#93. The Outlaw Country of Humboldt: Brett McFarland’s Journey

Scott Hammond: Ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbors, it's, uh, Scott Hammond with the 100% Humboldt podcast with my very new best friend, musician Brett McFarland. Brett, how you doing?

Brett McFarland: I'm smiling.

Scott Hammond: Take it away, Brett.

Brett McFarland: You know, I, I played this song, uh… a few different ways, but acoustic guitar is how I wrote it at home.

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Brett McFarland: So it kinda feels good to be bringing it back to the roots like that. Well, I built my home with my own two hands, help from my friends and trees from the land. Food and shelter, the best I can. This right here is where I make my stand. 'Cause we still got butchers and we still got mills. Got a whole lot of folks with a whole lot of skills. If you ever need help, ever need a favor, well, around here you still call on your neighbor. That's how we do it in Humboldt. Yeah, how we do it in Humboldt. How we do it in Humboldt. We got trees like you ain't never seen. Clear blue water straight out of a dream. And you don't have to go and look too far to find yourself a shooting star. You can be a weirdo or you can be a freak. You can be straight-laced seven days a week. 'Cause we got guts and we got pride. We got what matters on the inside. That's how we do it in Humboldt. Yeah, how we do it in Humboldt. How we do it in Humboldt. The sun was setting on '68. It was the summer of love down in the Haight. A war was dragging, it was getting late. Back to the land sounded great. And that's when a redneck made love with a hippie, had themselves a child and named her

Brett McFarland: Gypsy. That's how we do it in Humboldt. Yeah, how we do it in Humboldt. How we do it in Humboldt. But it ain't all flowers and peace and love. You know the history is stained in blood. Everywhere from Hoopa down to Table Bluff, Klamath to Bear River, man, they had it rough. It's the same old story all across the land. One of them things I just can't understand. So I do my best to show respect. Tip my hat and I won't ever forget. That's how we do it in Humboldt. Yeah, how we do it in Humboldt. How we do it in Humboldt. Now, if you wanna talk shit on California, go right ahead, but I got to warn ya. We'll hold it down around here. If you live in this country and you ever smoke grass, you can thank Humboldt County for risking her ass. Fighting camp since the '80s and a-going strong. We just kept on growing 'til the laws

Brett McFarland: caught on.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, well, the only way to say it is to put it bluntly. There ain't another place more outlaw

Brett McFarland: country.

Brett McFarland: Woo. That's how we do it in Humboldt. Yeah, how we do it in Humboldt. How we do it in Humboldt. How we do it in Humboldt. How we do it in

Brett McFarland: Humboldt. Woo-hoo-hoo, yeah.

Scott Hammond: Ladies and gentlemen, Brett McFarland. Thanks for coming today. How you doing?

Brett McFarland: I'm doing good.

Scott Hammond: That's-

Brett McFarland: It's been a good day

Scott Hammond: … that's how we do it in Humboldt, man.

Brett McFarland: Wow.

Scott Hammond: That's how you do it in Humboldt. Thank you for that.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Amazing. Cool. Oh, by the way, Humboldt County, the, uh, Metsker map. Um, that'd be fun to give you one of those. I actually have one at the office. Uh, maybe I'll figure out a way to put it up in the barn or something. The, uh… So I wanna hear your whole story. Tell us, where were you born? Uh, where'd you grow up? Uh, what's, what's the Brett story?

Brett McFarland: Well, I was born to, uh, Mike and Gail McFor- Mar- whoa. I was born to Mike and Gail McFarland, and, uh, my, my dad was in the Army and my mom is a nurse

Brett McFarland: And, uh, uh, I was born in South Dakota.

Scott Hammond: Cool.

Brett McFarland: And we lived all over the place. My dad was in the Army, so we, we, we kinda bounced around to different, uh, um, military installations.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, um, but we always went back to the Midwest 'cause, 'cause that's where their families are-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … from, both my mom and my dad. And, uh, my grandparents were farmers.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, yeah, I actually… We ended up moving back t- there in, when I was in high

Brett McFarland: school.

Scott Hammond: Oh, wow.

Brett McFarland: And I… Actually, get this.

Brett McFarland: My, my dad's parents are from Humboldt, South

Brett McFarland: Dakota.

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Brett McFarland: That's where my dad's, that's where my dad's mom was from, was Humboldt, South Dakota.

Scott Hammond: And there's Humboldt, Iowa, where I'm from.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: No, Sioux City, Iowa.

Brett McFarland: Nice.

Scott Hammond: To the northwest. What part of South Dakota?

Brett McFarland: It's just, it's pretty near Sioux Falls.

Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah, yeah.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, pretty near Sioux Falls.

Scott Hammond: Like Yankton or… Well, Sioux Falls is not Yankton, but yeah. Yeah, we're ne- we're neighbors kinda in that way.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: There's Humboldt, Iowa. There's Humboldt, Nevada, too. Go figure. So did… How'd you guys wind up in Humboldt County?

Brett McFarland: Well, basically I, I ended up in… So I ended up in South Dakota after high school, and then I ended up in Humboldt because I was farming in South Dakota. We had a really tough year. Um, my brother and I, and our crops froze out. There was, like, this early spring fro- or this early, um, fall

Brett McFarland: frost.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And at the same time, I had a friend that called me up and was like, "Hey, Brett, I wanna move to California, and I think you're the only one crazy enough to do it with me." And so I started looking at schools that were on the exchange program. I saw Humboldt, and I was like, "All right, well, let's go check this out." And we… And so I actually came out, road tripped with him. I flew to Reno, was, was where he was living.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And then we road tripped out here.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And then he didn't end up coming, at least not at that time, not for years. But I s- I took one look around him. I made it to the Arcata Farmers Market, and I was like, "Yes."

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Nice. Which you still sell stuff at, right, at the market?

Brett McFarland: Yeah, we still… So I mean, I, I went there. I saw what was happening, and I wanted to come back, and I did. I, I, I, uh, I moved out a couple months later and actually was leasing some ground in The Bottoms-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Brett McFarland: … in short order.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: And started selling at the, that farmers market 20 years

Brett McFarland: ago.

Scott Hammond: Midwest guy.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, and when I showed up, and I was, and I was trying to make it happen, there were so many… I remember I saw this, uh, there was an, there was a kiosk outside the co-op. This was before Craigslist was a big deal.

Scott Hammond: Remember that, yeah.

Brett McFarland: And there was somebody that had gone rogue. You know, you're supposed to put, like, a card at, at the Arcata Co-op-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … and they would write your stuff. But somebody went rogue, and they, and they pinned a notebook sheet of paper up on outside of the, on that kiosk, and it said, "Farmhouse. Room for rent in a farmhouse."

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Brett McFarland: And I saw that, and I was thinking, "Well, shoot, a farmhouse. There must be some farmland in a farm," you know?

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Brett McFarland: And so I tried to… And they had… But they had written the address down wrong, and it was, this was actually, this is a… I ended up moving to a place that's pretty legendary place. It's called The Salmon House.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Brett McFarland: And I mean-

Scott Hammond: In The Bottoms?

Brett McFarland: … this was, this was, it was out, it was out on the corner of Janes and Spier.

Scott Hammond: Sure. Oh, yeah.

Brett McFarland: And I mean, so this is, like, Sublime used to go. It was a, it was a, it was… You know, they played there. It was a, it was kind of a… It had been a party house at different, you know, iterations.

Brett McFarland: But, uh, yeah, I had a… I s- I remember trying to find this place, and I couldn't. Every once in a while people would be like, "Oh yeah, I know of that

Brett McFarland: place."

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: I remember there was even somebody, there was even, like, there was even, um, somebody, there was, like, a, there was a woman working at that time in produce, and she's like, "Oh, I know that place." And I was like, "Oh my God." I'm like, I'm… S- I told her my story. I'm like, "I'm just here."

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: "Any way you would…" I'm like, "Any way you would just, like, drive over there, and I could just, like-

Brett McFarland: … you know, you could show me where it was. I'll just follow you in my car." And she's like, "No, not happening." And I kept striking out, and I… But I, but I got… I remember that first night I was over. I went to the hotels in Giuntoli, and I was gonna cli- I was like, I was looking at… Okay, it was, like, at that time, I don't forget, it was, like, 40 bucks or 60 bucks for a hotel, and I was like, seemed like a lot for what I had on me. So I was, I was, like, just about to climb, l- looking if I could climb under my van and just, like, sleep out of the drizzle.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, somebody that I just met, else that I had met at the co-op was, invited me to come. They kinda knew.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: You know, I told them I was looking for farmland, and they knew I just came to town, and they let me sleep on their floor. And that was my welcome to Humboldt. So I, you know, it was, it was, there was some generosity, and, uh, I spent the next few days trying to find that place, and eventually I, I did. And, uh, um, I was able to start a farm there and start selling at the, the farmers market. But that process, you know, that, of being there, that, that was, um, you know… When I was there, we started selling these vegetables, and I would have these people come up to my vegetable stands, and they had, like, fat… They would, like, pull out a stack of cash to pay me.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And I was, I couldn't help but ask some of them-

Scott Hammond: Awesome

Brett McFarland: … after. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: Like, "What are you guys doing?" Like, "Whoa."

