SAINT DISRUPTION + PODCAST
MUSIC AS MEDICINE | COLLABORATION
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 music and conversation.
COLLABORATORS TO-DATE
Michael Bellar, Oteil Burbridge, Natalia Clavier, Gina Cornejo, Tony Creasman, Randy Granger, RIver Guerguerian, Warren Haynes, Austn Haynes (aka AustnSpace), Scotty Hard, Omar bin Hassan, Jahman Hill, Mark Karlsen Wieneand, DJ Logic, Lyric, Brian Jackson, Datrian Johnson, Michaela Kabat, Heather Kabat, Melissa McKinney, Kayla McKinney, Debrissa McKinney, Jake Mossman, Andrei Lassalle, Kimi Leger, Phil Ludwig, Adam Matar, Ted Marks, Andrei Matorin, Caroline Padgett, Poetika, Johnny Reynolds, Maggie Rose, Vernon Reid, Chris Rosser, Duane Simpson, Jeff Sipe, Trith-I Manifest, Jake Wolf
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.
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.