Somewhere in the Skies - CONTACT IN THE DESERT with the Bigfoot Collector's Club

Episode Date: June 10, 2019

On episode 112 of SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES, Ryan is joined by actors, Bryce Johnson and Michael McMillian of the Bigfoot Collector's Club podcast. They discuss their personal experiences attending Contact in the Desert, a massive outdoors UFO conference held in the deserts of California every year. We learn about just what goes on at this event, who they saw speak, and a little tease of who they got to interview for an upcoming episode of their podcast. The discussion then switches gears to the UFO subculture and their thoughts on the UFO phenomenon. And of course, no episode is complete without a little talk about Tom DeLonge and To the Stars Academy. Guest Bios: MICHAEL MCMILLIAN is best known for his role as the gay American-vampire ‘Steve Newlin’ on HBO”s True Blood. His other credits include recurring roles on Silicon Valley, Hot in Cleveland and the critically acclaimed Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Michael is an Emmy-nominated host for his work on the Game of Thrones Lincoln Center Premiere for HBO and Facebook Live! Michael is an open-minded guy who grew up fascinated by the paranormal. In his lifetime he has seen one ghost and what was probably an alien. BRYCE JOHNSON is a film and television actor most notably known for his roles in Willow Creek, Death Valley, and Pretty Little Liars as well as voicing the title role in Marvel’s full length animated film, Dr. Strange. From an eerie childhood encounter with a yellow-eyed demon peering through his window to filming UFO’s, Bryce brings with him his paranormal expertise and enthusiasm as a “true believer”. Subscribe to the Bigfoot Collector's Club podcast by CLICKING HERE Use Promo code: SKIES for discount tickets to ALIEN CON Patreon: www.patreon.com/somewhereskies To watch ROSWELL: MYSTERIES DECODED for free, CLICK HERE  Website: www.somewhereintheskies.com YouTube Channel: CLICK HERE Official Store: CLICK HERE Order Ryan's Book by CLICKING HERE Twitter: @SomewhereSkies Instagram: @SomewhereSkiesPod Opening Theme Song, "Ephemeral Reign" by Per Kiilstofte SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES is part of the eOne podcast network. To learn more, CLICK HERE SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES is sponsored by HelloFresh. To receive 50% off your first order, use promo code: SOMEWHERE50 at checkout by visiting www.HelloFresh.ca Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/somewhere-in-the-skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Somewhere in the Skies. Today on the show, Bryce Johnson and Michael McMillian, hosts of the Bigfoot Collectors Club podcast. And trust me, they know much more than just about our Harry hometed friend. He's really like putting himself out there. And here's this guy with sort of a punk attitude that said, hey, you know, why not me? I've read these books all my life.

I believe I have an inkling of what's happening. I know this. And then he's like, I'm going to take this scene. I know that there's national security implications to what we're talking about. But let's talk about it, you know. That was definitely an interesting aspect to me, how he got that ball rolling. And, you know, if you ask me, I just think he was able to take that ball further than most people have in the past. I think this ties into a larger issue.

Like the fact that like a former band member of Blink 182 is one of the, you know, foremost voices of UFology today, or at least publicly, just ties into the larger thing that I think is going on with UFOs in general, which is it just adds to the high strangeness of it, right? It just adds to the weirdness. And the more we get into the stuff and the more we're doing the show, I think if there's any meaning or any purpose or any agenda going on with this phenomenon, and UFO specifically, it's making us question reality. You know, I think UFOs are there to say don't get too comfortable.

This is somewhere in the skies with Brian's bread. So at the tail end of my brief two-year encounter in L.A., I had the amazing opportunity to spend some face-to-face time with today's guests on their wonderful podcast, Bigfoot Collectors Club, where we chatted all about UFOs. And today, the tables have turned, and now they are joining me remotely after what I assume was an eventful and interesting weekend at Contact in the Desert. So Michael, Bryce, thank you guys so much for joining me on Somewhere in the Skies.

This is our remote viewing session. Yes. You've got your third eye going, gentlemen. Yes. Loop up that DMT in my penial glance. I see a subway and construction nearby. Yes. You're very close.

I can hear it as well. It's shaking my entire apartment right now. but I think it gives flair to the whole New York life thing. Yeah, it makes you seem like, you know, when you have a more urban setting, it's a lot like, you know, you're adding a little like noir edge to your UFO podcast. Absolutely. Gritty, gritty. Yeah. Well, I was excited and jealous because you guys got to attend contact in the desert, which is something I've always wanted to do.

Never had the chance. But before we get to that, I'd love to hear. Kind of if you guys could introduce yourselves to my audience. I know a lot of them probably listen to your show or have heard of it. But tell us a little bit about yourselves and how Bigfoot Collectors Club came to be, if you don't mind. Sure. Go for it, Bryce. Cool.

Yeah, absolutely. Well, so Michael and I, we both work in film and television in Los Angeles. And I guess about 10 years ago, our first introduction, Michael had written a script for a TV show called What I Like About You. And I did a guest star on that show, so Michael hired me. We never really got to interact much. But then fast forward about eight to 10 years later, and we were both guest starring on a show called Major Crimes. And so I saw Michael there, and he was like, hey, you were in that movie Willow Creek, directed by Bobcat Goldweight.

And I was like, yeah, yeah. And he's like, oh, man, that was great. He was like, so are you into all that stuff? And I was like, dude, you have no idea. But I just want to, this is us, like, standing at the craft services table, like, eating, like, cheese and crackers. I'm envisioning it right now. That's awesome. Right, totally.

And then we just started going off. Portals, UFOs, Bigfoot, Yeti. And it was like, it was on. Yeah, it was, I think it took us less than two minutes to get into the interdimensional Bigfoot theory. It happens fast. It's a slippery slope. And then that's it, man. Our friendship was born.

