Doug Deluca: Producer of “Love Amazon”, Co-Executive Producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Co-Founder of Kittch and The Malibu Guitar Festival

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Producer Doug DeLuca celebrates Love Malibu Style with the “LOVE AMAZON” Red Carpet Extravaganza benefitting and raising awareness for the R2O (Return to Origin) Amazon Prophecy Journey. The adventure begins on Saturday, February 26th, 2022, with a mental health panel scheduled to take place on Sunday, (February 27th) at the Tracy Park Gallery in the Malibu Lumber Yard (3939 Cross Creek Road, Malibu, California 90265). The Crimson Carpet promises to be a blazing, shimmering dynamic of awareness like the aurora borealis or that of the majestic Zambezi as it drops like a curtain entering Victoria Falls.

The weeklong event led by long-time peace activist Rev. Patrick McCollum and including Patrick Cheh and Joey Nittolo, will include a barrage of world renowned, iconic artists, fashion designers, digital creators, and painters. They will be collaborating on a campaign, transmitting to the wider world, the decimation and deforestation that is unfolding in the Amazon, the heart and lungs of Mother Earth and the negative impact this is having on the echo system and the natural balance of our planet. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.

Aside from “Love Amazon,” Malibu Guitar Festival, his new interactive culinary platform, and a host of otherprojects, Doug DeLuca is also co-executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!

How and why did you become involved with the Amazon Prophecy Project, R2O and Love Amazon Malibu Style?

So my wife Alejandra Deluca is an energy practitioner, healer, teacher and meditation coach. We have a beautiful studio, meditation school, and healing center in Malibu called “Malibu Meditation Journey.” My wife is from Caracas, Venezuela and she has been deeply involved with the healing arts for over 35 years. She started with her grandmother in Caracas. At any rate my wife has a very, very strong connection with the various indigenous tribes of South America, being from South America herself, and she has done a lot of work with shamans and indigenous leaders throughout the years. We have a lot of strong relationships with tribes like the Kogi. So we wanted to help them to help the Amazon, which ultimately is us helping ourselves, as the Amazon are “The Lungs of the World.” So helping the indigenous people is something that is very near and dear to our hearts and something that we’ve been doing for quite some time. Meeting Joey was one of those kismet meetings. I bumped into someone in Malibu at a Holiday pop-up shop and was told that Joey Nittolo was trying to get in touch with me. When he got in touch with us around Thanksgiving he explained what he and Patrick were doing, (the first R2O project), and they asked my wife if she could please get involved and help interpret and talk to the Kogi. Mamo Larenzo, a Kogi spiritual leader, was here at the time (my wife had a connection with him). So it was one of those things that gelled. When we dug deeper with them into what the mission with Reverend Patrick McCallum was, it was easy for us to get involved because it’s something that we’ve been focused on for a while and it was sort of a perfect fit. 

Joey Nittolo said that the Kogi have a message to deliver to the world, what is your take on that?

Well my take on it is that I don’t think that anyone should expect the sea to part, and heavens to open up. I am a very big fan and I believe that there is so much for us to learn from indigenous people. I believe that there is so much we’ve lost touch with just because of time and distractions. The evolution of society has led to our disconnection from nature. As far as people that are most connected to the lineage of the teachings, the closest proximity to what is left of ancient wisdom, of how to live in balance, of how to live with nature, how to live simpatico with this planet as opposed to being a parasite on it, the Kogi are a direct connection. I think these messages are super important and we can’t hear enough of them. One of the important things of this mission is getting people to hear and understand. I’m excited to hear what the message is. There is a lot of esoteric next level stuff going on about aligning the planets and aligning the energy of the spirit and the heart of the earth and all that stuff. I believe that in my heart of hearts. I sort of know it to be true, but that’s a hard one to get the masses to digest. So I think you just have to stick with the practical message which is that theKogi live in a place in Columbia in the mountains and in this area that has very diverse climates. They experience all four seasons in this one place because it’s a microcosm of the planet and they are connected to it. They tell us that they can see exactly where the planet is out of balance. They can see exactly where it’s starting to get sick and exactly where it needs the help. That’s their mission: to keep that sacred space and to rebalance the planet. I’m hoping we’re going to hear an amazing message. I may just be to be kind to one another. That would be amazing but I really do  think there are going to be some really profound teachings delivered. As Jesus used to say: “Those with ears can hear.” Whether the people are going to really hear what’s being said or look at it superficially remains to be seen. But I believe it’s going to be pretty amazing. I’m excited.

Have you met any of the Kogi tribe?

Yes. I met Kandy who is coming this weekend and then I met Mamo Lorenzo, one of the spiritual leaders when he was here.

Are they super different from say someone on the streets of LA?