Scott Hammond: We're farming.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, that's what they told me, and I'm like, "Dang, man." I'm like, "Our wallets are looking very different right now," you know?

Scott Hammond: And they ain't carrots.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. So, you know, but I started having people, like, from Honeydew and, and, uh, Southern Humboldt that would stop by our stand.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And they were, and they were good to us, and that's a, that's one thing I will say. That's one positive thing that I can say about, you know, the cannabis community in Humboldt, is that there's been so many wonderful-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … uh, community from, you know, schools to, to all kinds. There's been a lot of, there's been a lot of blessings. You know, there's been some stuff that is not that amazing, but there's been some really wonderful things that came out of that, and that was one of them, was, like, I remember these… Like, I had people that were like, "We know you're working your butt off, and we're gonna, we're gonna support you," and they-

Scott Hammond: Nice

Brett McFarland: … you know, and they would. They would come over and, and make sure they would get their vegetables from us and-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … tip jar.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. No, that's great. So how'd you wind up then… Did you actually go to Humboldt State at the time?

Brett McFarland: I went to Humboldt State ceremoniously, really just

Brett McFarland: to, uh- Let my parents down easy. Because if I told them like, "Hey, by the way, Mom and Dad, um, I'm moving to the left coast-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … I'm moving to California, and I'm dropping out of college, and I'm gonna farm vegetables," I think-

Scott Hammond: It would be too much

Brett McFarland: … organic vegetables. Yeah, I think-

Scott Hammond: Little too much.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, so I had to just let them down easy, so.

Scott Hammond: Take care of the folks.

Brett McFarland: So I did, I did a semester at Humboldt State, and then I, and then I told them I was taking a break to focus on

Brett McFarland: farming and-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … but I really got just the whole Humboldt, you know… Yeah, the just, I just got immersed.

Scott Hammond: What year was that?

Brett McFarland: Guessing

Brett McFarland: 2004 or 2005. What is it? We're in 2025 right now.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. So early 2000s.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, I think two, I think 2005 is when I showed up.

Scott Hammond: Oh, okay.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. You know, um, the CEO of St. Joe's was here last time and talked about that, that community thing that you just alluded to, you inferred.

Scott Hammond: And that's, I think that's who we are. That's, that's a lot of our identity and how we roll, and, uh, I remember the same thing coming up in '78 from San Diego, just hard, hard to see me with long hair, but it was pretty long, and I was all that and a bag of chips. And, uh-

Brett McFarland: Yeah, my hair was down to here.

Scott Hammond: Right. Yeah, right.

Brett McFarland: I was, I was growing it out for Locks for Love.

Scott Hammond: Oh, cool. Oh, that's cool.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. And when I s- And when there, when I, and when I… In South Dakota, every- nobody had, I was, nobody had long hair.

Scott Hammond: No way.

Brett McFarland: But when I hear it, you know, like not for guys, but hear it, all kinds of people did in dreads. I'm like, "All right, this is done."

Scott Hammond: This is- This is done. So, uh, so you became a farmer, and so where'd ya… Did you meet your wife back then or was that after?

Brett McFarland: Oh, it was years later.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Brett McFarland: Um, no, I met my wife in 2012.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: So did you primarily live in Arcata? Did you end up in the hills or?

Brett McFarland: I lived primarily in Arcata, although I did, I did,

Brett McFarland: um, I was able to get some land out, out in the, uh, Mattole, and I built, like, a little cabin. I- It was like, it had been a-

Scott Hammond: Sweet

Brett McFarland: … uh, it had been like, a, a, there had been like this… I didn't know this when I bought it, but there had been this whole, like, diesel generator grow thing on it, and, like, so I just, a lot of trash. So I spent, like, years, like, just cleaning up-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Brett McFarland: … gar- like, you know, all kinds of-

Scott Hammond: Stuff

Brett McFarland: … garbage. And yeah, there had been a fire out there. So I was just like-

Scott Hammond: Huh

Brett McFarland: … but I started to, like, see what was happening with people harvesting their own timbers to make their homes and, you know, all that kind of

Brett McFarland: stuff.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. So this is off-grid then?

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Far, far away.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: In a galaxy far, far away.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: That's cool, though. I mean, a lot of people wanted… I mean, that's why people came up in the '60s from wherever-

Brett McFarland: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … and started living in the hills and off the land, and that's cool. I re- I don't, really don't miss chopping wood and starting fires myself. I hit this button at my house in McKinleyville-

Brett McFarland: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … and there's heat, and I really like that now.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. Oh, I'm obsessed with fire.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, you like to chop wood?

Brett McFarland: Oh, I, yeah, I burn-

Scott Hammond: Do it?

Brett McFarland: I like to burn it anyway.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, that's cool.

Brett McFarland: I'm, I'm, like, chopping it, I'm, I could get down with, but really like to

Brett McFarland: burn it.

Scott Hammond: Like the fun part. My, uh, my daughter brings madrone and manzanita from Southern Oregon to our friend Dave here on Fickle Hill. He loves that wood.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: I think he's also a burner.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: That, that burning f- burning hobby. So, uh, yeah, so t- so tell us the rest of the story. So you, you became a, a f- a, an, another s- type of farmer. And, um-

Brett McFarland: Yeah, so I started growing, I found, like, I started seeing what was happening in Humboldt just a little bit. Like my, like some of my housemates all of a sudden, like they had these little guerrilla gardens up in the forest and, and, you know, one of them told, you know. And then I… Oh yeah, then there was, you could get a 215 card back then. I had to drive all the way to Ukiah, but you could get a doctor's recommendation.

Scott Hammond: Oh, yes.

Brett McFarland: And that was blowing my mind. I was like, "What?" 'Cause-

Scott Hammond: Legal

Brett McFarland: … yeah, because it was so… I think it's easy for people to forget how illegal it was, and it still is illegal, mind you. It just doesn't feel that way-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … 'cause it's kind of, it's state legal. But federally it's, nothing has changed.

Scott Hammond: Correct.

Brett McFarland: Not actually. And I mean, they're talking about moving it from a Schedule 1 to a Schedule 3, but that, you know, nothing has changed actually.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: So it is still, um, federally very much illegal, but-

Scott Hammond: So in Idaho, you get in a lot of trouble for having weed.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, you could somewhere-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Brett McFarland: … yeah, some state that it's not legal, you could-

Scott Hammond: You have to drive over to Ontario, Oregon to get all their weed and come back and so the, the dispensaries in Ontario are very successful.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. Yeah, there's a lot of that kind of stuff going on.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: But yeah, so I, I, you know, my, um… Yeah, my, my roommates, I remember seeing like a little, there was a little note on the fridge that just said, "Doctor," and it had a number, and I was like, "What's that?" Someone was like, "Oh, that's the-"

Scott Hammond: That's the guy

Brett McFarland: … "that's the doctor." You know? So I went and saw the doctor and, and, uh, um, and they wrote me a prescription, and all of a sudden I was like, "Oh wow, you can, this is, this feels, you know, legal."

Scott Hammond: Right.

Brett McFarland: And it was quasi-legal, you know?

Scott Hammond: What was your condition?

Brett McFarland: What was my condition? I would say, uh-

Brett McFarland: … there was a lot. You know, helped with anxiety.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Brett McFarland: Uh, helped with, helps with, uh, uh, a sleep aid.

Brett McFarland: Um-

Scott Hammond: All the things

Brett McFarland: … yeah, all the things.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, he came and hit my knee with one of those little rubber mallets and it-

Scott Hammond: Right

Brett McFarland: … I mean, they were write, they were writing very fast in their

Scott Hammond: I'm sure they were turning them out.

Brett McFarland: They were write, they were writing very fast. Um, they were asking questions quickly. But, uh, yeah, that was kinda, that was the s- that was the start for me, and I started to, um, yeah, see how it had helped certain people in my life. Like, there were certain people that, who were sick.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And it was really helpful to them. And, and, and I, I, uh, uh, yeah, I felt… Well, first I had, I had started to consume cannabis, you know, before this, and Where, in South Dakota where it was not, you know-

Scott Hammond: Super illegal

Brett McFarland: … yeah, you, it was a s- you had to keep, you had to keep it a secret, you know?

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: And like, and I had long hair and, and I had been, I had experienced being profiled, like I had been p- I'd s- I watched, I, like if you, you know, it's like you drive, a dude with long hair-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … like pull that mother, pull him over, you know?

Scott Hammond: Right, right.

Brett McFarland: Um, yeah, I remember getting searched, being frisked, having him touch-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Brett McFarland: … my pri- yeah, my privates and stuff.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: And you're like, "Whoa, that's kind of, that was-"

Scott Hammond: Just for weed.

