In the Stories Department...
Although I haven't kept up in my writing this past year, this space is dedicated to stories and experiences that have meaning in my life. These are the best of my event reviews, dreams and visions, and updates on my projects and evolving plans. It's my hope that these stories may inspire you in the things that you do!
06.14.06 - HARMONY MUSIC FESTIVAL 2006
This was definitely a monumental year for the Harmony Festival and their staff. If you know the "Harmony Evolution", you could say that they've "finally arrived." Yes, it was the best Harmony Festival ever. Yes the bands were amazing. Yes the people were beautiful and bright and happy all days long. Yes the weather was mostly warm and sunny and perfect. Yes a ton of my friends were there. YES it was a ton of work as I was working for Turn-Key and managing THREE BOOTHS (Nature's Gate, Sweetleaf Stevia, and MaraNantha Nut Butters). And yeah I played some guitar (just once, but I did play).
That said, WORK was the focus of this weekend's event. I arrived on Thursday for set-up in the evening, and yup, check-in was a little hectic. But once my booth staff passes were all on the right lists, and they had given me all my wristbands and parking pass, I was set to venture into the event. I coordinated a few things for the rest of set-up that would begin in the morning, and set up my own little camp. My friends Stephanie & Carla from JTMF were there with Stef's clothing booth (Solsis), and we had a little time to visit and catch up some. This was the only time I played music all weekend, but I busted out the loop station and the effects pedals, and played for almost an hour. It was BIG fun to be out on the Harmony Festival field, with a small group of friends, playing my original tunes and some of the cover tunes I still keep around. We watched a few clips from 1 GIANT LEAP (one of the best movies EVER) on my laptop, and then finally got to sleep to prepare for the next 3 big days.
The event started at 5pm on Friday, giving me most of the day to set-up. Actually, set-up went PERFECT! There were amazing synchronicities that happened throughout the morning so that I could have my product delivered to my booth, the water jugs came just at the right time, the friendly smiley guy who came up to me at the MOMENT I needed a wrench and a hand to fix the broken 10'x10' canopy to say, "Do you know anywhere that I can lend a hand? I need something to do!" And of course he had a wrench and alan key set and knew how to use them. By 5pm we were set up, and the event began. All I need to say about the work side of the event was that it was solid, it was fun, it involved talking with a lot of people, and I was able to really put Nature's Gate in a highly visible position backstage, with the Harmony Staff, and with events other VIP's and performers. It felt great to both be giving out product that these people need (sunscreen, shampoos, soaps, etc.), and at the same time be giving the company's I'm repping a fantastic branding and marketing opportunity. These VIPs loved receiving these products, and will use NG in the future, and also share them with hundreds of other people along the way.
Although I didn't play music the rest of the weekend, in my short breaks throughout the event days, I caught a few minutes of Ozomatli (one song), Cake (two songs), and Michael Franti (one song). My 3 booths were all side by side one another, and were directly in front of the main stage speakers (about 500 feet away), so when we were working, we did enjoy hearing all of the main music at a nice volume (WAR, Hot Buttered Rum String Band, New Monsoon, Everyone Orchestra, and more..). And when the night's work was done, at least on Saturday night (Sunday night I was breaking down the booths until the last song of Michael Franti's set, and he closed down the stage), I got to catch the entire ZERO show which was great, with Steve Kimock on guitar and his son John playing the 2nd of two drum kits. I got to sit up on the stage, behind the band, listening with a bunch of production friends and other backstage peeps. I felt like a VIP :)
The night shows Friday and Saturday nights were epic. The Working Jeremy was put down to rest, and the Party Jeremy came to life. Friday night was Bob Weir & Ratdog (he played Eyes of the World, Franklin's Tower, Jack Straw, and a number of other great Dead songs, and he sounded GREAT!), and then Sound Tribe Sector 9 (also a tremendous show). And then Saturday's Techno-Tribal Dance was fantastic. At this point, my dogs (feet) were way tired, and I couldn't dance as much as I'd wanted to, but I still had fun with all the great people who were there, the great music from Gamelan X, Freaknasty (DJ), and the other DJ's that were there. Standing up working for 10-12 hours in the booth, and then walking around and dancing for 6 hours at night should really wear me out, but it really only wears out my feet(!), as the rest of me seems to stay completely energized... I know this is because of the energy I take in from the people and music around me at these events. Sometimes I feel if my feet didn't tire, I could go on for days and days without sleep. Finally, I went home to get just the right amount of sleep for the final festival day, and had a cozy hotel and shower waiting for me at the end of the night.
The last day of the festival was not as warm as the first two days, but we had a good show anyway. Breaking down the booths involves a ton of packing up at the end of the day, and then came Monday ~ a full day of taxi's and FedEx and UPS and shipping label chaos. About 8-hours of coordination and little details and admin and (trying to be) perfect.. but at 6pm it was done, and I was done. I went back to the festival grounds just to say goodbye to the last people that were there breaking down. I drove home and again felt a great sense of pride and pleasure in the work that I'd done, and the weekend that had just past. Again, I felt that I was in such a perfect role to accomplish great work, and to have a great time doing it. My staffers all seemed to enjoy the work, and were all very good at their jobs. The products got fantastic visibility, and the producers and other vendors saw Nature's Gate, my other booths, and me as a really solid & capable force. It gives me great satisfaction to do this work, and to do it well. I hope that you there reading this are also able to create and have work that fills you up and makes you bright and shiny and feeling fantastic. It is possible!
