Live Wire with Luke Burbank — Episode Summary Guests: Edgar Gomez, River Selby, Hunter Noack
Date: October 24, 2025

Overview

This episode of Live Wire with Luke Burbank brings together a trio of creative forces, each traversing distinct landscapes—personal, literal, and musical. Writer Edgar Gomez delves into the humor and heartbreak of growing up poor and queer in Florida; River Selby shares the perils and policy of their time as a hotshot wildland firefighter; and pianist Hunter Noack opens up his outdoor classical concert series where birds, wind, and waterfalls co-star with his grand piano.

Segment 1: Portland Positivity — "Best News We Heard All Week"

[03:34–09:54]

Theme: Challenging negative stereotypes about Portland with uplifting local stories.

• World Naked Bike Ride Protest Extension: Despite rainy, cold weather, Portlanders staged an impromptu, partly clothed Naked Bike Ride as a protest with a joyful twist. Creative costumes (David S. Pumpkins, Beetlejuice, scarves, hats) took to the streets, ending with a demonstration on the Burnside Bridge.
  "All to sort of make protest an act of joy. And nothing says joy like nudity on a 50-degree rainy day." — Elena Passarello [05:14]

• Lippman Party Supply's Booming Business: The local store has seen a surge in sales for inflatable costumes (frogs, chickens, bananas) used in local protests, delighting the longtime manager who gets to spot them on TV.
  "Let’s support our local inflatable frog businesses here in Portland." — Luke Burbank [06:39]

• "Squish the Squash" at the Portland Zoo: A decades-old tradition continues as elephants squash massive pumpkins and squash, now featuring baby elephant Tula Tu with her own baby pumpkin.
  "She's gonna squish her own squash and then watch her mom wreck shop on one of the big mama pumpkins." — Elena Passarello [07:54]

• Snowplow Naming Contest: Portland’s 56 snowplows get creative names: The Big Snow Plowski, Plowy McPlowface, Brrrrnside, Salt and Thaw, and Beverly Clear E.
  "You have no excuse because the roads will be Beverly Clearyed for you to get here, no matter what's going on." — Luke Burbank [09:50]

Segment 2: Interview with Edgar Gomez — "Alligator Tears"

[10:59–25:13]

Early Life and Identity

• Born and raised in Orlando, Florida, Edgar paints himself as a shy, nerdy child who constantly sought solace in books due to family instability.
  • "Books were, like, this source of stability where no matter where we were, I could at least be following the same story..." — Edgar Gomez [11:21]

Relationship with Mother and Coming Out

• Complicated bond with his Nicaraguan mother; she was supportive until Edgar came out to her at Saks Fifth Avenue as a teenager.
  • "Her initial reaction wasn’t great. It took some getting used to." — Edgar Gomez [12:05]
  • "She would always be like, no, that didn’t happen. Or you’re exaggerating…classic immigrant mom." — Edgar Gomez [12:05]

Memoir as a Means of Dialog

• Edgar uses memoir writing to talk about family traumas his mother would not acknowledge in conversation. He delayed telling her about his first book’s release for a year, and fantasizes about it being sold at the airport Starbucks where she worked.
  • "Writing my memoirs has been my way to sort of have those conversations with her without her telling me, no, that didn’t happen." — Edgar Gomez [13:15]
  • "My fantasy [was] that my book would be at the airport because my mom worked as a barista at Starbucks at the airport." — Edgar Gomez [13:44]

Creative Family Resourcefulness: The Veneers Story

• Edgar’s mother, anticipating bankruptcy, chooses to maximize the process by investing in expensive veneers for Edgar’s teeth, profoundly affecting his self-esteem.
  • "Yet I also knew that once I had veneers, money would never be a problem again. They’d cover all my ugly parts, my drug record, my brokenness and brokeness...I didn’t need to hide ever again." — Edgar Gomez (reading from “Alligator Tears”) [17:02–21:27]

Class, Embarrassment, and Ambition

• Discusses constant embarrassment tied to growing up poor:
  • "One of the biggest things about growing up poor is embarrassment. Constant embarrassment…there’s just this kind of low hum of feeling embarrassed all the time, which really does a number on your brain." — Luke Burbank [21:27]
• Connects early hustle (selling cookies, flip-flops—“luxury flip-flops” worn by Oprah and The Rock) to writing career:
  • "I really do believe that helped my writing, because what that job is is all about audience and how to immediately hook somebody coming into the store and convince them to do something." — Edgar Gomez [23:37]

Trauma and Joy

• On not letting trauma stories become the only story:
  • "The way that my mom and my family tell stories…they could be telling the darkest thing, but they're cracking up the entire time. I think that's something that I learned from them." — Edgar Gomez [24:26]
• "Therapy is expensive, but laughter is free." — Luke Burbank recalls Gomez’s words [25:03]

Segment 3: Listener Question — "What Job Taught You the Most?"