Brett McFarland: Just for having long, no, for having long hair.

Scott Hammond: Oh, w- worse yet.

Brett McFarland: You know? Um, but that's what they were looking for. That's what they were looking. There's some people that had a real, that had, you know, something really, there still are people who, who are very afraid of

Brett McFarland: marijuana-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … and who are very afraid of it. And, and, you know, it's still, and I think it's, it's been part of the culture war for a long time.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: It's like, okay.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Brett McFarland: Uh, even though there's people on both sides that

Brett McFarland: partake.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Brett McFarland: It's, it's been, it's been fodder. Um, think that's changing. But, but yeah, I, I,

Brett McFarland: um, that's, that's, that was, that was, uh, that was the entry, you know? And, um,

Brett McFarland: yeah, flash forward, I, I, uh, uh, at one point, you know, it's like there were federal police here in town, you know, looking for people.

Brett McFarland: Um, I wasn't even one of them at the time when they came, but I soon became one of them as they, you know, as they're following a, their little c- cookie crumb trail. But, but, uh, the, my whole case started with one person getting pulled over with some cannabis that was not mine.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: Never said it was mine.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: But he told those authorities that two years prior, I had sold him two to four pounds of weed on two occasions.

Scott Hammond: What?

Brett McFarland: That's what the official police record says.

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Brett McFarland: And so they built this whole case that was a conspiracy case. And so the conspiracy is just people's, is like people pl- you know, the whole, you can do the whole thing with hearsay. So they never had any, they never had any plants. There was no, there was no drug bust. There was no wiretap.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: There was no, there was no pot from me. Um, there was really nothing other than, you know, someone's words, you know? And they started, and they started, and they put a lot of, they spent a lot of money and a lot of time-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … trying to, you know, find people who knew each other. And eventually they found, "Oh, someone who's, you know, was a trimmer," and I, you know, or this. Like, I, I remember lis- I listened to one of these. They let you, you know, you get, they call it the discovery. It's all the evidence they have against you.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And you're supposed to be able to, and they don't, you know, they're supposed to give it to you. And, and, um, um, I don't, they don't, sometimes they hold little bits back.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: Um, you know, they're smoking guns and stuff. But they, but anyway, I r- I listened to this one, for example, I listened to this one person and the, and the agent was asking him, "Oh yeah," and he said, "Oh, I visited Brett back in 2006 in Blue Lake."

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, uh, they said, and the officer said, "Well, did he have any marijuana growing there?" And this person said, "Yeah." And the officer said, "Well, how many plants?" He goes, "I don't know, maybe 20."

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And then I h- and then I heard the agent go, "And how big would you say those plants

Brett McFarland: were?"

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: "What do you think? About five pounds a piece?" And the person's like, "I, I, I don't know. I mean, I guess."

Scott Hammond: Five pounds a piece.

Brett McFarland: No, it was Blue Lake, man. Those things were like three ounces of moldy. You know? It was like, it was not-

Scott Hammond: Not happening.

Brett McFarland: No.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: No, but they wrote down 20 times five, there was 100 pounds of weed.

Scott Hammond: Crazy.

Brett McFarland: And so I got charged with conspiracy, you know, of, to distribute this amount of weed, and they basically made up this number. They said, "Well, you've been in Humboldt for nine years, and we think that you, you know, grew at, at least 20 plants every year."

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: "And we're gonna count all those up, and we think that's-"

Scott Hammond: Whoa.

Brett McFarland: So they came up with this number of 100 kilos, which is 220 pounds.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: Which, you know, they already had 100 pounds from that dude one year, five p- you

Brett McFarland: know?

Scott Hammond: Right.

Brett McFarland: And it was, so the whole thing was just like that, and I couldn't believe it. I could not believe that.

Scott Hammond: Were you alone in this? Were other, other people being charged with-

Brett McFarland: No, there was other people

Scott Hammond: … cra- craziness?

Brett McFarland: There was other people that were charged.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Brett McFarland: Um, yeah, there was other people.

Scott Hammond: Was this post-camp days? Was camp still alive?

Brett McFarland: They were d-

Brett McFarland: not really-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Brett McFarland: … as prevalent.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: I mean, people, they were still alive in people's minds.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Brett McFarland: It wasn't like it never went away. It hadn't gone away like now they've, now they're

Brett McFarland: gone.

Scott Hammond: They've gone, yeah.

Brett McFarland: But like-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Brett McFarland: … 'cause they would still fly, you know, whoever it was that was still had the money. And I think that actually camp was still flying. They just like, they didn't have a lot, a huge budget, so they would just do like-

Scott Hammond: Flybys

Brett McFarland: … well, or they'd go like, they had a couple weeks of worth of money, and they were gonna go hit it up right about now, you know?

Brett McFarland: And-

Scott Hammond: Right, right

Brett McFarland: … and go s- you know-

Scott Hammond: Scare some people in the-

Brett McFarland: Yeah

Scott Hammond: … in the harvest

Brett McFarland: … and get as much as they could.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: And that would be that, so.

Scott Hammond: So if you're just joining us, my, uh, new best friend, Brett McFarland, uh, talking about his life, uh, as a farmer and, um, and life at Humboldt, and, uh, life as a musician. I'm, I'm sure we're gonna get to that pretty quick. Um, but you did time in the meantime. So y- you did, you did go away, so they, they, they made their case and-

Brett McFarland: Yeah, so eventually, um, yeah, eventually it, it became clear to me that you can't win. The game is rigged, a- and you can't win if they, if they, you know, if they want you. They, all they need is a couple people, um, talking, and it's their word against yours.

Brett McFarland: And, and-

Scott Hammond: Crazy

Brett McFarland: … and, and the whole point is to try to get you to be one of those people talking. That's the thing. I was charged u- under mandatory minimum sentencing laws that were actually really ramped up during the Clinton administration. Um, not that they were the only ones that did it, but, you know, I, I think Reagan was kind of tough on dr- you know, wanted to be tough on crime and tough on drugs in particular.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Brett McFarland: And then, uh, uh, Clinton saw that as a winning,

Brett McFarland: you know-

Scott Hammond: Strategy

Brett McFarland: … strateg- yeah, so he started doing the same thing, and they were doing, that's when they were doing all that stop and frisk, you know, and all this kind of horrible things that so many people.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: But what happens, what a lot of people don't know is that with mandatory minimum sentencing laws, the, the power has been taken away from our judges, and it's been given to prosecutors.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: And the judge is non-biased, so You know, I'd like to see them have the power

Brett McFarland: personally.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Brett McFarland: But they've given the power to the, the, the, the district attorneys and what they do with that power. And mind you, this is only at the federal level. States, this case would have never flown in the state. You would have needed like some other evidence.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: States, states would not allow it because there's too, it's too risky. If it's just somebody's word, it's like-

Scott Hammond: No

Brett McFarland: … and especially if they're being rewarded, and that's the whole thing. But that's, that's what they do is they, they use, they use, the DAs will use this as leverage to get people to snitch on each other-

Scott Hammond: Interesting

Brett McFarland: … and tell on each other, to rat.

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Brett McFarland: And, um-

Scott Hammond: With the hopes of a really, really big bust.

Brett McFarland: Well, or just like, or just keeping the game going, keeping the party going, you

Brett McFarland: know?

Scott Hammond: Right.

Brett McFarland: Getting more, you know, 'cause they got-

Scott Hammond: Crazy

Brett McFarland: … they got money. They took, they took property, they took land, they took all kinds of… There was forfeitures that happened, you know, so they, and they got to fly, joyride around in helicopters and do all kinds of stuff and, and-

Scott Hammond: The sheriff told me that he said, "There's 4,000 grows today, Scott, and if we get 40 of them, we'll be lucky." And it was just so, so

Scott Hammond: prevalent.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: It's like-

Brett McFarland: When was that?

Scott Hammond: Um, 15, 20 years ago.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, 'cause I don't think there's that many no more.

Scott Hammond: No, no, no.

Brett McFarland: They're gone.

Scott Hammond: No, boom and bust, right?

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: We'll talk about that too. I would love, love to talk about the current state. So, so you did federal time then?

Brett McFarland: Yeah, I got a, I got a five-year sentence.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: Um, and, uh, and I did almost four years.

Scott Hammond: Rad. Okay. Where, where'd you… Here in the state?

Brett McFarland: I, I, uh, I was in Herlong, which is outside Susanville, for a while, and then I ended up in, in Sh- in Sheridan, Oregon, which is just south of Portland.

Scott Hammond: Right, right, right. Okay. And that was, uh… How was that experience? Hey, how was prison, Brett?

Brett McFarland: Man, um, yeah, it was awful.

Scott Hammond: Bet.

