Kyle Nicolaides
From Rockstar to Psychedelic Healer & Author - A Wild Wild Journey
Top 5 Billboard Songwriter • 35M+ Streams • Appeared on Conan & in Rolling Stone
About Kyle
Kyle Nicolaides is the author of Thank God For Depression and former lead singer of the rock band Beware of Darkness. During a decade-long career in music, he wrote the Top 5 Billboard rock hit “Howl,” amassed over 35 million streams, appeared on Conan and in Rolling Stone, and toured with artists including The Smashing Pumpkins, The Struts, Eagles of Death Metal, and Skunk Anansie. He performed at festivals including Reading & Leeds, Aftershock, SXSW, and Vans Warped Tour.
Despite all the outward material success, Kyle deeply struggled with depression and anxiety, which eventually contributed to the demise of his band. The collapse of his music career sent him down a radical healing path with ayahuasca, psychedelics, and spirituality. He wrote Thank God For Depression about how ayahuasca healed his depression. He later spent four years performing sacred healing music in ayahuasca ceremonies. Full bio here.
Interview Topics
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Kyle’s spent seven years sitting with psychedelics including ayahuasca, huachuma, kambo, 5MEO DMT.
He can speak on the role they’ve played in healing his depression, anxiety, and nervous system, as well as uncovering hidden trauma,
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For four years, Kyle played and guided sacred healing music in ayahuasca ceremonies for hundreds of participants across California. Yes, the stories are wilder than you can imagine.
He can speak on the experience of holding a musical healing container for people on psychedelic journeys, the impact of music, song, and sound, in ceremonies, and surrendering and partnering with the spirit of plant medicine to help people heal their deepest wounds.
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Kyle loves speaking on creativity and the creative process. What is the relationship between creativity and mental health? What blocks creativity? What do you do when you feel creatively blocked? How do you step into your most authentic creative self? How can creativity become a form of meditation?
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His book Thank God For Depression centers on the message: Make depression the best thing to ever happen to you.
Kyle can share mindsets, tools, and teachings from different traditions—and how they can help us change our relationship with depression and alchemize it into a gift.
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Kyle spent 10 years in the music industry, making records with Grammy-winning producers and touring the world multiple times with household-name acts.
He can speak about how the music industry handles mental health, what happens when achieving your dreams doesn’t make you happy, and what it’s actually like surviving as an artist.
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Kyle can perform an original song live on your podcast—or a cover of “The Muppet Show Theme.”
He also recently completed a 10-week stand-up comedy class, so he has a solid five-minute set and some good jokes about ADHD.
Suggested Interview Questions
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*Pee Wee’s Playhouse, The Dark Crystal, and / or Eureka’s Castle are also acceptable
Previous Podcast Appearances
01
SuperLife with Darin Olien
The Surprising Path From Depression to Deep Purpose
02
Punk Rock Sober with Blake Mycoskie
Author Kyle Nicolaides Goes Deep on Battling Depression
03
The Harder to Breathe Podcast with Ryan Dusick
How a Rock Star Healed His Depression & Addiction
Thank God For Depression
Thank God For Depression is Kyle Nicolaides’ personal account of his journey through depression, psychedelics, spirituality, and healing—and the lessons he learned about transforming his relationship with depression.
The Music
Recording / Booking Information
Remote Interviews: Yes
In-Person Interviews: Santa Barbara / Los Angeles / Southern California
Audio & Video: Yes
Typical Interview Length: 60–120 minutes
Availability: Flexible
Language: English
Guest Forms / Questionnaires: Happy to complete
Host-Ready Bio
Kyle Nicolaides is the author of Thank God For Depression and former lead singer of the rock band Beware of Darkness, where he had a Top 5 hit, amassed 35 million streams, and appeared on Conan and in Rolling Stone.
Connect / Contact
Website - www.kylenico.com
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kylenicolai/
Email / Booking - kyle@innerskyrecords.com