Bonus EP: Scott Michaels Talks About Sharon Tate & the Manson Murders & Working With Quentin Tarantino on 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'
06/07/23 • 75 min
1 Listener
In this bonus episode (which is really an addendum to Season 1 Episode 6, featuring Zachary Lazar’s rock novel ‘Sway’, a story that brings together the early Rolling Stones, the films of avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger, and members of the Manson Family in a fictional setting) Scott Michaels joins me to talk about Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders and what it was like working with Quentin Tarantino on his film ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’.
Scott Michaels is Hollywood’s original authority on celebrity deaths, including the Manson Murders, and a former tour guide for LA’s now-defunct Dearly Departed Tours. Quentin Tarantino hired Scott to be a consultant on ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, which reimagines the murders of Sharon Tate, Voytek Frykowski, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger at the hands of the Manson Family in early August 1969.
This past April, Scott gave me a once-in-a-lifetime, one-on-one, all-day tour of major Manson Family points of interest in Los Angeles and the surrounding area, which we talk about in this bonus episode. We also talk about common misconceptions about the murders, Scott’s experience working with Quentin Tarantino on ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, Scott’s favorite nonfiction books about the murders, people related to the case he’s known, and little-known tidbits about the murders, like what book Abigail Folger was reading when she was killed.
So, cue up The Beatles’ ‘White Album’, slip into your favorite retro threads, kick back and join Scott Michaels and me as we time travel back to 1969 Southern California to revisit the true crime that brought an end to the free lovin’ groovy ‘60s.
Afterward, I invite you to check out Season 1 Episode 6 to hear my conversation with Zachary Lazar about his novel ‘Sway’ and Tony Sokol’s thoughts on the Stones and the occult and Zeena Schreck’s memories of her godfather Kenneth Anger.
*Listen to the episode, then watch the condensed video version of my interview with Scott Michaels. This version includes photos and videos I shot during my Manson Murders tour with Scott in April 2023.
MEDIA AND MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
- Clip: Tate Murder CBS 1969 Newscast
- “Helter Skelter” by The Beatles
- “Cry Baby Cry” by The Beatles
- “Money (That’s What I Want)” by The Beatles
- “Blackbird” by The Beatles
- “Good Thing” by Paul Revere & The Raiders
- “Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon” by The Mamas & The Papas
- Clip: ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’—“I’m the devil and I’m here to do the devil’s business”
- “Sexy Sadie” by The Beatles
- “Revolution” by The Beatles
- “Hush” by Deep Purple
- Clip: ABC news crew finds bloody clothes 1969
- “Treat Her Right” by Roy Head & The Traits
LINKS:
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350
Scott Michaels’ documentary on the Manson Murders, ‘The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZELGmN_4hc&t=3461s
Scott Michaels’ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DearlyDepartedTours
Scott Michaels on Facebook: @ScottMichaels
Scott Michaels on Instagram: @iamscottmichaels
Scott Michaels on Twitter: @ImScottMichaels
David Oman’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@davidoman
Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/
Christy Alexander Hallberg on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg
Season 1 Episode 6 of Rock is Lit:
In this bonus episode (which is really an addendum to Season 1 Episode 6, featuring Zachary Lazar’s rock novel ‘Sway’, a story that brings together the early Rolling Stones, the films of avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger, and members of the Manson Family in a fictional setting) Scott Michaels joins me to talk about Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders and what it was like working with Quentin Tarantino on his film ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’.
Scott Michaels is Hollywood’s original authority on celebrity deaths, including the Manson Murders, and a former tour guide for LA’s now-defunct Dearly Departed Tours. Quentin Tarantino hired Scott to be a consultant on ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, which reimagines the murders of Sharon Tate, Voytek Frykowski, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger at the hands of the Manson Family in early August 1969.
