Rock 'n' Roll Sutra

Joe Simek/Destroy It Up•www.destroyitup.com

Music geeks and yoga dorks unite! To help explain the yoga teachings that inspired the songs of Destroy It Up, frontman Joe Simek has created Rock ’N’ Roll Sutra, a companion podcast to his music. In addition to dissecting his own songs, Simek interviews yogis about music and musicians about spirituality, and explores yoga’s influence on popular music.

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Episodes

"She Will Rise! The Serpent Coils, But Never Dormant It Lies"

Shiva. Shakti. Side A — and now side B! Joe Simek completes his dissection of Destroy It Up’s new two-song Shiva Shakti EP. In this episode, Simek debuts and discusses “Shakti (She Will Rise)”, a song inspired by the concept of experiencing shakti through kundalini energy. But this time, Simek (a yoga teacher and Quaker) is not just discussing yoga, but he also asks the question: Do Quakers also experience the rise of kundalini energy in their meeting for worship? Yoga dorks and music geeks -- t...

May 12, 2019•12 min

"I Met Shiva And He Just Danced"

Destroy It Up singer-songwriter and yoga teacher Joe Simek is back with a new release, a two-song indie-rock EP called Shiva Shakti. In this episode, he debuts the song "Shiva" and breaks down the philosophy behind the song, which was greatly influenced by the Five Acts of Shiva as represented in the Nataraja. He also talks about why he named his project Destroy It Up, and his Jeff Tweedy and Christopher Hareesh Wallis influences! Learn more at https://destroyitupmusic.wordpress.com/.

May 04, 2019•14 min

"I Think I’ll Let It Come To Me"

In the conclusion of his discourse on the album Sutra, Destroy It Up frontman and yoga teacher Joe Simek talks about the album closer, Chasing It (Brahmacharya). Simek talks about the yamas and niyamas, and how they are a guide for staying on the yoga path. He also shares his future plans for this podcast. Learn more at www.DestroyItUp.com

Apr 06, 2019•12 min

“You Think You Got It Together, But Baby, You Don’t”

In this episode, songwriter Joe Simek tackles the five kleshas, or the five reasons we suffer as laid out by Patanjali in the ancient text called the Yoga Sutra. Concepts like ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, and the fear of death are widely covered topics in eastern philosophy, but they also make for great fodder for rock songs. Here, Simek talks about the three songs he penned about the five kleshas for the album Sutra, which he released with his band, Destroy It Up. www.destroyitup.com

Nov 15, 2018•17 min

“Why you looking for your selfie, when you should be trying to find your self?”

In this episode, Destroy It Up frontman and yoga teacher Joe Simek looks at "Temperature Rising", a song that simultaneously pays homage to Kriya Yoga and throws shade at the Instagram yoga culture. Plus, Joe talks about his misplaced reverence for overdosing rock stars of the nineties and teases his appearance on J. Brown Yoga Talks Podcast.

Jun 11, 2018•12 min

"This Enlightenment, I Can’t Attain It"

Seeds....with or without!? In this episode, Destroy It Up songwriter Joe Simek looks at two songs from his album Sutra, "Seeds (Sabijah)" and "Nirbijah (Without Seeds)," two songs Joe wrote as an honest inquiry into the state and contents of his own mind and the frustration that came from trying to understand what samadhi actually looks like. www.destroyitup.com

May 18, 2018•15 min

"We Will Suffer And We Will Die"

It’s a dark title, but it’s about a very hopeful song: “Brahma Viharas (Joy Is An Ecstatic Girl).” It’s been a while since host Joe Simek’s last episode, but here he gets back on the horse and dissects a wisdom teaching that has been handed down through the ages, and talks about how it fit into his album, Sutra, which was all inspired by Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. www.destroyitup.com

Nov 20, 2017•10 min

"Look in the (divine) mirror"

Moving through Destroy It Up’s album, Sutra, singer/songwriter Joe Simek continues to unpack the songs. This time he examines the rocker “Isvara (Divine Mirror)” and gets into the personal god that Patanjali gives us in the Yoga Sutra. Simek also introduces us to Destroy It Up bass player Brad Baker and ponders the statute of limitations of contracts of yesteryear. www.destroyitup.com

Jul 11, 2017•13 min

"Bear witness to it all"

Continuing his breakdown of the songs on Sutra, Destroy It Up’s recent full-length album, frontman and podcast host Joe Simek talks about the song “Witness (Parusa/Prakriti)”. He gets into the influences for the song, which range from early Coldplay to the concepts of dualism and non-dualism in yoga philosophy. He also talks about guitar player Kurt Johnson, Jr.’s contribution to the song and the album as a whole. www.destroyitup.com www.youtube.com/user/destroyitupmusic

Jun 16, 2017•20 min

"The practice is gold"

In this episode, Rock ’n’ Roll Sutra Podcast host and Destroy It Up frontman Joe Simek continues his breakdown of his album, Sutra. He takes a look at the song “We Fall Off The Earth (Vairagya)” and talks about the concepts of non-reaction and practice in the Yoga Sutra. He also talks about his songwriting process for finding melodies, and mentions his music journalism career, as well as Joe Montone of Heat Thunder, one of the guest musicians on the album. www.destroyitup.com www.heat-thunder.co...

Jun 04, 2017•16 min

"All we've got is now."

This is the first episode of the Rock 'n' Roll Sutra Podcast. In this episode, Destroy It Up frontman Joe Simek talks about the band's beginnings, the inspiration for the album, Sutra, his yoga trainings, and his plans for this podcast. He also dissects "Atha," the first song on the album. www.destroyitup.com www.boomcrashdrumtracks.com www.rolfgates.com www.breathingdeeply.com

May 10, 2017•15 min

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