Mark Karan

Today, Daniel chats with guitarist & singer Mark Karan, best known for his long-term work with members of the Grateful Dead, in Bob Weir & Ratdog, the Other Ones, Planet Drum & Phil & Friends. 

As a teen, Mark immersed himself in the Haight-Ashbury mid-60’s hippie scene, and was encouraged by his rad parents to check out shows at The Fillmore! There, he saw the Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and tons of other iconic performers. 

Mark shares generously about his early psychedelic experiences and how they guided the emotions & mental-states that shaped his adulthood. 

Mark shares his experiences with alcohol abuse, 16 years of sobriety, & his subsequent embrace with MMP (Marijuana Maintenance Programs).

Mark’s LSD journeys as a teen:  “I was young & innocent enough that I had very little fear….everything felt really free…it was something COMPLETELY different than anything I’d experienced or even thought that might exist…it expanded my sense of what’s real & what’s possible…I got the sense that we’re creating our own reality “

On a harrowing LSD experience & the importance of setting:  “It’s not a groovy experience if you can’t let psychedelics take you where they want to take you…if you try to fight it and hold onto what you think is your version of reality…I was trying to fight it and that wasn’t a good thing”

Mark on playing music: “[It] is (one of) the only places where I feel myself, & I feel unthreatened, & I don’t hafta impress…I feel connected to the flow of my spirit & connected to joy”

On playing music high: “When I’m playing music & using psychoactive substances it REALLY enhances the experience…for me it enhances the way I relate to the music. It allows me to get out of my own way. There’s no time when I’m freer or happier when I’m in the flow of playing music with people”

Respecting elders: “Between Ram Dass & Timothy Leary, I have a lot of respect for both of them, but I connect more to Dass because Leary made LSD the God, whereas Dass took it as a hint or a window & went on a search”