Saint Disruption and the Saint Disruption Podcast, founded by Jeff Firewalker Schmitt (musician; founder of the Eagle Condor Council and Wisdom Keepers member) and John Medeski (renowned jazz musician; cofounder of Medeski Martin & Wood) brings together musicians, poets, artists, and visionaries to make great music and conversation.
Jeff Firewalker Schmitt, PhD
Folk Healer, Sound Artist, Ceremonialist, Advocate, Educator and Scientist – enjoys a rich life filled with community, science, music, art, and family. As founder of the Eagle Condor Council. Jeff is an advocate for indigenous healing and wisdom traditions and works closely with the Wisdom Keepers. Jeff is a challenging and evocative speaker/storyteller; in 2011 he presented the first TEDx talk on Ayahuasca – inspired by his life-changing sojourn with the Secoya of the Amazon rainforest. He did his doctoral work in Molecular Biophysics at the University of Bath and Oxford University. He has held full professorships at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Biochemistry and Physiology-Pharmacology and was the Director of Research for the Center for Integrative Medicine. He is a founding member of numerous companies and has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and patents. Jeff co-founded and directed Wake forest Innovations. He also devotes his time to organizations serving the greater good ( board member of 5 non-profit organizations). He is also a Chinese martial Arts expert.
Jeff has collaborated with numerous American and European artists, including ex-King Crimson drummer Michael Giles and John Medeski of Medeski Martin & Wood. He recorded two albums with REM’s producer Mitch Easter. Jeff winning the Savannah College of Art ‘Savannah 3D’ invitational in 1986 for his sculptural works. Jeff and his collaborators composed music for Alban Elved Dance 1994-2005, leading to collaborations in England, USA and Germany. Jeff is also a founding member of the Wheel Theater Company led by acclaimed former Juilliard educator Felix Ivanov. Finally, while in Europe, Jeff was a founding member of the Bio*Art collaborative, a group of philosophers, scientists and artists working together to foster an esthetic appreciation of scientific discovery. Their work led to a Royal Society exhibition as well as the first musical compositions based on the 3-dimensional structure of proteins.
Contact: saintdisruption@gmail.com
John Medeski
Keyboardist John Medeski cannot be contained to a single project or genre. Best known as one third of the groundbreaking trio, Medeski Martin & Wood, he is credited on over 300 works to date.
Medeski is a highly sought after improviser, producer, composer and band leader whose projects include Mad Skillet, The Word, Hudson and Spectrum Road. He has worked with John Zorn, Phil Lesh, Don Was, John Scofield, Coheed & Cambria, Susana Baca, Sean Lennon, Marc Ribot, Irma Thomas, Blind Boys of Alabama, David Byrne, Iggy Pop, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Jack Bruce and many more.
John and his wife Debi founded Star Fire Fellowship, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to cultivating unity consciousness by honoring ancient and contemporary sacred wisdom rooted in diverse spiritual and cultural paths. Utilizing earth-based teachings the goal is to inspire a sense of true purpose and to shape purpose into action that creates change for the betterment of the earth and all beings.
Austn Haynes
Austn Space (AKA Austn Haynes) is a producer, poet, vocalist and sound engineer from the thriving, cosmic, Appalachian music scene of Asheville, NC. Known particularly for his work with Free Radio and for his Black Horizon remix work of Government Mule. Austn is the Saint Disruption Podcast ‘roving ambassador’ - traveling from state to state to connect with amazing young musicians and poets. Austn will be helping young poets bring their poems to life, through recording their compositions, crafting sounds and encouraging a purposeful, open process along the way.
Dave Hamilton & Hamilton Media Design
Dave Hamilton is a seasoned producer, editor, musician, adventurer, beat-maker and founder of Hamilton Media Design. Dave brings more than two decades of experience to creating the highest quality podcast content possible.
Aaron Kayce
Aaron is a high impact leader, General Manager and Talent Buyer, as well as journalist and editor, with over 20 years in the music industry. Pre-Covid Aaron’s focus was with Live Nation at The Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD, where he brought over 200 concerts a year to the people of his community and managed a business with over $8M in revenue. Prior to his work with Live Nation Aaron orchestrated a $1M turnaround at Bob Weir’s Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley, CA where he booked thousands of concerts and rebuilt the brand and business from the ground up. Today Aaron’s passion is using his vast experience, knowledge and relationships to make the world a better place through the power of music.
MUSIC Video Production
John Corrin of Wasp Video collaborates with Saint Disruption to bring visual life to our music.