And then, like, I think, like, two weeks later, we went down to Franken's, which is this huge toy convention sort of thing that they hold every other week. And we went to go toy shopping looking for cool figurines. So, yeah. And then, you know, about a year after that, Michael was like, dude, I think we should start a paranormal podcast. And I was like, fuck, yeah, let's do it. Yeah, because every time we would get together for lunch, we would like spend 10 minutes bitching about auditions and then we'd just start talking about

paranormal stuff and UFOs and Bigfoot. So, you know, we are Bigfoot Collectors Club, but we kind of cover everything. Yeah. And I don't know if Michael found this true, but I certainly did. You know, like my inner circle in my life, there's not a lot of people I get to talk stuff. No. So it was like, it was so refreshing to like, you know, be uncensored with Michael and be able to talk about, you know, anything and everything under the sun.

Yeah, and I was just struck with how, you know, I tend to be like, whoa, that's awesome. Like, I have more, even though I'm not a huge stoner, I have more of a stoner mentality about these things. Like, I love the stories. I love the weirdness. I like the higher, the stranger, the story is, the more I'm into it. And Bryce is just, I was really impressed by like, A, how much knowledge he has on the subject. he retains names and dates. Like, you know, I'm getting better at it,

but he's just so passionate about this stuff. And, like, boldly so. And I was like, this guy's awesome. And to me, it's not only impressive, but Bryce if I may say so, I find it really funny. You know what I mean? When you have, like, the friend who's, like, very adamant and about a subject, it amuses me as well.

So that's why I was like, I think the two of us together would make a good show, you know? I totally agree and thank you very much, you know, and Michael, I feel the same way. So, like, Michael and I have both had what I would like to call, like, unexplainable experiences. And so I think part of my journey has been, like, this quest for as long as I can remember to sort of just figure out what's going on. So as much as I enjoy all this stuff, there's a deeper journey behind it for me, you know. And I know Michael is like that too in a way. Yeah, definitely. No, I can't agree more with you guys.

I mean, like, I've spent half my life, you know, chasing UFOs and everything. And you're right. It's cool. It's fun. It's like it's a subculture. It's like that way to get away from the norm, the routine of your every day. And that's fun. And it's like, I love doing it.

But I always come back to those moments where I'm face to face with someone who, you know, is a shaman or is a quote unquote alien abductee. And then you're like, holy shit. Like, now it's real. You know, this is no longer just the story. Like, these people actually believe these things have happened. And that's where it all changed for me. I'm like, whoa, I got to be really careful and responsible with this.

Well, and that's kind of where we're finding ourselves right now in the process. Like, we've been doing the show for about a year and a half. And mostly speaking to actors and comedians about their, personal paranormal history and their take, you know, whether they're a skeptic or a believer in this stuff and, you know, where they, where they are on the, you know, on the Kinsey scale of, of the paranormal. But we've, and especially with contact in the desert, like, we're now crossing over more and more into the realm of, like, speaking with experts and talking to people who are, you know, we spoke to our first UFO abductee on the show. And it is, it's like,

oh, this is starting, we're, like, we're hitting, like, we're entering, like, a new territory with, with the show and getting into this world. And it's, it is a, and I mean this, with the highest compliments, it's, it's a strange place to be in. Like, it really, really is, you know, it's a weird world. I mean, I knew that going into it, but like now I feel like, and Bryce, I don't know how, how you feel about it, but it's definitely like, oh, okay, this is, I feel like the show's kind of hitting, and is going, like, we're hitting like the next level with the show right now.

Yeah, totally. I mean, I think you said this, Mike. I love how you used to put this. Or our experience, like, interviewing comedians and guests. Comedians always tend to be, like, pretty skeptical, like, yeah, I saw a ghost, but I still don't know if I believe. And then actors and actresses will be like, oh, yeah. Oh, I believe that for sure. You're like, my grandmother came back and sat with me and then raised me from ages two of, you know, two to three as a ghost.

Like, they're really, like, actors are just, I'm realizing, like, we're dramatic about everything. Right. It's so cool. Real willing to believe. You guys are like, you're mixing those worlds together. And I think, again, that's where I keep coming back to this idea of like, we live this one life and then we live another. And actors, that's your job.

You know, is you have your existence and then you create these other existences everywhere. And then you come across these characters every day who are living those lives too. You know, they go to work, they go to their job, they go to church, whatever. And then they say that they were on board a craft in the Pleiades the next night. It's insane. Well, that's the thing that I loved about contact and is, you know, and some people might find this term derogatory, you know, people watching. But when you're an actor, like people watching is amazing.

It's like you get to meet characters that sometimes you would only see in fiction or on TV or in film. And, you know, we were walking around the convention. I was like, oh, this is a whole. other pocket universe. You know, we're in the pocket universe of Hollywood film and TV, and then this is something else. And you realize just as you're walking around, I just had that

thought of like, yeah, everybody has time to kill. Everybody has time. And we all need a way to fill the hours, you know? Yeah. Well, let's sort of get to that guy's contact in the desert. So you arrive at Indian, Wells, California. What were sort of

your first impressions when you got there? How big, like, was, Is it a big event? I don't truly know. I've never really talked to anyone that's been to it. Well, I'll take that. So I think it was coined as kind of like the world's biggest UFO conference. And their speaker lineup was, I mean, literally out of this world, anybody and everybody who you've ever respected in this field was there. I mean, from Jacques Valet to Graham Hancock and Whittonker. I mean, anybody and everybody was there. So I was expecting like huge convention style. like open warehouse just like vast but you know funny enough when you kind of get into the to the place

where it was it was just kind of lined this one hallway of the hotel and i was like oh okay and you see the vendors and stuff like that and i was it was interesting i always thought like you know euphology was like oh my god there's going to be so many vendors there selling toys selling arts selling dolls selling like uh metallurgy you know but but but it was like strangely enough people were like so uh you know selling all different other kinds of wares like scarfs and you know there was a few like i don't know it just seemed very a like an eclectic group of offenders you know you're really i like brice you've been harping on the fact that there weren't enough like alien toys i really wanted to see a lot of cool alien toys i know i did

too i did too oh well that's unfortunate there's some cool art and there was definitely like kitchen knickknacks and then and then crystals and jewelry and some really cool artwork. But yeah, I would say like as someone who's been attended like Comic-Con in San Diego, you know, it is nowhere near that type of thing. But I would say for the UFO community, like it's in this beautiful resort. And I mean, there are hundreds and hundreds of people in attendance. Yeah, the setting was incredible. lining around the hotel to get into conference, you know, conference halls and listen to people talk.

