The Self Portrait Gospel :: Podcast

After relocating to the Bay Area in the late 1990s to pursue a vibrant vision of becoming a professional skateboarder, life had other plans for future artist, illustrator, and psychedelic painter Joe Robert (LSD Worldpeace). To properly pivot in the throes of reality, one has to put one foot in front of the other, and Roberts did just that. Later, studying at SFAI, he eventually began releasing books and zines such as accalimed titles "LSD Worldpeace", We Ate The Acid (61)A3HT3TA3," and 2021's "Clowns of Hyperspace", and has had several works featured in galleries like Slow Culture in LA and Marlborough Gallery in New York. 
After a long break since the holidays, we sat down with Robert for an epic conversation about life's mysteries, creative chaos, youth, skateboarding, conspiracy theories, aliens, goverment mind control, world peace and his children, who have become his greatest inspiration. Roberts' work is influential, iconic and a radical reaction to the world and its cryptically comical side, while simultaneously allowing viewers to experience the spiritual secrets of the universe up close.

For the final episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast of 2025, we had the great pleasure of sitting down with multi-instrumentalist, activist, composer, and multimedia artist Micah Nelson (Particle Kid) to discuss the future of music streaming services like Spotify and the revolutionary reclaiming of musicians'/artists' intellectual property through a newly developed, creator-owned music and social media ecosystem powered by human intelligence called The Flow, which was developed, and founded by Mike Hanuschik. Join us for a mind-blowing conversation that takes several unexpected turns into the depths of creative culture, industry, and the fight for sonic survival. This multi-part episode will continue to explore the controversy and complexity of how these elements have destroyed the essence of not only a musician's living through their craft, but also a war that is sweeping the plaet as we speak.

There are some folks you feel like you've known forever, and perhaps you have in some other life than the one you're currently occupying. Westerlund is one of those people. A sonic soul that shifts in and out of an atmospheric array of outfits and poetic projects, his presence is equal to his artistic output. Positive, curious, and above all, genuine. On this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast, we sit down with the Research Triangle-based producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and percussionist to talk about his unique connection to sound, working with several artists like Califone, Nathaniel Russel, Jake Xerxes Fusell, Bon Iver, and Sylvan Esso, writting, and recording his most recent effort "Curiosities from the Shift", and much more.

While conjouring those familiar relams of romanticism found within the captivating caves of Leonard Cohen, Eduardo Bort, and Donovan, Sao Paulo, Braizil-bases multi-instrumentalist Sergio Victor Sayeg, known professionally as Sessa, has sincerely brought to the sonic surface a mesmerizing meditation on life, lover, fatherhood, and cultural connection with his latest effort, "Pequena Vertigem de Amor (Lil' Love Vertigo)." A brilliant body of work that effortlessly flows from one end of the galaxy to the echoing canals of the listeners' eager ears who patiently wait for its humbling vibrations, Sessa takes us on a journey that is one for the books.

It's been almost a year since we last spoke to Nastanovich, and what a year it's been, to say the least. From touring to moving to Maco, GA, to an official docufiction about the band called "Pavements", and everything else in between, the group's lyrical legacy and existential existence have only grown over the decades, and we're here for every second of it. Nastanovich is one of those critical characters in the sonic story who takes you out on the harmonious horizon for the views, while simultaneously educating you on the elements along the way. Having been a member of Pavement for over three decades, Nastanovich has navigated all the visceral valleys and mountains of madness that bands experience, and lives to tell the tale.
Now one of the most celebrated and influential acts of their generation, Pavement is an iconic institution for indie artists everywhere. Join us on this episode of The Self Portrait Gospel Podcast as we traverse through the shadows of the past, present, and future to carefully collect the melodic memories and spellbinding efforts of one of the best to do it. Oh yeah, we also talk about plastic surgery, corporate corruption, building appliances, Chris Rock, and much more.