I'm a fellow travel podcaster and journalist (The Big Travel Podcast) and came across this podcast when reviewing other travel podcasts for an article I'm writing. Eric has such a lovely way of telling a story and a brilliant voice. Love it. This is exactly what I've been looking for and sounds amazing. Can't stress how great this show sounds enough. Great show + great host = Home Run Podcast. Subscribed! Fascinating! Love indigenous music and listening to Chuck’s vivid descriptions were as close to being there as possible. I am so intrigued with these off the beaten path places and this podcast offers a glimpse into realities otherwise unknown. He really captures the “spirit” and Eric, your podcast connects us to that world. Wonderful! e-travels with e. trules is a very informative and entertaining podcast about Mr. Trules travels across our planet over the past many years. But it's more than just that. It's also about his life beginning in New York and how he created a life for himself, his wife and now their adopted son in the Echo Park section of Los Angeles.
What's especially enjoyable about his accounts of his life is not just what's going on in the present but also the historical knowledge he imparts with a sense of humor.
He probably remembers Gene Shepard from many many years ago on WOR A.M. Radio in New York City and I as a young child back then would listen to him on the equivalent of podcasts back then. Younger people may recall the movie "A Christmas Story" and the famous saying about not getting a Bebe gun because he will shoot his eye out. Well that was written by and voice overhead by Gene Shepard.
Mr. Trules has a similar ability to tell a good story and to do so in such a way as to bring you right there.
I only recently discovered podcasts and this has got to be one of the best ones out there! Well worth a sub, DO IT NOW, i did! Listen to this podcast and the man who makes it. He will rekindle your desire for adventure, knowledge, and just maybe teach you how to catch a ride on the train of opportunity. I love travel and foreign cultures, and it was great to find a podcast that adds an entertaining, offbeat angle to a genre that can quickly become stale. Highly recommended. If you love travel you will certainly love this podcast! Eric is an amazing story teller and he will transport you to another world every time. I definitely recommend this podcast to all travel lovers. This podcast transports me evey episode to a entertaining adventure that lets me leave my current reality and allows me to see this crazy world as told by the euthusiastic, talented, and engaging storyteller, Eric Trules. I find his travel stories enlightening and very relaxing to sit back and listen to. Besides Trules mastery of telling his stories, the podcast is well-produced with excellent audio and sounds that help in making this such an addictive listen. Can't wait for more! This was a delightful and entertaining narrative. I tuned in thinking it was a podcast about one of Eric's wild travels only to find out that this was a piece about marriage, and a damned good one at that. Love the story telling aspect of the early episodes: the score, the performance. It's really engaging. As a podcaster, I love the behind the scenes episodes as well. Looking forward to where this show will go! Trules' voice and the sound design make E-travels with E-trules a lovely soundtrack when working. His stories will transport you to another world while you tap away at your cubicle. I hope he post more and more often! Highly recommend. Love the interplay between discovering new places in the world that are ancient and making new personal discoveries. Yes, he's crazy to be taking some of these trips, but what else is new? He's being truly Trules. His inner clown is always smiling.
Thanks a bunch.
Mark Berger and Rain Worthington A great listen. Transported me. Looking forward to more! I love it! 5+ I was lucky enough to be in Echo Park, Los Angeles this November and heard some of Eric's podcasts before they were even available on itunes. He has the perfect pitch and tone of the seasoned traveller and raconteur, I slipped comfortably away and was lost in distant lands and times. A real treat to hear Eric's voice among hoards of podcasts out there. His point-of-view, cadence, and energy makes for trascendent listening. LOVE it! Trules has such a great radio voice. Truly enjoyed the podcast, as it got me yearning to backpack again. Really high-quality production, with great music (and I dig the whistling at the end). Eric Trules is a natural born storyteller. He also happens to be an ever-searching, wonderfully curious, thoughtful and profound individual, with a unique perspective on the wide world -- a world which he's circumnavigated far more than I could even imagine. Though, after listening to his podcast, it's inspiring me to attempt to catch up someday and ramp up the timeline on my exploration of this mysterious, beautiful world.
As much as the travel adventures are wonderful to hear on their own though, the real treasure here comes in his thoughtful reflection on humanity in its many garments and idiosyncracies. He certainly could have been a cultural anthropologist if he didn't become a theatre professor...but I'm glad he went toward the stage; now we get the benefits of his runminations on humanity through the vessel of a uniquely gifted, entertaining storyteller.