[26:17–28:46]

• Responses range from camp counseling (unclogging toilets, starting campfires, learning patience), dishwashing with “hot water and loud music can fix almost anything,” to spending wages on used DVDs at Hollywood Video—deemed a “terrible investment” in retrospect.
• Hosts reminisce on their own first jobs, offering a warm and humorous take on lessons learned.

Segment 4: Interview with River Selby — "Hot: A Life on Fire"

[29:32–39:26]

Personal Journey and Entry to Firefighting

• After a tumultuous adolescence with addiction, River’s friend suggests wildland firefighting as a “distraction.”
  • "She was like, maybe it'll distract you. That's literally what she said." — River Selby [30:19]

Identity and Environment

• At the time, Selby identified as female ("Ana") and was the only woman/non-male on their hotshot crew.
  • "Our first day of training, the captain made sure to tell everyone in the room that women have smaller lungs than men. So I couldn't be expected to do the same level of work that the men could do." — River Selby [31:16]
  • "That was the moment I decided to do it." — River Selby (on becoming a hotshot after being told “girls can’t be hotshots”) [32:22]

Danger and Skill

• Describes hazardous conditions, such as a helicopter drop that released embers, forcing the crew into perilous action.
  • "In the moment, you're doing the job, you're not thinking about the dangers...it could have gone very wrong." — River Selby [34:16]

Policy, Labor, and Indigenous Wisdom

• Discusses the impact of immigration enforcement on firefighting crews, the need to fund and empower local/Indigenous fire management, and public education on fire’s productive role in land health.
  • "Laypeople can come and use fire and learn how to use fire to help tend the land. And it is a way to reconnect with the land." — River Selby [37:16]

Life Beyond the Fireline

• River’s eventual departure was hastened by personal loss and frustration with workplace double standards, which led them to academic success and writing.
  • "The feedback I got at the end of the season...was that I hadn't been cheerful enough." — River Selby [39:09]
  • "I am about to have my PhD by this summer." — River Selby [39:26]

Segment 5: Hunter Noack — "In a Landscape"

[41:10–51:52]

Concept and Inspiration

• Hunter shares his "In a Landscape" concert series, where he brings a grand piano into breathtaking natural environments and broadcasts the music via wireless headphones, blurring boundaries between music and nature.
  • "I actually sometimes do perform [John Cage’s] 4’33” ... we can just listen to the landscape." — Hunter Noack [41:28]
  • "What I hope people do is try and embrace all of the sounds of the landscape as a part of the show, as a part of the music." — Hunter Noack [42:51]

John Cage’s Enduring Influence

• Draws inspiration from Cage’s questioning of music’s boundaries:
  • "John Cage would have some silverware and throw it in a bathtub up on stage and it would cause us to ask the question, is that music?" — Hunter Noack [41:50]

Audience Participation and Immersion

• Encourages listeners to wander during performances and allow ambient sounds—birdsong, wind, other audience members—to blend seamlessly into the musical experience:
  • "I feel like I can whisper right into their ear...and that creates this very special feeling where we're all kind of witnessing the world around us constantly change." — Hunter Noack [44:01]

Performance Highlight

• Plays Rosanna Scalfi Marcello’s Oboe Concerto in D (transcribed by Bach), a choice that honors the overlooked creative voice of women in music history.
  • "She started out as a singer on the gondolas of Venice...he taught her how to write down some of her original compositions..." — Hunter Noack [46:40]

Memorable Quotes

• Edgar Gomez:
  "You're welcome. Now you can't say I don't love you." (Mother to Edgar, after buying veneers) [17:02]
  "I would have given him my soul." (on getting veneers) [17:02]

• River Selby:
  "That was the moment I decided to do it." (on being told "girls can't be hotshots") [32:22]

• Hunter Noack:
  "What I hope people do is try and embrace all of the sounds of the landscape as a part of the show..." [42:51]

Timestamps for Key Moments

• [03:34] — Best News We Heard All Week (Portland stories)
• [10:59] — Edgar Gomez interview begins
• [16:19] — Edgar reads from "Alligator Tears"
• [29:32] — River Selby interview begins
• [31:16] — On being the only woman on a hotshot crew
• [41:10] — Hunter Noack introduction and discussion
• [46:40] — Hunter's live performance

Tone and Atmosphere

The episode radiates warmth, humor, and resilience. Luke Burbank's laid-back, wry style keeps the discussions accessible and human, while each guest infuses the show with authenticity—be it Edgar's confessional honesty and wit, River's hard-earned perspective and understated bravery, or Hunter's gentleness and radical openness to sound, nature, and artistic process. The resulting blend is a snapshot of contemporary voices, each transforming hardship into insight and making room for joy.

Listen to this episode for:

• A rich, funny, and moving dispatch from the margins—of economic class, gender identity, wild landscapes, and classical music tradition.
• Uplifting reminders of local community resilience and creativity.
• The sound of a grand piano in the wild.

Further Info:

• Edgar Gomez - Alligator Tears: Available now.
• River Selby - Hot: A Life on Fire: Available now.
• Hunter Noack - In a Landscape: Tour info at inalandscape.com