06.07.06 - JAMMING WITH BRETT DENNEN! (SF)
What a fantastic night last night! I was at the Hotel Utah in San Francisco, there to visit with and see Brett Dennen . After having dinner with him and catching up, I asked if he would want me to play with him at all during his set (he was headlining). He said YES! So we worked out two songs (Just Like the Moon, and one of his new songs). The show was great... I played about halfway into his set. Although I couldn't hear ANYTHING that I was playing, I felt it out and heard from my friends in the audience (and Brett's Manager) that it sounded beautiful. I had SO much fun up there on stage with Brett and Randy (drummer). There were about 200 people in attendance, in a PACKED HOUSE at the Utah. Nothing more to say. It was perfect & sweet. I feel the energy building, and I'm really excited...
06.01.06 - BOULDER CREEK FESTIVAL 2006
What an incredible trip! Memorial Day Weekend, and I can't say enough about Boulder.. The people, the setting, the vibe, the colors, the sounds, the weather. Wow! It was HOT most of the time (80-90 Degrees F), but I didn't mind at all. I was there for 5 days total.. for a three day festival placed at the main city Park in Boulder right along the Boulder Creek that runs along the south side of the city. I hadn't been to Boulder since I lived there for 4 months in 1996. 10 years ago! But a lot of Boulder felt the same, especially the familiarity that I felt when I was there before (from my first step in town). It'd be the perfect place to live, if it only had an ocean...
The event site was great. 300 or so booths taking up the big park space and the main parking lot. There were 3 main stages for music and dancing. There were kids tubing down the creek. There were families with babies. There were outdoor adventurers. There were older folks just "checking things out". There were all the usual booths and some cool new ones. My 2 booths for Turn-Key were right along the creek in a PERFECT spot for high visibility, shade from trees, wind-blockage from trees, and WOW it was right along the creek! I ran the Nature's Gate booth and Sweetleaf Stevia booths, and it could not have gone better! Set-up on Friday was as smooth as butter. The 3 event days were fantastic, with incredibly sharp staff people to work with me, tons of people who knew our products and love them, and just a nice vibe all weekend for the 3-day Memorial Weekend.
Music was NOT the focus of this event, it was more about the booths and the people. The event staff said that 350,000 people came through their event over 3 days. Wholy Moly! I don't actually believe that number of people was possible, but it sure seemed like a LOT of people. Talking to people all day can be tiring, but truly, when you love what you do, and when people are friendly and receptive to your stuff, the time just flies on by. All of us working the booth felt like it want so well, and the days went quite quickly. I made a few great connections at this event, and am pursuing some of the professional leads that were generated. I will share more when I have more to share!
There were two noteable stories to share. First, was the new friendship I began with Stacey (from Seattle) and with Autumn (from Boston). These two gals work in the same role that I work in, only together they run 8 booths! We met and helped each other during the set-up day, and became fast friends. We checked in and helped each other here and there throughout the festival, and it felt like someone there "had my back", even though I didn't really know anyone in Boulder. We had dinner together one night, and it was really enjoyable to make two solid connections with two women who know intimately the work it takes to manage booths like we do at events like these. Sure there are lots of fun things that happen throughout the days, but running booths from start to finish is a TON of work, and it felt like a little island of respite to spend a few minutes here and there checking in with other kindrid spirits who know what the job is really like. They told me that they would love if I could start working with them and go out on the road! I said we should talk later in the year...
The second great "extra" that happened in Boulder was on Sunday night before Memorial Day. I happened to meet up with a friend that I'd made in Joshua Tree (Hi Heidi!). And I didn't even know she lived in Boulder! I got to meet her husband and the three of us went out to an exceptional party out at a warehouse in Boulder. Almost all in attendance were Burners or soon to be Burners (about 200 people), and the dj's and bands and dancers and firespinners were all rockin'. I ran into two friends (Lauren & Linda) that I'd only known in California. I got to put on some of my stylin' threads. I got to boogie and dance late into the night, and feel a bit of the Burn Tribe in the middle-land of the U.S.. It was totally refreshing, and energizing. I only slept a short time that night, but I was alive and inspired to power through and work all day on Monday, the last day of the festival.
Returning home was an amazing pleasure. I carried with me an incredible feeling of success and confidence. I felt RIGHT WHERE I'M SUPPOSED TO BE. I felt the flow of the show and the effort that must go into the work to pull it off. I felt SO WELL POSITIONED for what it takes to pull off this job. I looked back over the 5 days and saw so much experience, so much learning, and so much growth. How could I be so fortunate? Well, I do work hard for my dreams, and this work, at least for RIGHT NOW, is exactly what I want and need to be doing. I am exactly at the heart of the festivals, and involved with the planners, the performers, the vendors, and the people. I get to interact with EVERYONE on some level, and when I'm out promoting my products like Nature's Gate and Sweetleaf Stevia, I get to share those products with many MANY people. And it feels good.
I came home to 10 days of "settling in" and getting back on top of my Bella clients and the upcoming summer of wedding photography work. The transition from events to Bella is still a little rough, although I do very much love working at home, setting my own hours. Again, I give thanks for the good fortune that is my life, and hope that I can keep sharing my hope and my vision and my love with more and more people. Thank you for sharing the ride!
