Episode #19: Whitey 🇺🇸

Explicit content warning

04/10/22 • 87 min

In this episode, I chat with my old homie, Stephen White.

Stephen (or just "Whitey" as his friends and coworkers call him) came from the East Coast like me but made his way out west, finding his way to San Francisco, California post-college.

I moved out to San Francisco around 1995-98 as well, and together with our incredibly eclectic but tight-knit crew, we ripped up the city.

But more than just partying and experiencing the music and culture the city had to offer, Stephen was like a big brother to me, guiding me socially, artistically, and professionally.

(In fact, I think it was Whitey who gave me my first chance at a writing gig for his e-zine, Lifted, and I was shocked when one of my articles - Deep Drying the American Dream - went viral and made it to the front page of Yahoo.)

He always looked out, gave me wise counsel, and rarely would let me pay for a thing (since I was so broke I'd be lucky just to make rent money every month!). To this day, when I hook so many people up and don't ask for anything in return, I'm passing on the good karma and mentorship that Whitey extended to me.

I haven't lived in San Francisco for a long time, but Whitey is still ripping it up, mostly through his career in the music industry.

He's long been the CEO of music tech companies and startups, and currently works with Empire, a record label that focuses on empowering their artists - something very rare in the record business. Empire features many notable hip hop artists but is also active with growing Afro Beats and many other genres.

So, I hope you thoroughly enjoy this podcast interview with Whitey as we take a trip down memory lane, talk about how San Francisco has changed, his career and life in the music industry, and still finding that artistic outlet and passion in life.

Let's gooooooo!

-Norm Schriever

In this episode, I chat with my old homie, Stephen White.

Stephen (or just "Whitey" as his friends and coworkers call him) came from the East Coast like me but made his way out west, finding his way to San Francisco, California post-college.

I moved out to San Francisco around 1995-98 as well, and together with our incredibly eclectic but tight-knit crew, we ripped up the city.

But more than just partying and experiencing the music and culture the city had to offer, Stephen was like a big brother to me, guiding me socially, artistically, and professionally.

I haven't lived in San Francisco for a long time, but Whitey is still ripping it up, mostly through his career in the music industry.

Let's gooooooo!

-Norm Schriever

Previous Episode

Episode #18: THE Tek Cortez 🇵🇭

🎸 In this podcast, I’d like you to meet my good friend, THE Tek Cortez, the Philippines favorite musical busker.
🇵🇭 For those who don’t know (like I didn’t), busking is a word that describes street performance, whether its art or movement or music.
🎹 And Tek Cortez is one of the Philippines favorite buskers, singing and strumming his guitar along Bonifacio High Street in the BGC area of Manila many evenings.
🎶 I first spotted Tek on Instagram when I lived in Manila back in 2018 and 2019 and became a big fan of his musical talent. Soon, we met in person on High Street and became good buddies, and now I’m also close with his family.
🎸 In a country that’s often stereotyped that everyone can sing like an angel (not true: only about 80% of Filipinos can sing great!), Tek’s love of music branches out beyond the norm. He’s actually a student of the Blues, and his tastes go into Depeche Mode, The Cure, and other alt-punk/rock far more than they do any pop music.
🇵🇭 Tek also doesn’t busk because he has to (he’s got a great job as a manager at a telecom firm nearby), but just to decompress and share his love of music and performance with passerby’s on High Street.
🎹 In this podcast, we chatted about his musical influences, the busking movement in the Philippines, what he loves most about playing for people, and even how he deals with drunks requesting songs!
🎶 As a special treat, I’ve included clips of some of his live busking performances there in the Philippines, so you can hear Tek play.
Enjoy this podcast with my brother, THE Tek Cortez, and thanks for listening to the Who in the World Podcast!
-Norm Schriever
🎙 🌎

Next Episode

Episode #20: Molly Ruland 🇺🇸 🇨🇷 🎙

My humble little Who in the World podcast has now hit 20 episodes, with such an eclectic and interesting cast of characters that I’ve been fortunate enough to know in my life.

And you can expect a lot more remarkable people from my journey, starting today with my new-but-great friend, Molly Ruland.

For many years, Molly was an activist and community organizer in Washington D.C., hosting underground music and artistic events at the iconic One Love Massive space as well and being integral in the “DC as Fuck” scene.

But I first met Molly in Tamarindo, Costa Rica when we both moved there in late 2020 as Covid-era refugees (at that time, the only safe choices for expats were pretty much Costa Rica or Nicaragua!).

Molly was thrilled to be there from the start, living by the beach in the tropics as she ran her thriving podcast production company, HeartCast Media.

But only a few short weeks after she arrived in the land of pura vida – pure life – she ran into a nightmare when she was drugged and rubbed during a home invasion.

Despite that horrific start, Molly bounced back and refused to quit or run – a testament to her strength, character, and no-back-down spirit. Not only did she keep her bags unpacked and remained in Costa Rica, but she found a way to thrive, creating an intentional, balanced, healthy new life.

She continues to explore Costa Rica while running HeartCast and other media projects like a bad ass boss, and recently bought an incredibly beautiful property right on lake Arenal in the country’s most underrated region.

In this podcast, I catch up with Molly right before she heads back to D.C. to work the National Cannabis Festival and hang out with Wiz Khalifa, so we certainly had a lot to talk about...and celebrate!

Enjoy this chat with Molly Ruland and thanks again for listening and sharing this podcast with your homies.

Cheers to 20 more episodes!

-Norm :-)