Does This Season of White Lotus Suck? PLUS John Bukaty Interviews Dave PATREON TEASER!
THESE ARE NOTES ON THE EPISODE - NOT THE TEASER!
📝 Show Notes:
🧠 Childhood Chaos
Born in NYC, nearly died of a staph infection
Fell off a table and cracked his skull at 8 months old
Walked home alone at 3 years old 💥
Deep TV addiction starts young (shoutout to MTV, Different Strokes & Give Me a Break)
🎭 Early Identity Stuff
Shirt chewing, sugar binging, and fake depression for attention
Didn’t want a bar mitzvah: “It’s not your party, it’s my party.”
Too insecure to get lifted in the chair at his own bar mitzvah 😬
Played harmonica in a ska band called The Percolators
🍹 First Drug Stories
First drunk = 16 screwdrivers at summer camp → blackout, vomit, shame
Never got into booze, but took acid at a Dead show before ever trying weed
Eventually... heroin, methadone, weed, and the long road home
🎨 Art, Fear & Flow
MTV intern in high school, obsessed with music and creativity
Paralyzed by fear, self-doubt, and a deep need to be authentic
Big art nerd: Kandinsky, Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, Bob Dylan, Richard Pousette-Dart 🎨
🌞 Spirituality, Recovery & the Dopey DNA
Wanted spirituality before he had it
“The Sunlight of the Spirit” and the resentment trap
Early recovery = doing it because he had to
Found real connection through service, comedy, and storytelling
🎙️ The Real Dopey
It’s not just about drugs — it’s love, dumb shit, and keeping people company
Letting your freak flag fly, creating community, and making people laugh
Dave’s dream: Dopey TV show, doc series, global recovery adventures, Keith Richards in a chair at DopeyCon 🤘
“I just want to make something worth putting in your ears.”
💔 Final Thoughts
On grief, fatherhood, fear, flow, and evolution
Bukaty calls Dave out on blind spots
Dave: “I like the idea of displacing my father and taking over the apartment.” 😂
Tribute to Annie Ellie and the Dopey Nation: “It feeds the show. It is the show.”
💌 Got thoughts? Send 'em: dopeypodcast@gmail.com
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🧸 Stay Strong Dopey Nation
💀 And fucking toodles for Chris
