“No good deed goes unpunished because, just simply, Sting was not coming down,” Skinner says, explaining his worry that he had pushed the celebrity too far on psychedelics.
In October 1999, some California-based friends of the musician Sting tantalized him with a special invitation: a group of experienced trippers were embarking on a smorgasbord of psychoactive entheogens that included desmanthus illinoensis, acacia, Hawaiian baby woodrose, and TMA-I & II. The party would be held north of San Francisco, in Stinson Beach, at a house formerly owned by Jerry Garcia called “Sans Souci.”
Sting played two nights at a Berkeley theater, and then held another performance two nights later in Cupertino, CA. The only slot he had available for a party was a 36-hour window between the two shows.
On the morning of Thursday, October 21, Sting joined the group of elite psychonauts for an odyssey with ringleader Gordon Todd Skinner, who kicked off the event by suggesting a pre-loading “challenge.”
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Sting acknowledged attending the party, where he met some “very charismatic people.” What he didn’t say was just how powerful and enduring the experience was for all in attendance.
Founding members can continue below to hear a 40-minute interview with Gordon Todd Skinner as recounts the story. In addition to recounting details of the story above, he’ll discuss Gordon Getty, the Labeque Sisters, his fiancee Emily and daughter Olivia, Mike Hobbs’ role as a facilitator, advanced psychedelic techniques, his operations with William Leonard Pickard, and much more.