's basically a full-on 'Existential History' deep-dive into someone who's true nature has been hiding in plain sight while they've been somewhat misunderstood. I feel strongly that musicians themselves should be the ones exploring the emotional terrain of the great fallen musicians because we're part of a kind of family who's given everything to be sacrificed on this altar... a beautiful but heavy gamble for sure. Maybe its a bit of the overall mission statement of this podcast to try and re-define how we see the actual humanity that lies behind art instead of just kicking back and being entertained by it. And this kind of study can also function as an expose of what it is to be a human in general. Hustling, sweating, dreaming, failing miserably and worrying endlessly... We can see ourselves in Nick Drake in many ways.. for better or worse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More from Emil Amos' Drifter's Sympathy
The British prog greats "T2" are a legendary footnote in the record collecting world... a tragedy-tinged, kind of 'what-if' band that still commands a small cult of fans. But lesser known are the various offshoots of their leader, Peter Dunton. This is a very special man with an odd, gnome-ish voice who created a uniquely holy atmosphere in his work. And while he's technically a "footnote" entity for most diggers, he remains an island of greatness with his own blueprint that seems to stand calmly within the storm of the 60's alone.
In a throwback to the very first Drifters season's atmosphere, this episode travels back to HIGHSCHOOL to unravel our subcultural origin story and sift through the clues of what made us the way we are. While recently on a sabbatical in Chicago to make the new Holy Sons record, Emil met up with his best friend from 1993, Jacob Ciocci, who's now become a professor of Computer Art and who'd initially drawn all of Emil's first solo show flyers back when they were kids.
This episode of Loner Legends is one of the most important casts in this series because we get to bring a true punk god back from the dead, honor his complexities and raise him up to his rightful place in history. Adrian Borland sat side by side with Robert Smith in the mission to refine and define the landscape of post-punk... but one boy ended up changing the world and the other was locked away in a madhouse.
The third installment of the MOVING TO PORTLAND Trilogy bares the accidental creation of the band GRAILS, their first show and first recording... but the task of it brings some seedy characters into the mix. Emil begins recording a record called "I Want to Live a Peaceful Life" with his new friend Pat and things wobble forward into a very emotionally opaque horizon.
Drifter's Sympathy returns with the first episode of SEASON SEVEN called 'Lords of Selfish Music'!