Episode 36: Jeff “Skunk” Baxter Discusses His Life in Rock ‘n’ Roll and the U.S. Intelligence Community

STEM-Talk

Dawn Kernagis and Ken Ford

Natural Sciences, Alternative Health, Science, Health & Fitness, Nutrition

4.7 • 706 Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2017

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In a rare departure from interviews with scientists and engineers, STEM-Talk Host Dawn Kernagis and IHMC Director Ken Ford interview Jeffrey “Skunk” Baxter about his life as a musician and founding member of Steely Dan, and how he went on to become a defense consultant on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The two fields seem completely different, but Baxter explains the similarities between them and talks about how improvising in jazz is a skill that can carry over into defense analytics and tactics. Baxter’s bio includes playing with a number of well-known bands, such as Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers. As a studio musician for 35 years, Baxter recorded with Donna Summer, Dolly Parton, Ringo Starr and Rod Stewart. He was a record producer for Carl Wilson, the Beach Boys and Stray Cats. He also composed music for movies and television.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to STEM Talk.
0:02.0	STEM Talk.
0:03.0	STEM Talk.
0:04.0	STEM Talk.
0:05.0	Welcome to STEM Talk, where we introduce you to fascinating people who passionately
0:10.0	inhabit the scientific and technical frontiers of our society.
0:14.0	Hi, I'm your host, Don Cornagus, and joining me today is Dr. Ken Ford, IHMC's Director and Chairman of the Double Secret Selection Committee that selects all the guests to appear on STEM Talk.
0:23.6	Hello, Don. Great to be here with you today to introduce this episode with a longtime friend and colleague and music business legend, Jeff Skunk Baxter.
0:35.4	Yeah, I remember when I first came to IHMC and I was skimming through the bios of my new research colleagues.
0:40.0	I'm a huge fan of classic rock, and I had heard Skunk's name in the context of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers and a lot of other affiliations.
0:47.1	But I had no idea that he's now involved as a defense technology advisor.
0:51.6	Yes, Skunk is a remarkable guy, a valued colleague, and a first-rate thinker.
0:57.1	Yeah, you have to love his job title at IHMC's senior thinker and rock contour. Yeah,
1:03.3	rock on tour. That's sort of a double play on words. Very, very good. It was really interesting
1:09.8	to hear about his transition from music to technology.
1:12.8	I have a number of professional musician friends, and we often talk about the similarities between groundbreaking artists and cutting-edge scientists.
1:19.7	So it was really cool to hear Skunk describe this so eloquently with his jazz quartet analogy.
1:24.6	It was a really fun interview, and I'm so glad that you could join us.
1:27.4	Oh, I want to have missed it for the world.
1:29.9	Before we get to today's interview, we have some housekeeping to take care of.
1:33.5	First, we really appreciate all of you who have subscribed to STEM Talk, and we are especially
1:37.0	appreciative of all the wonderful five-star reviews that are piling up on iTunes.
	...

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