Brett McFarland: Like, the whole, the whole thing leading up to it was, was pretty awful.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And then, I mean, you know, you learn… S- And, you know, in time it was bearable. You know, in time I, I claimed it, but to be held against your will, separated from your family. I mean, I lost loved ones during that time. I was unable to go grie- You know, I lost my grandpa, I lost my uncle. I could not go be at those funerals. I had cousins get married. There were babies born. I was separated from my wife. I was separated from this community that I love.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Brett McFarland: You know, I was separated and, and they made it real clear before I went that if I would, you know, if I would tell on, uh, then I wouldn't have to do that time, you know?

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And, and, and I just thought the whole thing was so… It just was, this did not sit right with me. I just didn't feel like that's, that's not, this doesn't look like justice to me.

Scott Hammond: Not at all.

Brett McFarland: And, and then once you're in, you know, on the inside, the, there's like, it- there's something, there's a lot, there's a dehumanizing about the whole thing.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, yeah, there's this, there's this kind of bureaucratic indifference from, from the

Brett McFarland: guards and-

Scott Hammond: Mm

Brett McFarland: … from all the people that work there, where it's just like, you know? It's, it's, uh,

Brett McFarland: yeah.

Scott Hammond: Another broken system. I'm, you know, here's what I'm hearing. This is, this will be weird maybe to hear or not. So last night, uh, we have a home group where we gather with friends and Pastor Bethany and Jason from Catalyst Church next door to the co-op, and we were studying, uh, Genesis 37. Everybody read a passage, and it's all about the life of Joseph, how his brothers pretty much narced him out and, and threw him in a pit. He got slaved. He got, he went to Egypt, and he did time. Actually, and then he got, he, he actually got accused falsely of, of trying to grab, uh, Potiphar's wife. He didn't, and the record shows that he was, you know, put in prison unjustly, but he came out, and it's this arc, this story arc that's beautiful, and it's kinda like yours. I'm gonna jump out there and say that because he, it, it was a story of redemption, how he came through this in this really beautiful way and really saved Egypt's ass because he could interpret

Scott Hammond: dreams. Um, you know, and it was, it was really artful in the way that he did it 'cause they were gonna have seven years of famine, seven years of plenty, seven years of famine. Uh, the pharaoh goes, "Here's, here's, here's my scepter. Here's my ring. Make it happen, man." And he did, and he saved millions of people. And, and so the story goes on of this, this life of brokenness and redemption that comes back, and I kinda, I'm, I'm gonna jump out and say I see some of that in you and admire that, and it's cool. Anyway, so please be encouraged. Um, so, so tell us more. So you got out, and were you playing music in, in, uh, in prison?

Brett McFarland: Yeah, I played, I played music.

Brett McFarland: Uh, I actually started playing music right before I went. I mean, I, I've, I played music for a long time.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: But I started playing music in the community right before I left. I was, I had already been charged. I hadn't been sentenced, and I was like, I was, it was, there was like this kind of year in limbo.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: And I started playing music and more and more, and, and then I, when I went in, um, like my first, my first experience in there within hours, I, you know, it's like they… Yeah, it's very, it was very surreal. I went, I, I went behind, you know, all the security, and it's like I was in… And I was in a prison where I, I, I, I ended up, that's not where I was gonna spend my time, but I was, but it was part of the experience. You know, it's like you go to different facilities. So the facility I was in was, was a, was a more heavy duty security

Brett McFarland: prison and-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … and, um, just that feeling of being behind all this, just all

Brett McFarland: this-

Scott Hammond: Weird

Brett McFarland: … you know, um, security.

Scott Hammond: This is Susanville now?

Brett McFarland: This was, this was in Herlong, yeah, outside Susanville.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And anyway, they, you know, they strip you naked and literally take everything away from you. You have nothing, you know? And they, and, and that is sort of… And they, I mean, you, and you have somebody else telling you, like, that they're gonna look at your private parts and this kind of te- giving you orders or how, you know.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: Bend over, cough, all this kinda shit where it's like-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … I'm, I re- I appreciate autonomy over my… You know what I mean?

Scott Hammond: Right.

Brett McFarland: I wouldn't be s- but I know I, I have to comply, you know what I mean? I know that not complying is gonna be- So there was a lot. There was– That was challenging, but, but, you know, eventually it's like you– they throw you this, like, little, you know, prison outfit, and, and, uh, next thing I know, I'm just like, "I'm alone in this-

Scott Hammond: Huh

Brett McFarland: … st- all s- all cement cell."

Scott Hammond: Mm.

Brett McFarland: Cement bunk, just cement, you know?

Brett McFarland: And, uh, and I was sitting in there, and, and I started humming.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: And the reverb in this thing was like-

Scott Hammond: Huh

Brett McFarland: … it was tremendous, and I could just– And I started just singing in there. It was like, "Whoa, this was just…" You know, and that was really the start of music being a healing force while incarcerated. It was right th- it was right then.

Scott Hammond: Beautiful.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, and it, over time, it grew. You know, we had, we had access to some… They were pretty janky. I'm not gonna… I don't wanna, like, overplay this but I will put in quotation marks, "We had access to some guitars."

Scott Hammond: Right.

Brett McFarland: You know, that were, like, kind of patched together by inmates, and a lot of times, you know, it's like we didn't really have the right s- you know, we n- we were like, we'd be lucky if we had electric guitar strings for an acoustic that were three years old, and, like, they did not get changed unless they got broke, because-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … you couldn't really… The institution, it kinda was putting a crackdown on getting guitar strings 'cause there were some folks that were using them for tattoo guns, and they were-

Scott Hammond: Crazy stuff, yeah.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. So anyway, um, but we did ha- I did, I was able to play music for the guys in there, and, and-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … there was a lot of magical, special moments that, that were made-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Brett McFarland: … um, just playing for, just playing, whether it was, like, you know, after, after hours, you know. It's like there's, like the yard would be open, and, and the, most of the staff would be gone, and, like, we could… Sometimes we'd sneak a guitar back into the unit and do a play-

Scott Hammond: Jam.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, a jam, do some play for, play for, play for the guys, you know? And, uh, um-

Scott Hammond: That's really– I like that.

Scott Hammond: That's cool.

Brett McFarland: And that's where, that's where, that's where, like, some of the music from, on the Humboldt album came from that, and I actually have a, I have a bunch more music that I look forward to releasing, uh, on my upcoming album, Free the Hustle, that, that, that is really about that. And I, I, um… Yeah, musically, I, I, there's a lot that I, there's a lot of places I wanna go. There's a lot I, I, I aspire to do.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: But, you know, and in some ways, I would love to be just going forward, but I need to go back and, and, and, and dig up, you know, some of those songs and the feelings and, and, and, uh… Yeah, it's… I just know it's like that's, that's-

Scott Hammond: The journey.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: That's what's next.

Scott Hammond: So if you're just joining us, uh, Brett McFarland, new best friend and masterful, uh, Humboldt musician. Is outlaw country, is that fair?

Scott Hammond: Is that-

Brett McFarland: Yeah, that's fair

Scott Hammond: … you go with that, and do you-

Brett McFarland: Yeah, that's u-

Scott Hammond: Do you buy that?

Brett McFarland: That's u- I mean, it's like-

Scott Hammond: I don't wanna categorize too much, but…

Brett McFarland: Well, the thing about outlaw country is the, it's, it changes, you know? Like, what that is, part, you know, it's like it's not conforming to whatever the mainstream is.

Scott Hammond: So it could be anything. It could be pretty wild stuff.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, I mean, if you looked at, I mean, Wi- for example, you know, you look at Willie or, you know, Waylon and… But, like, even look at Willie. Like, he, he was outlaw country, but,

Brett McFarland: you know, he is outlaw country, but he's play- man, he's playing with Ray Charles. He's playing with Snoop Dogg. He's playing with-

Scott Hammond: Snoop Dogg

Brett McFarland: … you know what I mean? It's like, he's like, it's, it- it's not confined. It's not so confined.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: You know? I think the part that's important is the authenticity.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Yeah.

Brett McFarland: You know, you're not just writing, like, what's gonna sound good. It's, it has to be something that is meaningful, you know? That's true.

Scott Hammond: I think we hear a lot of that from you, for sure. Um, so, so tell me, uh, getting out, um, coming back into society, and then getting into the music piece and then farming again. Te- tell us a little bit more about all, all that part of the story

Scott Hammond: arc.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, so

Brett McFarland: I, while, while I was in, first of all, I went through a transformation during the time, during the years I was in. When I first, my f- when I first arrived-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … I, I was grief-stricken. I had a lot of-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … anger and resentment towards the government, towards the snitches, towards the police officers-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … that were, that, some of the agents and, you know. There was, when they came to my house, and I, this might've been the local boys, by the way. I don't know, you know? But somebody, when they came to my house, I was not there. They, where they thought was my house, they kicked in the door. It was re- it rented out. There was, there was, there was, like, f- four or five 20-year-old, you know, mid, early 20s, mid-20s young women in the house.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: And the stories they told me were horrifying, but one of the stories that they told me was that some of the police that came in had, um, matching p- patches with middle fingers on it that said, "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you." Like, I-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Brett McFarland: … and I don't know if that was our local… I hope it wasn't. I-

Scott Hammond: That's weird

Brett McFarland: … I ki- but that, I just, it seemed really disrespectful-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … to, like, if you're the law enforcement to have a matching patch that says, "F

Brett McFarland: you, F you."

