This week I am featuring part 1 of my very long interview with former Scientologist and Sea Org member Geoff Levin. Geoff has seen it all, worked with Hubbard directly and was involved with a number of important music and creative projects with Scientology over the years. In this first part, we cover about the first ten years of his time in Scientology, starting with his hippie days in the 1960s and ending off with the story of how he went to Hubbard’s ship in the 1970s and worked with the old man directly. We cover a wide range of topics including some of the formative years of Celebrity Centre itself and Yvonne Gillham is there too. Enjoy!
Scientology, Celebrities and Hubbard in the 70s – Geoff Levin (Part 1)
Geoff’s recall of the events and personnel was refreshing. Many of the people his path crossed are the same people I worked/RPFed with. Thank for the work you both put into this interview.
Leah Remini has Miscavige in a panic and the church is throwing money at PIs hired by lawyers who themselves have been hired by other lawyers. They appear to be going after all critics, not just those in the show. Both noisy and quiet investigations.
Use two-factor on everything and freeze your credit.
Loved it, can’t wait til the next episode.
I was a public for 20 or so years and this filled in a lot of
missing info. I felt the weirdness of it all but, as you’ve
said earlier, I was , at the time in for the duration.
I so enjoyed your interview with my dear old friend Geoff.
He was and still is one of the nicest, most caring and sincere guys you would ever want to know. And a brilliant musician on top of that.
If it is ok do you mind if I can help fill in some gaps. He sure filled in some gaps I had. LOL
I am in that AOLA group picture with Geoff, wearing my white jumpsuit and helmet. I am on the right, fourth from the top down.
Ahhhh I forgot about the Rangers. I also remember when they opened for the Stars and got booed. A sad night. If only Hubbard would have asked Geoff to create a band of his choosing. But Hubbard, being the Dictator he was, this was not in his DNA. I didn’t even know Geoff played Bluegrass. I grew up on Folk music and bluegrass. When I was seven I was at Carnegie Hall seeing live Pete Seeger and the Weavers. I also grew up listen to our summer camp counselor Walter Raim, a finoninal banjo musician and I think later on was Harry Belafonte’s music director. I bring this up is that the Hubbard miss the boat with making the Rangers a hoky quasi country band. Portugal has and loves its folk music called Fado. Now if Geoff was able to create a band playing real bluegrass, with a second real banjo player like Geoff. Think of the music in George Clooney’s “Brother, Where art Thou”, Beverly Hill Billy’s theme song. etc and more etc.
If they played Real American bluegrass. Believe me the Rangers (What a shitty name BTW) would have gotten Standing ovations in any country they played it. Oh Geoff, that piano player was Des Poppen.
Now to the Politics on the ship. It was simple. We lived under a true Dictator. And each day you never knew what would happen next. You best buddy who was a Senior Senior and Senior dude gets busted. Its then, when you realized that your time in the barrel was always in your future and everyones else. So survival from him was always a formula you worked on. Yes, even though you look at Hubbard as “the Answer to all things” So you adjusted your thinking. What a bunch of schmucks we were.
On his research techniques. LOLOL………What research techniques. I was front and present during is music research. His brilliant recording techniques shines on “Power of Source”. ROTFLMTO (Rolling on the Floor laughing thetans off.) To put it simply , whatever rolled into his head at that moment was his research. More about this another time.
Geoff, I am so glad you are out here with us.
Warmest regards
Neil Sarfati