Welcome, Beloveds... to Sacred Riffs
Because who doesn't love a good origin story?
Ye Origin Storie…
The conversations that led to Sacred Riffs started many, many years ago when I first met Rainn Wilson. This was back in the late 1900s: pre-’The Office,’ pre-Dwight, when I could go for coffee with Rainn and no one knew who either of us were (they still only know him). He was an up-and-coming film & TV actor in LA, fresh from the theater scene in New York, landing quirky roles like Lahnk, the Thermian alien in Galaxy Quest, looking for his Hollywood break.
Speaking of almost being famous, Rainn got a small part in Almost Famous, a film that looms very large in my universe because it’s the only thing I’ve ever seen that captures the exact feeling I got from rock music during my childhood. When he found out I adored that film, Rainn generously gave me a precious piece of swag he had received on set: the album cover of Almost Famous’ fictitious band, Stillwater. I still have it.
Rainn has always egged me on in my total commitment to music. Any time he saw me in a cool jacket or a pair of sunglasses that most non-rockers would never dream of wearing, it seemed to fill him with genuine delight. Our conversations around music, especially newer rock and indie, ranged from devastating lyrics (Jason Isbell, Madison Cunningham), to unbelievably cool guitar (Blake Mills, Madison Cunningham), to hope for the future of the genre (Geese, Madison Cunningham). He seemed just as well-versed in the old stuff, though more inclined to dwell in the present.
But... Why?
The topic we always seemed to return to was: what does music mean? Why does it matter so much? As with all of his own work, Rainn was always nudging me towards reflection, service, soul-searching. And whenever I would write a brutally honest lyric about my own spiritual process, he would spread it far and wide.
In spring 2024, I was living with my family in a 19th-century farmhouse on a cattle ranch in Nevada County, California, recuperating from a series of particularly intense life tests... when Rainn suggested we work on some things together. This was right around when the actual Soul Boom book was released (a book which I devoured, by the way, and highly recommend—I’ve given several copies away). It was too late for me to try to muscle my way onto the book tour as musical accompaniment, but the seed was planted.
Finally a couple of months ago, he texted me ‘why don’t you make a bunch of videos for Soul Boom’s Instagram about spirituality and rock & roll?’ I said ‘Hellz to the yeah, Rainn-Man.’ And Sacred Riffs was born.
What this is really about
The idea of this series is to look for traces of the profound and transcendent in music, especially the stuff that doesn’t get spoken of in the same reverential tones as, say, Vaughan Williams’ ‘Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.’ What about the final anthem fromTommy by the Who? What about Bob Marley’s ‘Redemption Song?’ Or Prince’s ‘I Would Die 4 U?’ Why does a minor chord sound like longing?
There could be no topic that’s more of a bullseye for me. I’ve always been fascinated by the spiritual, especially in music. As a person who has a rocky relationship with authority (all the way up to God) and grew up in such a cynical, materialistic culture, I am drawn to anything that seems like a shortcut to enlightenment. And music, for whatever reason, seems to be ‘a conduit, a wormhole, a secret passageway’ as I said in a recent video, to the realm of the intangible. For whatever reason, we are supposed to have this magical sound on tap 24/7 to help us on our journey towards the universal, to the Divine, to ourselves.
So while I’m certainly no authority on spiritual topics, I do know a bit about Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. I toured with War, wrote and and produced for Santana, sat at the feet of masters, breathed that rarified air. I hope my enthusiasm is contagious! 40 years after picking up the guitar, having worked in the industry the entire time since, I’ve lost none of my fascination with the possibilities and connections music offers. I daydream about it when I’m not doing it. I daydream about it while I’m doing it. I give music an inch, it gives me a yard. That’s our deal.
Hallelujah!
Anyway, welcome aboard. There’s so much cool stuff to get into.
“JB ECKL IS CANADIAN FREAK-MAGIC FOR YOUR EARBONES”
— RAINN WILSON
JB Eckl is a Canadian musician, songwriter, producer, and composer whose career has spanned rock, funk, reggae, Latin, electronic, and global music. He has toured with the legendary funk band War, collaborated with Carlos Santana on Supernatural and Shaman, and written, performed, and produced music for artists including En Vogue, Larry Carlton, Eliades Ochoa, and Ozomatli. He is the creator and host of Sacred Riffs, a Soul Boom series exploring the weird intersections between spirituality and rock & roll. Follow him on Instagram, YouTube and his Substack Ecklectica!