Meet Ethan Gold | Songwriter, Performer, Composer, Videographer &Poet

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ethan Gold and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ethan, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
In recent years I’ve become more open about my political beliefs, which for me are all rooted in my love of the biosphere. Having a livable biosphere, this is the abode of beauty, of grace, of anything we could hope out of existing. And I want to speak, or shriek, for the creatures that can’t vote. So, while not everything I do is environmental or political, I definitely include that core spirit in some of my songs and videos. Especially in the last couple years as the voice for the creatures has been actively attacked by those in power. And it’s amazing to me, trying to make musical messages that increase understanding and love of the earth, how even then it pisses some people off. I step up anyway.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I sometimes say “make sensitivity cool again”, though I think after this week I’m over the joke of that phrase. But what I’m getting at is that I’m in favor of more nuance, thoughtfulness, and also giving a <x> about what happens on the planet. And finding a way to do this with strength. To be neither a cad nor a wilting flower. Lessons in terms of challenges? The line between saying yes and saying no. Saying no can put a lot of energy in your system. I aim for constant improvement. I’ve used this attitude to get through the various valleys of various deaths, literal or metaphorical. Go forwards everyone.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, this is an odd question in this time when so much is shut down. I did something I’m mildly known for over in the east side. I’ve been to every non-chain bar and restaurant in six neighborhoods – Silverlake, Echo Park, Atwater, Los Feliz, Frog Town, and Griffith Park. So I don’t pick favorites, but I like to patronize the little places. For me a good time is patronizing places but talking to the people who run it and hearing their stories. When my guests get a tour from me they are shocked to find the entire world in this megalopolis we call home. They don’t get the stars and the fame. They get the messy life of the city. I don’t ever skip Koreatown. I don’t ever skip veggie mulitas from Gus’s, my local taco truck.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a shoutout to the Sunrise Movement for making environmentalism cool again. I’m saying that with some irony, referring to my own cheeky slogan ‘make sensitivity cool again’. But I feel it’s important to find a way to step up for what is essential, what we believe in, and make it fun and appealing. That’s not a small thing. And we really need a whole generation of people that can’t imagine destroying the earth. After centuries where pillage and callous disregard for our shared home was socially acceptable, this needs to be shifted. Caring is way better, for the soul and the planet. And ps those two things shouldn’t be at odds either.

Website: https://ethangold.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ethangold
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethangold/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ethangold
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ethangold
Youtube: https://youtube.com/ethangold
Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0s99vDYatcM8lspzPvbuRb

Image Credits
Pic in deli by Kim Fox. Pic in forest by Ben Gibbs.