726 - Gavin Arthur - Live in Denver

Summary

The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds

Episode 726 – Gavin Arthur – Live in Denver
Date: March 24, 2026
Live Guest: Luke (featured throughout improvisational segments)

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Episode Overview

In this live episode of The Dollop, comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds—along with guest Luke—delve into the bizarre, decadent, and wandering life of Gavin Arthur, who began as the privileged grandson of President Chester A. Arthur and wound his way through the 20th century as a dandy, mystic, sexual explorer, commune leader, astrologer, and unlikely early influencer of the 1960s counterculture. True to The Dollop’s tone, the story is both irreverent and insightful, with plenty of comedic digressions, asides, and audience interaction.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Chester Arthur III: Gilded Beginnings & Family Dysfunction

• Start: [10:00]
  • Born in 1901, grandson of President Chester Arthur.
  • Father (Chester Arthur II, aka Allen) was a "spoiled party boy" and trust fund layabout, never holding a real job (Dave: “He looks so jobbed up. But obviously just a rich piece of shit.” [10:45])
  • Mother Mira Townsend, also from money, got deeply into Eastern mysticism.
  • Raised in Colorado Springs on a massive ranch purchased for Allen’s asthma, the family’s wealth fueled a life of global socializing rather than responsibility.

Early Influences: Mysticism, Tantra, and Trust Fund Escapism

• Mystical Upbringing: [13:46]
  • Mira and young Chester are drawn into the era’s upper-crust obsession with spiritualism—a mix of yoga, seances, and nascent New Age beliefs.
  • Both join the Tantric Order of America in the 1920s, founded by one Peter Arnold Bernard (aka the “Omnipotent Oom”), whose movement exoticizes sex, yoga, and spiritual rites mainly for the rich.
  • The Tantric link and America's subsequent cultural backlash against yoga and mysticism is satirized extensively (“America’s like, ‘fuck yoga, right?’ People are fucking crazy.” – Dave [20:09]).

Sexual Awakening, Anarchism, and Irish Republicanism

• Coming-of-Age Abroad: [21:00–31:00]
  • Chester drops out of Columbia after being inspired by the utopian, queer socialist poet Edward Carpenter (“he just dropped out of Columbia. So he read a poem and dropped out of Columbia. The Columbia dream.” – Dave [22:02]).
  • Gets engaged to writer, dancer, and anarchist Charlotte Wilson; they move to Dublin and mingle with political and party elites—faux-rebels hiding behind wealth.
  • The couple become active in the Irish Republican cause, funding weapons, getting arrested, and navigating bohemian circles.
  • Chester’s personal sexual awakening is detailed through dalliances with male poets and, later, sexologist Havelock Ellis, and the episode highlights the fluidity and openness in their sexual and philosophical exploits.

Communal Experiments: The Dunes and Bohemian Utopianism

• California Counterculture Forerunner: [58:26–63:49]
  • Chester (now calling himself Gavin Arthur) moves to the Oceano Dunes of California during the Great Depression to join and help form a proto-communal libertarian society.
  • Inhabitants include a cast of eccentrics: Slim the Aussie, Hugo the Poet, George the Prophet (of loincloth fame), and Irish mystics like Ella Young.
  • Gavin’s rich connections help bring people like Ansel Adams, John Steinbeck, and Upton Sinclair to the dunes for discussions and magazine projects.
  • Attempts to launch “Dune Forum,” a West Coast New Yorker-style magazine, fail after only six months despite frequent champagne celebrations from his mother.

Transformation to Mystic & Counterculture Figurehead

• Betrayed Nepotism, New Age Celebrity: [66:04–77:59]
  • Gavin continually reinvents himself: party boy to supporter of Irish revolution, to failed entrepreneur, to silent film actor, to commune leader, to astrologer and sexologist.
  • Marries (platonically) a lesbian, Esther Murphy; fails up to become California Democratic Party secretary, resigns disillusioned, and drifts through various spiritual and political communities.
  • Publishes The Circle of Sex, correlating sexual archetypes with astrology, which returns him to some prominence amid the 1960s counterculture.
  • Becomes an advisor and spiritual father to the Haight-Ashbury hippie scene, selects the date for the legendary 1967 Human Be-In (the genesis of the Summer of Love).

End of the Line: Legacy, Reflection, and the Arthur Family Extinction

• Final Years: [77:59–end]
  • Gavin, out as bisexual, is described as both seer and social climber.
  • Dies in 1972, outliving (but not outdoing) the shadow of his presidential grandfather.
  • Noted in his NY Times’ obituary as having known luminaries from Hemingway to Eleanor Roosevelt.
  • Arthur family line ends with him.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Nepotism and Irony:
  Dave (mocking a furious letter Chester writes to his father rejecting him):
  “A man granted every blessing—beauty, charm, money, education and a great name—who used these gifts for no one but himself...” [38:47]
  Gareth: “It would be so great for his father to reply with a TL;DR.” [39:57]

• On Sex, Enlightenment, and Tantric Orders
  Dave (on The Tantric Order founder): “He believed the body is divine, Hatha yoga central to sanctification...with postures and proper breathing, his teachings included sex rites, magic, and the worship of the goddess Shakti.” [17:12]

• On America’s Yoga Backlash
  Dave: “Because of the Oom and a couple other guys, America turns pretty hard against yoga. America’s like, fuck yoga, right? People are fucking crazy.” [20:09]
  Gareth (satirically): “You’re flexible and fucking? I don’t think so. Stay rigid. Bang twice a year. Stop it. The flag’s the best.” [20:17]

• On the Dunes Commune’s Poverty vs. Gavin’s Privilege:
  Dave: “Look at the difference. Poor guy, rich guy, poor guy, rich guy, poor guy, rich guy.” [60:05]

• On Artistic/Counterculture Name-dropping:
  Dave: “Ansel Adams, George Cage, John Steinbeck, Upton Sinclair—all at the dunes, sitting at the campfire and discussing ideas.” [61:32]

• Gavin’s Ridiculous Life Resume (parody):
  Gareth (as Gavin, listing odd life experiences in a mock job interview):
  “I spent four years at the Dunes making a zine. We drank champagne, ate clams, and faked murder nude women...I banged a man on needles on a mountain…Learned sex moves from an 80-year-old who had sex with Walt Whitman…” [67:59–69:52]

• On Rising and Failing Upward:
  Gareth: “This feels like the natural progression. Plus, I’m divorced and I’m pissed.” [70:20]

• On the Human Be-In and Hippie Movement:
  Dave: “The event spawned other similar gatherings and set the stage for the Summer of Love and US rock festivals.” [79:20]
  Gareth: “He kind of closed strong because he sort of helped the hippie movement. But at the end of the day, nothing. Even that got squandered.” [81:42]

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Significant Timestamps

• [10:00] – Chester Arthur III’s family, privileged beginnings
• [13:46] – Mother Mira and the rise of Eastern mysticism
• [21:00] – Columbia dropout, sexual awakening, anarchist fiancée
• [41:07] – Gavin’s attempt to develop a world-changing grand philosophy
• [58:26] – Gavin moves to the Dunes, starts bohemian commune
• [66:04] – Fails at zine, joins other utopian ventures
• [77:31] – Publishes The Circle of Sex; becomes counterculture astrologer
• [79:27] – Human Be-In, hippie movement catalyst
• [80:24] – Arthur family ends; obituary and legacy

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Episode Tone & Running Gags

• The usual Dollop blend of deep-dive storytelling and improvisational riffing is on display; Gareth and Dave continually lampoon the unchecked privilege and hollow revolutionary posturing of the rich while delighting in the spiritual and sexual excesses of their subject’s circles.
• Running jokes and audience interplay, especially with improv segments featuring Luke as various "hermit" and "ghost" characters in the dunes.
• Absurdist interactions ("clam weddings," mystical orgies, and oddball job interview scenarios) drive home the ridiculousness of Gavin’s life.
• Recurring theme: squandering of privilege, the cyclical reinvention of self among the privileged, and the ludicrous and earnest failures of American bohemia.

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Final Thoughts

Gavin Arthur’s story, as told by Dave and Gareth (with Luke), traces a life of privilege, searching, almost accidental activism, and endless attempts to matter—from rich dandy, to revolutionary, to sex-mystic, to absurdist, to hippie guru. They skewer his failings, highlight the gaps between intent and impact, and ultimately tag him as a prototype for many who aim to change the world, but mostly just change costumes along the way.

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For full source list and more live episodes, visit dolloppodcast.com.

Transcript

[Mackenzie]

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[Dave Anthony]

GoFundMe is the world's number one fundraising platform, trusted by over 200 million people. Start. Start your GoFundMe today at gofundme.com that's gofundme.com gofundme.com this podcast is supported by GoFundMe. Speaking of which, you're listening to the Dollop. So have you seen the.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, yeah, I saw it.

[Dave Anthony]

This is. Oh, wait, do we do it?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, no. Oh, boy, oh, boy. This happens at the end of the film, by the way.

[Dave Anthony]

I am out of my fight.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Dave had a case of the Bidens finish. I mean, forgive him.

[Dave Anthony]

This is an American history podcast.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He messed up. Where each week he allowed one.

[Dave Anthony]

I, Dave Anthony, read a story from American history to a guy who never shuts the up while I'm talking.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Gareth Reynolds, who didn't hear Dave's introduction.

[Dave Anthony]

I had to walk over to Safeway because I had to get some wipes for my glasses. And, you know, they have the little area now where they. They make you check out in the middle of the store. Like, wait, what do you mean? They have a little. They've like, they've like walled off aisles and then they have a checkout stand there. So you. So they have stuff that they think people are stealing and it's like walled off.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Okay.

[Dave Anthony]

Oh, so you have got.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Right there. Yeah, Right, right. Yep. Right.

