08-29-2006, 11:31 PM
Joe Hill was the lead singer for Culture. He passed away on August 19th on tour in Europe. The last time I saw him was SNWMF. I was never a big Culture fan. I totally respect their message and their position in the Reggae world but their sound never really got me. It always sounded like the pop Burning Spear. All the local Reggae programs have been playing retrospectives, and I still can't get into his sound. It's good, but it doesn't do it for me. I love his message. Knowing I wasn't that into them, I didn't even check into their performance at all at SNWMF.
As for the 'best part' event that I left out, some clown had placed a cast-iron pot belly stove atop a rickety piece of wood inside his tent and lit a duraflame log in it. The whole place was a fire hazard - super hot dry fields and a lot of lighters. And remember? 110+ degrees. Which means at night it might have got down to the low 90's. That's when you really need to bust out the stove for warmth. Our supervisor was a fire chief. Ever try to put out a duraflame once it gets going? It's basically wood chips held together by glue made of fuel. Took him two fire extinguishers, completely emptied in his tent. He was having a grand time. I think the perp wound up sleeping in that extinguisher-painted tent that night. He had no choice. At the same time, we had a young kid's vitals crash, probably acute etoh. So we had to ship him out to a nearby helicopter pad and fly him to an ER.
Some other points of interest:
- The huge hornet's nest in the middle of our camping area, once we cordoned it off, served as sort of a watchdog keeping outsiders out. Except for this one drunk dude who thought he'd be cool and jump in it. Didn't get stung. Too bad. JAH protects drunks and fools.
- I started calling the skillet the skittle. That went on for a long time until someone called me on it. It was a clear indication of our state of minds at the time.
- Nice real showers, backstage, for crew only.
- Decent food for staff.
- Medical had a large air conditioned facility, big enough that some camped in there, with real toilets, a refrigerator and what we'll convert into a wet bar next year. It's well hidden from the public and provides excellent access for us.
- I probably shouldn't reveal this to the uninitiated, but Mendicino is part of what is called the Emerald Triangle. Reggae on the River happens in Humboldt, another corner. The last corner is Trinity. If we establish a Reggae festival in Trinity, the heavens will open, the angel with the seven seals will come, and Babylon throne burn down.
As for the 'best part' event that I left out, some clown had placed a cast-iron pot belly stove atop a rickety piece of wood inside his tent and lit a duraflame log in it. The whole place was a fire hazard - super hot dry fields and a lot of lighters. And remember? 110+ degrees. Which means at night it might have got down to the low 90's. That's when you really need to bust out the stove for warmth. Our supervisor was a fire chief. Ever try to put out a duraflame once it gets going? It's basically wood chips held together by glue made of fuel. Took him two fire extinguishers, completely emptied in his tent. He was having a grand time. I think the perp wound up sleeping in that extinguisher-painted tent that night. He had no choice. At the same time, we had a young kid's vitals crash, probably acute etoh. So we had to ship him out to a nearby helicopter pad and fly him to an ER.
Some other points of interest:
- The huge hornet's nest in the middle of our camping area, once we cordoned it off, served as sort of a watchdog keeping outsiders out. Except for this one drunk dude who thought he'd be cool and jump in it. Didn't get stung. Too bad. JAH protects drunks and fools.
- I started calling the skillet the skittle. That went on for a long time until someone called me on it. It was a clear indication of our state of minds at the time.
- Nice real showers, backstage, for crew only.
- Decent food for staff.
- Medical had a large air conditioned facility, big enough that some camped in there, with real toilets, a refrigerator and what we'll convert into a wet bar next year. It's well hidden from the public and provides excellent access for us.
- I probably shouldn't reveal this to the uninitiated, but Mendicino is part of what is called the Emerald Triangle. Reggae on the River happens in Humboldt, another corner. The last corner is Trinity. If we establish a Reggae festival in Trinity, the heavens will open, the angel with the seven seals will come, and Babylon throne burn down.
Shadow boxing the apocalypse