Dan fleshed out and animated the Children’s Story and he created the opening to Leftcoastlove.com. He is a talented artist and gifted musician, I will miss him terribly but I am also so proud that he is making his life happen. I have some great “Behind the Music” stories to tell later once Dan hits it big, no doubt he will. Our friendship will continue and now with the wonders of the internet Dan and I will continue to collaborate and make art. This prospect takes the sting from his departure. Technology has made the world very small and so in many respects we are never alone.
I have been looking up at the stars quite a lot recently. The California sky is big; I swear you can see 50 miles in each direction. The glowing night sky with its glimmering speckles often causes my mind to ask the question we have all asked; are we alone? This question is a brain basher. Ask five friends and you will get five different answers depending on how the question is received. The obvious interpretation is along the X-Files line. I really hope we are not alone in the universe. In my humble opinion this is the only possible hope for man, as a species, to survive. As long as we concern ourselves with all things earthly, man will devise his own demise. This fragile marble twirling through space is a time bomb. Lately I am even more convinced of this as we march towards a new and most tragic war. Men will continue to kill other men and plant the seeds of destruction in their progeny. People have demonstrated their ability to align and realign with other people if they share a common threat or heritage. Man has seldom defined himself as being from earth or just being man. I hope the possibilities (not threats) from another world will be the catalyst to make all men look to each other as men. This will be the salvation of earth. No cult rap here just a wish that we aren’t the only creatures in this universe who love. The divine interpretation of the question is perhaps the easiest way to get an opinion from anyone.
Think global and act local is a favorite bumper sticker here in Leftcoastloveland. I saw many of these stickers last night in Berkeley. Danimator is leaving the leftcoast to move back to NYC. He has the opportunity to join a band and live his dream of being a full time artist and musician. First I was sad to hear that he was leaving but once he said why I was on board. I have too few guy friends and Dan has been an especially treasured person in my life. We share a common love of music and we work together like brothers.
The ultimate
Leftcoastlove experience to date would have to be the annual
Reggae on the
River in Piercy California. Snowy and her crew headed 200
miles north of San Francisco to the land of giant trees early Thursday.
Friday morning she called me at my desk to ask one last time if I would join
her. I thought for a minute and 2 hours later I was on the road.
Six hours of winding roads and speeds that would make a trooper blush
brought me to the “place”. From out of nowhere a huge refugee camp
appeared in the wilderness.
The Russian River bed was covered with small tents and all forms of hippie
transport. The California Highway Patrol created a walkway across
Highway 101 which was a mere two lanes this far north. I pulled into
the campsite and was greeted by a gleeful Snowy. This is the world’s
largest Reggae festival; each year 10,000 people converge on this spot and
turn it into a small village. Snowy and her sister are veterans and as
such had already procured us a prime camp spot with electricity, shade, and
most importantly, access to a real bathroom that was cleaned and stocked
daily. I swore I would never camp after leaving the Army, but since
Snowy wanted me there so I decided to cheat.
The idea of technology bringing us together hit home on another front. I have often pondered if Leftcoastlove.com was alone on the web. Not! Recently a friend asked me to check out a website, http://flirtyflirty.com and report back. I was surprised to find that this site was similar in tone and feel to mine. More important than the website was the group of friends who make flirtyflirty.com come to life. Like Leftcoastlove.com the crew at flirtyflirty.com uses the web as a forum and common playground for their members. If other people check in and like it then all the better. My intention has always been to amuse my friends and anyone else who cared to read my prose. Emails are now flying and a cross promotional event is in the works. Labor Day weekend is the time and Los Angeles is the place; Leftcoastlove and Flirtyflirty will join forces to send the summer out with a long night of clubbing and laughing. I am so happy to know that there are other people who think and feel like I do. I like the sass and attitude these ladies and their posse display. They travel and play in a pack much like my friends and they also like to take pictures and share their adventures. Life is short and we are young for all to brief a time. Extending your tribe and meeting kindred spirits in a world of individuals is the stuff of Leftcoastlove.
I brought no tent or
sleeping bag only cash, a car, and a desire to release my long dormant
reggae. After being bent over a rusted micro-bus I parted with $200
and received my ticket to the event. For those of you who aren’t
familiar with Northern California, Piercy is located in Humboldt County.
This part of California is known as the emerald triangle, emerald referring
to the color of the local cash crop. Hmmm perhaps this is why the
world’s largest reggae festival is located in the middle of California and
not Jamaica.
Later that evening my theory proved true as Snowy led my virgin ass down to
the concert bowl. As we walked over the river rocks I saw young men
selling what I thought were fireplace logs, wrong they were single mutant
giant scary hairy bud logs. Dear god! I felt like Jack, of Jack
in the Beanstalk, when he walked through the giant’s garden, wait that was
the Buggs Bunny version, either way you get the idea. The music filled the
air and people were so friendly and welcoming. Many of these people
come to this show each year and Snowy knew a lot of them. I was
introduced and welcomed as reggae virgin.
The
reggae veterans taught me the ropes and within a few hours I was feeling a
stirring. My reggae was awakening. Snowy announced that my
reggae was now in play. I learned to pass, share, hold, fold, bend,
amend, shake, bake, rattle and I even reggae sat for some of my new friends
when they needed a break. I had come a long way in a short time.
Camping like this turned out to be not so bad. My Infiniti was pimped
out hard in the back; I filled the back with pillows, blankets and then more
pillows. It made an excellent bed and I even drew some praise from
some folks who didn’t realize Infiniti made a camper model. The
hardest part was not being able to stretch out but for two nights I could go
fetal. My “camper” was so comfortable that Snowy even crawled out of
her tent Sunday morning to join me and the fine Bose sound system for the
final hour of her snooze time.
The concerts began at 11 am and ran until 2 am or so everyday. The
group I was with had a canopy and chairs set up on hill that overlooked the
concert bowl, it served as a base camp and meeting place. We referred
to it as the “Summer Home”. 
By day we hung at the summer house and river and then back to the campsite
across street for dinner and a pre-evening show warm up session. Once dark
we moved back to the “Summer Home” for the second round. This process was
repeated each day until Sunday when I had to leave. I did stay for the
Sunday after lunch set but I had work on Monday and I needed to haul my now
huge and swollen reggae back to the Bay area. This year the concert people
broadcast the entire concert so the campsites and cars in the area could
listen in. I listened as long as I could as the mountains gave way to the
Marin headlands. Next year would be different as now that I had been born
again reggae, I would come better prepared. I made at least 50 new friends
and once again I was made to feel that I am not alone. This event had its
share of crunchy potheads but for the most part it was just plain people who
love nature and really good music. The Barney factor was high as sharing
was the order of everyday. Maybe people can get it together.
Are we alone? Only if you want to be. Yes the world is getting scarier but there are still good people who have something to share and want to care if you give them a chance. Peace.
http://snowyforest.com/river.htm