[Dave Anthony]

So I'm there, and there is a dude who is security, but he's just in like a T shirt and a hat and like jeans. And I walk in, I'm just like. I looked at him, I'm like, you're clearly fucking security. Like, you just. And he's like. He's literally 65260. He's just like. He's just all roided, muscled out guy. And so I'm sitting there lying, and the line's literally taking 10 minutes and he starts bird dogging this woman and she looks like she's having a hard time. She's down her luck a little bit. And he's just totally staring at her. And he's talking to his little. His fucking airpod. He's watching her. He's like looking around the corner. He takes off his hat at one point to look like. Like he's someone else. And I'm just.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's hilarious when you're that tall and big and you're like, disguise time.

[Dave Anthony]

And then I check out and I look over and he's still staring. And I just walk over and I go, hey, man, the security guy is just full on bird dogging you. He's just all up in your fucking business. She goes, oh my God, thank you. And then I turn around, I started walking and he is just fucking. He looks like he's gonna kill me, he is so fucking mad. And I'm just like, oh my God, I might get this guy, might actually fucking pop. Walk over to him and he goes, really? And I go, fuck yeah, dude.

[Gareth Reynolds]

And he was in this. Dave was in this the whole time. Don't forget that part of this.

[Dave Anthony]

And I said, look at you. It's ridiculous. Cause it's so obvious. A security guard. But he was really. I guess he didn't. Probably didn't make his quota or whatever, but. And then I saw her, I walked outside and she was like, thank you. You're welcome. I'm sorry. You didn't get caught steal.

[Gareth Reynolds]

You stole though, right?

[Dave Anthony]

Oh, yeah, I got a bunch of shit.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. Razors.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah. Oh, by the way, after October 31st, if you can help people steal, help them steal. If you can make a distraction in a store, start a fight in the corner with your friend as if you're getting a fight. So other people can steal shit. Just do whatever you can help people steal because people need food to fucking eat.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Here's what I recommend. Just every one of those stupid help buttons for everything they put behind plastic. Now just keep hitting those. Just walk down the aisle and be like.

[Luke]

They'll be like, fuck, where are they?

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's the beauty of the self checkout. They're like, this will save us money. And it's like, no one fucking won't, assholes. We are going to show you we want it all. I have planters peanuts in between my butt cheeks.

[Dave Anthony]

The fuck?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Huh? What? No, with the packaging. Not loose with the packaging, Dave.

[Dave Anthony]

Well then why do it?

[Gareth Reynolds]

They're in the packaging.

[Dave Anthony]

What's the point on having those things Just fucking rolling around in there.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It's a little sandy to me. Feels like you were at a bit. Giants beach.

[Dave Anthony]

Get cashews. March 21, 1901. Chester Arthur III was born in Colorado Springs.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Your greatest, greatest, Your greatest. Your great.

[Dave Anthony]

Colorado's best city.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Your greatest part of your.

[Dave Anthony]

The best people are.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It's the best part of the state.

[Dave Anthony]

Absolutely.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It's where. It's where everyone is treated fairly.

[Dave Anthony]

Yes. It's where freedom happens. My favorite part about that city is that when they voted to get rid of taxes and then everything stopped working and they were like, oh.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, fuck. Wait.

[Dave Anthony]

Chester was the grandson of President Chester Arthur, who was in office from 1881 to 1885, and the son of an Irish immigrant.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Great.

[Dave Anthony]

Chester's son, Chester Arthur ii, was there,

[Gareth Reynolds]

like a contract where everyone had to be Chester.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Okay.

[Dave Anthony]

He was a dandy and a spoiled party boy who spent his life. Life chasing skirts.

[Gareth Reynolds]

A Dave Anthony type.

[Dave Anthony]

And now I am a skirt.

[Gareth Reynolds]

You finally caught one, kiddo. Will you do the Basic Instinct leg cross at some point during the show?

[Dave Anthony]

Oh, I'll show you the franken beans.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, well, everyone's sick, so that's good. Peanuts just drop out. Jesus, David.

[Dave Anthony]

I crack a shell.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I love how you, since you have this on, your legs, have to be cutie pies.

[Luke]

You're like, what am I supposed to do? I'm a widdle guy.

[Dave Anthony]

I was very. I was very worried that I would be sitting on a short chair because then you guys just be looking at it the whole time.

[Gareth Reynolds]

But thankfully, it's long, the ball's on you. You wouldn't be able to watch the show. You'd be looking at it,

[Dave Anthony]

you know. So. The president and his wife's first son died. So Chester Arthur ii, the alive son, they basically let him do whatever he wanted because, yeah. They were like, yeah, this one gets to do anything.

[Gareth Reynolds]

The rules killed the first one.

[Luke]

It was all that silly parenting.

[Dave Anthony]

He, quote, led a life that closely resembled that of European royals. Loyalty.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Nice.

[Dave Anthony]

So he was always dressed in fine clothes. We're talking about the second. And learned to sail and.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

And ride horses. And his parents did not pressure him to perform well academically. He was said to be, quote, tall, handsome and athletic. He thoroughly enjoyed a lifetime romp with wine, women, and song. And he learned to play the piano and the banjo. He belonged to social cubs in England, France, New York, California and Colorado. He was involved in social events in all different continents. So he's just. Literally just traveling and partying. He's a Trust fund kid.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Now, what year is this?

[Dave Anthony]

This is like the 1880s.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So he's going to Europe and hanging out?

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, he's constantly going to whatever.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He's just boating over there. Having a party boat. Yeah, fucking, that sounds pretty good. How long did it take to get to Europe?

[Dave Anthony]

17 years.

[Gareth Reynolds]

How much is that in today time?

[Dave Anthony]

Four days.

[Gareth Reynolds]

History's unbelievable.

[Dave Anthony]

So he meets Chester III's mother, Mira Thomas.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I'm lost in the Chester sauce.

[Dave Anthony]

I know. Okay, I'll switch the names up soon. Okay. So Chester III's mother. So his the party boy's wife. It's Meera Townsend. Phythian Andrews.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Sure, we'll remember that real easy.

[Dave Anthony]

She was a wealthy California divorcee. Her grandfather, like Chesters, was also an immigrant from Ireland. And though he was a notoriously corrupt politician from County Cork, Chester ii had spent 13 years in Europe living off of his inheritance and quote, cultivated the company of female admirers, good cuisine and horses. So he starts going by Allen. Wow.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Damn, he's tall.

[Dave Anthony]

How tall?

[Gareth Reynolds]

He's tall.

[Dave Anthony]

He's tall. Yeah. I don't know.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Or is this before they made fences high?

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, that fence is actually a foot high. So he starts going by Alan. And he tried to get the ambassadorship gig in the Netherlands, but they rejected him because he's never done anything.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It's weird how they insist on having that experience and stuff.

[Dave Anthony]

I know, it's weird. Although he could get a job with Ice. Then he met and married Mira in Switzerland in 1900 and they returned to the United States. Now, Alan's family was hoping his marriage to Myrna would lead to him getting a job or, I don't know, choosing a profession. But he just continued to live off of his investments.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He looks so jobbed up. But he does. Obviously he's just a rich piece of shit.

[Dave Anthony]

He's dressed up to get ladies, right?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Idiot. That doesn't matter. Just tell dick jokes in front of a crowd.

[Dave Anthony]

So his job is party boy. Right, He's a party, but that's his job. Party boy. They moved to Colorado Springs. The best.

[Luke]

Now wait a minute.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I think they don't like it. No, that's an unchanged until today.

[Dave Anthony]

I think they're just starting.

[Luke]

Bravo.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, beautiful.

[Dave Anthony]

He became a major stockholder in a company that owned the Trinchera estate, which was a 250,000 acre ranch. It's pretty big.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, but back then they were like, why so small

[Dave Anthony]

that the ranch, they cut timber and raised cattle and mined and there were roaming herds of animals on a park reserve. The Property was purchased due to Allen having asthma and bronchitis. And so it was for the fresh air. To live in Colorado. For the fre.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Fresh air. And he needed thousands of acres.

[Dave Anthony]

The air everywhere else was poisoned.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. Right. Right. Not like Colorado Springs today.

[Dave Anthony]

That's right.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Beautiful.

[Dave Anthony]

So this is where young Chester was born and raised.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Nice.

[Dave Anthony]

Chester iii. Alan became president of the Cheyenne Mountain Country Club. And then in 1909, Mira learned that Alan was having an affair. But can you believe it?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Cheating. Cheating.

[Dave Anthony]

I really thought he'd settled down.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. I mean, he was the Slenderman. So it is true. Can't lock them down. Can't even find him, really.

[Dave Anthony]

Nope. He's real though.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

Kill Luke later. He.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Huh?

[Dave Anthony]

I didn't say anything.

[Gareth Reynolds]

You didn't?

[Dave Anthony]

No. It might have been the Slenderman. I didn't say anything. So Alan was having an affair, but she decided to stay with him for the sake of little Arthur.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Nice. That's good. That always works out well. Trust me. That's how you want to do it.

[Dave Anthony]

But little Chester. Chester, Little Chester, whatever. Their marriage was rocky after that because

[Gareth Reynolds]

he was fucking other people.

[Dave Anthony]

He was fucking around.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

And then Alan wasn't around as much as a father after that.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's the best. Where he's just like, you know what? You're really kind of. You've been a real fucking bitch about this whole me fucking other people thing. So good luck. I really. I don't care for your attitude.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So I'm gonna fuck others.

[Dave Anthony]

I mean, what's gonna happen to you? You're gonna be a twice divorced lady in the fucking 1900s.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Wait, where is she? She was just in this room. She's gone. Where was she?

[Dave Anthony]

So little Chester and his mother developed a very close relationship. Very devoted. Without dad being around that much.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Breastfeeding till 9. Now.

[Dave Anthony]

Mira got super into Eastern mysticism, by the way.

[Gareth Reynolds]

There we go.