Yes, a hundred percent. They dress in a very particular garb. It’s this robe and hat and that’s all they wear. They wear that all the time. It’s definitely different than anything you’ve ever seen. And they are different also in the sense of personality and character traits. They are very introspective. They are very calculated in what they do. They are very thoughtful about the things they do, and they are thoughtful about their intentions. It’s all the tips and tricks of mindfulness, like medication and breathing. These guys live it. I think that just comes from the ancient teachings and what they’ve learned and how they live.

You do many things in your life. Is there a moment that you can recall that changed the entire trajectory of your life? 

Well, listen if you think about it almost every moment, every choice you make changes the trajectory of your life. Without sitting down and thinking about my whole life there are two things that stand out. The choice I made when I was in college to move to California, because I’m from New Jersey. Another moment in my life was when I was introduced to Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla. Basically I was interviewing with them for a show they were doing, and I made a couple of choices that got me the job and ultimately I became really great friends with them. I’ve been working now with Jimmy for about 26 years. Those are the two that stand out, but there are many moments in my life. For example, my wife and I met at a random coffee shop in LA so there are a number of things. 

How and why did you become inspired to create the “Malibu Guitar Festival?”

I love music. I’m a hack guitar player, but I love it. I’ve always wanted to do a music festival in Malibu because I felt it is such an iconic spot and it’s so music-inspired so it was made for a really fun, intimate, soulful music festival. Right around the time I was thinking that a very good friend of my wife and mine, another Malibu resident named John Watkin, was going through his bucket list. One thing on his bucket list was to do a guitar festival in Malibu. A lightbulb went off and I told him I had been thinking about that too. So Ale, John and I decided to do it. We thought that not only is Malibu so connected to music but every other household in Malibu has a guitar in it. Whether you are a hobby guitarist like me or a major artist like Bob Dylan, they all exist in Malibu. It just felt right. We were not doing it for a business enterprise, we were doing it for charity. We put it on as a charity festival and ended up doing it three years in a row. We had three really good festivals and then Covid shut us down. We are thinking about re-launching it the end of this year, but if that ship sails, it might have to be 2023.

As a journalist I have interviewed some of the most illuminated celebrities on the planet. However there were just some people that when I speak to them I can’t believe that they are on the other end of the phone. Has that been that way for you at all producing Jimmy Kimmel Live?

I’ve had the great fortune and pleasure of meeting a lot of amazing people from all different walks of life. That’s really one of the perks of working in this business and it’s amazing. I have a funny story about what I call a “Hollywood moment” because it was something very personal and I was emotionally attached to it. Growing up, my favorite band was Kiss. My family, my friends, and my cousins were all insane about it. My first concert by myself with a friend was in the fifth grade seeing Kiss for the first time at Madison Square Garden. It was a life-changing experience. I even dressed like them for Halloween, it was amazing. Two of my closest cousins, one who we lost in 9/11, were also fans and we went to many Kiss concerts together. It was just an amazing memory of childhood. So years down the road, I’m doing Jimmy Kimmel and I somehow ended up becoming friendly with Kiss’s manager, Doc McGhee. Kiss was partnering with Bud Light to film a Kiss show in Detroitcelebrating the 35th anniversary of their live album. I put a deal together to film a couple of songs for Jimmy Kimmel Live. I was excited about it but it hadn’t really sunk in. I got to the venue and it was daytime, they hadn’t even rehearsed yet. I’m sitting in the orchestra section with Doc, their manager. 15 minutes later the band walked in with no makeup and they come over to me and Doc. Doc introduced me and I shook all of their hands. They sit down around me. We engage in a discussion about what we are doing for the show. They turned to me and say: “What song do you want us to play for the show tonight?” I was like “…holy shit.” Here is a band that I have idolized since childhood. They were such a big part of my life and now I’m sitting with them. We were interacting like peers and they were asking me to pick my favorite songs that I would want to put on my TV show. It was just one of those unbelievable moments.

I love moments like that. So have you had your ultimate stage fantasy yet or are you still looking for it?

I try to be a no pomp and circumstance kind of guy, so I don’t think I’m looking for anything.

If you could have me ask you anything on the planet, what would it be?

What’s new and exciting in your life right now?

So what’s new and exciting in your life right now?

I just launched the first livestream social platform for the culinary world. It’s called “Kittch” and it is the first fully interactive, two-way audio live streaming platform for the world of culinary. That is what’s new and exciting in my life. We are in beta right now, but we are fully open if you go to Kittch.com.

Photo Credit: Frazer Harrison

1 Comment

  1. Since you are a producer of Jimmy Kimmel can you possibly take him off the air and replace him with someone who really wants to do a job. Have been watching Kimmel for years am now 80 years old and it has become increasingly obvious that he is tired of doing this from no shows on Friday taking entire summer vacations off and just constant reruns. I could watch Colbert or Fallon but have always loved Kimmels take on politics and he is funny when he is around.

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