I've seen him perform many times, but this podcast is a great reminder of how much character and warmth his voice carries with every phrase as a trained performer. Trules is a cultural treasure, and I can't wait to hear more installments of this powerful travelogue. The podcast is a delightful medley of travel, history, and Trules! His voice over the music and sound makes it easy to picture the fantastic stories. The storytelling is as hypnotic as the music. For those who love traveling but don't get to do so as often as you wish, this is the go-to podcast! Eric creates a sense of place like no one else. I felt like I was right there alongside him on all these amazing journeys. What an experience! Love, love, LOVE this! Inspires me to keep exploring the world with our new little family addition. Great first episode. Trules has a natural knack for storytelling, and exploration. Looking forward to the new show! The widely traveled Trules is also a gifted writer, performer and teacher — and this podcast benefits from all those talents Trulles is a unique, funny, and intelligent guide in the world of travel, life, and love. Between the music, sound design, and pleasant low rumble of Trules' voice, this is a podcast that will satisfy that craving for a story that lets you live by your mind's eye. In the introduction of the podcast, Trules begins laying down the different stories and inspirations that he has quilted together over his life. From his natural curiosity in history to his appreciation for the unforeseen, you get the sense that Trules has a narrative that bridges his personal discoveries with the shifts the world has undergone throughout his life.
I'm looking forward to seeing how these stories flesh out. I can tell that we're in for a treat. Really great and entertaining podcast. Hooks you from the first episode. I'm very impressed with the content in this first episode and can't wait to hear more of Eric's stories. I am thrilled that I came upon this podcast. Trules has a wonderful quality for engaging his listeners, and will transcend you from your living room couches to vast corners of the world. The podcast's professional quality, coupled with Trules' creativity and natural skill for storytelling, will keep you coming back for more. It's a must - can't wait for more! Based on the promo episode of this show, I've subscribed and am definitely looking forward to more! This podcast is extremely well-produced, with audio that excites and amuses. I love the concept of unique, personal and engaging travel stories from the host's real-life experiences, combined with audio scapes that bring listeners directly into the story. I have a feeling this show will be one to keep an eye on, as it holds a great deal of promise for future success. Can't wait to hear the many places Eric Trules will take us!
Welcome “Behind the Scenes” with Reggae Aficionado, Roger Steffens
Listen Now
Who’s the Who?
Today I’ll be talking with my friend, Roger Steffens, reggae expert and collector extraordinaire. Also poet, photographer, raconteur, and personal friend of Bob Marley. Which means… Roger’s been to Jamaica many times, mon.
He’s also a longer-time resident of Echo Park than I am, the charmingly bohemian and music-loving neighborhood of Los Angeles that you can hear me rant about on Episode 13 of the podcast. Roger’s world-famous reggae archives are housed in an over-stuffed maze below the first floor of his home, filling the entire lower level of seven rooms from floor to ceiling. He’s had to move twice just to re-house the collection. “And now we’re about to burst this house too,” he tells me. “We need a permanent institutional home, just in case you know of one.”
Chamber of Sacred Vinyl
If you know anything about reggae, you probably know that Roger Steffens co-hosted “Reggae Beat” on KCRW radio beginning in 1979, the first and only reggae show in Los Angeles at the time. And I consider myself extremely fortunate to be presenting some previously-unreleased Bob Marley music from the singer’s personal “Bedroom Tapes” that Roger has graciously allowed me to mix into our interview, “on loan” from “The Archives”….along with several original “dub tracks by The Wailers themselves.
This is the iconic photo that Roger took of Bob Marley in his last tour, shortly before his death from cancer in 1981.
Bob Marley, Photo by Roger Steffens, 1979
Over the years, Steffens also hosted programs on African music, poetry, the Sixties, and a wide-open talk show called “Offbeat.” He’s the man who turned Paul Simon onto Ladysmith Black Mambazo for Simon’s 1986 Grammy-winning album, “Graceland”. Roger was the first speaker at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he is the most frequent speaker to date. Nine times and counting.
“I’ve always had a Hippie heart,” he says proudly. After the army and a year, naturally, in Marrakech, Morocco in 1971, he moved to Berkeley, California… where he photographed his life hanging out with early Rolling Stone writers, musicians, artists, poets, and painters, just as avidly as he had taken photos during the Vietnam War. Since that time, all the slides stayed hidden behind closed doors — 100,000 images – until…. 2013, when his son, Devon, spent a year digitizing some 40,000 slides. Next, his daughter, Kate, asked, Why don’t you start an Instagram site, Dad? Right on cue, Dad said, “What’s an Instagram?” But – that was the birth of “The Family Acid” on Instagram, the photo site so called, because everyone thought that the Steffens family was “like the Walton family on TV… but on Acid.”