05.24.06 - JOSHUA TREE MUSIC FESTIVAL 2006
Unknown to most, is that this is one of the friendliest, hip-est, and most fun festivals in the country. And for many reasons! The setting of this event is just on the North side of the Joshua Tree State Park, and is nestled among a bountiful desert setting in Southern California. The event brought about 2,000 people as it did last year, which was a perfect size to get to meet many people. And another amazing piece of this festival is just that: the people. I think it has something to do with traveling many hours out to the desert .. You have to really want it. And the collection of people that actually make it to this festival (and others in the desert, i.e. Burning Man!) are of the highest quality. Overall, I met more amazing, conscious, quality people at this festival, than any other I've been to this year.
The music at JTMF was simply divine as well. There were two primary stages, which conveniently did NOT run at the same time enabling us all to actually see/hear all of the music at the event. My FAVORITE MUSIC/PERFORMANCES: Brett Dennen, Samantha Stollenwerck, Axis Brothers (Chris Haugen, Mighty Dave Pelliccaro, & Dale Fanning creating the backbone of this one!), Kinky, Kan'Nal, MoJo and the Vibration Army (this is John Whooly & Mariah's new band Mariah is "Mo", and John is "Jo" and together they are...).
I had the good fortune to get to camp backstage again! This time I was with some of the performers and good people from all over California. Within my little camp circle of about 40 people was Tina (of Dave & Tina and their little one Kai from High Sierra), one of my favorite people, so that was an extra treat (we missed you Dave & Kai!!).
Joshua Tree MF was a success for me musically as well! I got to play music for about 45 minutes with Brett Dennen (!!) in our friends' clothing booth (Check out Solsis clothes from L.A. Their the newest hip-est thing in women's clothing. Hi Stephanie & Carla!). I played backstage with my talented friend Suzanna on Monday morning, and a few other times throughout the event site on Sunday. My best musical connection was probably the time I spent talking with and hanging out with Brett Dennen. He is such a solid, genuine, happy soul, and he inspires me (and so many who know of him) just being around. I feel like we cemented the beginning of an amazing lifelong friendship.
Getting to J-Tree and back was pretty adventurous too. I connected before the event with a woman on Craigslist who was looking for a ride to the event. After talking a few times, we decided we'd be pretty compatible ride-sharers, so we coordinated to travel together. Her name is Niki, and she is a really sweet, kind woman. The trip down was tons of fun, we sang, listed to music, got to know each other, etc. During the festival, I hardly saw her more than 4 times... and that's primarily because she got really sick (argh!). I ended up driving the entire 10 hours home after the long weekend, which was fine, except I was barely up to the challenge as she had told me she is usually a strong "drive home" driver, and I had been expecting her to drive most of the way. I had no trouble getting us home, and she ended up recovering pretty quick, just in time to catch her flight to Thailand for 4 months! Hope all is well Niki!
What did I learn? Well, that's where the truth lies, yeah? Well, I did learn a lot about the choices I'm making, my priorities right now, my place in the world, my place in the event realm, and my place in my community. I have many amazing friends, many of whom still don't really know that I am a musician, and that my truest deepest longingest dreams is to create and record and share music that changes peoples perception, raises our collective consciousness, and elevates our degree of fun and love in our lives. So I need to focus my energy more, if I am to get where I hope to get in this lifetime. I realize that there are many places I put my energy, and that it may be counter-productive to be involved in so much. At the same time, I still wonder if the diversity of my work and projects will enable me to live a well balanced, sustainable life. Maybe I can be an event producer, a musician, a lover, a healer, a father, a leader, a retreat-center builder, a restaurant designer/owner. Maybe this is all just practice for the Main Events of my life, and all the things that I dream about are still well within my reach. Well, these are the things that I think about when I'm out there at a festival in a moment alone grooving to great music and surrounded by nature and 2,000 incredible people. Yup, it is a VERY good life I'm living right now... JTMF was the first festival of the summer that I just got to kick back and enjoy.. I don't get to do that very often anymore, and it sure is a MAJOR TREAT. I count my blessings, and give back all that I can in thanks and gratitude for the beautiful experice that is my life.
05.16.06 - WHOLE EARTH FESTIVAL 2006
This has to be one of the finest events/festivals in the country. Where else can you have epic weather (SUNNY AND WARM!!), amazing booths, music from around the world, hundreds of some of the best craft vendors, AND IT'S FREE! Well, the to the many people who run the Whole Earth Festival, I tip my hat. The only thing that could have made it better was better quality food vendors, but maybe I just made bad choices. I did have some amazing garlic fries & fruit smoothies and chocolate dipped pineapples. But I digress...
All I really need to say about the Whole Earth Festival is that it was totally solid (and FUN!). I had the weekend off to play, and I spent Friday and Saturday enjoying the festival, dancing, talking with friends, playing some guitar, looking for answers, talking about the world around us, and basically just living my life among great people. There was deep connection with old friends and new friends. I spent quality time with my Dad. I learned how to do a cartwheel (thanks Brianna!), and to spin staff better and better. The Everyone Orchestra played a phenomenal set on the Main Stage. Sure there could have been more well known big name music acts, and camping to make it easier. But new music is what it's all about! And then I would have missed staying with Dale & Mellissa & Jakia (thanks you guys!!) in Sacramento Friday night and getting to play a wicked 30 minutes set of music with Dale in the morning and spin poi jump around with Mellissa before drinking freshly blended smoothies and drinking them in the Sun.
These are the moments that make our lives great, and that invite us to pause a moment and give thanks for the bounty that is our lives. So many people have it worse off than we do, and I fully encourage everyone who is in a position to read this email to STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING often, and give thanks to the magnificent world that lies around us, even with all it's deceit, pain, and struggle. We still have it good, and I hope we can hold onto some semblance of that divinity as the world evolves, and times change.