Scott Hammond: Who's got that patch? Yeah.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, but they did, and those, so the women, the women told me they were shocked. They literally kicked in, they, like, they kicked, like, actually kicked in doors-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … which was unnecessary. You know, they broke doors in the house. But one of the women had cancer, and they pulled her out in her underwear outside in the morning-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … and for quite a while, and then she, you know, and then they used, like, an assault weapon to, like, peel back the covers on her bed for some reason.

Scott Hammond: Weird.

Brett McFarland: It's just kinda stuff like that where it was like-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … you know, and this is the… And I, I, I think there's a lot of tremendous law enforcement that do a really good job and who have integrity and who are kind and respectful and-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … like, serve and protect. But stuff like that, it does happen, and it gives, it kinda gives, you know, it's like it… 'Cause, you know, like, even my dad, when he, when he went and talked to the, he actually talked to one of the agents involved that was from back, and he goes, "You know," 'cause my dad's an Army guy, and he goes, "If you did one shred of recon, you would've known you had some peace, love, and pot-smoking hippies on your hand. You didn't have to come in with all this force and all this," you know what I mean?

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, I remember that y- young woman who had cancer, she told me, she goes, "Man, I, I said, 'Brett, but he better have-" He better hurt, he better have killed somebody. That's what she said.

Scott Hammond: Oh.

Brett McFarland: For them to come in and act like this.

Scott Hammond: That act of force.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: Like, just like, it was just-

Scott Hammond: Awesome

Brett McFarland: … totally unnecessary.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: You know, just like, just be res- just, you know, everybody was cooperating. Everybody was, you know, we'd be kind. But when you-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … yeah, I think the, I think, like I said, the patches with a middle finger that said F you.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: So that was kind of that start. This is this trauma. It was scary. There was assault weapons pointed.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Brett McFarland: You know what I mean? Like, so that was the start of that pain and that grief was feeling this, like, uh, kinda like-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … almost like a over, overkill of force

Brett McFarland: and, um, and then, uh, uh, uh, uh, and then, and then everything that happened in incarceration. So I had a lot of resentments

Brett McFarland: and-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … I saw people that had been doing a lot of time that also had those resentments,

Brett McFarland: and I could see how, like, bitter they were.

Scott Hammond: Mm.

Brett McFarland: And I'm like, "Man, I don't wanna be like that."

Scott Hammond: Not that guy. No way.

Brett McFarland: I don't wanna end up like that.

Brett McFarland: Like-

Scott Hammond: Gross. Yeah

Brett McFarland: … yeah, it's like he's stewing in that hatred and that-

Scott Hammond: Root of bitterness, man.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. So that, that was, you know, I started… There was a, there was these inmate-run classes of, of… First, I went to, like, a yoga class, and then it w- there was this, there was a mystery school in prison that I went to. They did, they did yoga, metaphysics, or the yoga, meditation, and metaphysics, and I started going to these classes, and they actually really… You know, I had a lot of resistance to them 'cause I, you know, some, for a while, I'm like, "This is just, like, some hocus… This is, like, some new age fucking woo-woo shit."

Scott Hammond: Hippie, hippie crap.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, hippie crap. I'm like… But I'm like, "Oh, man." I, but I sat with that. I sat with, with everything that they were sharing with us

Brett McFarland: and, um, I felt my heart soften. I felt healing happen as we did. Like, we did-

Scott Hammond: Nice

Brett McFarland: … we did different, you know, we did, uh, uh, we did different meditations that were, that were, and, and prayers that were w- that were working on healing and forgiving. Like, we, I remember working with this Hawaiian healing prayer called Ho'oponopono.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And it's taking responsibility for everything in the world, like even all the things that you don't like to see.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, uh, um, yeah. And so I would think about those people that I had that anger towards, and I would say this prayer, and it would just, it goes like this:

Brett McFarland: "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you."

Scott Hammond: Whoa.

Brett McFarland: "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.

Brett McFarland: I love you." And actually, when I first started saying that one, actually, I said, "I forgive you," but that's not the prayer.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: It's not to forgive somebody else.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: It's taken r- it's, it's, it's, uh, um, yeah, it's hard, it's, you know, to say sorry to someone who you think did you

Brett McFarland: wrong.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: You know, that's not-

Scott Hammond: Flipping that script.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. You're like, "Wait a minute. They should be telling me."

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: You know, some of these people sold my freedom, and they kept their own. They're over there comfortable.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Brett McFarland: I'm on a steel bunk with fluorescent lights that never turn off for years.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, so that was, but that was, that was a big, that was, that was, that was the, that was the journey. It started the, the, the, the healing and the, and the, and the self-inquiry and self-exploration, and even the manifestation practices that, that I developed in the mystery school in prison are what led me to be sitting here with you today and what led to all that

Brett McFarland: music.

Scott Hammond: Oof.

Brett McFarland: Because, uh, uh, uh, yeah, I know without it, it would've, it would've never happened.

Scott Hammond: Right on. Did the work, man.

Scott Hammond: Forgave him. It's, it's so power… Forgiveness is pretty powerful, man, and it's hard.

Scott Hammond: And-

Brett McFarland: Yeah, and you can think you've done it, and then you end up going like, "Oh."

Scott Hammond: Ah.

Brett McFarland: "I still got resentment."

Scott Hammond: Oh, yeah.

Brett McFarland: "Turns out I'm still bitter." You know, I actually, I, one of the, one of the people that told on me, I used to, like, think that I would see them in

Brett McFarland: town. When I came home, I would, like, see somebody, and I would, like, like, the backs of their head, and I'd, like, run over to them and, like, I, if I was driving, I

Brett McFarland: would… And one day, actually, I got off w- I got off, when I finally had gotten off of probation, we went, my, my wife and I, we went to Mexico, and we spent, like, a month down there.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: And on our, on our, uh, or a couple weeks, I don't know. It was a, it was a longer trip. But on our last day there, sitting there on the beach, and I hear somebody say my name, and I look up.

Scott Hammond: No way.

Brett McFarland: And there he is.

Scott Hammond: On the beach.

Brett McFarland: Walking up to me in Mexico, walking. If my wife hadn't been there, I'd think this was, you know… But it, but, um, yeah, he came up to me, and he was like, "Hey, how are you doing?" You know what I mean? And I'm like-

Scott Hammond: Whoa

Brett McFarland: … "Man." And I, I, uh-

Scott Hammond: How'd you do?

Brett McFarland: Well, he spoke Spanish, and I spoke Spanish, so I talked to him in Spanish.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: But, but what I told him more or less was like, "Wow."

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: "I can't tell you how many days I thought about what I would say-

Scott Hammond: I bet

Brett McFarland: … what I would do if I ever saw you again."

Scott Hammond: And random in Mexico.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Nothing random about it. Providential.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. I'm like, "Every… When I went to sleep on a steel bunk-"

Scott Hammond: Whoa

Brett McFarland: … "knowing that you were out there."

Brett McFarland: And, uh, um,

Brett McFarland: and, uh, uh, and I told him, and, but I t- I t- I actually, I actually, I

Brett McFarland: actually recited that prayer to him. I just looked at him.

Scott Hammond: Atta boy. Good job.

Brett McFarland: And then, and then I told him, and I said, "And that, now that being said," I go, "I have nothing else I ever need to say to you in my life." I'm like, "We have, we have nothing to talk about."

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: And I watched his face go from,

Brett McFarland: from, like, excitement and curiosity-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … to, to anger.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: And he started telling me, he's like, "Oh, you have no idea," you know?

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: "What," you know, he told me that it, and how stressful it was, and he had gotten… He, he was a Canadian citizen, and he had been deported, and his, and his, um-

Brett McFarland: Uh, uh, uh, you know, his mother died during this whole process, and he's sh- and I, and I said, "Yeah." You know, I listened to him. I just let him-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … say his piece, but-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … I told him, I go, "Well," I go, "Yeah, it sounds like, yeah, you, you know, you also went through a lot."

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: I go, "But we had decisions– we kind of made a– we had to s- we were faced with the same

Brett McFarland: situation-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … and we chose to do things differently."

Scott Hammond: Hmm. Yeah. Consequences.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. Like, so-

Scott Hammond: Good story.

Brett McFarland: It was, it was kind of, uh, uh, and it was insane when it happened. I, like, couldn't, I could not believe that, that-

Scott Hammond: The random beach

Brett McFarland: It was, like, of all the people in the world, you know. What's our, what time is it?