Please listen to Episode 35 by clicking the ARROW at the top of this post – right below “Listen Now”.
What We Covered
0:01 – Weekly Intro, Music by Amanda Yamate
0:27 – An original un-released cut, “So Far Away”, from Bob Marely’s “Bedroom Tapes”
1:00 -Trules welcomes listeners to show and introduces Roger Steffens
7:42 – Roger talks about how Jamaica has changed over the last 40 years – over a dub track by The Wailers
9:26 – Trules talks about his paranoid trip from Montego Bay to Negril in 2009 – with another dub tack by de Wailers
10:48 – Both talk about the dangers of Kingston and the scams on the street
11:45 – Trules remembers traveling the whole island from Kingston to Boston Bay to Ocho Rios to Monetego Bay to Negril, staying with Rasta men in sprawling green countryside
12:26 – Roger comically recalls going to Tuff Gong Studio in Kingston, where Bob Marley recorded, and where Steffens was pick-pocketed
16:09 – Roger talks about the uphill climb of getting his reggae archive permanently housed in a musuem, hopefully in Kingston
17:10 – Trules asks Roger to speak about the Rasta and ganga culture of the island – and its connection to Haile Salassie in Ethiopia
19:39 – Trules ask about touring the voluminous reggae “archives” in Roger’s house in Echo Park, Los Angeles
23:35 – The two talk about Haile Salassie, “King of Kings, Lord of Lords…” and the connection between Jamaica & Ethiopia
26:30 – Steffens recalls a knock on his front door one night by 6 suma-sized musicians from Papua New Guinea
27:48 – Roger talks about his iconic and boot-legged photo of Bob Marley on one his last tours, November 24, 1979, a couple of years before Marley passed away from cancer
29:30 – Trules asks about Steffens about his radio show,”The Reggae Beat”, and about his extensive connections to the Hollywood music industry
31:50 – Steffens remembers interviewing Timothy Leary and Dr. Albert Hoffman, early advocates of LSD, on his 60s KCRW radio show 34:10 – Roger explains “The Family Acid” on Instagram
36:25 – Roger talks about serving in the Vietnam War and then working with Ron Kovic on his “Born on the 4th of July” script 40:49 – Roger takes the Trules Travel Quiz 55:00 – Trules wraps up, gives some contact information, and signs off with a combination “One Love” from Jamaica and “Happy Trails” from the show
To catch up with all the episodes from Season 1, to listen to my last off the beaten path travelogue, “Moon Over Chefchaouen, Part 2” about my comical crossing of the Spanish-Moroccan border – by foot – or to hear all the episodes thus far from Season 2, please go to the Library on my home page. There you can listen to all the musically-scored, sound-immersive travelogues, as well as to the rest the “Behind the Scenes” interviews with fellow travelers, podcasters, artists, and friends.
Coming up in 2 weeks, “Susan, Tim, & Me”, Episode 36…. a funny story about Hollywood celebrity (Sarandon & Robbins) at a transcendent cremation ceremony in Bali.
Support the Podcast!
We’re still looking to complete Funding for Season 2, so to make an easy, monthly donation to the podcast, please just click HERE – or on the Podbean “badge” on my website. Or…. to make a one time Donation, go HERE. We’re talking SEASON 3!
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Bob Marley and The Wailers
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Please join our Facebook groups: “e-travels with e-trules” and “Fans Who Like e-travels with e. trules”
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And Contact me HERE about anything…. any time……..
Finally, a brief appreciation I wrote of Anthony Bourdain, whose sudden death shocked all of those who loved his books on food & his TV travel shows.
Go HERE.
Enjoy Behind the Scenes with Reggae Aficionado, Roger Steffens!
Please let me know what you think and…
Happy Trails…………
Trules
Production Credits & Episode Links
Recorded by Scott Barber at the Barbershop Recording Studio in Echo Park, Los Angeles
“e-travels with e. trules” Intro and Outro Theme Music composed by Amanda Yamate
Sound design by Alysha Bermudez
Produced by Harry Duran at FullCast
Bob Marley and Wailers tracks edited into interview by Chuck Jonkey at Sonic Safari Music. Thanks Chuck.
Roger doesn’t have a cell phone or use social media, but the best place to reach him is on Instagram at “the familyacid”