Next time you're thinking about going or not going to the Davis, CA Whole Earth Festival, forget your question, and just go. You'll probably discover something extraordinary.
By the way... I spent Sunday with my family and my Mom in Santa Cruz. It was warm and beautiful and time with family is precious and rare. I feel blessed to be a part of my family, even with all it's crazy antics. Thanks for everything Mom!
05.10.06 - Re-MAC HAS HAPPENED!!
It's almost unbelieveable. But it's true. After 4 and a half months of waiting to see if I am more sucker or just seriously lucky, I was greatly rewarded. We've all probably seen or heard about those "free iPod" spam emails, and other offers that boast "if you do all these things, we'll give you a free toy." Well, a few of my friends had told me they'd done the free iPod thing, and trust me, I REALLY REALLY wanted an iPod, but it just seemed like too much trouble to jump through all those hoops for a music player. I heard it would work (business model makes sense), but seems like a ton of work.
Well, some good news, my mom bought me a phat 30 gig video iPod for my birthday in January (thanks Mom!!), so I didn't need to try for a free iPod on the internet. But what really happened was that around December 23rd, 2005, I got a spam email that said "get a free iBOOK Mac Laptop computer if you dot dot dot..". Well, I looked into the dot dot dot part, and they seemed legit. Gadget City is what we're talking about. A website that trades people's email, and does marketing for a hundred or so companies (banks, services, clubs, etc.), in exchange for setting up deals with Apple, Canon, and other cool products to give out as prize give-aways. After all that'd happened with my iBook being stolen last June, and my true inability this year to create enough cash to just go out and buy one, I figured I'd give it a try.
One great thing going was that my "Re-Mac Fundraiser" effort had earned $515. A HUGE thanks goes out to my friends who gave $10 or $5 or whatever they could to help me restore my mobile office. Many gave donations to help me replace my stolen Mac, but it wasn't enough to actually buy a computer that would do what I needed. But I had a start, and I figured if I could manifest the free iBook, maybe I could put the Re-Mac funds and if I could sell the free computer... Well, all worth a try.
To make a long story short, I signed up for 6 of Gadget City's sponsors (YourMusic.com, Columbia House CD/DVD Club, Dr. Seuss Book of the Month Club, and a couple others..), followed up like I was supposed to (45 days), signed up for 2 more when I found out I'd goofed the first time. Waited another 45 days. Followed up again. Played their little game with certificates to print out and mail in. And then I waited. 6 to 8 weeks is what they said. 6 weeks passed. 7 weeks passed. I was already preparing what I would say on the 56th day when I had to chew them out for not holding up their end of the deal. And then, on Wednesday of last week, I went down to my post office box, and low and behold, there was a BRAND NEW G4 IBOOK COMPUTER waiting for me. Hot Damn! I was stoked. I was amazed. Mostly, I was shocked. In that moment I was holding a virtually FREE new computer. To be accurate, it had cost me about $155 dollars in costs to the sponsors and other random little fees when it was all said and done. And about 15 hours of busy work. But it WORKED! Wholy moly. It worked.
At first I wanted to sell the iBook and upgrade to a PowerBook for the better music & video and recording power it commands (and the backlit keyboard). But after advertising it for 5 days, and generating many hungry nibbles but no buyers, I decided to KEEP IT! It's such a great computer, even as Apple's "cheapest" laptop. And I can now use the Re-Mac funds now to replace all of the supporting components that were stolen like a bag/briefcase to carry it in, a portable mouse, upgrade the RAM, some software, etc... all the goodies I wouldn't be able to afford if I'd sunk every penny I have into a PowerBook. Maybe next time I'll get the SuperDrive and the 80 gig hard drive and the better recording tool... but for now, I decided I could make it work with the (nearly) free iBook I'd earned from rolling the dice, and gambling on this offer from this random company being real.
So... if you have patience and some time to spend, you too can go get yourself a free iBook, or iPod, or a great Canon SLR Camera, or about 50 other things at Gadget City dot com. Good luck!! And I definitely recommend creating a temporary, junk-destined email address at hotmail or yahoo or gmail before you start, because the email you give to Gadget City, will almost instantaneously be given to a hundred thousand other companies and spammers! Have fun!!
By the way... for all useful purposes, "mrjazzkat@cruzio.com" is now a dead email address that I hope none of my friends ever use again. Small price to pay for a kick-ass computer! Now I'm truly mobile again! I highly recommend it. To email me, just send to jeremy@eventexpert.net.
05.04.06 - NEW LIVING EXPO, SF
This was a three day Natural Products and "new age-y thing" expo (at the Concourse Exhibition Center in SF). There were over 300 booths/vendors all geared towards healthy lifestyles and the latest & greatest in naturpathic discoveries. This weekend was my first to manage the Nature's Gate booth for my job with Turn-Key. The event was a smashing success, and the three days went flawlessly. My three staff people were awesome, and worked super hard for the booth. We handed out 22 cases of foil-packs of different products (shampoos, conditioners, lotions, soap, etc.), and educated people about some of the good things Nature's Gate does to protect its products & customers. While I was working the event, I was also house-sitting & taking care of three kitties in a sweet three bedroom house in SF near the Fillmore Theater. It was fantastic to have a house all to myself again!, and truly gave me inspiration for making my next move into a house and arrangement that really suits my habits and lifestyle. And boy do I want a CAT!