So the attendance must be huge, you know, but it's not, we're not talking in the like, I would say we're talking maybe in the thousands, but not like the tens of thousands, you know. Okay, okay. I mean, for any UFO convention, that's huge. Yeah. That's I was thinking, because I had been to Comic-Con, I guess I was expecting, like, you know, all those people dressed up and, like, you know, rubbing shoulder to shoulder. Yeah, not a lot of cosplay.

I was a little disappointed, but a little bit, but not a ton. I want it to play. Well, that definitely happens at AlienConn's, and that's coming to you guys very soon. We got to go to AlienCon, Bryce. When is that? June, I should know this. I'm speaking at it. June 21st or 23rd.

Yeah. Awesome. Dude, you guys want cosplay. That is the place to be. It's at the L.A. Dude, it's at the Los Angeles Convention Center. We got to go. Yeah.

Oh, great. there. I'll be there all three days, guys, speaking, doing panels and everything. So yeah, we would love to have you guys there. All right. Great. All right. So getting back to a contact in the desert, you guys, I saw that you did like a live podcast recording there and you had like guests on. You got to see some talks. So I guess, you know, maybe from each of you guys, what were your personal favorite things you did there? Who did you get to interview? All that good stuff. So I've been a personal fan and I know you are too Ryan of uh of Jacques valet I just love his work I love his uh I love his interpretation of the mystery that's going on I just I love his take on things and so I was sort of

walking the um the convention floor and I was like oh I'm gonna go see who's speaking so I walked through and there he was up there on the podium and I was just kind of like oh snap dude Jacques ballet and so I went got uh Michael and Riley and his girlfriend grace I was like hey Jacques FLA speaking, let's go watch for a few minutes. And so we did. Unfortunately, he was just going through like this kind of very basic, like, like this questionnaire data thing that was like very sort of mundane. And as Riley pointed out, he was doing it on like, he was talking about,

he was talking about AI, an AI algorithm in terms of like reporting UFOs. Oh, right. like artificial intelligence can help pinpoint more accurately than a human or a questionnaire. Like the weather conditions that day might have you seen an electromagnetic, you know, magnetic lightning pulse or something as opposed to. And so I think it was really interesting. But yeah, there was like, it was probably the driest thing that he might be talking about. I know totally. And Riley pointed out too, wasn't his presentation on like an old Mac Apple word or something?

The graphics he was using was like definitely from like a 2000. and one like Mac desktop. Did this guy like help create the internet or something? Come on. I know. So just seeing his press day, we're like, this is a little outdated.

Yeah, wow. Yeah, how about for you, but that was fascinating to listen to him talking. And I saw what did, I went to a, I went to a panel on Saturday

that was supposed to be about the secret space program, but they were taking, um, a lot of questions. from the audience. It was like, we're just going to throw this over to you guys and have you ask questions, which for any convention, let alone, like, a UFO-based one is a big roll of the dice. You know, right away, the guy asked the question was rambling on, and the audience kept being like, ask the question. It was like Stephen Bassett and John DeSuza was there, Emery Smith. Bryce, help me, who's the guy who co-wrote, and Ryan, the guy who co-wrote the UFO books. Was it Peter Lavenda? Yeah, he was there. Okay.

And that was, you know, that was fascinating to hear their takes on disclosure and time travel and, you know, MK. Ultra and all these, like, you know, questions they were getting from the audience. It was pretty entertaining. I have a question. Now, I mean, there are some, there's some really notable people there, Jacques Valet and Richard Dolan and people like that, who, you know, a lot of us in the UFO field highly respect. And then there are definitely some questionable characters. One of which you guys named is Emery Smith, the guy who claims to have, like, done autopsies on hundreds of alien biological entities.

So, I mean, what was your take on, like, this mixture of very credible people versus, I mean, I'm just going to come out and say it, like, kind of con artists that are telling me certain things? I mean, I kept saying, you know, to Bryce and Riley as we were heading out. there. I was like, all right, now we're going in. We're going to do our show. We're going to look at some stuff and nobody join a cult. I was like, we're not going to drink the Kool-Aid. And I just think it's one of those things where, you know, it's a bit of a risk for us, too, to be part of a program where, like, there are definitely people that I think, like you say, are a complete con artist. And, you know, if not, like, running a cult, they're certainly running a cult of their own personality. But I think

unfortunately, or fortunately part of the fun and part of the danger with this field is sort of sussing through everything and figuring out what's where the meat is and where the bullshit is. You know what I mean?

It goes with the territory right now. And it's something that like I definitely am always consciously aware of when doing Bigfoot Collectors Club. That's why I tend to just focus on the story. and not necessarily, I mean, we do like to say, do you believe it, or is it bullshit or whatever, but like, to me, at the end of the day, this field is like, what do you have to say and is it interesting?

And I always have to keep my skeptical mind in, you know, alive and present in all of this, you know. Because I think it's very easy. And you see it with people that come to the show. It's very easy to be swept up in all of this stuff because these worlds, these worlds, these realms, these realms. ideas, these belief systems are so easy to escape into and can often replace therapy for people, can replace religion for people, can replace friendship and will be a community for people. So it's just, it's a weird world. And that's why, like, you kind of have to navigate it cautiously, you know?

