The path that led me to Burning Man is not traditional… but it did start with a Black Rock. Let me tell you a story:
You see, I was always a jam band girl from the start, not intentionally, but by fortunate accident. In high school, my friends convinced me to go to a John Mayer concert (who I’m still in love with by the way… after those Dead and Co shows, hash tag marry me John Mayer!). So we were there are the Uptown Theater, Kansas City in 2003 mostly to see the opening band, OAR, (Of A Revolution), and I that’s when I promptly fell in love with the sweet sultry chords of chaos.
Their 17-minute-long Crazy Game of Poker song won me over instantly, and from there I was off to the dance floor races. I tripped on to bigger better jam bands, including the String Cheese Incident, The Grateful Dead (I know, I know), and eventually I was turned on to the best band out there in the world, PHISH. (DUH!) Us Phish lovers are sort of like a cult, where once you go Phish, you can’t help but tell everybody how amazing they are… kind of like vegans, but with style. Oh, but I digress…
Anywho, it was this jam band festival scene that I rocked for over a decade, that took me to places and back-stages I never could have imagined. It was THIS scene that led me to Burning Man, at the pressings of my Wakarusa festival director (and we know, Burning Man isn’t a festival if you ask any Burner, but it’s a sure hard left from one, and I was all in.)
Burning Man resides in the middle of the Nevada Black Rock Desert, and while it’s a pain in the ass to get to, it’s surely one of the mightiest places on earth. I keep going back, even when I don’t want to. I love that black rock.
Come to discover, my favorite jam band from my past, OAR, coincidentally has a little song called Black Rock.
“Well the black rock, is where I spend my time, writing a mystery and writing a rhyme…. oh the black rock”
Now this song, is actually one of my LEAST favorite songs that OAR has in their catalog, but when I discovered the song, I messaged the band and asked if it had any connection to our beloved Burning Man Black Rock City? They actually responded: “No”. Oh well… long shot. But still, serendipitous, nonetheless.
As an artist myself, I am a true lover of the mash-up… any good mash-up, making two pieces of art or music even more prolific with a good blend. As a poet and writer, my trademark is taking the song titles of famous bands or artists, and mashing their own lyrics up into a new but familiar story of glory. I have written one for Phish, one for the Beatles, one for The Dead, one for Bob Marley, and of course one for OAR:
“Hey girls and boys,
if you only knew,
about Mr Brown and
his conquering fools.
It was a crazy game of poker
that started the craze,
to a destination
on top of the cage.
Whose chariot we follow
to a black rock of soul
from the city on down
about an hour ago…
Believe in this music,
it’s the only solution,
for this is the beginning
of a revolution”.
-My Original OAR Tribute Poem
I even put together a poker bulresque performance to the Crazy Game of Poker, but you’d have to subscribe to my onlyfans to get that insider info 😉
Another favorite tribute I have is to all pop music that I wrote by looking at my iTunes years ago and pulling out all the band names that had double entendres. For example:
“Mammas and poppas of this three-dog night, it’s almost early November and my third eye has gone blind…” You can listen to the song on spotify: https://spotify.link/hxqM0HeujCb
Well, many years ago, I was fortunate enough to meet OAR and actually got to spit them my OAR poem and Rock ’n Roll tribute. How badass right?!
A little while after that, I heard a new OAR song, that felt like my concept, them mashing up all these bands and song titles into a song they call “Favorite Song”.
Hmmmm…. I guess I’m flattered! Maybe it was my influence, maybe it was the times… who know?
You never know where this great mash-up world is going to take you.
Now, when someone asks “how do I know what my burner name is” I tell them to start with their AOL screen name they used when they were younger. That can tell you a lot about a person. Me? My first handle was ‘HeyGirl16″. My favorite OAR song is still “Hey Girl”
This girl has come a long way since her OAR fan girl days, but the music still speaks to me, and has had so much influence over my own artistry today! Thank you OAR, Black Rock City, and to all of those who have supported my art and music over the years.
Coming out soon, I am releasing a parody album (think Weird Al) called Sarenade! Stay tuned for the drop and I can’t wait to see you on that black rock!