After the three day event, which included many late nights and some serious bonding with people like Sean & Heather from Harmony Festival, and great conversation with Michael Gosney (the BeachDirect List), David Claytor (SureThing Productions), Alex Theory, and many others, I focused on writing my Event Follow-up Report and diving back into managing my many brides & grooms. Such a dizzying experience to integrate the rukus of event work and then the personal requirements and endless administration that managing 50 wedding clients takes. I'm finding that I can keep up, the but first day back after each event has been brutal, and I've spent many nights the past three weeks up past 3am working.
After one week of house-sitting in SF, I moved to another week long house-sit gig in Berkeley at Gigi's. Having the peace and serenity of my own home was pure bliss. Recently I have been extremely sensitive to the sounds and noises in our Cities. Especially San Francisco. My ears are very refined at this point, and are very frustrated by the incessent loudness that happens all over city life; so moving over to Berkeley to Gigi's sweet quite 1 bedroom house was a major treat. As I work harder and go head-on into the exciting madness of music, social, & work-related events week after week, I find myself enjoying the quite moments and tranquility more than ever. I hope I can continue to find peaceful moments as the Summer unfolds. I hope that I can find balance as I simultaneously work to catapolt my career forward, and try to maintain a handle on the simple day to day moments that life so beautifully invites us all to enjoy & savor. Life is sweet.
04.27.06 - NEW YORK CITY! NEW JOB! EARTH DAY!
The trip was a mere 5 days. But it was filled with so many places, new faces, old friends, TONS of Music(!), and my first weekend working in my new position as an On-site Manager for Turn-Key Marketing & Promotions . I was in NYC on business to train with my new boss, Kirstin, and work the 2 day Earth Day Festival on the streets above GRAND CENTRAL STATION. Travel from SF was brutal, and after a 3 hour delay on my red-eye, two long flights, and a shared taxi ride from Laguardia with a smiley young woman from Houston, I made it to the swanky hotel that we were being put up in. The rest of Thursday was worthless, and all I could muster was enough energy to eat some really mediocre Italian food at a really fun restaurant on the streets just off Time Square. But I was spent. I even missed the JAMMY'S because I was so exhausted. Sleep was heavenly, and there was still much work & fun to be had.
So EARTY DAY, Day 1 (Friday) was awesome. A full day of Sunshine in New York! We had about 100 booths on-hand, a Main Music stage on one end of the festival, and a few thousand people passing through. Our team was running 2 booths (Nature's Gate & Sweetleaf Stevia) with 5 people, and I was learning a ton. The music was great (Grace Potter, Mickey Hart, Baba Maal, Mike Gordan, Steve Kimock, the Mutaytor, more) and the people were really cool and interested in our stuff. EARTH DAY, Day 2 (Saturday) was a totally different story. POURING RAIN most of the day. And COLD. It was probably 35-40 degrees most of the day. But people came out to the festival, and Bela Fleck and his Amazing Flecktones were a big musical highlight of the day. I got to chill a little with Victor Wooten, and do an energy-meditation with him at the Sahaja Yoga booth. He is such a joyful soul, and inspires me in many ways.
After Day 1 concluded, we went out to celebrate. Fine dining at another Italian restaurant, but again, the main meal was just not that great. Of course the company of our work team, the ambiance of old New York, the waitress, the drinks (let's hear it for the Grey Goose!), the appetizers and the wine were FABULOUS, but the main dish was some 90 year old Alfredo recipe, and all I have to say is, "Eeh?!" Anyway, GREAT FOOD is a big deal to me (fabulous brunches and healthy & hearty dinners, especially) so I was on a mission after that to track down some great eats in the Big Apple (see photos in slide show). That night after dinner all we could do is collect ourselves back to the hotel room for a few hours of light (and sometimes heavy) cackling and story-telling. Good old fashioned fun. We were damn tired, and still up until 2am.
Day 2 started and ended with the pouring rain. A good day, but a tough one. We packed up our booths and went our separate ways. Most of the time at the event I was working in the booths, and learning the ropes. It's a great job with lots and LOTS of little details. And in the cold & rain of New York, it felt like "Booth Boot Camp!" I figured, if I can survive that, I can probably handle anything! After wrapping things up with work, I made my way down to the EVERYONE ORCHESTRA show at Tonic in the East Village. The EO show was AWESOME, with Matt Butler conducting, and players Reed Mathis, Peter Aphlebaum, Jen Durkins (Deep Banana Blackout & the Bomb Squad), the drummer from Moe, and 5 other amazing East Coast cats. The "after party" was just four of us (including Matt) hanging out for a string of hours late Saturday night. It was good to be quiet in New York with friends in a cozy apartment. The driving rain falling outside. The buzz of the city in the distant background.
The last two days I was on my own. Kirstin flew home Sunday morning after we checked out of the fabulous Roosevelt Hotel, and I wandered around the big city. Mostly I was in the East Village (Greenwich). I ate fantastic food (Caravan of Dreams, Angelica's, Moonstruck on 2nd Avenue, and a KILLER Sushi Restaurant east of the East Village), boogied to three bands, and hung out with friends from both the West Coast and New York Burners. I spent most of Sunday shopping for new styles & rare clothes in the East Village. I caught Kid Beyond playing at a small club called Codas. And then on my last day, I visited with a hip family friend (writer, activist, a pure New Yorker) and I took a TRICK HOOPING CLASS taught by my friend Stefan at the YMCA. We had 5 guest teachers from the MUTAYTOR at the class! All 35 of us hooped around and learned new tricks from some of the best Hoop Performers in the United States. It was quite a time. After class was the Sushi Extravaganza, and then packing up for the return flight at 7am the next day. It was FLOW the whole way, and except for the wet weather, I'd say a perfect trip.