Scott Hammond: We got, uh, we, we're good. We've got about, uh, six minutes till 5:00, so we-we're, we're cool on time. Um, so, so let's talk about the music business. So you s- came back and kind of launched into th-this chapter.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, I came home and, um, I basically was just hustling to try to put my life back together. Things had kind of deteriorated in a certain area. Just when ne- there was just-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … I was gone, man. I was gone.

Scott Hammond: You're not there

Brett McFarland: You know? And my, my wife did a wonderful job of holding things together, but-

Scott Hammond: What a saint. Yeah, amazing

Brett McFarland: … but it was not easy, and there was a lot that, you know, got did, to just kind of was left undone. And, and, and so I just was hustling-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … you know, really for years.

Brett McFarland: Um, and I had that h- intention to share music because I'd seen how powerful it was and how it uplifted-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … so many people. And I just, when I got home, I just kept s- you know, it was always like, "Well, maybe next year, maybe next year, maybe next year."

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And years were going o-on. And, and, uh, uh, yeah, it was, it was too,

Brett McFarland: it was too–

Brett McFarland: The music was just touching something that was so raw, which was all of that grief and all of that, that suffering. Even though, even songs that are playful, you know what I mean? Even, even songs that, that, that have a sweetness to them, you know, they still can touch that place.

Brett McFarland: And yeah, I just, I d- I think I just, like, in a lot of ways, I wasn't, I was not ready to go there. And, and, uh, uh, it really was not until just a few years ago

Brett McFarland: that things kind of came to a head.

Brett McFarland: And I, uh, you know, there was, there was a, there was a day in particular where I, you know, as, as, as, you know, as, as you know, I've– w- we f- I've– we farm over in Blue Lake, and so we, we, we raise grass-fed beef, but we also raise a lot of apples.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Brett McFarland: And we make s- and we make cider. And anyway, I'd been having these issues with this bear that just kept getting in the orchard. And we have electric wire, but this part- and usually it's like bear gets in, you fi- you know, your system's down, you figure it out, you get it patched up, and, like, you know, uh, we've never had to resort to any kind of lethal measures.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: But this particular summer, this bear was like, it was like a ghost. It just kept showing up, and it was just-

Scott Hammond: Tearing it up

Brett McFarland: … it was destroying the place.

Brett McFarland: And, and-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … um, I would get every, you know, I'd stay up till midnight, get the fence patched, and then I would c- and then it would be good for a few weeks or a few days, and then it would be back.

Brett McFarland: And, and I remember being really angry, you know, or like sh- like shouting at God and stuff. Like, "Ahhh!" You know, when you go there and see-

Scott Hammond: The bear.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, when I'd see the, like, that it-

Scott Hammond: Who created this bear?

Brett McFarland: … that it made it back in. And so anyway, I actually, I had, I had finally, I'd gotten ahold of the, the, the trapper and, and he came over and set this culvert trap for the bear. And, and I was doing paperwork, and I looked over, and I could see my wife. She was, like, pacing.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: I knew something was wrong.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: She was, like, pacing. I stopped what I was doing. I go check in with her. I'm like, "Hey, honey, what's going on?" She's like, she's like, "No, yes, you're in. Just finish up with what you gotta do," you know.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And, and then, um, then I saw someone come, and, and the, this, this person that would help us with our, the childcare, and they came in, in the mornings, but they came and picked our daughter up, and we're like, "Bye." And all of a sudden, like, our daughter's gone. And it was, this was the day before my wife and I's ninth-year wedding anniversary, and we'd, like, we'd been through so much, you

Brett McFarland: know. And, but, uh, you know, I finished up with that paperwork, and, uh, um, and, uh, I went and sat down with my wife. And out, out, we were sitting outside in the, in the, in the yard, and she was just

Brett McFarland: like, "Hey."

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: "I'm done. I want a divorce.

Brett McFarland: I'm-

Scott Hammond: Whoa

Brett McFarland: … I'm out."

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: And I was like, "Whoa. Um, I, I r-," you know, I was like, "I really wanna work on this." And she's like, "I don't."

Scott Hammond: Whoa.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: And she left. And that night, I kind of went to the dark side, you know. I started thinking really dark thoughts, and I was like… And it was very-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … ironic in a way because we had just had Discovery Channel out to our house with their, their whole film crew, with Magnolia and HBO and all these people, with The Craftsman. We were a guest on, I don't know if you know that show, The Craftsman

Brett McFarland: with-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Brett McFarland: … with Blue Ox Mills. But they-

Scott Hammond: Sure. Had Eric on the show.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. So we were a gue-

Scott Hammond: Great guy

Brett McFarland: … we were a guest on that show. So we had just– So the point is, like, life's picture perfect on the

Brett McFarland: outside.

Scott Hammond: Right.

Brett McFarland: But on the inside, it's fucking falling apart, you know.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: And I had been doing so much work for so much, so many years to put things together, and, and it got a lot of external validation from people like, "Oh, yeah, it looks like, wow, you came home and you're doing good," you know.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And, but there was some, you know, there was some things, and that next day when I woke up, it was like wax or something like, you know, had fallen out of my ears, and all of a sudden I could hear all these things that people have been trying to tell me, especially that my wife had been telling me for years.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: Like she'd been saying, "You're different-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … since you came home."

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: And not since I left. She knew me. She used to come, you know, we were, we maintained contact, you know, whether it was through writing or phone calls or visitations throughout the time. So she's not saying, "You're different since you left." She goes, "You're different since you came home." And-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: I was, the truth is, I was on edge. I was more on edge after I came home.

Brett McFarland: And so I was just like, you know, I was– I, I thought I was fine, you know. I'm like, "Whatever. I'll just grin, I'll just grit and bear it," you know? It's like, but, um, yeah, I was quicker to be– I was quicker to frustration, I was quicker to, you know, anger.

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: And she wasn't liking it. She was like-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … she, and she knew me before all this too, so she's like, "Mm, this isn't who you are."

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: And regardless, I– she's like, "I'm not with it. I'm not down." "You know, I'm not hanging out for this."

Scott Hammond: Further, furthermore.

Brett McFarland: And she had been telling– she had been years trying to figure out how to get through to me-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … you know, about, about changing our relationship dynamic and, and, um, yeah, I found her that next day and I'm like, "Hey, oh my God, I freaking, I…

Brett McFarland: And, and I, I think I hear what you've been trying to tell me all this time." She'd been wanting me to go talk to somebody.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And I'm like, "You know, therapy's great."

Scott Hammond: Yeah, for other people.

Brett McFarland: For other people. Man, I, I'm good.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: I've got my men's group. I'm good.

Brett McFarland: I, I, I, I don't need that.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, um,

Brett McFarland: and, uh… And like we'd even done a, some couples counseling one time and like, man, it feel like, it felt like it was like aggravating. It was like, "Wait, I thought that we had dealt with this." You know, just anyway, I, I…

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: But now I was ready.

Scott Hammond: Yes, you were.

Brett McFarland: I'm like, I had the, the, the fear that I felt

Brett McFarland: when I saw my daughter leave and when I saw my, how that, that could go, you know, it's like, was greater than my fear of therapy or my fear of, of, of whatever, you know? And I was just ready. So I found, I found her. Somehow I was able to found, I found Julia and I, and I told her, I'm like, "Hey, I've, I heard you."

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: I'm like, "I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm ready to talk to someone." And she's like, "Good, you're fucked up." She's like, "You need to talk to somebody, good."

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: She's like, "But I'm not sticking around. Well, you've sort, you're a mess. No, I'm not, I'm not sticking around."

Scott Hammond: Hon-honesty.

Brett McFarland: She's like, "I am not," you know?

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: And, um, that was really, really hard to hear, and it was really scary and really sad. I remember feeling at that time like, "Oh my God," I was like, "Here's another thing I lost to-"

Scott Hammond: Mm.

Brett McFarland: "… this whole war on drugs, to this whole, you know-"

Scott Hammond: Mm.

Brett McFarland: "… to the feds and all this stuff." Like, wow. 'Cause I knew it was tied to that whole thing, and it was like I, I'd been home for, you know, year, at this point, years, and this is what, you know, was the precipitating. But

Brett McFarland: I, I had been part of this restorative justice court up in Oregon that's actually, that was actually working to help people, like, who've been incarcerated. And I say actually because most of the things that I saw were not designed to help people. They were designed to-

Scott Hammond: Sure

Brett McFarland: … punish people, and oftentimes they come out worse than they

Brett McFarland: went in and-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … become repeat offenders because it's, it's so messed up that it messes people up, so they're gonna-

Scott Hammond: Break.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. So, um, but I, I called this, I called these people at this re-entry court and I'm like, "I need to talk to somebody," and they started, and they found, they just found resources for me.

Brett McFarland: You know?

Scott Hammond: Nice.

Brett McFarland: They were just like, they were, I mean, this, there, there were like, they were very helpful during that time, you know.