I totally agree. And, you know, I never felt that, like, uphology needed extra, extra, extra, Umph on it. I mean, it's a crazy enough world as it is where you don't need to like add elements to the story. You know what I mean? That's why that's why the people like, you know, Richard Dolan and who you were talking about, Jacques Bel-A. is like, these guys are, you know, they're just kind of like reporting on the facts and the history of it. And that's odd and that's strange enough as it is. You know what I mean? Like you don't need to add all these extraneous elements to the topic. I mean, it's all there. You know what I mean? So when you start, when you start, when you start, when you start. start adding this and adding that, then it's like, okay, where are we going with this? Well, you can take an easy left turn into conspiracy theory with this stuff. And then I think that's where stuff gets really dangerous, you know, just in terms of like your own mental health. You know, when you're talking about aliens and UFOs, it's real easy to get paranoid. You know, it's real easy to get paranoid. It's real easy to get scared by a lot of these ideas. So it makes it

very simple for people who want to take a commanding presence or find an audience to come in and say, don't worry, I have the answers and I'm on top of it. And that's where you get a lot of these, quote unquote, like con artists. And it's tough because they're right next to other people that you respect on the bill. So you kind of have to use your judgment in this world. And it's, sometimes it's hard to do. It's hard to do. And, you know, a lot of these people will just follow blindly. There's one gentleman who spoke at contact in the desert who I follow on Twitter. And this dude got like 10 of his talks or panels taken away from him because they knew he was going to be talking about QAnon.

Yeah, I think I know who you're talking about. Bullshit conspiracies that have crept up. And, you know, I don't want to get political by any means. but this is the kind of dangerous things that people are preaching at these UFO events. And what happens is they take away this talk from him and he goes online and says they're part of the deep state now. They got to us. This is why they're censoring me. And it's just like, come on, guys.

No, they don't want you brainwashing people. Right. Right. Well, and that's the thing is like we try to avoid politics as much as possible in our show too. Unfortunately, we live in the era that we live in. But the thing is also, it's like, yeah, we don't want to get too political, but believe me, the people who are speaking at these things are getting political. You know, Merrill Cook was talking at this panel about how, you know, Trump isn't going to disclose this term. But if you reelect him next term, then, you know, and the whole crowd, half the crowd is cheering.

But it's like, guys, this is just a way to suck you into voting for Trump. It's not about what you really want. You know what I mean? So you have to go stop and think about what people are saying and how you're reacting to it. You know, I love this, you know, I love the idea of being, having a place to share ideas. One of the things that Bryce and I are very keen on in our show is working on destigmatizing people's experiences and being able to feel free to talk about it. And I think that, you know, so I'm all about that. But you do, there are, you know, there are wolves out there.

And you have to have your, you have to just have your, I don't know, how do I extend the wolf metaphor? You know, you got to have your wolf glasses on. The wolf glasses. Let's copyright that. Michael makes a great point, too. I mean, part of our goal with the podcast is not only to have fun, but to also take away some of the taboo of this subject, to take away some of the giggle factor, even though a lot of it can be quite entertaining. Like you said, Ryan, there is, at the end of the day, there is an underlying like, you know,

what is going on here? Who are we? What is our place in the universe, you know? What is happening here? These are deep questions that require, you know, serious thought and serious attention, you know. And if we could balance that line of, like, you know, having fun and having great guests, all at the same time while trying to, like, like discuss this topic of high strangeness and see if we can't uncover layers of it. And we'll never get to the bottom of it, I don't think, but we'll certainly try.

Then we've accomplished our mission, you know. Absolutely. I couldn't agree more with you guys. It's like the more we normalize the topics and you see these everyday people out there expressing their beliefs or they're giving testimony of what happened to them when you realize it's like your doctor or like your teacher. Like, it brings a face to it that a lot of people don't see, and that's every day people. So I couldn't agree more. I think it's very important to get the stories out there. Every story does have some sort of value, I think, in furthering the conversation.

And I do agree with you, Bryce. I don't think we'll ever really know what's going on. But the journey is just as exciting, in my opinion. I don't think I'm ever going to know what the hell a UFO is or represents, no matter what, like Tom DeLong says or anything. anyone. Even Jacques Valet. The reason they've been doing this for so long and they continue to do it is they don't have the answers. And when you can come forward and say, I don't know, but here's what I think. That's what I think is healthy. Not I have all the answers for you.

You know, buy my books. That's the best barometer right there is when somebody's saying, I don't know, but here's what I think about it. And here's this person's story. You know, one thing I love about the Bigfoot Collectors Club, and we called it the Collectors. Club because, you know, at first, like I talked about, we were going to bring on different collectors items of this, you know, different toys or artifacts or whatever. And that kind of gave away quickly to what we were really collecting. And that was people's personal paranormal stories. And what we found, I think, which was, I guess, a little surprising that almost every guest, I really, just about everyone, had a personal paranormal history. And so that was really shocking that

that this thing doesn't just touch one out of every 10 of us or one out of every five of us. This is something that interfaces with people's lives all over the planet and just about everyone you come in contact with either has had or know someone who has had a personal paranormal experience. So you guys, you're inching closer to almost 100 episodes now. I mean, it's amazing to see a paranormal or Bigfoot or UFO podcast. reach that plateau because a lot of them don't. They get to like five or ten episodes and they're out.

They're done. So, I mean, what sort of kept you both going? The stories, yes, I completely understand that. That's what fuels me to keep doing it. But are there any really memorable moments you've had throughout the show that really stuck with each of you personally? Ooh, that's such a well, first of all, thanks. And I mean, I think, I think the thing that's driving it is,

we're all just really passionate about it. And we all, Bryce and Riley and I, and we discovered this this weekend as well at contact. Like, we all just really enjoy hanging out, you know. And I think we bring a, we bring, you know, Bryce is, or Riley's a musician. And, you know, it's very easy in L.A. And especially in Hollywood, there's a lot of, you know,

people don't realize because they might see you on TV a lot or whatever. but for actors and writers, musicians, there's a lot of empty time and time where you are just hustling and trying to come up with the job. It's freelance work. So for me, this was something that I wanted to do because I was like, if nothing else,

every week I'm going to make something with my friends and put it out there. And the guest thing is really great too because it's also selfishly, it's a way for me to stay in touch with people that I've worked with or friends of mine in the business and sometimes you just need to have a structured you know place to to do that um and i found that in the process the big takeaway for me is is that to have an out it's almost like you know i'm a

big advocate for therapy i go to talk therapy for you know almost every week for the past 10 years and like therapy this isn't a structured conversation and we often go into places that you know i'm not having these conversations like bryce mentioned i'm not having having these conversations anywhere else throughout the week. So it's almost become a meditation of like going into the room, hanging out, and then just letting our imaginations run wild, you know, and that feels really, really good. Yeah. I love hearing from the, you know, the people who listen to the show and reading their comments

and knowing that we're entertaining them and that they're getting, I just really like it when somebody's like, hey, I love the show, I love what you guys are doing. that that's really a big part of what fuels me, you know. Being in this business for as long as we have, I'm sure Michael would agree. You know, the projects that you really become proud of are sort of far and few between, you know what I mean? And this has always felt like one of those projects that I'll look back on and be like, oh, man, I was really proud of the content that we created that's going to be available for people to listen to and go through. you know, so that's always a big driving factor for me.

