THE FULL STORY BEHIND RANDY CALIFORNIA & SPIRIT (PART 6: SPIRIT OF ’76) (Ep. 246B)

Discograffiti is the deep-dive podcast for music obsessives. Host Dave Gebroe talks with Spirit biographer Ryan Gabrinetti about the classic psych band’s entire recorded output, with commentary, stories, and star ratings for every release. Part 6 covers the beginning of Spirit’s Mercury Records era, a fertile period rife with creativity, as Randy California wound up processing his feelings around America’s Bicentennial through a surprisingly emotional internal filter, recording so much material for this double set that there was enough left over for a whole other record to come. Here are just a few of the many things that Ryan discusses with Discograffiti in this podcast: Randy’s attempt to become a regular guy—including his stint working at a McDonald’s—before disappearing into thin air; Randy’s move to Hawaii, and some legitimately wild tales regarding his time there; How Ten Years After backing out of a Florida gig wound up changing the trajectory of Randy’s career; Reconciling the twin notions of recording an ambitious double set but gracing it with an album cover drawn haphazardly upon…a napkin?; And an in-depth deep dive on every song off Spirit’s Spirit of ’76. The Free Teaser: linktr.ee/discograffiti For the full, ad-free, 27-minute podcast, either subscribe to Discograffiti’s Patreon at the Major Tier or higher, or just grab the episode as a one-off at the same link. The Full Podcast: Patreon.com/Discograffiti Purchase the 8-episode Spirit series at a 33% discount (hear as they appear): Patreon.com/collection/1928400 Dave's Show Notes are available at a separate link for Majors & up.