Brett McFarland: And

Brett McFarland: I, uh, um, I just basically, I basically was able to… You know, I got, I got clear with Julia what she needed, and we separated for a little while.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: I'm like, "I moved out." She was gonna move out. I'm like, "Let me, let me move out," and I did. But I came, I just made sure to keep showing up to see Amelia when I was, or to see my daughter and, and, and, um-

Scott Hammond: Beautiful

Brett McFarland: … and chop the wood.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: Carry the water. Take out the trash.

Scott Hammond: Do the chores.

Brett McFarland: Do the chores.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: Be Humboldt. Keep your head, keep your head down.

Scott Hammond: It's a good plan.

Brett McFarland: And it seemed like it was forever. It really was, it really didn't go on that long, I think. But, uh, um, it seemed like forever. But finally, at one point, Julia said, "Well, you know, my heart's still like, it's kinda like clo- Like I'm, like I'm still not in love with you, but you can sleep on the couch." And I'm like, "I'll take it," you know?

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Go ahead.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. And so but what happened through this process was that I did start talking to someone, and I started working on I, healing, and I figured out I was in a trauma response. I was in a fight or flight response, and I, I, me, I'm not a fighter, so I would just fight it out. And I was work- I was working a lot of hours and-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … just trying to, trying to provide for my family, thinking I was doing a good job providing, and I did. I was providing for them materially very well, but emotionally I wasn't available. My wife needed to be able to talk to me about stuff that she

Brett McFarland: didn't know-

Scott Hammond: Like our, like our fathers before us and grandfathers.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: The workaholic m- model.

Brett McFarland: Yep. Yep.

Scott Hammond: Doesn't work.

Brett McFarland: So, so yeah, that's what, that's what I, that's what I was doing. And through this process of, of going and, and, and working on

Brett McFarland: myself,

Brett McFarland: um, I, I, this, this, this therapist that I was talking to, after like a year when we kinda, you know, we started off with incarceration and relationship, and then we wanna talk about childhood. After a year, I felt like it was just like we're just hanging out in the present, and I, and I told her one day, I said, "Hey, you know, there's something I'm really messed up about." She's like, "What's that?" I told her, "Well, music."

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: She goes, "Well, what are you messed up about?" I'm like, "Well, I wanna be doing

Brett McFarland: it-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … but I'm not doing it."

Scott Hammond: Hmm.

Brett McFarland: And she's like, "Well, why aren't you doing it?" And, and I said, "Well…" She goes, "Surely you could find some time." And my wife had hit me with the same thing. "Oh, if you want, surely you could find 10 minutes a week or something."

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Brett McFarland: I'm like, "No, no, I wanna be performing music and, and, and, and, and for the community, and I, I need to, I know I need to be able to, like, practice-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … um, to be at a certain level, to be where I could do that."

Scott Hammond: Right.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, she goes She goes, "It sounds like you're afraid to make a m- she sounds like you're afraid to make a mistake."

Scott Hammond: Whoa.

Brett McFarland: And I'm like, "Yeah, I just told you that."

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: Like-

Scott Hammond: She knows you.

Brett McFarland: I'm like, "I just told you, I could listen, I could play that, I could listen if I wanted to hear myself talk, I would just play… I could just record myself and play it back." But, so I was kind of a little, I was like ticked off about her, her response, but I thought about it for a week, and I thought about, "Okay, yeah. Okay, so I'm afraid to make a mistake."

Brett McFarland: And, and, and so, and I, but then I just got curious. I'm like, "I wonder what's under that?" And then I realized-

Scott Hammond: Nice

Brett McFarland: … some part of me did not think I was good enough.

Scott Hammond: Ah. I'm not enough.

Brett McFarland: I'm not good enough.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: And it, it was not a conscious thought.

Scott Hammond: No, no, that's counseling right there.

Brett McFarland: It was like, it was, it was subconscious. As soon as I could s- realize it consciously, I'm like-

Scott Hammond: Get it out on the table

Brett McFarland: … "I'm good enough to do something I love." Like I, you know what? I might make a mistake-

Scott Hammond: Right

Brett McFarland: … on the guitar. I might sing a wrong note. I might do those things. I might.

Brett McFarland: But

Brett McFarland: I love music, and I love to sing, and I love-

Scott Hammond: Yes

Brett McFarland: … to create, and I'm gonna give it my best. I'm gonna do that for me, and if other people like it, great.

Scott Hammond: Come on. Preach it.

Brett McFarland: But I'm gonna do this. And, and so I, as soon as that happened-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … I booked tickets to go see Willie Nelson.

Scott Hammond: Sweet.

Brett McFarland: And I went to go see Willie. On my way back, this was like just, this was like only two years ago, just about, maybe a little more than that. But, um, on my way back, I, uh, uh,

Brett McFarland: uh, uh, yeah, I remember, I remember telling Julia like, "Oh, I'm gonna play music next year in 2024." You know? And, uh, and, and, uh-

Scott Hammond: Not that long ago.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Yeah, really.

Brett McFarland: It was April.

Scott Hammond: Yeah.

Brett McFarland: So of like '23, I think this was, so…

Brett McFarland: And-

Scott Hammond: So you're in the middle of '25 here. That's crazy.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: That's really recent.

Brett McFarland: I c- I s- I woke up the next day, I'm like, "No, not next year. Today." So I started playing music. I just started playing my guitar again.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And then I, I made an Instagram account, which was weird. I'm like, "I don't really do social media." You know, I didn't have… Um, and like, you know? But I did that, and then-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … I m- like I made a few posts, and then, and then one of my musical heroes who,

Brett McFarland: uh, somebody I really looked up to, he contacted me.

Scott Hammond: Really?

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Brett McFarland: He's a, he's a, he's a legendary blues musician who sometimes comes to Humboldt. His name's Earl Thomas. In fact, Earl Thomas, listeners, Earl Thomas is gonna be-

Scott Hammond: Saturday night

Brett McFarland: … he's gonna be, he's gonna be playing this Saturday.

Scott Hammond: At the Playhouse in Arcata.

Brett McFarland: Yes, he's gonna be out at the Playhouse this Saturday with-

Scott Hammond: You heard it here first

Brett McFarland: … Anthony Cullen's band, and they are

Brett McFarland: so good.

Scott Hammond: Really?

Brett McFarland: Oh, yeah. Anthony and his band are phenomenal. And, and, and Earl-

Scott Hammond: Is, is Earl from Humboldt?

Brett McFarland: He went to school here.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Brett McFarland: But Earl, Earl, like a long… You know, he, he got a r- when he went to school, he did, he would, he did like their thesis or whatever, or whatever their senior

Brett McFarland: project was.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: They made a record, and they s- it was a demo, and they sent it off, and he got signed by Frank Zappa.

Scott Hammond: Go figure.

Brett McFarland: And he went and, you know, he toured with Etta James and like-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Brett McFarland: … he's, he's, he's, he's done some incredible stuff.

Brett McFarland: And-

Scott Hammond: You know that the, the Stones and the Beatles, when they visited L- LA, they'd go to

Scott Hammond: see Frank? Frank was a, was an obligatory stop.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: 'Cause he was geni- genius, I guess.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: Well-

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, that's, that's, that, that was, that was an incredible r- I had already chosen myself, but that was an incredible way for the universe all of a sudden, you know, to feel like that-

Scott Hammond: And he reaffirmed what you were doing.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, it was like, whoa.

Scott Hammond: That's cool.

Brett McFarland: You know, 'cause, because, um, yeah, Earl was, you know, he was on the other side, you

Brett McFarland: know?

Scott Hammond: Right.

Brett McFarland: So it seemed, you know, or so I had maybe pr- previously thought. But yeah, he asked me to, he asked me to do a show with him. I hadn't played in Humboldt. That was my first time playing in Humboldt, you know-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Brett McFarland: … in a long time. And I, and that was the first time I, I ever played the song "Humboldt." I played that and a couple

Brett McFarland: others-

Scott Hammond: Beautiful

Brett McFarland: … at Hum Brews. I opened for him. I came out with my acoustic guitar, and the crowd was, it was wild. It was a wild experience, and it was, it was… I remember I didn't sleep for like two days.

Scott Hammond: Humboldt, Hum Brews, man.

Brett McFarland: Oh, I did two shows with Earl. I did a show in Trinidad or like a private event th- and then, and then we did, uh,

Brett McFarland: um, and then we did, uh, uh, uh, yeah, then we did Hum Brews. And, um, and then, yeah, after that, I kinda started to like post. I made a YouTube channel. I started to post like… Actually, I think the first video I posted on YouTube was, is from that show

Brett McFarland: with Earl.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And then, uh, um, and then, you know, so that's, that was, that's moving towards, that was like the, that was like the fall of t- 2023. And then last year-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … uh, in 2024, in February-

Scott Hammond: Saw you at the cider place at, uh, Wrangletown.

Brett McFarland: Oh, yeah, I played… I, yeah, I think I-

Scott Hammond: That was fun

Brett McFarland: … I played there in December. That was the, that was the first time I played with a band, and it was, we were just a three-piece.

Scott Hammond: You guys were great.