Yeah. That's awesome. I totally understand that guys. I mean, I made some of my greatest friends through the paranormal or through UFO research. I mean, people who I talk to now on a daily basis. And like you said, you know, it's an escape on either end of it, you know, from either your daily routine or those sort of empty moments like you said, Mike. And on the flip side, it also like gives you something to look forward to and to have a structure. sort of thing in this sort of chaotic world we live in.

100%. At least we know we can go somewhere every week and hear you guys talk about it or hear someone else talk about it. It's cool. And I look forward to it. Yeah, and we're really conscious of that, you know, especially for our audience. I don't think we've missed a week yet. And there have been times when we have taken a week off, we've tried to put up a Patreon sample episode, you know, for a limited time. So people are at least getting their fill. And, you know, coming up next week, we're going to release our entire live show

from Contact in the Desert. We had Daryl Sims on. And then we had Maria Thayer, who's an actor and a total, you know, she's open-minded, but she's a skeptic. And it's kind of, in a way, we weren't necessarily planning it that way, but I felt the thing that takeaway from is, like, we just shared both sides of the show,

you know, with the having, those two guests. We had someone who's very immersed in the UFO world, and then we had somebody who was coming at it from a completely different view who is very, very fun and charming to hang out with, you know? So we kind of accidentally presented like, hey, this is the spectrum of what our show is, but we're going to release that episode, I think, in like two parts back to back next week. And then we're going to take the week off for the first time, the week following that. And I'm a little, like I've been like a little worried about it because I know that for people this is a consistent I listen to podcast when when a new episode doesn't come out it's a little bit of a bummer you know and I know they'll stay yeah I know they'll stay with us but I'm I'm very aware of how stuff like this for people listening that's it might be one of the only consistent things in their lives you know right is and and so we we take that seriously as well I completely understand I mean I've had people say like oh I just got got divorced or, you know, I'm struggling with some sort of addiction or something like that.

And then they come and say, like, I listen to your show every week and it's like therapy for me. Or it's, it's, even if it's just a distraction for like those shitty things in their life. Um, that's, that's a lot of pressure put on your shoulders for someone doing a fucking UFO podcast. Yeah, no shit. But, you know, it's like, it is. It's reassuring. Yeah. And like, we had so many comment just on our Instagram like, gosh, another great episode.

and you guys make my commute less boring. Like, that's enough. Like, if we're just doing that, that is great. That makes me really happy to hear, you know. Well, okay, so you guys, you got to interview Daryl Sims, the alien hunter. For anyone who doesn't know, this dude likes to hunt aliens. Without giving him away too much. Oh, I know, I know.

This dude likes to hunt aliens. He loves to hunt them. What is, was there anyone else that you got to talk to about, like, UFOs specifically, while you were there? I don't think we spoke to anyone specifically about UFOs. We did walk the floor on Sunday, and we recorded an episode that we'll probably put up on the Patreon, just like stopping and chatting.

And one of the interesting booths we went to was called Infinite Healing from the Stars and Energies of Service. And it's this woman Vivian Chavez and her fiancé Peter Benson, and they had a copper pyramid that Bryce got in. You can see this on our Instagram, and they do energy healing. And Vivian claims to be a biological Arcturian hybrid. So she's interdimensional being. So that was fascinating and she was very kind and they were very nice.

But yeah, Bryce, you want to talk about what it was like being in that copper pyramid? I can't wait Yeah So my time in the copper pyramid I think the picture says it all I'm a little scared that I'm going to be I don't know Lobotomized

You were buzzing after that for a while I literally when I got out of there I was like I told the guys I was like My head is really buzzing So you know there's definitely Something Some type of energetic work happening there That's for sure

Yeah And we just walked around. We were talking to people just about, you know, we heard a lot of, you know, the thing that, like Bryce says about our listeners. We talked to people at the convention and just kind of heard their stories. You know, people, I talked to a couple that had an art booth that would talk about sitting out and looking at the sky and seeing tiny little UFOs that are, you know, look like stars zipping around and doing zigzags in the sky and stuff like that. So it's just really fun to hear everyone's kind of just their own. experiences and the way that they interact with with this world. Yeah, one thing, one highlight was we did a, after Daryl Sims, we did a question and

answer. And this, uh, this older lady goes, I don't have a question, but I have a couple answers for you. We're like, we're like, please share. And she's like, she was like, well, I, I asked, um, a psychic if I was a big foot in this life or former life. And she said, uh, what was she was like, no, but in the last life you were. and she was like, I can tell you this. So bigfoots are on the endangered species universe list. And she's like, so it's the little gray aliens that come down here to check on them and make sure their population numbers are doing okay.

And we're like, oh, oh, that kind of me. Yeah, and it's sort of implied that there are bigfoot spread across the universe on different planets. And then they're, yeah, they're protected species, which I thought was really, And again, it's like, I don't, I'm not necessarily believe, I don't necessarily believe that, but I love that idea. Right. You know what I mean? It all goes back to, like, I tell people, I, I'll believe it until you could prove me wrong. And that sounds like a really interesting narrative to sort of weave.

It would explain, you know, why Bigfoot and aliens might be connected or. I was like, hey, at least that's a fresh perspective. Good on you. And it makes sense. It makes sense. Right. Why have we never found a body or, you know, like real physical evidence of a Bigfoot? So it's fascinating. Yeah. Well, don't get me started on that. Oh, I won't. I know. That's a whole other episode. Whole other episode. I know.

