Chris Grosso The Indie Spiritualist

Musician and writer, Norman Brannon joins Chris to discuss his Hare Krishna punk music past, & share how we can find skeptical euphoria by moving beyond our stories.Over the last 25 years, Norman Brannon has worked as a musician, critic, author, DJ, university lecturer, television host, documentary filmmaker, marketing creative, and record label manager. Although best known for cofounding Texas is The Reason, he first made his mark in hardcore punk bands like Shelter and 108, and capped his performance career with New End Original and Gratitude. He is also the author of the Anti-Matter Anthology, a 1990s post-punk and hardcore reader featuring work that originally ran in Alternative Press, Vibe, and Anti-Matter, his very own seminal fan-zine. Norman is currently working on an expanded second edition of the Anti-Matter Anthology, in addition to a second book that examines the relationship between queer language, ethnicity, and his own personal story. Norman lives in Brooklyn with his partner John and their

Inspirational underground hip-hop artist, Sage Francis, joins Chris to discuss music as a teacher, the resonance of truth, cultural shifts, and the magic of writing.Sage Francis is CEO of Strange Famous Records, and half of the Epic Beard Men. He is widely considered one of our generation's greatest lyricists. His gifted wordplay creates vivid narratives to instigate as well as inspire, often deriving from an accumulation of public disdain and personal turmoil. Dubbed the forefather of Indie Hop, Francis originally earned worldwide acclaim in the 2000s by winning highly coveted titles in the MC battle circuit. At the advent of file-sharing, Francis' unique brand of music spread like wildfire and he gained a cult following. In 2005 Sage Francis was the first hip-hop artist signed to Epitaph Records and soon became one of the highest selling independent artists of his genre. Sage Francis has returned to releasing music independently and has a podcast in the works. For more info check out StrangeFamousRecords.co

Author, musician, and transformational speaker, Justin Michael Williams joins Chris to discuss using meditation and mindfulness techniques to help discover your passion and fulfill your life's purpose.Justin Michael Williams is an author, speaker, and top-twenty recording artist who is using music and meditation to wake up the world. By working at the intersection of music, mindfulness, and social justice, Justin has become a pioneering millennial voice for diversity, inclusion, and wellness. He has been featured by Billboard.com and Yoga Journal, shared the stage with Deepak Chopra, and presented at events such as Wanderlust and SXSW. Justin just released his new book, Stay Woke: A Meditation Guide for the Rest of Us, and is committed to using his voice for change. His greatest wish is to empower people from all walks of life to wake up to their life's purpose and accomplish the dreams they once thought were impossible. For more information please visit www.StayWokeGiveBack.com and follow @wejustwill on Twit

Actor and musician, Michael Imperioli, joins Chris to discuss finding Tibetan Buddhism, sharing meditation with others and acting his final scenes for The Sopranos.Michael Imperioli is best known for his Emmy Award winning acting performance as Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos, as well as writing five episodes of the show. Co-screenwriter for the Spike Lee film, Summer of Sam, Michael has appeared in six of Lee's films, and has also acted in films by Martin Scorsese, Abel Ferrera, Walter Hill, Peter Jackson, and the Hughes Brothers. Michael has also been involved in New York's rock 'n roll scene since the mid 1980s, playing guitar in the post-punk band Black Angus with filmmaker Tom Gilroy. Currently Michael is the guitarist and lead singer for the band, Zopa, and shares a steady stream of meditation tutorials and Dharma on his Instagram.

Horror icon Ken Foree joins Chris to discuss his legendary acting career, African Americans in cinema, helping his mom heal with yoga, and his experiences facing discrimination.Ken Foree is an incredibly versatile American actor widely known for his role as Peter Washington in George Romero’s 1978 genre-defining classic horror film, Dawn of the Dead, as well as his role of Roger Rockmore on Nickelodeon’s television comedy series, Keenan and Kel, amongst many other well known movie and television appearances such as the A-Team, Knightriders, The X-Files, The Devil’s Rejects, and Rob Zombie’s remake of Halloween. Ken has his own horror festival called Foree Festival, and is a well-loved cult-icon and legend within the horror and sci-fi film community.