[Dave Anthony]

Which was starting to make inroads among the American upper class. We've obviously talked about mysticism on this podcast with great joy. Mysticism claimed to have access to ancient secret wisdom and spiritual knowledge which appealed to the wealthy who were looking for more elite or exclusive spiritual path than the commoners.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Now we call it Scientology.

[Dave Anthony]

Thank you. They loved communicating with the spirits of the dead through mediums during seances. They were also very to yoga.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Also, Wow. I can also touch my toes.

[Dave Anthony]

Mira loved passing the eso, the love of the esoteric, down to young, young Chester Arthur Good. And by the early 1920s, both of them were members of the tantric order. Of America.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, whoa, boy. Now, hold on.

[Dave Anthony]

How about a slow fuck?

[Luke]

Hold on.

[Dave Anthony]

Hey, Ma, I want to fuck you like.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Nope. Stop it right there, boy.

[Dave Anthony]

Hey, Mom, I want to fuck you like Sting.

[Gareth Reynolds]

No.

[Dave Anthony]

Sorry. I apologize.

[Gareth Reynolds]

The Tantric, by the way. Six hours. Stop it. It's an afternoon. Two hours. Hey, that's crazy. Maybe six. Stop it. It's ludicrous.

[Dave Anthony]

Someone can't stay hard for six hours.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Who would want to?

[Luke]

If you take a Viagra and you do two hours shy of that, you're

[Gareth Reynolds]

supposed to go to the hospital.

[Luke]

Six hour. You know what I mean?

[Gareth Reynolds]

You'd be like, hey, Jesus Christ. Oh, my God.

[Dave Anthony]

It's called having a connection.

[Luke]

Yeah, I know.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's the whole thing. You're just like sitting there. You're like, don't move.

[Dave Anthony]

You're scared of intimacy.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. And I like to nut.

[Dave Anthony]

Woo. That's a whole different order that happened. The nutting order.

[Luke]

Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

And that one really took off.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. I do man trick. I know you do. Yeah. That's where I pretend I didn't finish. Man trick. Fucking.

[Dave Anthony]

The Tantric Order was founded in 1906 in San Francisco by Peter Arnold Bernard, who became known in the press as the Omnipotent. Oh, womb.

[Gareth Reynolds]

White. Yes.

[Dave Anthony]

Oh, yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It's so good. Sweet God.

[Dave Anthony]

So he believed that his body is divine and the practice of Hatha yoga is central to its sanctification.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Sure. I believe that.

[Dave Anthony]

Along with postures and proper breathing, his teachings included sex rites, magic, and the worship of the. The goddess Shakti.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Name a better course. What was the list of the curriculum?

[Luke]

One more time.

[Dave Anthony]

Curriculum?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. What were the teachings?

[Dave Anthony]

He believed the body is divine, practice of Hatha yoga, essential to sanctification. Along with postures and proper breathing, his teachers included sex rights, magic, and the worship of the goddess Shakti.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It's a great list.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, no, it's a great list.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Great list.

[Dave Anthony]

I don't know how you can think

[Gareth Reynolds]

of other great list. Who needs math?

[Dave Anthony]

Oh, and also the omnipotent own. Peter Arnold Bernard was a barber's son from Iowa named Perry Baker, who had trained under a tantric yogi Hammet in Nebraska.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Wait, his dad?

[Dave Anthony]

No.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. So his dad was a barber, this guy? Yeah. And his dad was a barber.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

And so he'd just come home and his dad would be like, how's the. How's it been going? You still doing your whole thing?

[Dave Anthony]

Hey, son.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yes, Father?

[Dave Anthony]

Why are there four women out in the front yard holding their feet? And head. Heads up.

[Gareth Reynolds]

They're opening.

[Dave Anthony]

All right. Also There's a guy named Sting in

[Gareth Reynolds]

the bathroom, and he's going number eight.

[Dave Anthony]

Well, how long does that take?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Don't. You won't be able to go in there. He's gonna be in there for a while.

[Dave Anthony]

Everything long?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. I'd say call the police, but it'll just get so confusing.

[Dave Anthony]

Fuck you.

[Gareth Reynolds]

But that is the best to come home with like that, as you're, like. You're a barber. Cool. Yeah. Father. Oh, blessings and greetings. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. What are you doing with your fucking. Is that a ponytail? No, it's a curtain. Whatever.

[Dave Anthony]

Imagine when his son got famous and his dad's like, yeah, he's my fucking kid. Hey, Pete, are you into the Perry? You into the. All the sex stuff, too?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Hmm?

[Dave Anthony]

You like your son? Do you do the. You know, the fucking. For the hours and the yoga and the shakti shit?

[Gareth Reynolds]

No, just. See ya.

[Dave Anthony]

The Omnipotent UN charged a ton, so, of course rich people were into it. But the 1906 San Francisco earthquake happens, and he then moves to Seattle, and then because of all the sex stuff involved, they chase him out of Seattle, and then he goes to New York, and there they put him on trial. But he's not convicted. He's later. He's a later episode for sure.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Like, he's a later episode.

[Dave Anthony]

Oh, yeah, he'll be an episode. But I didn't know he was gonna come up in this when I was like, oh. But because of the Oom and a couple other guys, America turns pretty hard against yoga. America's like, fuck yoga, right? People are fucking crazy.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Also hilarious. Yeah, hilarious to just be like, we're all fucking and people. It sounds pretty bad. So. No.

[Dave Anthony]

No way.

[Gareth Reynolds]

You're flexible in fucking. I don't think so. Stay rigid. Bang twice a year. Stop it. The flag's the best.

[Dave Anthony]

Enough intel. Bernard played. Played a critical role in establishing an exaggerated association of tantra and the use of sex for mystical purposes in American minds. Even though he was put on trial and with all the scandal and stuff, he still stayed popular with upper class ladies. And, of course, one of those was Mira. And then she got young Chester Arthur III into it. So Mira and Chester went to yoga classes together.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, God.

[Dave Anthony]

And then Chester went to Columbia University in New York. Arthur got super into the works of Edward Carpenter, who was a serious socialist and poet and philosopher. And he is now called the Walt Whitman of England and also the gay godfather of the British left.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's what I want to be.

[Dave Anthony]

What, you got more work to do?

[Gareth Reynolds]

I'M just saying I'm working on it.

[Dave Anthony]

A lot more work. I'm. I mean, the costumes are coming along.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. See? Getting there. You all right? It'll be fine. Don't worry.

[Dave Anthony]

You're back out. Arthur was super into Carpenter's enormous, massive prose poem titled Towards Democracy. And he thought it told him pretty much everything he needed to know. And since he didn't have to worry about getting a degree or a job, he just dropped out of Columbia. So he read a poem and dropped out of Columbia.

[Gareth Reynolds]

The Columbia dream.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah. So he meets and gets engaged to a woman who was floating around in his New York social circles. She was a writer and a dancer and an anarchist named Charlotte Wilson. She is

[Gareth Reynolds]

intense.

[Dave Anthony]

Yep. I'm. I would think if you hooked up with him, you had to be pretty into sex.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah. Cause he's. He was born into, like, the fuck.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He was raised by fuck.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, he's raised by fuck.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Just like me.

[Dave Anthony]

Not so much. They go. So they go to London with the plans of getting married. And he had also been super into and affected by the Easter uprising in Ireland in 1916 against English race rule. So he got into that when he was like, 15. And he'd been following the Irish resistance ever since, so he decided to take a ship to Cow in County Cork, Ireland, to see a bit of his ancestral lands.

[Gareth Reynolds]

They love that, by the way. They love that over there.

[Dave Anthony]

They do.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I'm actually Irish.

[Luke]

Oh, fucking fantastic.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Look at you. I love it. I really. I'm connecting. I've had a Guinness, like my great, great, great, great, great, great, great uncle. So I'm really connecting with the earth potato. Ah, fantastic. That is. Yes. Yeah. You're. That's great.

[Dave Anthony]

We're basically brothers.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, Absolutely. Yeah. You need a piece of shit. Yeah. No, we're very similar. You stupid cock.

[Dave Anthony]

Hurrah for the Queen.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I'm El Harbor.

[Dave Anthony]

Charlie Clawson's story when he went to Ireland and found a relative. And she's like, oh, yeah, come on in. And she opens up a drawer and it's just pictures of all the people who have come from, like, Ireland and from, like, from America and Australia just saying they're relatives. It's just this fucking drawer full of fucking.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Fucking idiots.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, hi, I'm your long last relative.

[Gareth Reynolds]

A stupid drawer.

[Dave Anthony]

Put the picture in the fucking drawer. Okay. So this is during a truce period of the Irish revolution, and the IRA and British are at a standstill. Ireland is debating what the future of Ireland will be before sending a delegation to negotiate with the British So Arthur decides to stay longer in Ireland. And he meets a guy named Donald O. Cahill in a pub in Kilnarry, Killary.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Whoa, Never heard of that place.

[Dave Anthony]

Killarney. Who converts him to the Irish Republican cause. And Arthur decides he's in. He's getting involved. So he writes to his fiance and she's in England, and he says, I'm gonna fight for Irish freedom. Not sure where we are with all that stuff. And he writes a lot of letters in this time and they're all like, I'm going to change the fucking world.

[Gareth Reynolds]

And she's like, cool, what's the plan?

[Luke]

Are you coming?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Don't worry. Once I'm done with this battle that I just found out I'm a part of,

[Dave Anthony]

he tells his mom he's committed to the Irish cause and he found a group who are devoted to fight the wrongs of the world. Quote the days when I lounged around in my orange room reading books on sex, breathing the ocean, odor of incense burned to the heathen gods are the past.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Jesus Christ. An orange room. Damaging.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah. That's kind of weird.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

So he goes to Dublin and Charlotte then joins him there. And they get married and they fall into this like elite cultural political class. And so the Anglo Irish treaty is signed and Ireland becomes a free state.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Right.