Bryce, how many people sent you the article about the FBI releasing their Bigfoot files? I had about at least 12. Yeah. Yeah. Literally about three people sent me that article. And then as soon as I read it and I go, oh, this is just, the same old fluff on Bigfoot that you normally get in the mainstream news because it ended up turning out to be a dear DNA, you know what I mean? And it's like they do with all those UFO stories on the news, they always end it with the X-Files theme song, you know? So it's like, it's tongue in cheek, you know what I mean? And it was like, okay, I get it. You know, what's the point of even like releasing that, you know? Yeah, it's just clickbait crap. Yeah, it's just like Bigfoot crap, You know, and that's where I think a lot of, you know, I line up with a lot of the people who are at contact in the desert and just audiences in general who are really into this stuff.

It's like, look, if we're going to cover this, can we at least try to cover this with some amount of respect and not like, well, someone else saw UFO today. Are we really alone? Guess we'll not and never know. It's like, I'm so sick of that, like, you know, it's the last bit on the news and the evening news and it's always fluffy and it's stupid. And, I mean, that's why I'm excited that at least, like, Washington Post and New York Times are, like, covering this stuff in a little bit more of a serious-minded way. Without a doubt, I think the tide is turning a little bit, and there's room now for a serious discussion about it. And I urge anyone who has not listened to, and I'm sure most of your audience has, go back and listen to the daily, the New York Times podcast, the daily episode from Desmond. December 18th, 2017, when they talk to the reporter who broke that story about A-Tip, and you can hear her go, I didn't, I couldn't wrap my brain around the conversation that I was actually happy, you know, and it was, and it was fascinating because you can see her be like, I thought

that UFOs were kind of this fluffy thing, you know, that's, no one takes really seriously. and here I am talking about this program with people that, you know, really, you know, it kind of blew her mind. And I was like, this is what everyone should listen. They should listen to this because I think it reflects the way that, you know, the general public things, how they, how they think about this topic. I mean, that is a really good way to sort of, I guess, sort of wrap this up is this whole like paradigm shift we seem to be having right now in terms of UFOs. I mean, like you said, Tom DeLong, this guy, you know, a former frontman of a pop punk band, is now coming forward with some of the most like explosive UFO news and coverage we've ever had in our field, which is just like fucking crazy to me that like this is how disclosure is sort of unraveling is through the mind and possibly motives and agenda of Tom DeLong. So what do you guys think about? all this Washington Post, New York Times, New York Post, everyone is getting in on the UFO thing now and they're taking it seriously. It's no longer the last five minutes. It's like opening news

segments and it's on like front pages. I'd love to take this and I thought a lot about this the other night, especially when I was reading that incredible Blaze article that summed up a lot of what was going on. And here's what I think. So Tom DeLong is an outsider. You know, he's really, he's not a uphologist, he's not a scientist, he's not a senator or a congressman. And if you'll look at the part of his story where he got to speak with one of the skunk works, which is one of the top main defense programs of, I mean, they build all the secretive weapons for the United States. But when he was in their inner sanctum, really, and he was like, I didn't want to bring up

UFOs. I just wanted to tell him, you know, that there was a bad imaging taking place with what's going on and that perhaps he could help with millennials. And then everybody was kind of looking at him cross-eyed. But then he said, he said, you know what, can I have five minutes with you alone? And it's like, and then he says, this is the tom-d-long that I've always been, that punk kid who's not afraid to like, you know, go for broke. And I was thinking about that. And I said, you know what? That makes sense.

How many times do people just kind of like, oh, okay, well, thank you for your time. You know what I mean? He really kind of put himself out there to like, to take that leap, you know what I mean? And really address this topic and that inner sanctum. And I'll be damned if he didn't like get that five minutes. And that meeting led to another meeting where he kind of did the same thing, you know. So he's really like putting himself out there. And I don't know that there was a kernel of truth to the.

that that's like, here's this outsider. Here's this guy with sort of a punk attitude that said, hey, you know, why not me? I've read these books all my life. I believe I have an inkling of what's happening. I know this. And then he's like, I'm going to take this serious. I know that there's national security implications to what we're talking about. But let's talk about it, you know?

And I was like, that kind of rings true to me. Here's this outsider who totally put himself in in that room. room, you know? And I don't know. There was a, that was definitely an interesting aspect to me, how he got that ball rolling. And, uh, you know, if you ask me, I just think he was able to take that ball further than most people have in the past. In over 70 years, yeah. Yeah. And I, I think that this ties into a larger issue, like the fact that like a former band member of Blink 182 is one of the, you know, foremost, uh, voices of UFology today or at least publicly,

just ties into the larger thing that I think is going on with the whole, with UFOs in general, which is, it just adds to the high strangeness of it, right? It just adds to the weirdness up. And the more we get into the stuff

and the more we're doing the show, I think if there's any meaning or any purpose or any agenda going on with this phenomenon, UFO specifically, it's to, it's making us question reality. You know, I think UFOs are there to say, don't get too comfortable.

You know, don't get too comfortable with your thought system, with the way that you see, with the way that you experience the third dimension, with the way that you experience consciousness, you know, and I think that that's the one consistency with all of these stories, and whenever it's covered, whether it's in the New York Times or on a weird website, you know, I think that there's something happening, whether it's part of human consciousness or nature in and of itself, you know, whether it's a byproduct of the way that we interact with the universe or if there's some higher intelligence breaking through from another planet or another dimension. The purpose, the message seems to be keep an open mind. Yeah. And you know, Michael, you bring up a great point.

And Tom DeLong even says it in all the times he's talked about it. He's like, basically, you guys, if this doesn't work, you have plausible deniability. This is coming from a rock star. So if it doesn't work, you can just chalk it up to, oh, he's just a crazy punk rocker. But if it does work, you know what I mean? So plausible deniability was built right into what he was bringing forward. And I think that rang true with all those big guys like Jim Semiband and Lou Alizando and Chris Mel.