Brett McFarland: And I think we had played with the bass player four

Brett McFarland: times.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: Candice Ways, she showed up, and, um, so I mean, it was all just like put together. And that was-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … and that was for, that was a community-minded thing, you know. My friend Pat was looking at trying to fi- you know, find ways to keep her cidery open, and I said, "Let me… Let's, let's, what's your plan?" She's like, "Well, to have events." I'm like, "Well, sign me up for one. I'll come play."

Scott Hammond: That, that's cool.

Brett McFarland: So that was my… I did that after playing with Earl, and then we had a couple videos from that night and plus some acoustic stuff. And they had been edited months prior, but, but, um, you know, sometime around February that year, w- where I live, our home ranch, it flooded.

Scott Hammond: Oh, wow.

Brett McFarland: And we were in the middle of a mile-wide river, like our, like just like can't go, can't leave. It was pretty, it was kind of frightening in a way. It was kind of exciting in other ways.

Brett McFarland: It was-

Scott Hammond: Just the Mad River?

Brett McFarland: Yeah, the North Fork and the main stem-

Scott Hammond: Yeah

Brett McFarland: … we live between them.

Scott Hammond: Right, it flooded pretty good, I remember.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, so we were in that flood, and, and I didn't sleep for like a week after that because there was so much Adrenaline from that experience, from being there, and also, like, there was so much damage that had happened. I had to fix fences to try to keep livestock in and stuff. And then I, I had– Around that same time, I had posted some, that music to the, on YouTube or whatever, or, and I, but I was not online. I was, I was, I was offline.

Brett McFarland: I was-

Scott Hammond: Fixing fences.

Brett McFarland: I was, yeah, I was, like, working from sunup to sundown, and then some, and, like, trying to just, like, and s- and, like, there has been so much change that had happened with this amount of water. And, uh, anyway, I went back after that, and all of a sudden, I started my– All of a sudden, I'm getting, like, messages from all over the world.

Scott Hammond: Crazy.

Brett McFarland: Like, a flood of messages.

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Brett McFarland: And that was like, "Whoa." That was the zone-

Scott Hammond: The universe was answering.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, I had people-

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, just, you know, starting with a lot of people just, you know, uh, were touched by the music. But then I got, I got reached out to by, by, um, somebody, uh, by the name of Dean Miller, who, who just reached out and was like, "Hey, Brett, I'm a– My name's Dean. I'm a producer out of Nashville. If you ever need a producer, I'd love to work with you."

Scott Hammond: Wow.

Brett McFarland: You know, "Go to my website if you wanna see, hear who I worked with." So I'm like, "Well, I was just kind of curious." I go to his website, and he's got, you know, he's, he's, he's pictures of him and Willie and Dolly and-

Scott Hammond: Hmm

Brett McFarland: … you know, whatever, all these, all these, all these folks and, and, uh-

Scott Hammond: Real deal.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. Of course, you know, you're like, "Is this, is this…" You're like, "What is this?" You know? "What's going on?" And, and before I could even respond to him, I had somebody else call me and ask me if I would headline a festival in Golden Gate Park for 30,000 people.

Scott Hammond: Sweet.

Brett McFarland: And I'm like, "I didn't have a b-" At that time, I, like, barely had a band, you know? Like, you know-

Scott Hammond: Headl- headline. Number one band.

Brett McFarland: That's what they asked.

Scott Hammond: Crazy.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, they said– They told me, "Hey, we feel like, you know, we…" Uh, he's, that's, he, he said, you know. Anyway, um, so I actually went to Nashville. I went and, and recorded at this really cool, old historic, um,

Brett McFarland: studio.

Brett McFarland: I think… I think Johnny Cash might've s- had something to do with starting it. I mean, there's-

Scott Hammond: Wow

Brett McFarland: … pictures of Johnny and Willie and Waylon and, you know, Chris Stapleton and John Muir and freaking Taylor. It's a totally, it's a tiny little hole in the wall place, but all these people-

Scott Hammond: Played there

Brett McFarland: … have, have come there to record.

Scott Hammond: Huh.

Brett McFarland: Um, I think O Brother, Where Art Thou? was rec- you know, the whole, the, the, the, uh-

Scott Hammond: Soundtrack.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, they recorded that there.

Scott Hammond: Great. Great movie.

Brett McFarland: And all– Yeah, there's all kinds of stuff had happened. So you get, so you get the vibes and, um, yeah, that, you know, I, I, I, I actually, that, that festival got canceled, and I never ended up playing that festival. They canceled the whole thing. It was in Golden Gate Park, and it was one of those things that was kind of the fallout of the collapse of cannabis. I think their, the funding was cut-

Scott Hammond: Mm

Brett McFarland: … for this thing.

Scott Hammond: Sure.

Brett McFarland: But I didn't ma- it didn't matter.

Scott Hammond: Didn't matter.

Brett McFarland: It didn't matter. I'm like, "Man, I'm all, I'm all…" And so I, so it's been… And then, you know, it's been, uh, yeah, it's been, it's been incredible. And so I've just been-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, the more that I've been putting in music, the more that people have been, you know, responding.

Scott Hammond: It's funny how, yeah, it's funny how you, you, you let it come to you, and you got curious. I, I love that. I love that. That's, s- says a lot about you, the man, the man, the myth, the legend. So I wanna honor your time and get you going here.

Scott Hammond: So, uh, I always do a, uh, a coffee card here from Dutch Bros. And usually I do a whole quiz about your favorite restaurant and everything. I'm probably not gonna do that. So you just, you just get a Dutch Bros. And thanks, Dutch Brothers. The, um, yeah, no, wanna hear more. And so if we wanna get ahold of you or your music, um,

Scott Hammond: website.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, uh, brettmcfarlandmusic.com.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Brett McFarland: Uh, YouTube, Brett McFarland Music.

Scott Hammond: Okay.

Brett McFarland: Instagram, Brett McFarland Music.

Scott Hammond: There you go.

Brett McFarland: Uh, yeah, I'm on Spotify.

Scott Hammond: You got a-

Brett McFarland: Apple

Scott Hammond: … you got an album out already, right?

Brett McFarland: Yeah, The Humboldt album is streaming everywhere. You, you can stream-

Scott Hammond: So we can buy it today?

Brett McFarland: Yep.

Scott Hammond: Yep.

Brett McFarland: You can, you can, you can buy it. You can stream it.

Scott Hammond: Can you vinyl it?

Brett McFarland: I have vinyls, yep.

Scott Hammond: No way.

Brett McFarland: Yeah, I've got vinyls.

Scott Hammond: Get out, dog. Nice.

Brett McFarland: Um, yeah, I'm working on getting those up on our online store on the website, but,

Brett McFarland: uh, we'll-

Scott Hammond: Okay

Brett McFarland: … definitely have them at, at upcoming shows. We do, we do not have any local shows on the books. However, there have been some, uh, whispers that there might be a show at the Eureka Theater-

Scott Hammond: Sweet. Okay

Brett McFarland: … uh, in either December or March. It has not been finalized, so that is not, that is not, uh, that is not for sure, but I, I think something's gonna happen this-

Scott Hammond: Good venue

Brett McFarland: … I think something's gonna happen in-

Scott Hammond: Eureka Theater's cool

Brett McFarland: … in December. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: And you're playing in Sebastopol or somewhere, right? Aren't you, Sonoma?

Brett McFarland: Yeah, we play in Sebastopol in, um, Sebastopol in, uh, uh, uh, October 12th.

Scott Hammond: Sweet.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, Trinity Center on October

Brett McFarland: 25th.

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm.

Brett McFarland: And, uh, yeah, and right now, that's, that's kinda wrapping the year. I mean, we had some tremendous shows this year at the Arcata Theater & Lounge and

Brett McFarland: at-

Scott Hammond: Mm-hmm

Brett McFarland: … the Humboldt County Fair.

Scott Hammond: I know. The fair was fun, man.

Brett McFarland: Yeah. Yeah.

Scott Hammond: You guys, you guys knocked it out of the park. A lot of, a lot of theater.

Brett McFarland: We, we had a lot of space to fill up out there, you know?

Scott Hammond: It was fun.

Brett McFarland: And, and that's what we, that's what we did. And there's gonna be a lot of videos that come from that, you know, in, in, in the, in the months, in the months to come.

Scott Hammond: Yeah. Big venue there.

Brett McFarland: Yeah.

Scott Hammond: Hey, thanks for coming.

Brett McFarland: Thank you for having me.

Scott Hammond: Appreciate you. Yeah, and I know you gotta be somewhere, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna rip this and go. Uh, thanks for listening. If you wanna comment, like us, uh, make, uh, something positive, subscribe. That'd be great. Uh, 100% Humboldt. And, uh, my new best friend, Brett McFarland, thanks for being here.

Brett McFarland: Nice to-

Scott Hammond: Appreciate you

Brett McFarland: … nice to be here.

Scott Hammond: All right.