[Dave Anthony]

But there's Northern Ireland, there's a civil war. And Arthur and Charlotte are on the side of the anti treaty Republicans. And they're pretty involved. He's raising funds for weapons. He gets arrested once. And then they. So they're in Dublin and they're involved with this elite party crowd which is full of people from both sides. Like they're just rich, like, whatever.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Imagine it's not the way to run anything. Two rich factions pretending to be fighting for something. I don't know, Dave. On paper, I don't love it.

[Dave Anthony]

This period is really about just finding the best party. That's all they're kind of doing.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So they're kind of faux rebellious while they're just like having a good time.

[Dave Anthony]

I mean, they're also part of the rich crowd, so they're kind of.

[Gareth Reynolds]

No, the stakes are dropped. Yeah, yeah, right.

[Dave Anthony]

And these are Theosophy people. Blavatsky. Remember San Diego Blavatsky for sure.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. Why don't you for those? Yeah, of course.

[Dave Anthony]

Madame Blavatsky. She moves the Theosophy place to San Diego.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yes.

[Dave Anthony]

And they build the big. The big fucking.

[Gareth Reynolds]

The hard what? The Hard Rock.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, they build the Hard Rock Cafe.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, I remember. I got the yeah. Led Zeppelin's drum kit. Sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But for people who don't know, do you want to just explain it? Yeah, exactly. So for those of you who don't know, it's how the Hard Rock started. It was Madame Blavansky, she brought it over there. She moved it. Exactly. To San Diego. And that was where the. You know, it was the first Hard Rock. And that. We did a two parter on that in 1981.

[Dave Anthony]

It was like a year ago.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, it was about a year ago. So we just go back and listen. That's episode 12. And so, just for context,

[Dave Anthony]

He meets a mystic, Ella Young.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Do you believe in fairies? Holy shit. I mean, with that look, you definitely are like. I think you do.

[Luke]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I saw a river sprat the other day. I was down by the river and I seen something with a bunch of wings. One of the craziest days I've ever had.

[Dave Anthony]

So he and Ella are walking back from a party one night when they realized they were talking about a meeting that they had had in a past life.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, God. We do that often on the trip.

[Dave Anthony]

Back when she was a druid.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yes.

[Dave Anthony]

And he was a shipwrecked Roman.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Right.

[Dave Anthony]

Which totally happens.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Timeline matches up for sure.

[Dave Anthony]

And she had helped save his life.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yes. Because he was a ship. Right. He was a shipwreck Roman. So she was a druid.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

So huge coincidence.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Part of the Jewish faith.

[Dave Anthony]

And so now. Yeah. And now they're bonded.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

So that's how that works.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's great. I love that. For them.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's quite on a walk.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah. And not on my.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Was a druid, and I think you saved me when I was a shipwrecked Roman.

[Luke]

That makes sense.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Money's crazy. Money's really bad for us.

[Dave Anthony]

So around this time, he is having a sexual awakening.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, yeah. Hell yeah.

[Luke]

Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

He develops a crush on Irish poetry poet Lyle Donahue, and they traveled around. They traveled around the country together and at one point climbed a sacred mountain and spent the night on a bed of pines.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Awful. Yeah. I was gonna say, there's way better places to fuck.

[Dave Anthony]

Like, that's what. That sounds worse than sand.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Let me go down on you. You lay on needles, I'll do nails. There we go. That's good.

[Dave Anthony]

Oh, fuck. It's a pine cone.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. There we go. That's nice.

[Dave Anthony]

No, I don't want it in there.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, yeah, let it go.

[Dave Anthony]

No, it's. God, it's terrible.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. All right. I love it, too. Oh, I got a bunch of Needles in my scrotum. I'm having the best time. I bet you this is how sting lasts for six hours. I am in pain right now. Holy shit. This is like banging ornaments. Sweet God. Merry Christmas.

[Dave Anthony]

This pine cone will be an ornament someday.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, my God. Sweet God.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay, I'm gonna.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I feel like I've been blow darted.

[Dave Anthony]

I'm gonna put four pine cones in your ass now.

[Gareth Reynolds]

All right, Sounds good.

[Dave Anthony]

And then you.

[Gareth Reynolds]

The easiest way to get them out will be through the mouth.

[Dave Anthony]

Yes,

[Gareth Reynolds]

it's true, though you may find it gross. But think of the logic.

[Dave Anthony]

He wrote a letter to his mother and said he was traveling with a fine, strong lad.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I fucked a poet on needles. I'm gay now, also. Did you know I was. I almost drowned. Thank God for Charlotte. Send money now. This adventure is wild.

[Dave Anthony]

He was soon going to go visit Edward Carpenter for the first time in Sheffield. And this was also around the time he met sexologist Havelock Ellis.

[Gareth Reynolds]

In a sexologist? What does that even mean? I mean, he. What? He's just. I've studied.

[Dave Anthony]

I mean. Yeah, they.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So he's reading about it. That's very interesting.

[Dave Anthony]

They're the. They're the intellectual.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's very fascinating.

[Dave Anthony]

They think a lot about it. They talk a lot. There's a lot of interesting variations.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Could be fun. I don't know. Wheelbarrow. Your arms will get tired. Interesting. Oh, a pillow could work there. Oh, my God. Doggies. That is how the dogs do it. That's very well put. That is. Oh, yeah. Beautiful.

[Dave Anthony]

We're gonna have to ask you to leave the cafe. It's not. It's not so much the book, it's the talking out loud.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I can be more quiet. There's no. I can definitely be more quiet.

[Dave Anthony]

Well, it's just.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I can definitely be more quiet. No problem.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay. But just try to please keep the talk to a minimum.

[Gareth Reynolds]

The what?

[Dave Anthony]

The talk about.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Let's not even talk. I'm a sexologist. So I'm actually. I'm sorry. I'm a sexologist.

[Dave Anthony]

I don't actually think that's a thing.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It is a job. Yeah. You know what? Yes, it is a job. It is a joke.

[Dave Anthony]

Where do you go to work? Don't. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have. I apologize for asking that question.

[Gareth Reynolds]

All over mouth.

[Dave Anthony]

No. That's what I was worried about.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Titties?

[Dave Anthony]

No. Okay.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Tummy.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah. Well, that's.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Bottom vagina cream pie I just ate. Unbelievable. Oh, these are stuck together again. You dirty, dirty boy. By the way, Reading about sex back then, you probably were like, man, I'm probably gonna pop one off real quick here. That's all you had reading about, like, that was it.

[Dave Anthony]

And people drew pictures.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's the best. That's the best. Drawing a picture for yourself. Oh, yeah. I think I've done enough here. Holy. That's nice. That'll do.

[Dave Anthony]

That's probably why the Karma Sutra book was. It was illustration.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Absolutely.

[Dave Anthony]

You're like, whoa.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, my God.

[Dave Anthony]

The first Sears catalog.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, no, you. I mean, yeah. Remember back in the day? Oh, man. We didn't have lighters. We had sticks. But when you got fire, boy, did it feel better.

[Dave Anthony]

So. So according to Arthur, he and Carpenter had sex.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Okay.

[Dave Anthony]

When they went to visit him, and he's 60 years older than Chester, and they have sex. Fuck. Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

What's your problem?

[Dave Anthony]

He told. Told Arthur that he had had sex with Walt Whitman.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So they were Whitman bros. Who.

[Dave Anthony]

And Walt Whitman is, you know, obviously famous for committing. Creating the Whitman sampler.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Absolutely. I'd milk that chocolate.

[Dave Anthony]

Carpenter even showed Chester some of Whitman's quote moves.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Fucking.

[Dave Anthony]

And Garrett's gonna. Garrett's gonna show us.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I can't believe he's move dropping.

[Dave Anthony]

And then Walt.

[Luke]

I mean, really, what was he.

[Dave Anthony]

Such a weird thing to. Fucking. So. And then. And then Walt's like, okay, now you get on your all fours and all. It's like, that's not Walt.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Walt came up with a lot of moves. Have you ever heard about getting your dick sucked? One of Walt's classics. Boy, he knew so many. Sucking dick.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Went on. I mean, he invented so many.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. He was really talented in a number of ways. Ways. I'll show you some of those if you stick around.

[Dave Anthony]

Oh, you're really old.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Very old.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah. Is this the only way that you

[Gareth Reynolds]

know what's weird about getting old? Your body catches up to your scrotum's age.

[Dave Anthony]

Well, I'm upset now.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, I know. Yeah. When you're born as a man, it's your elbows and your scrotum. They're 80 already. And then you spend the rest of your life catching up to it. Come here, you.

[Dave Anthony]

I'm in a vomit.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Come on, let's kiss each other.

[Dave Anthony]

I'm vomiting.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Come on. I love you.

[Dave Anthony]

I'm vomiting.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I love you so much. Walt came up with this one, too. It's called the Kiss. There we go. Sorry, I've been eating peanuts.

[Dave Anthony]

Well, So Chester tells Carpenter that he wants to be the Walt Whitman of Ireland.

[Gareth Reynolds]

In what way.

[Dave Anthony]

He wants to be the, like, as good of a writer as Walt Whitman is of Ireland.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Right. Okay.

[Dave Anthony]

He's not Irish.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Right. What about Charlotte? Now where. Okay. She just feels like. She's probably like. How was work? Really good. I fucked an 80 year old man.

[Luke]

What?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, it's awesome.

[Dave Anthony]

I mean, the biggest difference between Chester and Whitman is Chester's a huge Nepo baby of a Nepo baby. And Whitman has like talent. So in 1924, Chester's still in Dublin. And when he arrived, he had 10,000 in his bank account. So that's 189,000 in our money.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Good enough.

[Dave Anthony]

And he decided at this point that he was going to get into importing wine because he needs to make more money. He's spending it all.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Rich people people. Rich people. Jobs. Rich people. Like, here's my job. I own a restaurant. Really hard. Daddy left me a restaurant.