This past April, Scott gave me a once-in-a-lifetime, one-on-one, all-day tour of major Manson Family points of interest in Los Angeles and the surrounding area, which we talk about in this bonus episode. We also talk about common misconceptions about the murders, Scott’s experience working with Quentin Tarantino on ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, Scott’s favorite nonfiction books about the murders, people related to the case he’s known, and little-known tidbits about the murders, like what book Abigail Folger was reading when she was killed.
So, cue up The Beatles’ ‘White Album’, slip into your favorite retro threads, kick back and join Scott Michaels and me as we time travel back to 1969 Southern California to revisit the true crime that brought an end to the free lovin’ groovy ‘60s.
Afterward, I invite you to check out Season 1 Episode 6 to hear my conversation with Zachary Lazar about his novel ‘Sway’ and Tony Sokol’s thoughts on the Stones and the occult and Zeena Schreck’s memories of her godfather Kenneth Anger.
*Listen to the episode, then watch the condensed video version of my interview with Scott Michaels. This version includes photos and videos I shot during my Manson Murders tour with Scott in April 2023.
MEDIA AND MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
- Clip: Tate Murder CBS 1969 Newscast
- “Helter Skelter” by The Beatles
- “Cry Baby Cry” by The Beatles
- “Money (That’s What I Want)” by The Beatles
- “Blackbird” by The Beatles
- “Good Thing” by Paul Revere & The Raiders
- “Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon” by The Mamas & The Papas
- Clip: ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’—“I’m the devil and I’m here to do the devil’s business”
- “Sexy Sadie” by The Beatles
- “Revolution” by The Beatles
- “Hush” by Deep Purple
- Clip: ABC news crew finds bloody clothes 1969
- “Treat Her Right” by Roy Head & The Traits
LINKS:
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350
Scott Michaels’ documentary on the Manson Murders, ‘The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZELGmN_4hc&t=3461s
Scott Michaels’ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DearlyDepartedTours
Scott Michaels on Facebook: @ScottMichaels
Scott Michaels on Instagram: @iamscottmichaels
Scott Michaels on Twitter: @ImScottMichaels
David Oman’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@davidoman
Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/
Christy Alexander Hallberg on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg
Season 1 Episode 6 of Rock is Lit:
Previous Episode
Bonus EP: Zeena Schreck on the Power of Medicine Buddha Mantra for Spiritual & Physical Healing
This offering is an outtake from Episode 22, on Rob Errera’s horror rock novel ‘Hangman’s Jam’, a story about a haunted song that beguiles an up-and-coming rock band. In the last segment of that episode, my friend Zeena Schreck joined me to talk about the power certain songs have in spiritual and magical practices, to add real-world context to Rob’s novel.
Zeena has been on the podcast a few times, and each time our conversation tends to branch out and take on a life of its own, which means I always have some bits that don’t make it into the regular episodes, many of which wind up as stand-alone mini-episodes, like this one.
For those of you who are not familiar with Zeena and her work, here’s a short introduction: Zeena Schreck, formerly LaVey, was raised within the Church of Satan. She came to international prominence early in life as the organization's High Priestess and first public spokesperson, defending the Church in the 1980s during the infamous media-fueled U.S. Satanic Panic. She resigned her position in 1990, severed ties with her father, Anton LaVey, and renounced Satanism and Western occultism to pursue her own religious path, which led to her becoming a practitioner and lineage holder of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism. Zeena is also an interdisciplinary visual and musical artist based in Berlin, Germany.
Her latest solo album, ‘Transcend’, was just released and is available on Bandcamp. You can find the link below.
So much of Zeena’s art converges with her spiritual practice. This is definitely true of ‘Transcend’. To celebrate the release of this amazing album, have a listen to this outtake from my interview with her from Episode 22, in which we talk about the use and power of Medicine Buddha mantra for spiritual and physical healing, energy transference and mantras as a means for energy transference, approaching Medicine Buddha in the spirit of receptivity and experimentation, the importance of having compassion—even for negative forces—and more. You’ll also hear clips from two tracks from ‘Transcend’: “Ascent” and “Parting Clouds.”
