re: burningman (little loop content)

[Peter Wiley <pwiley@sirius.com>]

I've been to burningman many times and no, it hasn't been free for years.
In fact, if you don't get your ticket really soon, it may cost you over
$200 (the price goes up as time goes go by). It has not been co-opted.
The bureau of land management charges the organizers an exorbitant fee
for land usage which seems to go up exponentially every year. The paid
staff numbers around 10 people, everyone else working for free (in this
sense burningman is free). The organizers must also pay for the privilege
of a  law enforcement presence and having the fire department on standby.
However, "officially sanctioned" participants, such as the opera performers,
pyro people, laser operators, large scale sculptors etc, do get in for
free and may also receive grants for their expenses. Your ticket money
does not go to making anyone wealthy, but instead prevents burningman from
becoming a commercially sponsored event. A number of companies have offered
to be official sponsors and this has been successfully resisted (so far).
end spiel

My first couple of times up there, I brought electric guitar, battery powered amp & effects and digitech 8 sec looper but never really played them. Your hands can get really dry up there and there is such a sensory overload that I never really felt like contributing more electronic noise to the din (there's too many loud rave camps up there already). However, my camp has always had lots of acoustic instruments, mostly percussion, lying around for spontaneous jams and serenades.

So if any of you are going to burningman and plan to publicly loop, post your intended location and I'll try to come by and visit. Maybe I'll even 'go electric' again this year. Just remember that the climate is extreme; it can be well over 100 degrees daytime and can literally freeze at night. On top of that it can be very dry or it can rain, and there are sometimes high winds with full whiteout condition dust/sand storms. Not the best place for your most prized instruments. All this said, with an open mind and heart and the right companions, burningman might be the most fun you've ever had.

Peter

ps. In south africa, are the "burning man" events when mobs actually burn men?

> >I'm getting a porta-looping rig ready for Burning Man at the end of Aug.
> >Battery powered mostly.  Has anyone on the list been there?
>
> Have a good time!  I think a looping performance will go over well there, i
> imagine.  Just be sure no one throws alot of mud on your setup while
> they're writhing around to your tunes!
>
> i must confess, i've never been.  a bit too looney for my tastes, but have
> seen alot of pictures and such.  i have some friends who have just
> imigrated from South Africa who are going this year, since they have their
> own experiences from the South African 'burning man' events, and want to
> see how the Americans strut their stuff...
>
> Interesting though...they said it was $150 to attend.  WHAT?!?  I thought
> this was an extremely remote, FREE, 'you are responsible for your own
> livelihood out here' type of event.  What's going on?  Is the burning man
> being co-opted?
>
> Is nothing sacred...
>
> have fun!
>
>
> rich