Dr. Rick Hanson joins Chris to share practices and discuss the neuroscience behind cultivating traits of inner resilience and mindfulness.Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a psychologist, senior fellow of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, and New York Times best-selling author. Founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom, he’s lectured at NASA, Google, Oxford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. Learn more about Dr. Rick Hanson, his new book Neurodharma, his courses, and his podcast, Being Well, at rickhanson.net.

Actor Michael Berryman joins Chris Grosso for a conversation around the gift of light, the masks we all wear, and how the horror genre connects to social consciousness.Veteran actor and horror/sci-fi genre icon Michael Berryman is a native of Los Angeles, California. He was born prematurely with Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia, a rare condition leaving him with no sweat glands, hair, fingernails, or teeth. Michael has appeared in films such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Hills Have Eyes, and Weird Science.

Spring Washam joins Chris Gross for a conversation about working with the fertile grounds of suffering, cultivating the fierce heart, and how plant-based medicine can help with trauma.

Bill Barbot joins Chris to discuss his punk rock beginnings, embracing the mystery, Alan Watts, Buddhism, and finding wisdom in insecurity.

Dan Cortese joins Chris to discuss finding yourself amidst fame, becoming the narrator of your own story, and the innate wisdom programmed into parenthood.

Steve-O joins Chris for a conversation about his journey searching for identity, struggling with addiction, and finding a new life through recovery.Since his national debut on MTV's Jackass as a skateboarder and stuntman, Steve-O has had continued success as a New York Times best-selling author with the release of his memoir, 'Professional Idiot', and has established himself as a force in the world of stand-up comedy. Subscribe to Steve-O's podcast, The Wild Ride, at steveo.com.

If you enjoy The Indie Spiritualist Podcast, we think that you will appreciate this dharma talk from Insight Meditation (Vipassanā) teacher JoAnna Hardy that offers a toolkit for working with our emotions and thoughts.JoAnna Hardy is a guest teacher on the Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast. You can subscribe to the Be Here Now Network Guest Podcast in your podcast player to receive regular dharma talks and guided practices from a collection of today's leading mindfulness and meditation teachers.

The Indie Spiritualist interviews his friend and former band mate, Darrell Tauro, about music, addiction, recovery, sexuality, and getting punk as f##k.

Psychotherapist Linda Graham joins the Indie Spiritualist for a discussion around the importance of strengthening our resilience, and creating new patterns of response to trauma.

Lead singer of the band Dissolve, Paul Thorstenson, visits Chris Grosso on the Indie Spiritualist Podcast for a conversation about his journey as a musician and how music can offer a deeper connection to ourselves.

Podcaster and author Cory Allen joins the Indie Spiritualist to talk about modern mindfulness, dealing with anxiety and depression, and transcendence through music.

Therapist Sarah Buino joins the Indie Spiritualist for a discussion around addiction, speaking your own authentic truth, and working with shame and self-compassion.

Chris Grosso speaks with author Neale Donald Walsch about his new book and how the biggest problem in the world today is the belief that we are separate from everything and everyone.

In this new episode of The Indie Spiritualist Podcast, Colin McEnroe joins Chris Grosso for a conversation about our spiritual health, how we are shaped by faith, and staying connected beyond death.Colin McEnroe hosts the daily WNPR show, The Colin McEnroe Show. He is a weekly columnist and blogger for The Hartford Courant and a contributing editor at Men's Health. He is the author of three books and one play. His work has appeared on the New York Times Op-Ed Page and in Bicycling magazine, Best Life, Cosmopolitan and Forbes FYI. Be sure to subscribe to The Colin McEnroe Show on your favorite podcast player to check out Colin's exploration of Ram Dass' life and legacy with Chris, Sharon Salzberg, and Mirabai Bush on the Jan 9th Episode of The Colin McEnroe Show. 

The Indie Spiritualist sits down with musician East Forest to talk about the auspices of working with Ram Dass, and how his album for mushrooms works as a digital shaman.