Music used in this interview is by Zeena Schreck and used with her approval and cannot be reproduced without her permission:
- “Ascent”
- “Parting Clouds”
Links:
Zeena’s new album ‘Transcend’ on Bandcamp: https://zeenaschreck.bandcamp.com/album/transcend
For news of Zeena's current public activities and releases, subscribe to the e-newsletter at https://www.zeenaschreck.com/subscribe.html
Zeena’s website: www.ZeenaSchreck.com
Zeena’s blog: https://www.zeenaschreck.com/blog
Zeena, Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zeenaschreck_art/
Zeena, YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ZeenaSchreckOfficial
Zeena, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZEENA.Official.ZeenaSchreck
Episode 22 of Rock is Lit: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislitpodcast/roberreraandzeenaschreck
Episode 6 of Rock is Lit: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislitpodcast/zacharylazar/tonysokol/zeenaschreck
Rock is Lit Bonus: Zeena on Her Spiritual Path: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/podcast-vault-feed/zeenaschreckandspirituality
Rock is Lit Bonus: Zeena on Her Godfather Kenneth Anger: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/podcast-vault-feed/zeenaschreck
Leave a rating and comment on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350
Leave a rating and comment on Goodpods:
Next Episode
Daniel Torday on His Novel ‘Boomer1’, Political Rants & the Deep Web, with Ty Gilpin of Unspoken Tradition on Bluegrass Music
If your jam is Bluegrass music, revolutionaries, political rants, and the Wild West of the Internet (otherwise known as the Deep Web), you’re gonna love this episode. Daniel Torday is here to talk about his novel ‘Boomer1’, a story that follows Bluegrass musician, underemployed millennial, and now PhD in English, Mark Brumfeld, who channels his desperation by posting a series of online video monologues that critique Baby Boomers and their powerful hold on the job market. When the videos go viral, Mark loses control of what he began—with consequences that ensnare him in a matter of national security.
Later, mandolin player for the Bluegrass band Unspoken Tradition and music marketing director for Crossroads Studios near Asheville, North Carolina, Ty Gilpin joins me to give a crash course on Bluegrass.
MEDIA AND MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
- “Old Rotten Ribbons” by Ty Gilpin (from his solo album ‘Crooked Hollows’)
- “Christine’s Tune” by The Flying Burrito Brothers
- “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs
- “Internet” by Post Malone
- “John Brown’s Body” by Pete Seeger
- “Do I Wanna Know” by Arctic Monkeys
- “Mule Skinner Blues” by Bill Monroe
- “Mountain Dew” by The Stanley Brothers
- “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” by Soggy Bottom Boys
- “Pretty Polly” by Ralph Stanley
- “Uncle John’s Band” by The Grateful Dead
- “Dust in a Baggie” by Billy Strings
- “Dooley” by The Dillards/The Darling Family on ‘The Andy Griffith Show’
- “The Old Swinging Bridge” by Unspoken Tradition (Ty Gilpin’s band)
LINKS:
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Goodpods: https://goodpods.com/podcasts/rock-is-lit-212451
Leave a rating and comment for Rock is Lit on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rock-is-lit/id1642987350
Daniel Torday’s website: http://www.danieltorday.com/
Daniel Torday on Twitter: @DanielTorday
Daniel Torday on Instagram: @dtorday
Walls of Time Podcast website: https://wallsoftimepodcast.podbean.com/
Unspoken Tradition’s website: https://unspokentradition.com/
Unspoken Tradition on Instagram: @unspokentraditionbluegrass
Unspoken Tradition on Facebook: @unspokentradition
Ty Gilpin on Instagram: @tygilpinavl
Ty Gilpin on Facebook: @TyGilpin
Crossroads Studios: https://crossroadsrecordingstudios.com/
‘Crooked Hollows’ by Ty Gilpin on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/am/album/crooked-hollows/548623407
Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/
Christy Alexander Hallberg on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg
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