[Dave Anthony]

I'm gonna make vagina scented candles.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Huh. Don't like that. I'll put on some butt incense. This will be great.

[Dave Anthony]

He asked his dad, Chester Arthur ii, for a thousand dollar investment. And his dad said it sounded like a really bad investment and he was passing. Chester Arthur does not take this well. When his dad passes and he writes him a letter back.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Interesting quote.

[Dave Anthony]

I am going to make a name of my own. And you too. I shall make a mortal.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I am immortal, you idiot.

[Dave Anthony]

I am going to make your character live in literature as an example for all men to avoid. It will be a byword for a faithless husband and a faithless father. A man granted every blessing at his birth. Beauty, charm, money, education and a great name. Who used these gifts for no one but himself. Who?

[Luke]

Who?

[Dave Anthony]

I'm kidding. This is the letter I wrote to my dad. No, this isn't. This isn't actually.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Your dad did not deserve that.

[Dave Anthony]

Who grew old with neither the glamour of real wickedness about him, nor the halo for real good. Lonelier and lonelier deserted by everyone who had ever caused to love him. Using the remnants of his father's fortune to keep about him a few satellites for company. Who died in agony of body and terror of soul. Unmourned, unwept, quickly forgotten. Having left no good thing created in the world. I owe you nothing. Except an uncoordinated and weakling body.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It would be so fucking great for his father to reply with a tldr. Tldr. But I'm glad you got that off your chest, whatever it was.

[Luke]

You motherfucker.

[Gareth Reynolds]

By the way, he's like making fun of his father, being like. Like of his father being a nepo baby. What? He's. The father is just rejecting him from his nepotism.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Right. So he's like, you were given everything and now that you won't give me everything. I'm furious.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah. Basically he threw a shit fit. Shit fit. Total shit fit.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's it. I'm gonna go bang on nails. Who's my neighbor? What's going on? Rag and bone.

[Dave Anthony]

So he's done with his dad. That's him riding off his dad forever.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Sure. Smart.

[Dave Anthony]

But things are good with mom. She comes over to join him and Charlotte in Dublin. Yes. So Charlotte's still around, they're still married, they're still together.

[Gareth Reynolds]

And what is her angle on all this? She's cool with it.

[Dave Anthony]

I think she's cool with it. She's definitely, you know, she's an anarchist. An anarchist. Then a lot of that was about, you know, freedom of sex and stuff.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay, so the three of them live in a house together. Awesome.

[Gareth Reynolds]

The dream.

[Dave Anthony]

Now, during this time, Chester was also trying to create an all encompassing grand philosophy. So he wanted to create like the world, like the all time greatest philosophy.

[Mackenzie]

Sure.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Unite the world with some sort of edict and.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, but he's not getting anywhere.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I mean, he really wrote a mean letter to his dad.

[Dave Anthony]

He did. He's really good at that. Irish greats like Eatson, George Russell encouraged him. At the same time, Charlotte was getting her poetry published.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Not great.

[Dave Anthony]

No. His import wine business not doing that good.

[Gareth Reynolds]

You know, it's kind of a beer country.

[Dave Anthony]

Insider. So he's getting disillusioned mostly. He's done. All he's done here is like, help the Irish Republicans and a lot of sexual exploring. So funny.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He's like, I'm gonna change the world. I'm gonna start a wine business and bang a bunch of guys.

[Dave Anthony]

And then this Irish nationalist couple he knows that he and his wife are very close with have this pretty horrific little turn in their life. The wife kills herself in the back of a taxi because the husband was having an affair with a young actress who went to England to get an abortion and died during the procedure. And then the husband killed himself in a hotel. So that's.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Wait, wait, but what is the sequence of that? The mistress dies, then the husband kills himself. And then she gets into a cab and does it.

[Dave Anthony]

No, she. Yes. No, no, she.

[Luke]

Mistress dies.

[Dave Anthony]

The wife killed herself because she found her husband was having an affair and got someone pregnant.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Right.

[Dave Anthony]

So then the mistress goes to get an abortion and then she dies. And then the husband kills himself.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So all three are gone, though.

[Dave Anthony]

They're gone.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Wow. Jesus. The back of the cab feels honestly kind of shit shitty.

[Dave Anthony]

Well, it's really up to the cab.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's what I mean. It's like.

[Dave Anthony]

Also, how do you. I had to have him with a gun. Right. It could have been like poison. Just. Let's just drive around for a while.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So where are you from? What brings you to town? I know you know, a lot of this area has just changed. I'm from your original. And they've just. Tell you what, we got two seasons, winter and construction. I don't even know what this guy's doing up here. This is crazy. Knucklehead. It's green.

[Luke]

Go.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, Lord. I don't know. Yeah, I've been going through a bit of a tough time. I don't do this all the time. I don't do this in my spare time. I'm actually a writer. Yeah, I'm trying to write a philosophy for the world right now. Not sure what it'll be about. It's kind of about the interconnectivity between all of us and paying attention to those that are around you. Not getting distracted and never making it all about your journey. Finding those little grooves, those little paths, those things that connect us all, you know, because. Because the space between us, if you ask me, it's not real. It's invented. You talk.

[Dave Anthony]

I wasn't gonna kill myself, but now I am.

[Gareth Reynolds]

The hell is this guy doing up here? This is just ridiculous. Swear to God, they'll give allegiance to anybody.

[Dave Anthony]

Can't we make suicide fun?

[Gareth Reynolds]

I mean, not suicide. Removing yourself.

[Dave Anthony]

So pretty. Pretty bad time for Arthur. Besides the professional stuff going on, it's pretty dark. So at some point he of course, turns to acting.

[Gareth Reynolds]

The lowest form of human wishing acting. Well, I'll just pretend I'm successful. I'll get head shots.

[Dave Anthony]

And an agent, he ends up co starring in a British silent avant garde

[Gareth Reynolds]

movie called Jesus Christ. There is that. That Venn diagram of horrible avant garde silent film?

[Dave Anthony]

There were some. Some pretty crazy ones back then.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, sure there were.

[Dave Anthony]

This is pre. Pre ratings and stuff, so.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Pre ratings? Oh, they didn't have the Nielsen boxes back then.

[Dave Anthony]

Well, a lot of went like, you know, it was surreal on the screen back then, right? And then they stopped it because the Christians got all upset because they ruin everything. So.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Excuse me.

[Dave Anthony]

I'm sorry, did I say that?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Excuse me. Excuse me. What about rock and roll, sir? What about rock and roll? And before meals?

[Dave Anthony]

Why don't you watch Footloose and Get Back to Me.

[Gareth Reynolds]

And that's a porno?

[Dave Anthony]

No, the other one. So it's called Borderline and the cast is full of counterculture type titans and sexual adventures.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It's a porno.

[Dave Anthony]

A black American lawyer, ex football star and future commie who was known for adultery. A feminist future generations lionized. It was produced by a bisexual man who was in an open relationship with his wife. Critics hated it, but years later it would be called technically groundbreaking and thematically ahead of its time. The plot was an adulterous, interracial love triangle. And then that was the end of Arthur's acting career.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Okay, what's next?

[Dave Anthony]

Well, after that, after that happened one night. He was walking through a bog at night.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. As one does when they're just having a regular evening. You know how it is. You don't feel like walking around a body of water, so you just sort of swamp. Swamp walk. We've all been there.

[Luke]

Sure.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It worries some of your friends when you're just like, I'm gonna walk home underwater.

[Luke]

What are you doing?

[Gareth Reynolds]

I'm gonna swim through this merc. Don't worry.

[Dave Anthony]

It's night time.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It's night time. I'm just gonna go through this fog water.

[Dave Anthony]

Best time to go bogging.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I'm gonna go for a quick bog jog.

[Luke]

Are you okay?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, I'm good. Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

Everybody. Everybody knows dead.

[Gareth Reynolds]

And I was just gonna take off all his clothes. All right. There we go. That's nice.

[Dave Anthony]

So he's going through the bog at night when he comes across the ghost of an executed Young Republican.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Hello.

[Dave Anthony]

Who was named Stephen.

[Luke]

Hello.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I can see you're having a night swim. Hello there, Arthur. How are you? His name's Steven. Ghost.

[Luke]

What is your name?

[Dave Anthony]

Steve.

[Luke]

Okay.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I expected something a little different, I guess.

[Dave Anthony]

Well, I mean, Steven.

[Luke]

Okay.

[Gareth Reynolds]

But I'll call you Steve.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, people call me Steve.

[Luke]

Okay.

[Gareth Reynolds]

You see a lot of humans?

[Dave Anthony]

No, people don't really come through the bog at night.

[Luke]

Yeah, I know.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I'm so glad I did.

[Luke]

To be honest, I'm a little down in the dumps.

[Dave Anthony]

Oh, no, I'm not here to listen to you.

[Luke]

Okay.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Kind of negative reaction, to be totally honest with you.

[Dave Anthony]

I felt like there was a big thing coming there and I'm.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Well, there is. If you'd let me.

[Luke]

No, no, no.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Don't need to do that. Stephen, what is your purpose? Please. How can I help you?

[Dave Anthony]

Get you to shut the up, I think.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Are you.

[Luke]

You're pretty. You're kind of rude, to be honest.

[Gareth Reynolds]

With you.

[Dave Anthony]

Put your face in the water.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I don't know, it's pretty gross.

[Dave Anthony]

And then just lay there.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Well, Are you really a ghost?

[Dave Anthony]

I'm Frank.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, my God. Yeah, you got me, you idiot.

[Dave Anthony]

Here's what happens. So he has to get past the

[Gareth Reynolds]

ghost, which is quite hard.

[Dave Anthony]

As you do. Chester whistled the Irish national anthem, which allowed him to walk through the ghost.

[Luke]

Oh, no.

