Josh Brolin reflects upon tumultuous upbringing and dangers of growing up in Santa Barbara during his appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast
Academy Award-nominated actor Josh Brolin recently appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where he shared an account of his turbulent childhood and the challenges he faced while growing up in the Montecito area of Santa Barbara.
Brolin discussed his youth in the area, which contrasts with the glamorous image it has today. Montecito is currently home to the rich and famous; however, Brolin's experience there, appears that Brolin's experience there was marked by the dangers and struggles. Brolin said:
"We moved to Santa Barbara when I was 11, and it was Montecito, but it was a very different Montecito. Like, there were a couple of rich people. Yes, my dad was doing okay by then - we had a little bit of money - but we bought what would now be a $35 million home in Montecito, right? He bought it for $600,000. Same f**king house. You know what I mean? So it was a different Montecito. And then whatever group I grew up with, but the point is I went to jail there a lot."
Brolin also opened up about the dangerous environment of the days and the lasting impact it had on him and his friends. He further emphasized that he could never imagine raising his daughters in Santa Barbara despite his wife's fondness for the place:
"We're always talking about moving even though we're kind of building a house and we're finalizing everything. We're always talking about Texas, my mom's from Texas we're talking about East Coast, we're talking about Europe. All these places but never Santa Barbara. I'd never move back to Santa Barbara. Because, by the way, honey, if we move to Santa Barbara which you love so much and you think is so beautiful, our little girls will eventually, for sure, go to prison. Most of my friends that grew up in Montecito are dead. Like 36 out of 50. Heroin epidemic, punk rock, driving accidents, Brolin described as reasons for their deaths."
Check out Josh Brolin reflect on growing up in Santa Barbara on Joe Rogan’s podcast below (22:25):
Joe Rogan discusses wealth's distorting effect on people's creativity
Joe Rogan shared his opinion on how newfound wealth can significantly affect a person’s mindset and creativity during the same episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. The UFC color commentator weighed in on the psychological effects that money could have on a person when it suddenly comes into their life.
To elaborate on his point, the podcast host explained how the fear of losing wealth can lead to a shift in priorities particularly for artists and musicians, with money becoming the main focus for them instead of the art itself. Rogan said:
"I think one of the things that happens to people with money is you didn’t have money when you were young, now all of a sudden you have money and you get really scared it’s going to go away... Then you start thinking only about money... And then you go down the weird way and it really distorts artists, it f**ks a lot of people up. You see it in a lot of bands - they start making like poppy songs when they used to be like raw and gritty when they were younger. They used to be authentic and all of a sudden, they're making theme songs for films."
Rogan pointed out how many musicians make more mainstream music or switch genres just to fit in with what’s popular. However, it’s a common struggle for artists who have to deal with the pressure of balancing their creativity with the need to make money.