So, if you've read this far, WOW! Thank you for taking this journey with me! I have to give special thanks to Stefan for putting me up in his awesome apartment for two nights. I met some amazing new people on this trip, re-connected with dear friends (and my "Aunt Judy" from Malibu!), and stretched my wings a bit in preparation for the massive Spring & Summer Season ahead. There are so many beautiful experiences we share together. I hope that for Earth Day, and all the days you happen to be thinking about it, you are able to be with people you love, learn new things, and take a few risks that evolve you along your journey. I'm glad to be here with you. Peace.
11.30.05 - JAMMING WITH SPEARHEAD AT THE FILLMORE!
It was an amazing weekend at the Fillmore, 11/25, 11/26 & 11/27. On Friday and Saturday nights, I got to play upstairs in the Historic Poster Lounge, and co-produce the line-up both nights. I was able to book Ian Rhett, Barry Syska, Emrys Hanley, and Serenity to play. I sat in with Serenity for her whole set (we mostly played Janis Joplin tunes!) and with Emrys on his awesome "Oxygen Bar" song. I also had my own 30 minute solo set on Saturday night. We recorded it all (audio files to be posted soon). I believe I speak for us all when I say to be "part of the show at the Fillmore" was a tremendous life achievement and a major thrill. The Lounge Manager even asked Ian and I if we would come back for more shows! I'm sure we can bring the others with us too.
The Big Break - SUNDAY NIGHT, 11/27/05
It was one of the pinnacle moments of my life. I had 10 minutes on the Main Stage as a "tweener" between Brett Dennen and New Monsoon. All week and all afternoon preparing was a blast, and then the nerves hit... I usually don't get nervous before my shows, but I guess the butterflies got inside me and gave me a little reminder that this was going to be a big night. I felt happy, I felt depressed, I felt energized, I felt completely spent. By showtime, I was feeling great, and I jumped out on stage to do my thing. I didn't get a sound check. They put me through a different amplifier than I'd expected. They moved my set from 9:45 (right before Spearhead) to 8:45 (before New Monsoon, and in front of a few hundred people instead of 1,000) to make things easier on the switch-over. It was an incredible exercise in being flexibile - to have all this change going on - and to not get rattled.
When the cue came, I jumped on stage with a ton of excitement. I played All Along the Watchtower and my newest original tune, the New Rub. It was an amazing thrill to play for 400 people, on such a historic stage, opening for such great group of talented musicians. I felt the inspiration and power of Janis, Dylan, Jimi, the Dead... and all the legends who have played there before me as I jammed the classic "Watchtower", and then I just laid it down and let it all go to debut my new instrumental tune. I was nervous to play an instrumental song, but I knew I had a captive audience - those people weren't going anywhere! It was over as fast as it started, and I felt the huge relief and thrill of being done. I was on a cloud. I was soaking it all in as they cheered me on, figuring I was done. But I wasn't done!
JAMMING WITH SPEARHEAD! - Well, I knew I'd get just one chance to ask Michael if he wanted me to play on-stage with him that night. So I waited, carefully, and with a stoke of luck, a bit of magic, and a keen dose of strategic timing, I walked upstairs behind the stage to wait for my moment. We were in the tense minutes during the switch-over after New Monsoon had finished their set, and we were waiting for the stage to clear and the 5 minute Native American Dance ceremony to begin. I saw Michael step out of his dressing room a couple of times, briefly, but I didn't interrupt his other conversations.
The dancers started. Michael stepped behind me to watch as the Native American dance started. I could almost feel his breath on the back of my neck. He was inches from me, but I didn't want to interrupt his moment - he was taking in the spirit of the dance. He went back into his dressing room. The moments stretched on for another two minutes, my window was closing, Spearhead was about to go downstairs to take the stage.
And then I saw out of the corner of my eye, that the dressing room door was open. Michael was standing there alone, peering out. I turned, and we made eye contact. He nodded (and smiled). I went for it - "Hey Mike, do you want me to sit in on a song tonight?" "Sure," he said with a broad smile, "Let's pick a tune." So he walked me into his dressing room, and looking over the set list he said, "How about 'Yes I Will'. It's in G". I nodded, smiled, and told him I'd be there.. and walked out and down to the floor level with a huge grin. Such a perfectly manifested moment!!
I knew I was supposed to play in the middle of the show, after "One Step Closer to You." I was out of my mind with excitement. I was imagining what lines I'd play, what it might be like on such a big stage, and if I'd catch the tune's chord changes.. When the song before mine came on, I grabbed my guitar, tuned, and walked up to the side of the stage. The Monitor/Stage sound engineer, Michael Wilson, is a good friend of mine, and I checked in with him: "I hope you can find me in the mix! I need to hear myself to play it right!" He told me he'd have me there. And he did.
"Yes I Will" began, and I walked out on stage. There must have been a thousand people there! It was amazing. The chords came naturally. I was just trying to support the band, not step on any one else's part, and to try to look good doing it. We got into the song a bit, and Michael called for me to solo. It was crazy.. We were 2 minutes into the song and I couldn't hear my guitar yet in the monitors or in the main speakers! I had no idea if the room could hear me! I was playing my heart out, but nothing was coming through... and then, 2 minutes and 22 seconds into the song I heard the guitar. We all heard it. The Sound Ace, at the back of the room found my signal, and we were on! It was crunchy, rockin' lead guitar from Jeremy Pearl on the Main Stage with Spearhead at the Fillmore! 40 seconds of Guitar Playing Heaven. A pretty solid solo! "Hey, that guy's having the time of his life!" they must have said.. and I was.