[Gareth Reynolds]

My one weakness, whistling the Irish national anthem. I had so many tests for you, but you know which key to turn. You're great. You should write your dad a letter about this. That'll come off hinged.

[Dave Anthony]

He'll be really upset he didn't loan you that money, so he took this as his cutie. Leave Ireland.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Boy, this guy's messages are real wonky.

[Dave Anthony]

Charlotte, however, stays behind while he heads to New York.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I don't feel great about their relationship.

[Dave Anthony]

It's over. That's it.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That is it.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Okay. He probably came home and he was like, well, I whistled through a ghost tonight after swamp Swamp swimming. What did you do?

[Dave Anthony]

I was writing.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Is it. Is that nice?

[Dave Anthony]

It's pretty good.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. Well, doesn't matter. I penetrated a ghost named Steve.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay, I'm going to bed.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Me, too.

[Dave Anthony]

No. Okay, you're going to bed somewhere else. I'm sure there's a dude who will take you in.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. Yeah. No, I'm pretty much gay, I think now. I don't know.

[Dave Anthony]

Yes. So he goes to New York and he tries to start an electric vacuum cleaning business.

[Luke]

All right. I finally found my calling.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I'm a vacuum man. What do you do when you suck this much? You get into suction.

[Dave Anthony]

And that fell pretty quick, so.

[Gareth Reynolds]

All right, fuck it.

[Luke]

You know what?

[Gareth Reynolds]

I'm gonna go suck Steve's dick. Fuck it. I don't know what to do.

[Dave Anthony]

He heads west to California.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I'm gonna be an actor again.

[Dave Anthony]

And there he hooks up with Ella Young, the fairy lady, who is out there touring, doing lectures about Irish folklore. And they're both theophany followers. So they go. Theosophy. Sorry. So they go to theosophy.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Like I'm gonna correct you.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Not so fast, my friend.

[Dave Anthony]

So they go to a theosophy community which was set up by some wealthy Irish people called Halcyon in Central California. And just south of there is a place called Pismo Beach. And just south of that are the Oceano Sand Dunes, where, if you haven't seen, they're huge fucking sand dunes. Maybe in college I used to go there and do speed and ride ATVs. But this is when it was beautiful.

[Gareth Reynolds]

What is it now?

[Dave Anthony]

It's guys on ATVs like me on speed, riding around.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So you did this?

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

You ever see a ghost named Steve? I did, dude. Ride through me. He's on your back.

[Luke]

Fuck, yeah, Dave. You rule.

[Gareth Reynolds]

We roll.

[Dave Anthony]

So, at this time, there are hobos and hermits living in the dunes.

[Gareth Reynolds]

What?

[Dave Anthony]

Because that's where they could get seclusion from the world.

[Gareth Reynolds]

In the dunes?

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah. So they're living not inside the dunes, but, like, in the dune area.

[Gareth Reynolds]

In the dune zone.

[Dave Anthony]

The dune zone.

[Gareth Reynolds]

All right.

[Dave Anthony]

And they. They built shacks out of driftwood and boards and really anything they could find. So these guys would all dig for clams to eat, Eat and sell. I got you. What happened there?

[Luke]

You want to clam? How you doing?

[Dave Anthony]

Good.

[Luke]

Great. Come on in. No, this is the toilet. It's all the toilet. Want a clam?

[Dave Anthony]

No.

[Luke]

Come on. They're filthy.

[Dave Anthony]

Thank you.

[Luke]

Here you go. Shuck it with me.

[Dave Anthony]

No.

[Luke]

Suck it.

[Dave Anthony]

No.

[Luke]

You my best friend.

[Dave Anthony]

Friend just walking through the dune.

[Luke]

No, you're not. You're my best buddy. You live here now.

[Dave Anthony]

Are you supposed to be a hermit?

[Luke]

I am. Pretty lonely. This. Look at me. This is crazy.

[Dave Anthony]

Yes.

[Luke]

Take your fly down.

[Dave Anthony]

No. Come on.

[Luke]

Nothing funny. Just leave an opening. Hey, how about this? I'll put a clam there, eat it from there.

[Dave Anthony]

I am leaving now.

[Luke]

No. I have a gun.

[Dave Anthony]

Oh, God.

[Luke]

Come on, be my best buddy.

[Dave Anthony]

No.

[Luke]

I want you to be my best man at my wedding.

[Dave Anthony]

Who the are you gonna marry? Don't say oh. I thought you're gonna say the clam, too.

[Luke]

Yeah, we'll be in a triangle. That'll be great. You'll be my best man. Sing a song about my wedding right now. I'm gonna shoot your foot. Three, two, one.

[Dave Anthony]

I'll take the shot.

[Luke]

Nah.

[Dave Anthony]

Fuck. I was kidding.

[Luke]

Now I'll sing it. Today we win with best friend that didn't eat a clamp of my hand.

[Bleacher Report Announcer]

All right.

[Dave Anthony]

Good song. I'm leaving.

[Luke]

You're not going nowhere. Hey, I'm sorry, okay? I haven't talked to someone in a while. I came off needy. Maybe we should just lay down and eat clean. Let's do Bobbin for clams.

[Dave Anthony]

No. What?

[Luke]

What do you mean, what?

[Dave Anthony]

No.

[Luke]

How do you want to eat them?

[Dave Anthony]

I don't.

[Luke]

What are you gonna eat?

[Dave Anthony]

I'm not staying here. I'm just passing through.

[Luke]

Where are we going?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Me?

[Dave Anthony]

We aren't going anywhere. I'm walking alone.

[Luke]

Oh, I get it. You want to live here with me.

[Dave Anthony]

No. What the.

[Luke]

What do you mean?

[Dave Anthony]

I'm absolutely gonna kill you.

[Gareth Reynolds]

All right, hold on a minute. It. Why don't we lay down, have a clam and chat this out? We've been friends for far too long to let something like a clam come between us. Now. Come on.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Wash your hands in this bucket of my vomit. Then we'll eat clams together.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay.

[Luke]

Do you know how much vitamin C's in a clam?

[Dave Anthony]

No.

[Gareth Reynolds]

None. Look at me. I am dying from scurvy, you idiot.

[Dave Anthony]

What should I call you?

[Gareth Reynolds]

You just call me Clamdad, Clam Dan or Clam Dad. Ooh, Clam Dan's got a good ring to it. Funny.

[Luke]

Cause you know what my name is?

[Dave Anthony]

What?

[Luke]

Christopher. How fucking funny is that? And you said clam dance. What a small world.

[Dave Anthony]

What?

[Luke]

Jigs owe me a clam.

[Dave Anthony]

Oh, my God.

[Luke]

Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, dear Clam Dan Happy birthday to you Skip around the room.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Room.

[Luke]

Skip around the room.

[Dave Anthony]

There is no room.

[Luke]

Skip around the room. The Twister Butt squips.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Go.

[Luke]

I'm dying.

[Dave Anthony]

We all are.

[Luke]

No.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Like, I'm soon gone. Okay, But I'll hang on for you, friend. No

[Luke]

Clam tag.

[Dave Anthony]

When the depression hit. Oh, don't encourage.

[Luke]

I'll tell you what, the depression hit

[Gareth Reynolds]

a while ago, boy.

[Dave Anthony]

When the depression hit, more people came to the dunes and they became called do nights.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I'll tell you what, this place ain't been the same with all them do nights. You know what I mean?

[Dave Anthony]

Yes.

[Gareth Reynolds]

How bad is it?

[Luke]

Bad.

[Gareth Reynolds]

All these travelers. Disgusting. The neighborhood used to be better when it was just you, me, and clan.

[Dave Anthony]

Fuck. I've literally been here for two hours.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I know. We got to know each other so good. Let's play the Newlywed game.

[Dave Anthony]

Nope.

[Luke]

But with clams and no answers and no questions. And we're not wed.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Fuck you.

[Dave Anthony]

So Chester Arthur III comes to the dunes, and he now changes his name. Gavin.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, my God. He's gonna be the governor.

[Dave Anthony]

No, he's less creepy. And Gavin was enthralled with the idea of living off the land. Inhabitants included Slim the Aussie, Hugo the poet, and George the prophet. George just wore a loincloth.

[Gareth Reynolds]

How are ya? How's everyone doing?

[Dave Anthony]

They all believed the dunes were magical. So Gavin moves there. Ella Young wrote, quote, gavin, Arthur and Carl Bexted are living in the oasis of the dungeon dunes. They have not even a tent. They have a well and something to set on fire. Something to boil water in or cook a fish if they catch one.

[Gareth Reynolds]

What? It's not great.

[Dave Anthony]

I don't know how. They've made a.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Well, that's weird, too. Or a fire.

[Luke]

Now, hold on. There'll be no cooking or nothing. Clams are to be eaten raw, the way God intended. Shell on.

[Dave Anthony]

What? What?

[Luke]

Eat them with the shell on.

[Dave Anthony]

No.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yes.

[Dave Anthony]

Not a kiwi.

[Luke]

Let's swim in the well.

[Dave Anthony]

Gavin was going into his commune leader stage, and he built a small cabin there and named it Mo, which is Gaelic for pastures of honey.

[Gareth Reynolds]

What the. What a.

[Dave Anthony]

So, yeah. So he. Look at the difference. Poor guy, rich guy, Poor guy, rich guy, poor guy, rich guy.

[Luke]

You want to know the difference between him and me?

[Dave Anthony]

You're awful.

[Luke]

Yep.

[Dave Anthony]

Hey, you're gone.

[Luke]

I can still see y'. All. I'm over here. My feet are broken.

[Dave Anthony]

Good.

[Luke]

Ow. Happy birthday.

[Dave Anthony]

I really want to put you in the back of a cab. You know what I mean?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Well, okay. I guess I was pushing too much, but I guess I just needed a friend was all. But you're right, I. I came off needy. Have a good life, Kevin.

[Dave Anthony]

All right. See you later.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Wait, wait. Go ahead. Live your life.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay, bye.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I wish you all nothing but the best.