And they're like, yeah, I mean, hey, if this doesn't work, we can just, you know, throw throw the baby out with the bath water. Yes. And if there's anything I can attest to, the UFO field or research is really good at having amnesia. So like if this doesn't work out

again, it's like getting that men and black memory thing going. It's gone. Yeah, you don't need the men of black. Yeah. But that being said, like just hearing you guys talk about it, it keeps me going too, because the UFO field is very stuffy and and for a long time like there wasn't shit happening at all yet

you know all these people were still underground doing their little radio shows or um writing books about it that just the UFO community was reading and in hearing about it's an echo chamber but now we have someone who has brought the topic to a huge mainstream audience you know their history channel show just premiered and it's just it's our time and we need to embrace that in my opinion. No matter what, if you believe Tom's along and everything he's saying or not. Like embrace that this is being taken seriously in the mainstream. Well, you'd be, I mean, probably wouldn't be surprised at the number of guests that we have

come in in the show. And once they hear one of these stories from history, they go, wow, I didn't know about that. I need to go look this up. That might, now I think differently about this. You know what I mean? It's so cool. It's just like you take for granted that a lot of people don't know about the

Flatwoods monster. The general public doesn't know about, you know, the, you know, the, Kelly Hopkinsville Goblin incidents, you know? Oh, it's true. I remember talk about your way to find, usually. I remember saying to Mike, I was like, hey, do you think we'll ever run out of stories? And this was like 10 to 15 episodes in. And then Mike was like, you know, predictively, he was like, dude, no. And he was so right. I've been more surprised at how many true stories from history and just how strange they are. Not only that, but how many of them there are. You know what I mean? There is no end. I have a, I keep a possible episodes list for

Bigfoot Collectors Club. And instead of shrinking, it actually is growing. You know what I mean? There is no end in sight to the amount of strange stories that have taken place not only in euphology, but cryptozoology and just... and yeah. That's a good point though. It just keeps going and like it plays into that high strangeness just when you think like, oh, we're done or there's no more people to talk to or stories to hear. Then boom, you know, Tom DeLong comes along and does this thing.

The UFO community, we're set for the next decade. Like whatever this plan they're rolling out is going to be enough fodder for us to debate for the next 10 years. Same with cryptozoology or the paranormal. Like, it doesn't end. It just, it keeps getting weirder and it just builds off of that. And it's like that carrot dangling in front of you constantly. Well, you know this more than anybody, Ryan.

UFO works in flaps. You know what I mean? Yeah. And you had your big flap in the 40, late 40s, early 50s, and then again in the 70s. And then it was like there was kind of this lull, you know what I mean? But so right now there's this UFO. And again, in the 90s, this huge induction wave. Yeah, yeah.

Right now, there's this huge flap of kind of like, but it's not like abductions or sightings. It's really kind of like a media flap. You know what I mean? And I love attitude about it. People need to embrace this because they're far and few between. And you might as well latch on and suck everything you can out of it right now because this could go away again too in another couple years. You know, this isn't exactly going to lead to like some huge disclosure. You know.

That is a good point, Bryce. I love to get both your opinions on that. Do you think we will ever get a full disclosure, whether it's governmental or like it takes these phenomena to come down and like, you know, ring your neck and be like, I'm here? Like, do you think we're ever going to get that? Let's say specifically with UFOs. I think disclosure is kind of a paradox, you know. I think that, first of all, you have to talk about motives.

It would never behoove the government. to go, we've been lying to the American people all this time. We have all this and now we're just going to throw it out on the table for you to peruse it. That just wouldn't work that way. You know what I mean? So I've always used words like breadcrumb disclosure. Like, you know, it kind of feels like that too. Like the government is letting articles kind of appear in the mainstream media. Just, you know, taking the temperature of the people. You know what I mean? letting it sort of happen through a discourse in a timely manner. But no, I don't think it's ever going to, you know,

the president's ever going to walk up to a podium and say, we have alien bodies, we are being visited. You know, I just don't think that's going to happen. Yeah, I tend to agree with Bryce. I mean, you know, I say this again and again that, you know, it's going back to your civics class in high school or your government class, and the first thing you learn in class is the number one, purpose of government is, of any type of government is to protect its citizens from foreign

invasion. And the first thing that's going to, the first question or the second question is if the president goes out there, somebody comes down and says, we're not alone. The first question is going to be, where do they come from? And the second question is, what are you doing to protect us from them? And the fact is, the government can't. They don't, the military can't. If we're talking about technology that's interdimensional or, you know, at least intergalactic, they don't have a way to protect us if one of these, if a fleet of, you know, UFOs wants to wipe us out. Yeah. So immediately, the purpose of government becomes irrelevant.

And then that creates a huge issue. I think more than the religious question or the more than the question of like, are we alone? the government is ultimately rendering themselves irrelevant by admitting to that. So I don't think that's ever going to happen. I also firmly believe that maybe somewhere in an underground base, there's an alien body. I think very few people within the military government probably know about that on the, you know, have access to that top secret stuff. And I think even with maybe an EBE or a recovered craft, they still don't understand.

what they're dealing with you, Michael, and I want to piggyback on that. My summation, or at least the truth that I believe, is that in the government and even within military circles, nobody knows exactly what the hell is going on. I mean, that's what high strangeness is. This is a bigger topic than some aliens traveling in a metal spaceship from Zeta Reticuli. This is more than that. And as soon as you start researching these topics of abductions and UFO sightings, you get strange things that just doesn't make sense, like aliens making you pancakes, like the Go Simmonson case. And you're like, wait a minute, what? And so to wrap this all up in a little bow, like, nope, these are just physical beings from a different planet who are visiting, who are,

you know, checking in on us and perhaps may attack. I, that just, there's, there's a larger world at play here. There's a bigger mystery at play. And I don't think the government has really too much of a clue as to that is. I think conspiracy theories give the government and Hollywood, for that matter, matter way too much credit. Because you always hear like, well, Hollywood knows. Hollywood's faking this or that or Steven Spielberg knows this or that. And it's like, I can promise you from seeing the way that like meetings work and

development works and how hard it is to get shit made. Like Hollywood is not pumping out some sort of like conspiracy hidden, you know, secret, like, they're not releasing information about aliens and disclosure through movies. It's just that the movies are made by nerds who were into this stuff as much as your listeners are. You know what I mean? And so, yeah, it's just, I don't, you know, I think in all things, we just look at the way that, like, the government's working right now.

