Dirty Biker Acid | Operators ­­– Dan Boeckner & Devojka

Dan Boeckner and Devojka are members of the band Operators ­– and they’re also life partners. They join Ronan – along with Field Trip’s Chief Psychologist Dr. Dominique Morisano – to talk music, revelations from pandemic life, and using psilocybin to deal with anxiety. Then, Dan details what it’s like to feel interconnected through the dissolution of self – and how to apply trips to our communal experience. Plus, Devojka talks about being a product of the D.A.R.E program and her first trip – or lack thereof. And Dr. Dominique encourages us to accept the trip that you need – not the one that you want.Show Notes:The lines between work life and home life have been erased by the pandemic and has forced many to be a more consistent self (1:25)Devokja discusses how the pandemic gave her immense relief. She was deeply depressed beforehand, and found some relief – as others around her were also forced to slow down (3:20)Dr. Dominique talks about how the pandemic has shifted her practice and the increased demand of patients looking for professional counselling (7:00)Ronan talks about how he prefers to microdose – and his experience of reliving a childhood memory during a heroic dose last year (10:00)Dan talks about his first experiences with psychedelics – including ‘dirty biker acid’ ­– starting at the age of 15. Growing up in a small community on Vancouver island – Dan acknowledges the desire to ‘travel without travelling’ and a ‘need to escape’ drove this behaviour (13:17)Dan and Devokja talk about their recent psilocybin trip. While observing bugs on a log, Dan realizes ‘it’s their house, man’.(15:34)Dr. Dominique discusses typical themes she’s seen – and how patients using psychedelic-assisted therapy can yield profound personal impacts. And consider that it’s also a connected experience – not necessarily an individual one. Plus she encourages us to look for opportunities to integrate personal realizations (16:50)Dan talks about their latest album ‘Radiant Dawn’ and working closely with Devojka on the record was a unique experience. For him, the act of performing on stage, gives him emotional catharsis. On psychedelics, he feels interconnected and can process facts that are exposed to him. A fantastical wonder. (21:20)Devojka talks about being a product of the D.A.R.E program and her first trip – or lack thereof. (24:30)Dan talks about the appeal of psychedelics, and Devojka talks about how her point of view on psychedelics started to shift with microdosing (28:10)Dr. Dominique encourages us to accept the trip that you need – not the one that you want. And understand that no one experience will be the same as the next. Her advice: trust, let go, and walk towards it. Set and setting are very important (34:36)Dan talks about his trip from a few days prior – where he realized that the psychedelic renaissance needs to be contextualized historically (36:40)Ronan asks who do Dan and Devojka think could use a good trip – and Ronan suggests their next album title (42:20)