[Dave Anthony]

All right, thanks.

[Gareth Reynolds]

See you later. Sorry that I. I pushed so much. Yeah, it's just when you said you love clams and your name's Christopher.

[Dave Anthony]

I never said that.

[Gareth Reynolds]

And it was. We had the same birthday, and you wanted to get. Clam wedding.

[Dave Anthony]

This is why I want you to get in the back of a cab. What you're doing right now.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I guess I'll see you around, old friend.

[Dave Anthony]

No, you won't.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Hey, if we get out of this thing together, alive, you talking. I'd like to buy you a clam.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay. So Gavin invited his Irish friends to come. He wanted to turn it into a place for great minds to gather and debate. It was easier for him because he was super rich. So people did come. Ansel Adams, composer George Cage, John Steinbeck, Upton Sinclair. And they would sit around the camp campfire and discuss ideas.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Wow.

[Dave Anthony]

Gavin came up with the idea of making a West coast version of New Yorker magazine.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, my God. That is the richest guy idea ever. That is so stupid. You know, I was thinking of a really shitty, pretentious magazine, but out here, we'll call it the New Cali.

[Dave Anthony]

They would fund their community from the proceeds. So they were gonna start a magazine like the New Yorker. And then they would all live off the money they made from the. It's a great fucking idea. This is how MAD magazine started. It was called Dune Forum.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Who y' all putting on the COVID Anchors. Rusty Anchors. What? Yeah,

[Dave Anthony]

they had it printed in San Francisco. And the Fireside Chats, they have became articles. Gavin wrote of the decline of the gold standard and lowering the retirement age to 45.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Well, don't hate that one.

[Dave Anthony]

Paying debt with goods. Here's a lemon. Is my mortgage gone? They did poetry and drawings and Ansel Adams had photos in there. The idea was the masses would find the magnificent magazine and then that would transform the United States into a new utopia.

[Gareth Reynolds]

You gotta love like, it's great. It's like great in a way, right? The, the philosophy, like the, the bones of it are like solid, but it's rich people versions of it, right? Why don't we just all like live together in the middle of nowhere, Use our dad's credit card. We'll make a magazine and that'll change the world and then we'll be one. It'll be awesome. We'll all live together.

[Dave Anthony]

So every time an issue went to print, Amira sent a case of champagne.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh God, they ate. That's the worst too.

[Dave Anthony]

They ate fish and, and clams and. Every Saturday night. What, Gavin? Nope. Gavin broke out. You say clam every Saturday night?

[Luke]

Hey, are y' all making a.

[Dave Anthony]

Shut the up.

[Luke]

Wow. You need a broom with poop on it.

[Dave Anthony]

Gavin. Every Saturday night, Gavin broke out beer barrels and wine casks made from local grapes. And they'd have a dance. Steinbeck would sometimes read selections from his. In the work book Tortilla Flat, photographer Edward Weston took nude photos of his girlfriend. Gavin had a ton of ideas. Norm Hammond wrote, quote, he believed that each significant era of mankind was linked to a 10 degree segment of the Procession of the Equinox, which took 720 years. And he made charts to illustrate this. For instance, the height of the Babylonian civilization at the time was 2020 BC. 720 years later was the height of the Egyptian civilization. Civilization with Ramses II. Another 720 years brought the year 580 BC and the golden age of the Greeks.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So he's just like, think about it. He's just like doing the Joel Schumacher movie 23, but with 720. What's sad about this is he's getting very old. And now he's just an old rich guy just sitting in the sand being like, you know, we got to solve the world. But he's just a rich.

[Dave Anthony]

But you can do that if you're rich.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, you can. But like, if you're wearing like a weird like Ralph Lauren fleece It's kind of like, cool dude, way to go. Like, we've got to figure out a. Hey, we've got a new bottle of champagne for our zine.

[Luke]

Hell, yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Gonna change the world.

[Dave Anthony]

Wow, you're so against thought. Somehow, Dunes Farm failed. After just six months, Gavin had to close up shop. He left the Dunes?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, no.

[Dave Anthony]

Two years later. He had spent four years living there. He said he was going to find more funding for a zine, but he never returned. Without him, the activity was gone, and his friends slowly moved away. Gavin went to New York to join Mankind Unlimited, another group seeking the utopian dream. He wrote articles for the Labor Defender.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It's getting pretty Sad.

[Dave Anthony]

And in 1935.

[Gareth Reynolds]

How long until he's in Blue Man Group?

[Dave Anthony]

In 1935, he married Esther Murphy. She was a lesbian and.

[Gareth Reynolds]

And smoked Camel Wide Lights. So he married a lesbian.

[Dave Anthony]

I don't know what their marriage was because I was reading.

[Luke]

Not good.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I was reading, he's gay, she's a lesbian.

[Dave Anthony]

Well, people were people. Everything I read about her, people definitely described her as a lesbian. She's 6ft tall. She's very smart. She's very rich. She traveled in elite artist circles. She was also a huge alcoholic.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Nice.

[Dave Anthony]

So Gavin's. Gavin's dad dies in 1937, and Gavin. His mom split the inheritance, and Gavin got the mementos from his grandfather's presidency.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, shit.

[Dave Anthony]

In 1940, Gavin became secretary of the California Democratic Party.

[Gareth Reynolds]

This is so fucking perfect. Well, I guess I'll just run the Democrats. How hard can that be?

[Dave Anthony]

But he resigned a year later.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Primary. Why? It'll be fine.

[Dave Anthony]

He resigned a year later saying the Dems had betrayed their principles, and he joined the Merchant Navy.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Hmm. Oh, well, that's good. He was a shipwrecked Roman. Wow. What the fuck? This guy's life is really very strange.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, it's fucking crazy. After the war, he ends up in San Francisco, and in 1952, he finished his bachelor's degree at San Francisco State.

[Gareth Reynolds]

What does he want to do?

[Luke]

He's like, 50.

[Dave Anthony]

He's. What can he do?

[Gareth Reynolds]

But he's just like, I think I need the degree finally. And then I'll go back to the Dunes.

[Dave Anthony]

He's kind of useless. Like, what are you at this point?

[Gareth Reynolds]

You're just like, fucking weird old guy. In college where everyone's like, cool. He's like, how's it going?

[Dave Anthony]

Can I see your resume? Yeah. What is Dunes?

[Gareth Reynolds]

I spent four years at the Dunes making a zine. We drank champagne, ate clams, and fake Murder nude women.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So that was. That's. That was my longest stretch.

[Dave Anthony]

You have a bog ghost fight on here?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, I whistled through Steve. He's a swamp ghost, but I found out his Achilles heel. I just whistled the Irish national anthem and I went through him. And then I left Ireland shortly thereafter because my wife and I got divorced because I banged a man on needles on a mountain.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay. Oh, that explains the banging a man on needles on a mountain.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, is that on there? I didn't even. Yeah, no, that's. Yeah, I.

[Dave Anthony]

It says, go ahead, learn some moves from an 80 year old. Mm.

[Gareth Reynolds]

You know who Walt Whitman is?

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Do you know he eats ass?

[Dave Anthony]

No. No, actually he did.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He did. He ate ass. And then I was hanging out with a Sigmund Freud impersonator and Hitler, and he taught me how to eat ass.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, go ahead. I'm ready to field any of the.

[Dave Anthony]

If I have any other questions. There's something.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I mean, really, there's. I don't really like to talk about the clam.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Phase. There's a guy who was. Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

You were an actor?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Well, yeah, I was in a porn and it was. Yeah. Avant garde. Yeah. Do you see the Roman thing on there? Just so you know, I've been around for a while.

[Dave Anthony]

I was gonna ask you about that. That you were Roman.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Sold.

[Dave Anthony]

Shipwrecked.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah. And then I met my wife, who again, I'm divorced from. And she.

[Dave Anthony]

And you. Right. Okay. And then it says here, you know yoga and. What's this other word?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Tantric.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yep. That's where you put yourself inside someone and don't move for a few hours. It teaches you to play the bass really good.

[Dave Anthony]

Okay, well, I guess all I have to say is welcome to. Welcome to ice.

[Gareth Reynolds]

This is exciting. I failed upwards for my whole life, so this feels like the natural progression. Plus, I'm divorced and I'm pissed.

[Dave Anthony]

So Gavin is now a middle aged dude and he becomes an astrologer.

[Gareth Reynolds]

This mother

[Luke]

can't. You know what I mean?

[Gareth Reynolds]

Just go be rich. Just go off and be rich. Well, you stop trying to do ever like.

[Luke]

And now I know what the stars are.

[Dave Anthony]

Well, he's kind of spent all his money.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Ooh.

[Dave Anthony]

So he's hanging out with notable generate beat beat poet generation guys of Time. I'm not sure what happened to the money. I assume he just spent it. And his dad probably also spent a foot because his dad didn't do anything.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, but he got that inheritance and then he got all the presidential memorabilia.

[Dave Anthony]

But remember the Great Depression happened, so I'm sure a lot of you had

[Gareth Reynolds]

the Great Depression for quite a while, to be fair.

[Dave Anthony]

So Esther divorced him in 1961, which is fine because she's actually into ladies, so that makes sense.

[Gareth Reynolds]

You know, it's just that I'm a lesbian and I happen the entire time. Yeah. Sucks. Also, I'm pretty much into guys at this point. Point. So. Okay, well, if you like clams, I actually.

[Dave Anthony]

Wow.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Wow. What?

[Dave Anthony]

Wow?

[Gareth Reynolds]

It was waiting to happen.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Come on.

[Dave Anthony]

You're a bad boy.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Why?

[Dave Anthony]

We are the bad boys of podcast. So. So apparently at this point, he starts selling newspapers in a stand on Market street to get by.

[Gareth Reynolds]

What the fuck?

[Luke]

Yeah, extry, extry. I'm 81.