My solo ended on a high note, with Michael calling out (as he does so often), "How You Feeeeeel-in!" and then the rest of the band kicked back in.. a percussion solo, a guitar solo by Dave, a keyboard solo... I played along and danced on stage with Michael during the percussion solo. We brought it together (Michael even sang a verse of "the Rainbow Connection." Big finish! And then it was over. The crowd cheered! I threw up my arms and gave Michael a wink. "Give it up for Jeremy on guitar!" he shouted out from the mic.. and they cheered again. I took my exit, and ... well, let's just say it was one of my highest, happiest moments EVER, and I went out into the crowd to soak it all in. What a night. What a weekend. They even recorded a high-end CD of the show, so it's out there (ask me if you want to pick up a copy). My thanks go out to Michael Franti and his management for making it happen, and to all my friends and family who have supported me all along the way. Life is amazing. I'm so glad to share it with you!
LISTEN TO THE SONG! --> YES I WILL (by M. Franti, JP on 2nd lead guitar)
11.21.05 - THE PAST MONTH. Shit. I've gotta throw down a bit of a ramble. Such crazy, busy, chaotic, and often fantastic times. The past 30 days have been completely NUTS. Highlights: working the SF Jazz Festival for 3 weeks, moving out of Chateau L'Orange and into Chateau Le'Sparkle, gearing up for my TWO GIGS AT THE FILLMORE THEATER IN SF 11/26 & 11/27!, managing a ton of work at Bella, battling to pay the bills while working my butt off, still working on the miracle Re-MAC effort, still wondering how the winds will blow new changes in Minnesota, and on the job hunt again for Event Planning gigs and more couples who want amazing wedding photography! All the while, the most important and driving force in my life is still MUSIC and I continue to work on new songs (the New Rub, Finder's Keepers, Look to the West), and manifesting the resources and key people to produce my upcoming demo recording and promo kit.
The Move has been a bit rough on me... Moving out of the Oakland Hills and into an Oakland neighborhood (read between the lines = from the hilly woods to the residential neighboorhoods) has been rough... Mostly the issue is not having the ability to practice my guitar at a decent volume -- it's curtailed due to upstairs and downstairs neighbors in my 1924 Oakland home/apartment. And then, there's my biggest city pet-peeve: being around mowers, blowers, trash trucks, sirens, people, kids, church-goers, random trucks backing up and all those "normal" city noises that other people don't seem to mind so much. For me, it's a major pain.. Noise pollution SUCKS! I have excellent ears, and hear everything, so this tends to be a big thing. C'est la vie. I love my roommate, Sparkle, but this is truly her home, and I'm ready to get somewhere where I can buid/create a home of my own.. So I have begun looking for that pristine, wooded, music-evoking heaven that I can afford financially and settle into for a year or three. Moving back to Santa Cruz sounds like heaven, but I'm not ready yet. Too much brewing up in the Bay Area Music and Event Scene to leave this soon.
As for the launch of the Juggernaut Collective and the Re-Mac Effort, things have been stalled lately. I am planning 2 or 3 shows before the end of the year to both showcase my new music and to pick up the re-Mac project (I'm 27% of the way to the computer I'm working towards). The move Out & In has been all encompassing the past 4 weeks, and when I haven't been moving, I've been working to keep my job and keep up at my work-tasks. It's been NUTS! Even getting promotion and the show details together for the biggest music performance of my life -- the Fillmore gigs on 11/26 and 11/27 -- has been a slow, drawn-out process. Oh my god.. I'm opening at the Fillmore for one of my musical heros and a current Mega-Celebrity! Finally, today I got some emails out and updated the site.
Somehow, through all this radically shifting chaos, all seems to be moving in the right direction. As all the planets have been behaving unusual the past few weeks, I've changed my home, questioned my job, and wondered and pondered often about a long-distance, almost-happening-but-yet relationship. It's really stressed me out!... But there is a ton of abundance happening all at the same time -- in my Music realm, and the job-prospect department. So I'm staying optimistic, and trying, still trying, to re-invigorate my yoga practice. I think things are gonna be alright... Thanks for reading todays ramble - Check out the Xingolati Update/Story below. Hope to see you soon!
11.21.05 - XINGOLATI WOW! How can I go another day without giving some re-cap of one of the best parties/events in history! The Maiden Voyage, literally, of this "Groove Cruise of the Pacific" was phenomenal. One of the best party weekends ever. Our Carnival Vessel took 2,000 happy creative dance-lovin' souls out to sea from Long Beach to Ensenada, Mexico and back over 3 sunny days and 3 hot & sexy nights... and WOW was it an incredible time. A HUGE Carnival Cruise liner, 5 stages, live and dj music from mid morning until 5am or later... MMW, G Love & Special Sauce, Everyone Orchestra, Delta Nove, Lorin, Laird, Mutator... Hell, I even played a set Monday Morning on the Lido (Pool) Deck... played for about a hundred people as we waited to exit the day back into our "regular" lives.
