Ep. 139 - Meditation & Music with Craig Wedren

Musician Craig Wedren reflects on his rise to fame in the D.C. hardcore scene, blending together punk rock, spirituality, and healing. In this episode, Chris and Craig converse about:From punk rock roots to a spiritual path: how Craig’s musical journey shaped his creative and personal lifeCraig’s first exposure to meditation in his 20sThe origins of music, sound, and vibration How music transcends language, culture, and generations to connect all peopleTranscendental Meditation and inspirational tricksters Searching for deeper meaning and spirituality in modern, often soulless societyCraig’s improvisational practices: free writing & free-form guitar playingCraig’s work creating original music for a therapeutic ketamine clinic called Kanopy Ketamine treatment for addiction recovery Craig’s rise to fame in the D.C. punk scene with his band Shudder to ThinkThe synergy between performer and audience How Craig’s cancer diagnosis brought him back down to earth and showed him what truly mattered“I found a lot of punk rockers or hardcore people are particularly drawn to eastern religions. A friend of a friend said once, ‘the search for something deeper in a world increasingly devoid of it’. It makes perfect sense that I am meeting people that later on get drawn to different paths, traditions, and teachings.” – Chris Grosso About Craig Wedren:Craig Wedren first gained notice as the dynamic, multi-octave-wielding frontman of Shudder to Think – one of the first Washington, D.C. bands to make the transition from the revered Dischord punk label to the majors during the grunge era. Wedren has released a series of solo albums and related collaborative projects. At the same time, Wedren’s music has become an essential part of some of film and television’s most popular and lauded shows. In recent years, Wedren’s endlessly creative spirit has also seen him release Adult Desire 360--a VR app comprised of 360° panoramic music videos featuring songs from his album Adult Desire; share the limited edition hard-bound book My '90s, featuring photos he took on his Polaroid Spectra in the 1990s and early 2000s that documented his late nights and early mornings on the road with Shudder to Think and time with friends including Fugazi, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, members of The State and more; and Sabbath Sessions, his multi-episode podcast featuring musical meditations that represent his first explorations of ambient choral music, where Wedren’s technique of sampling and looping his famously elastic voice results in a unique kind of sound bath. Check out Craig’s website. “In general, the playground of my work, the sandbox of it, is pretty regulating I would say. I’ve been programming playlists and now I am starting to write original music for some friends of mine who have a ketamine therapy clinic.” – Craig WedrenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.