[Dave Anthony]

And he used that time to write, though.

[Luke]

Write.

[Dave Anthony]

And at some point, he decided to go pan for gold in the mountains.

[Luke]

How old is this man? He's panicked.

[Gareth Reynolds]

For gold. There we go. That's nice.

[Dave Anthony]

Well, it's a hundred years after the fucking gold rush, so there's no gold up there.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Well, yeah, but I mean, the gold slow was really also a fun phase. The gold pace.

[Dave Anthony]

So he doesn't make any money doing that. And he comes back to sf.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Hey, he.

[Dave Anthony]

He's hanging out with, like, Allen Ginsberg and Alan Watts and other people.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He's got a mate. The. The whole thing. The whole time. Amazing friends.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah. And he had sex with Neil Cassidy, who He was in Jack and Jack Karak's on the Road. He's a sidekick and driver, and he's also the driver of Ken Kessie's magic bus, so.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, my God. Which started the electric Kool Aid acid test.

[Dave Anthony]

So. Yeah, he banged that guy. Jesus.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's a get.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, that is a get.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He fucking banged upwards on that one.

[Dave Anthony]

He did. He did. He did some nice banging.

[Luke]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He surrounded himself with good people and had some solid bangs.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah. And he gets more into astrology, and he was just doing charts for anyone who asked. But then I'll add that I read this thing from beat poet Charles Plymel, who said Gavin was not part of the beat scene, though he was friends with some of them.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That feels right.

[Dave Anthony]

He didn't smoke pot.

[Gareth Reynolds]

No.

[Dave Anthony]

And final. Said Gavin saw himself. Saw himself as a seer and acted like a businessman.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh, the worst quote, like Peter Thiel

[Dave Anthony]

quote as an example of his ability as a seer. Gavin said his friends were dismayed that he'd voted for Nixon instead of Kennedy for president, but that he chose Nixon only after charting that the winner of the. Of the election would die in office.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He was kind of.

[Dave Anthony]

I kind of nailed that one.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Tell you what. Imagine the trajectory of this country if it was Nixon on the Dallas ride.

[Dave Anthony]

But they would have never killed Nixon because he. Not that they killed him.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Who?

[Dave Anthony]

Nothing.

[Gareth Reynolds]

What?

[Dave Anthony]

I didn't say the CIA killed him. Now, Gavin at this.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Wait.

[Dave Anthony]

What?

[Luke]

Huh?

[Dave Anthony]

No, but jfk. JFK was killed by jfk.

[Gareth Reynolds]

What?

[Dave Anthony]

There wasn't a French guy. There wasn't a French Assassin there on the grass.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That's right. Uhhuh. I'm going to lay on it with my legs in between my hands, completely naked. It now to shoot this guy.

[Dave Anthony]

You've got a pretty weird idea of the French.

[Gareth Reynolds]

In what way? It's a callback. You sh. I know. Oh, okay. I'm sorry.

[Dave Anthony]

I was making a joke. Gavin, lift up your skirt a little.

[Gareth Reynolds]

No. Come on. Let me see it. There you are.

[Dave Anthony]

So Gavin is an out bisexual. I. I don't know when he came out or if he was ever in, but he's out. A lot of these guys are out. A lot of these guys are always just like.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Right.

[Dave Anthony]

You know. So he married Ellen Jensen in 1965.

[Gareth Reynolds]

This is marriage. Four, three.

[Dave Anthony]

He took his charts very seriously. He once did a reading on himself.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Hilarious.

[Dave Anthony]

And it said he was to going to be going to prison soon.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Oh.

[Dave Anthony]

So he immediately drove to San Quentin and got a job as a teacher.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Wait, what?

[Dave Anthony]

That way he was always going to prison. So the chart was right and he didn't go to prison.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Honestly, I don't hate it. That's fucking amazing. I'm going to prison soon. I'll tour Alcatraz. That was close.

[Dave Anthony]

That's how he met this guy. Cause he was in the prison and they met that way. Wow.

[Luke]

Amazing.

[Dave Anthony]

In 1966, he published the Circle of Sex in which he correlated sexual attraction to the planets and the 12 houses of the horoscope.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I feel like that would drop out of Luke's backpack. Wow.

[Dave Anthony]

So the Circle of Sex. Sort of a zodiac book that put all humanity into a wheel of 12 different sexual archetypes. It disputed the distinctions between the sexes. And he began calling himself a sexologist. So that's finally write a book.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yep.

[Dave Anthony]

In one chapter he describes spending the night with Edward Carpenter while in England and how Edward told of him of having sex with. With Walt Whitman. So the book puts Gavin back in the public eye. And soon he is giving lectures and readings and appearing in San Francisco newspapers and on tv. And he's called a mystic and a renowned astrologist and grandson of the 21st president.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So he's kind of failed into something.

[Dave Anthony]

Yes, basically. Although it is a circle, it is for the time. That's a, you know, pretty interesting book to write.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Sure. Yeah. But that's what I mean. He kept. I mean, he did everything once.

[Dave Anthony]

Yes.

[Gareth Reynolds]

So at one point, people like, this is good. He was like, really? You mean it? I don't even know what it means. It's just like those little, like, paper things kids use when they're like, but for fucking.

[Dave Anthony]

But for fucking. And so he was really in a communal household. And that incident influenced the youth culture in the 60s in San Francisco. He was also a regular contributor to the influential underground newspaper the Oracle. And then he became a leader of San Francisco's Haight Ashbury area and an early gay rights activist.

[Gareth Reynolds]

There we go. This dude, I feel like 18 actors have played him in this story.

[Dave Anthony]

His life is.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He's like a shape shifter.

[Dave Anthony]

The counterculture leaders decide to have a huge human being.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yep.

[Dave Anthony]

In San Francisco. And they turned to Gavin to ask what the best date would be to hold it. And he did all his stars aligning stuff and came up with January 14, 1967. And the human being drew between 20 to 30,000 hippies from across the country. And it just makes the hippie movement fucking take off. So up until now, the hippie movement was super local. And this took it, you know, nationwide. Allen Ginsberg, Dizzy Gillespie and the Grateful Dead, the Jefferson Airplane and Hell's Angels and others took part.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Angels?

[Dave Anthony]

Too much? Yeah, they're great. Timothy Leary famously told the crowd to tune on, tune in and drop out. Sorry, turn on.

[Gareth Reynolds]

That worked out real well.

[Dave Anthony]

The event spawned other similar gatherings and set the stage for the Summer of Love and U S Rock festivals.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Wow.

[Dave Anthony]

This would culminate in Woodstock two years later. Author Gavin was now describing himself as a pre hippie hippie.

[Gareth Reynolds]

A preppy.

[Dave Anthony]

A preppy. But he's an old guy now and he has diabetes. He starts having heart issues and he dies on April 28, 1972 at a Veterans hospital in San Francisco, Francisco. His obituary in the New York Times said his friends included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott's Fitzgerald, Winston Churchill, and Eleanor Roosevelt.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Is that true?

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Gareth Reynolds]

I mean, we didn't even hear about.

[Dave Anthony]

He was. He was the social guy in social. He was. He was also like.

[Gareth Reynolds]

But I mean, that end name drop is a. Like, he already had.

[Dave Anthony]

Like, it's crazy.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Alan Watts. Yeah. And he was like Winston Churchill also, I think.

[Dave Anthony]

I think the astrology stuff was super popular. So with no kids, that was it that was the end of President Chester A.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Author's family line went out on top.

[Dave Anthony]

Looking back, we shouldn't have said the kid that lived could do whatever he wanted.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah.

[Luke]

There's one message you've forgotten about.

[Dave Anthony]

No.

[Luke]

Yes.

[Gareth Reynolds]

No.

[Luke]

Yes.

[Gareth Reynolds]

He was my best friend.

[Dave Anthony]

The sources the author family papers spiritualityhealth.com

[Gareth Reynolds]

go to dalapodcast.com for future tour dates.

[Dave Anthony]

Potus.geeks.livejournal.com mental floss. Bad gaze podcast. Someone had to do it.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Giddy up.

[Dave Anthony]

Vice.com and president's children. Chester allen arthur ii. Well, there you go.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Fuck me.

[Dave Anthony]

There we go.

[Gareth Reynolds]

It's weird. He really didn't do anything until the very end. And he kind of closed strong because he sort of helped the hippie movement. But at the end of the day, nothing. Even that got squandered.

[Dave Anthony]

I mean, being an out gay bi dude at that time is doing something, I think.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Yeah, right. Yeah, sure. But outside of that, I mean, he was. But yeah, right. He fucked a lot, and publicly. Which is great for that to be your legacy, to be like, I fuck it all. But it really. He's a Nepo baby, essentially. But he eventually found some way. And then. But I mean, even with Tim Leary, like the 60s, the squandered. That movement even got squandered eventually. Very similarly, where you're just like, yeah, but you didn't do anything.

[Dave Anthony]

Yeah, we had fun.

[Gareth Reynolds]

Scared the out of them. And then we were like, all right, off. Yeah, now we're doing coke with disco balls. Well, we just did 10 dates. This is our Halloween show. Thank you for the. Thank you. Thank you for all the doll heads. We love the doll heads. They mean the world to us. Stop it.

[Dave Anthony]

Stop doing it.

[Gareth Reynolds]

We love Luke. Do you want to come out and say anything to close it out on your absolute weird costume? Jesus Christ. What do you got, buddy? David Anthony.

[Dave Anthony]

Can he stand so scantily clad as he's had high on the thigh with the crowd's eyes. It's white and it know.

[Gareth Reynolds]

All right, get out of here. All right, good.

[Dave Anthony]

Stop it.

[Gareth Reynolds]

What? Truly appreciate y' all coming out. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Thank you for wearing your costumes. We love you. David, undo some of the buttons on the back. Let them. What? All right, good night. Thank you, everybody.

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