This folks might be the new Burning Man De-Compression Event of the Year! We had mad, fabulous, creative costumes, all we could eat food, tons of friendly folks to meet, play at all hours, and dancing everywhere you went. When we were tired we could take breaks in our nearby rooms, or on any of the ships 10 floors' chill spaces.. there was pretty much something for everyone.. even Wild Hoop Performacnes and Aerial Acrobatics! It was amazing to be partying in such luxury for once (no dusty sleeping bags, no days without a hot shower..), AND the crew was totally generous and interested in us having a luscious time. It was such a different way to experience a live music event or an electronica dance night.
I whole-heartedly recommend Xingolati for all music and party loving people. It's a little pricy (about $700 for 3 days/nights), but SOOOO worth it. I made friendships that will last a lifetime.. Plus, it was such an amazing way to re-connect with my social community 6 weeks after Burning Man, just when it was getting a bit lonely out in the "default" world. I'll definitely be on-board and performing in 2006! Hope to see you there..
WHOLY WOW! Check out this 5 minute VIDEO on Xingolati!
10.8.05 - Music. Work. Music. Party. Work. Eat. Move. Work.
It's been a crazy time. So much change for all of us. Luckily, a good portion of my work is at events, which are constantly opening me up to new people, deepening connections, and opportunities that have a benefit to us all. More and more, I'm realizing the great value in our all becoming connected. I get to be a bridge for some of you. Numerous friends of mine have recently reminded me that is one of my gifts to my family, our community, and the world. They remind me, too, how much Abundance there is in our lives. The Juggernaut Collective (details to come!) will continue to expand our connectedness, and I am very excited at the upcoming Launch. It is such joy! And work and sweat. Thank you for being what you are in our community.
The Re-Mac Party 10/7/05 was fantastic. An intimate gathering of about 30 people came by and shared food, music, conversation, laughter... I had some extraordinary conversations with people about many topics. Among them, was the question (to a group), "What's your Life Purpose?" For a bit, Jillian was writing down peoples responses. I don't have that page of script yet, but I remember mine: "To inspire people to raise the collective consciousness of the planet, by playing music and planning events that bring people together and create happiness." It feels good to put this sentence together and to clearly set my intention. I also found myself in conversations about "the Techies better be a part of our Collective Peace Paradigm, otherwise, there's probably no way to stop the government and the media hounds from running away with all the money and crippling the planet." This makes perfect sense to me, as the Techs are the ones that manage and ultimately control the movement of information (which is what makes our economy and our world go-round) in the 21st Century. I hope they're starting to work for peace.
Tomorrow is Decompression for Burning Man in SF. I think I'll get some zzzz's. Peace.
9.14.05 - I thought that my work this year would focus on developing my Event Consulting business and authoring a book on Event Production, however, 2005 has turned out a bit differently. Having taken a job with Bella Pictures in December 2004, I have been very busy at making a living and paying my bills. Most of my time this year has been spent chasing down busy brides on the phone and meet with them and their fiance to coordinate their wedding photography (it's a glorified sales gig, with the added benefit of really happy clients). Instead of spending my "extra" time and energy on the book project and an entire consulting business, I have been practicing music and continuing to work in support for many events including: Burning Man, the High Sierra Music Festival, the Harmony Festival, the Joshua Tree Music Festival, the Everyone Orchestra, Berkeley Earth Day, and others.
My intentions are still to create amazing events that raise people's consciousness and thus change the world for the better! My purpose for playing music is to develop a voice that reaches millions of people, and to create events that bring us all together to turn around the despair in the world. I am spending my days and weeks now figuring out just what it is I'm here to say... and how to say it. There's so much to sing about...
9.11.2005 - I'm just back from Burning Man 2005, and WOW did it change my life for the best. I found community, I found frienships, I helped build one of the city's largest Them Camps on the Playa (Camp Dream Tree), and I've fallen madly in love! It's so difficult to have been cracked open and freed so completely, while the rest of our nation's people were dealing with such a gigantic tragedy. I give thanks that most of our Southern Burners were spared living through the catastraphe because they made the trek to Black Rock Desert. I give thanks for all the others who survived, and send prayers to all those who lost their lives and their loved ones..
8.22.2005 - My MUSIC continues to grow and flow out of me. I have now put all the pieces I need in place to record music in my home, and put it here on my website. I look forward to sharing many songs and musical ideas with you here, so come visit my site often, and please always feel welcome to send me thoughts, ideas, dreams, and visions that you have about life, the Universe, and the continual quest for Happieness in this Lifetime.
EVENT PRODUCTION has taken more of a back burner this year until now! I am working to collaborate with other producers now to bring people together to raise our collective consciousness and bring peace to the center stage. If you know of any opportunities (especially funding sources) for benefit events and/or performers & speakers, please let me know.
FIRST ENTRY: WEBSITE LAUNCH DAY(!) - 12/21/2004
December 2004 has been a luscious and powerful blooming of the work I've thrown myself into over the past year+ here in the Bay Area. In the past three weeks I've moved into a phenomenal space in a 4-bedroom Oakland Hills home (completely surrounded by oak woodland and thriving nature, we call it: "Chateau L'Orange), I've been hired for two complementing half-time jobs doing Marketing & Sales with Purity Organic Juice and Bella Pictures, after 5 years I have finally launched my business's first website, and I am continuing to keep my music and event planning ventures moving ahead with the scheduled launch of JUGGERNAUT:2005 coming in February, as well as some other great event consulting opportunities emerging for the future. I am happy, healthy, having more fun than ever before in my life, and finally able to say that "Thing's are really working out!" since I picked up my life and left the gorgeous and divine land called Santa Cruz in June of 2003.
Thank you for your interest and support! Find more stories, show reviews, and updates here in the near future.
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