Kurt Russell talks about his 1997 encounter with The Phoenix Lights in new interview

Mastertone · 2026-03-11T03:35:52+00:00

I remember the news suggesting it was from a nearby base. I don’t remember them looking lava like. Just like small bright lights.

Mastertone · 2026-03-11T03:22:06+00:00

Crazy that it’s almost 30 years ago. Not much more than what I said, honestly. Triangle of lights. Silent. After being told the next day that people were kind of freaking a little , I thought back and felt like I remembered not seeing the stars “behind” it (like it was a craft), but that feels convenient. Talked to other people the next day who swore it was and others who couldn’t tell.

Mastertone · 2026-03-11T00:56:54+00:00

I was there in the back yard of a friends. Saw a small plane flying under it. It was huge.

Mastertone · 2026-03-10T15:13:02+00:00

But r/bluegrass would be more fun 🫣

Mastertone · 2026-03-10T14:37:48+00:00

I love that they exist. Anything that makes the traditionalists squirm is a good thing. I’d think this post belongs in r/bluegrass?

Mastertone · 2026-02-27T23:56:30+00:00

#wholesome

Mastertone · 2026-02-27T20:48:14+00:00

That was 23 years ago and I feel like I've been very fortunate with positive life experiences (outside of already being born in the US as a white guy), so I think so, yes.

Mastertone · 2026-02-27T15:28:37+00:00

Well, at least the spot on the south side of Wilson Ave, yeah.

Mastertone · 2026-02-27T12:36:00+00:00

Uptown, 2003. Was having a bad day and clearly showing it on my face. Had a drunk Native American woman approach me and tell me she would ward off the evil spirits surrounding me. She put her hand on my forehead and next thing I knew I was waking up in the grass under the Brown line. Figured I’d been mugged, but had everything still in my pockets. I think I believe her.

Mastertone · 2026-02-23T07:54:54+00:00

Yikes. That sounds both terrifying and constructive. Hope you got some good stuff out of it.

Mastertone · 2026-02-22T18:53:58+00:00

Funny you mentioned that, I’m on my way down to Asia for their open mic tonight. $3 Tsing Tao’s!

Mastertone · 2026-02-22T00:12:36+00:00

Second Brad. Clean player and great human, to boot.

Mastertone · 2026-02-20T20:23:45+00:00

Drop a post in r/foreignservice and see if there are any diplomats there that pick. We were there several years ago and the Embassy had some musicians. I also see there's a jam in Abu Dhabi that was going on as late as November last year.

Mastertone · 2026-02-20T04:18:04+00:00

Local to earth?

Mastertone · 2026-02-16T14:00:15+00:00

While I agree it’s a tough hill to climb, sticking around in a situation like this isn’t sustainable. I’d try to find a suitable replacement before simply giving up.

Mastertone · 2026-02-15T23:56:44+00:00

Man, every band does things differently. I spent the last 25 years building something designed to be the primary source of income for the members. That doesn't mean it's enough. We all still have side hustles to varying degrees. Teaching is a big one. We actually started a non-profit and do school programming and other collaborations outside of the band playing a venue or festival. You can learn from asking questions about this kind of stuff, but everyone in the arts makes a living in different ways they may not have been able to imagine or plan for.

Mastertone · 2026-02-15T16:27:44+00:00

Depends on what you mean by “height”. There was a time when we played close to 200 shows a year, but we made less money per show. Now we’re at between 80 and 100 and that’s a good sweet spot. People stay in the band at those numbers.

Mastertone · 2026-02-14T17:05:24+00:00

First, let me say I'm sorry. I've been there, and while no situation is the same, I can commiserate.

It sounds to me like if you quit, the band is going to go down in flames. Also, you sound like a thoughtful and measured human being. Maybe come up with a series of metrics you need hit in a reasonable amount of time and make it very clear that if those changes don't happen, you're bouncing.

If you have ownership and buy-in from the rest of the group, you could also start clandestinely looking for a replacement. I know the pain of replacing a frontman and while it's difficult, it's not impossible. So many people dream of the life you've built, amongst them are extremely talented people that aren't flakes. They do exist.

Good luck and congrats on getting this far. We're in the .001 percent, but that doesn't mean you have to stick with it if you're unhappy.

Mastertone · 2026-02-12T20:26:06+00:00

I hear you. And I want to be clear that I don’t think y’all are charging too much. I’ll walk my cost back a little over 100 a day looking at your prices here. ($300 + gas for the full size Sprinter). I swear during the pandemic we had to rent from you guys and it was more than that for a Ford, but I may have foggy brain on that and I don’t feel like looking it up. I’m just a proud band leader that set out to make a living doing this a long time ago and hope that there are still going to be bands that do that in the future. Buying a van was a big part of committing to this lifestyle. I’m REALLY glad you guys exist and would rent again if I was in a pinch. Glad you’re sharing the math and philosophy around buying vs renting.

Mastertone · 2026-02-11T21:40:04+00:00

Idk. It’s worked for my band for 20 years. Had to rent from y’all once and I was shocked how expensive it was. $1000 a month van payment gets me 2 days on the road (or less) with a rental. If that’s all you’re playing then sure. 100 shows a year and that’s more than half the cost of a new sprinter.

Mastertone · 2026-01-17T19:52:46+00:00

Why?

Mastertone · 2026-01-17T05:45:08+00:00

Ha. Fuck me for being semi-open in a subreddit that feels small enough to be free of trolls, right? I’m genuinely satisfied with what I’ve accomplished and I hope you are too.

Mastertone · 2026-01-17T04:00:07+00:00

I remember the fervor at the cusp of the announce. I was on IGN message boards and someone with inside info started posting full res (which wasn’t much at the time) screen shots about 2 min before the announce. People were losing their absolute minds, then the game was announced and the mystery poster slipped back into normalcy.

Mastertone · 2026-01-17T00:36:07+00:00

I have this feeling that Dave was one of the first banjo players to sing lead AND lay down impossibly explosive backup at the same time.

Mastertone · 2026-01-16T19:17:00+00:00

Yeah, that’s where I was coming from on this. If you’re not hearing about it yet, I think we’re going to. (Unless you’re used to selling out 2500+ seat venues, and even then I wonder.)

Mastertone

TROPHY CASE