The Self Portrait Gospel :: Podcast

Journalist, documentarian, scientific researcher, and transcendental trailblazer in psychedelic phenomenon, Hamilton Morris has explored spirituality and the esoteric ecosystems of enlightenment around the world for nearly two decades since the publication of his first article, "The Magic Jew", in 2008. Since then, he's established himself as one of the world's leading psychoactive drug journalists, publishing dozens of atmospherical articles for VICE, Harper's Magazine, Hamilton's Pharmacopeia, and hosting the Hamilton Morris podcast.
We chat with him briefly about the counterculture movement, the legalization of drugs, and its intense impact on society and the population, to say the least, during the ongoing "War on Drugs" and prohibition, as well as his current research on 7-OH (7-hydroxymitragynine). Check out his YouTube channel and subscribe to his Patreon for further explorations into the never-ending narrative and revolutionary research of the psychedelic experience.

Some of you may have kept up with our series "The Burning Never Ending Magic Podcast" - A Sun City Girls Story, so we'll start there with our most recent guest on the "And The Nights Were Perfect, Too" - A Silver Jews Podcast, Matt Hunter. Born, and raised in Phoenix when groups like J.F.A., Meat Puppets, Poet's Corner, and of course, the Sun City Girls, to name a few, creatively controlled the sun-baked culture of the "Valley of the Sun", Hunter immersed himself in the local scene before eventualy connecting with our poetic protagonist, David Berman, in later years. A lot of you may already know about Hunter and his work with the New Radiant Storm Kings, which he started with fellow bandmate Peyton Pinkerton, who also participated on the Silver Jews' 1996 masterpiece "Natural Bridge".
Named after the 215-foot horizontal limestone structure in Rockbridge County, VA, where the Cedar Creek once flowed, Hunter takes us through the secret backroads of where the album was recorded in a once-old gun manufactoring warehouse in Hartford, CT, in 1996; the band followed Berman's legendary lead into the atmospheric aether where romanticism, religion, geographical gestures, and vibrant visuals of America's lyrical landscape peaks the interest of the most iconic individuals to reflect upon its beauty. "Natural Bridge" is a classic that even Joyce, Steinbeck, and Kerouac would find themselves listening to for an epidural of endless enlightenment.

Born in Reading, PA, in the spring of 1963, Chris Stroffolino is an American poet, scholar, writer, multi-instrumentalist, and author, among many other things. His creatively confident career in the arts has spanned four decades, from literature to music to publishing poetry to appearing on the Silver Jews' 1998 masterpiece "American Water". Having met Berman in the early 1990s, the two poets immediately conected on both a lyrical and a spiritually sophisticated level, setting the tender tone of a friendship that would last for decades.
In this episode, we sit down with Stroffolino to talk about how he initially met Berman, working alongside Stephen Malkmus, Mike Fellows, TIm Barnes, and others on the band's iconic third album, their virtual correspondence over the years via email, and his last creative credit with Berman on Purple Mountains' 2019 classic. Over the last year or so, Stroffolino has suffered from a stoke, so we would like to include his GoFundMe in the description of this week's episode for anyone who would like to donate or support his efforts and financial goals during these rather difficult times.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/sa222t-support-chris-journey-to-healing

For the first episode of "And The Nights Were Perfect, Too" - A Silver Jews Podcast, we travel back in time before all the fame and fans in the mid-1980s to speak to one of Berman's oldest friends, Kylie Wright. A staple student in the infamous "Red Haus" scene, located on 14th St. near "The Corner", while the gang attented the University of Virginia (UVA) during the Ectoslavia/Silver Jews/Pavement corss-pollination, the crew consisted of Berman, Gate Pratt, Rob Chamberlin, Chris Marsden, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and, of course, Kylie Wright herself, to name a few. 
From spiritual shenanigans to the exploratory exercise of experimental music and art, Wright takes us through the humble beginnings of her foundational friendships, all-star ancedotes from the creative community that captivated Charlottesville, and  beyond, her relationship with Berman, and his lyrical legacy that has truly transcended the times, and much more!

While conjuring the soothing sounds of Carly Simon's 1972 classic "No Secret" and balancing her own poetic place in this world, singer-singwriter Haylie Davis has been cutting her teeth on the LA scene for several years, with early projects such as Lady Apple Tree, Sylvie/Sam Burton, and collaborations with artists from Drugdealer to Alex Amen. But it's her 2026 debut, "Wandering Star", that truly separates her from the prolific past, where a fruitful future can be seen through the suffocating smoke and sometimes confusing climate of the music industry today.
From the West Coast to the East Coast, Davis has spun a whispery web of intimate ideas about what it's like to be a female songwriter of her generation, a vibrant voice in this day and age, eagerly creating folk/country music that is so dreamy and translucent in an otherwise saturated society of bothersome bots and empty entities clawing for our attention and time. Music has always been the vessel for spiritual solace, and Davis has fully embraced the culture and its unique responsibilities to inspire the people who genuinely make the world a better place.