It's not. We give them too much credit for this stuff. It's just human beings trying to do their jobs. is being, you know. Right. And when they can't answer those two questions, where do they come from? Why are they here? You're right. Like, there's nothing to disclose except that we don't know shit. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. No, I couldn't agree more with you guys. And it's good to get the perspective of people who aren't steeped in conspiracy theory, that there's some deep state black syndicate government who knows all the answers and all that stuff. Like, yeah, I love. that when it was on The X-Files, a science fiction television series. But at the end of the day, you guys, I firmly believe you're both right. The government has no idea what they're dealing with. Neither does the military. You can hear that in the voices of pilots who witness UFO encounters. They don't know what the fuck is going on.

No, I was just to say that, too, at that first episode of Unidentified on the History Channel, I watched that. And yes, while I agree that there's definitely, all these people can agree that they witness something out of the ordinary. None of them have any idea what it is. No, no. And I don't think to the Stars Academy does. I don't think Luis Alessando does. Nobody does. But we're going to keep looking. And you know what, like I said, at the end of the day, it gives us meaning in our life, like to try to answer these mysteries and search for that. For me, like, that's a pursuit I think is worth my life living. So that's why I'm doing it. So how do you guys feel about that? Like, Moving forward with Bigfoot Collectors Club, what do you think is your goal with this?

And where's the show heading now that you kind of hit this precipice of now we're going to be talking to experts and stuff like that? Yeah, I think it's just kind of working in this really wonderful, organic way. And I'm kind of excited now that the podcast is kind of, even though we have to generate it every week, is kind of up and running on its own. It's kind of becoming its own animal that we're riding. and I'm like, okay, let's just see where this takes us. You know what I mean? We don't have a real necessary. We don't really have an agenda beyond.

Let's find someone interesting to talk to and share cool stories, you know? Right. But it is taking us into new realms, like we said, and I'm excited to see where that goes. And for me, in terms of all this stuff, I agree with you. I say, fill your time with this, enjoy it. And if there are people that are wrapped up in the dark conspiracy stuff, theory stuff. I suggest let go of the fear a little bit

and just enjoy the wonder of these things and don't, don't go, don't fall down that dark rabbit hole too hard because ultimately you're going to be a, it's going to make you one happy. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah. So just, just you know, don't take it so

and that's, again, that's kind of the point of our show is yes, we're destigmatizing. We try to destigmatize talking about this stuff, but also don't take it so seriously. Have a sense of humor. Have fun with it. Make fun of yourself for enjoying this stuff. That's what Bryce and I do, you know? Yeah. I mean, there's days I wake up and look in the mirror and I'm just like, what the hell are you doing, man? Yeah, yeah. I'm like looking at UFO headlines before I'm even brushing my teeth in the morning.

Yeah. And she's like, is this really my life? Like, well, and Bryce and I already live these absurd lives where we sort of went, you know, I'm going to. go off and join the circus, that's Hollywood. I'm going to go, you know, I heard Alan Moore, the comic book writer and writer, said a documentary years ago

that he sort of looked at Hollywood and being in, you know, going off to be in the movies the way that 200 years ago, young men would rush off to go live on the sea. You know, it's this weird,

escapist lifestyle. It's stupid. It's absurd. Like, it's not a good idea to come out here and do this with your life. It's a, it's sort of as springs from madness and leads to madness in a lot of cases.

So we're already living these sort of absurd lives and this just makes it, you know, a little bit weirder. Yep, yep. But again, it gives you guys meaning. And I love that. I love what you're doing. And I was so honored to have been on your show to have you on mine. Please come back anytime. Oh, we feel the same about you too, Ryan.

We love, dude, we love your podcast. We love what you do, too, man. So it's really refreshing and it's welcoming to be part of your community as well. Thank you. I honestly couldn't wait. I can't believe it took this long. But, you know, sort of veering off of that and back to Hollywood and what you guys are professionals at, like, are there any projects you two can talk about that are upcoming

for you in your acting lives or anything you can tease before we go here? Sure. I've got, I'm working on something right now that I'm really excited about. and it might have something to do with a bipedal wood ape. Say no more. Yeah, I'm going to let Bryce have that tease because that's a good one to end on. I love it. I absolutely love that.

Guys, where can we find the podcast and your Patreon? I had the amazing opportunity to do an episode of the other side where I gave my top five favorite UFO cases. That was a fun episode. That was so much fun, man. Thank you for doing that. Sometimes I need that to like put these things into perspective. Like, holy crap, yeah, these things are, it's groundbreaking. It's earth-shaking.

So thank you for that. So where can we find the podcast, Patreon, all of that? That episode is actually still available. We put it up for a limited time. I'm going to take it down at the end of the month. So, you who are listening in fans of Ryan, that is available as part of our Patreon sampler episode that we posted about a month or so ago. So scroll down like five or six episodes.

You should find it. But yeah, you can find us on all, wherever you're listening to this, whatever platform you're listening to somewhere in the skies, you can find Bigfoot Collectors Club. We're also on Instagram at Bigfoot Collectors Club. And on Twitter at Bigfoot underscore C Club. But we do most of our, like we post all of our photos and videos and stuff. We're off, off Instagram.

So Instagram's really become a, an extension of the podcast itself. And then if you like the show and you want to support the show, no pressure. We have a Patreon page called The Other Side, and it's at Bigfoot Collectors Club, or Patreon.com backslash Bigfoot Collectors Club. And we do, you know, bonus three to four to five bonus episodes

every month there as well. So, yeah, come, listen, listen to Ryan's episode from a few months ago. you'll enjoy it and we thank you for having us on your show. Absolutely. This has been so refreshing. Bryce, Michael, thank you for joining me on someone in the skies. Thank you, right. Hey, thank you for having us, Ryan.

Keep doing what you're doing, man. We'll get to the bottom of this. Yeah, you're one of the good guys, dude. Keep at it. Thank you. You guys too. All right, that is it for this week's episode. Again, be sure to subscribe to the Bigfoot Collectors Club podcast on all podcast apps.

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