The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast Podcast 439: Guru Singh
Sit back, relax, and enjoy one of the most unforgettable Fretboard Journal Podcast interviews ever. This week’s guest is spiritual teacher and yogi Guru Singh.
Born Gerry Pond, this one-of-a-kind guitar fanatic garnered acclaim as a folk singer in Seattle’s coffee house and music scene of the '60s. He was one of the first young rock musicians to sign with Frank Sinatra’s Reprise Records. Gerry then relocated to San Francisco where he found himself playing concerts with the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin and others.
Unfortunately, he was also a fish out of water: A sober, meditation-loving yoga living in SF’s wild Haight-Ashbury scene. To compound things, his early protest songs about Vietnam resulted in him being blacklisted from radio stations and targeted by the Feds. So, in the late 1960s, Gerry safely stored his cherished Gibson J-45 and went on a yearlong quest to the deepest reaches of Mexico, a journey documented in his book, Buried Treasures. When he returned, the J-45 was still there but his music and life was completely transformed.
Now known as Guru Singh, he teaches Kundalini yoga and meditation techniques to practitioners around the world, collaborates with artists like Seal, and spreads positivity wherever he goes.
We talk about all this and more on this very special podcast. He shares the story of his favorite guitars, offers advice to help you get through the holidays, and even encourages a little guitar acquisition syndrome. In a Fretboard Journal first, he also teaches us all how to breathe a little better.
We first spotted Guru Singh on the Rich Roll Podcast, where we couldn’t help but notice all the unique acoustic guitars he employed. We knew we had to get him on the Fretboard Journal podcast one day and here, at long last, is our first interview.
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