Crazyredbeard Productions

Floydfest 7: A Family Affair indeed

Just copied and pasted from the myspace blog. Is that cheating? I’ll tell you something. I don’t care. I was tired and it was my birfday anyway. And why didn’t you get me a pony?? Anyway…on with the show. Photos coming…new merchandise coming…love coming…homecoming…see you at Vibes this weekend!!

THANK YOU CHRIS AND EVERYONE AT ACROSS THE WAY PRODUCTIONS!!

A better weekend couldn’t have been had…thanks to everyone, first of all, from KillaDilla (Matthew, Tiny et. al), the stage crew who did a phenomenol job and treated us like royalty, Roger Gupta and everyone else…from my heart to yours…thank you for an exceptional weekend of music and art, friendship and family.

We got back late last night around 1:30 am or so and I had to work at 7 am with the boys. It was so worth it, though. The weekend was absolutely incredible and was another exercise in community, music and art. We met so many wonderful people and had many, many conversations about art, love and things above with artists, musicians, stage managers, venue promoters, etc.

It was truly good for the soul and career, I think. Friday night saw a blistering sunset showing by Buzz Universe, who gained countless Virginia area fans this weekend. Live painting number one was an immediate success and is going to the wonderful Kat (Kat, Sarah, Tom…WE LOVE YOU!!!). As soon as I can get photos up, I’ll have all the new work posted. Keep checking back for more as the shots come in!

Stopping to smell the Flower

I truly hope that Buzz gets bigger and bigger stages as the years progress. Floydfest is definitely a festival that can showcase their amazing sound. And seeing/painting to them with the Blue Ridge spreading out behind the stage in all directions was something I think I’ll remember for a long time.

Under the big top with Buzz Universe

Greg and Alex jam while I put rainbows on stuff

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz….(Can You Feel My Love?)

I have paint on my pants, oh no!!!

With painting number one completed…

…we wandered the grounds a bit, chatted with a few folks and got our bearings for the rest of the evening. I eventually found my way back at the Global Village stage and proceeded to paint for a band from Senegal. These guys provided one of my favorite performances of the weekend….hands down. Please check them out if you get a chance, I promise you won’t be disappointed. They’re known as Gokh-bi System, which literally means “neighborhood.”

Gokh-bi System, perpetrators of Dakarian hip-hop, a world beat Lovesplosion

Mr. Rogers knew his stuff, I tell ya. They blew me away…I got that feeling during their set on Friday night that I sometimes get at particular shows. That feeling that Dan Farella described to me as being “a puppet on a string of the Big Puppeteer” and what I understand as truly being One. Complete surrender. Bliss. Or something like that.
The Alliens from Asheville, VA were after them…fantastic reggae, flavored with psychedelic futurefunk rock jams. Accommodating, wonderfully friendly and humble, these guys really did a wonderful job all weekend, playing again on Saturday night and at the staff after party (which is a GOOD SPOT to play) on Sunday. I continued the painting I had started with Gokh-bi and would do so as well on Saturday to both bands again. The Alliens myspace is here.
We ended Friday night with a rainbow throwdown with Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad. Holy crap. That’s all I can say right now. Mostly because I’m tired of writing, but also because I haven’t yet processed how freaking GOOD they were. If you get a chance, check ‘em out. Painted with them again the next night and made promises to do so again soon. They commented on Saturday that Floydfest was the best festival they’d experienced collectively as a band. In fact, a LOT of bands end up saying that.
A woman from PBS who’s doing a documentary watched what I was doing on Friday night and LOVED it. She promised to record footage on Saturday night, but I’m not sure if it ever came about. I was able to give her my card with all of my information on it, though. I thought that was really cool, especially because I had wandered back stage and there was this huge BUZZ in the tent. Jay saw me and his eyes lit up and he said, “some lady from PBS has been looking for you, man! She loves your stuff and says she’s never seen anything like it. She wants to interview you!” To me, that was a huge moment, even if nothing more ever materializes from it. Just that feeling of WOW. WOW!!!

OH YEAH!! Killadilla Productions were running psychedelic video screens by recording the bands and then twisting the graphics, overlaying them with other images, etc, so the entire first night, the live painting process was broadcast on two video screens. Again. WOW!!! Huge artist moment number 2. This weekend was a huge step and so very exciting…I’m still coming down (never coming down!!!). Lots of cards given out, lots of contacts made, lots of offers to do art at various events and for various people. Team Kittybeard is poised for liftoff. The UFO is simply awaiting for the stars to align…

And can I say thanks enough to BUZZ UNIVERSE, TOM, SARAH and KAT?? NO! I can’t!

From left to right: myself, Kat, Tom and Sarah

These guys had my back all weekend and really made everything so much nicer, easier and more pleasant. Your love is mad appreciated. For real.
Saturday had Buzz U playing a pretty inspired set in the Pink Floyd Beer Garden (gasp…koi ponds…trees with faces…gasp…). Highlight number two of the weekend was when Buzz busted out Floyd in the garden. It was perfect. Nuff said.

Righteous!!! Buzz gets the Garden Stage crowd pumped!

Buzz U Floydfest ‘08 Crew

Groovin’ in the Garden (I think there was an octopus there, in the shade…)

The rest of Saturday found me painting, as aforementioned, with Gokh-bi System, GPGDS and The Alliens again. I rounded out Sunday with my first ever live painting to William Walter and Company, the band I generally do lights for.

William jams while Luke, a guest player, uses The Force

Legendarius and The Architect of Love, William Walter

Tucker Rogers, the Cosmic Earthworm and another amazingly talented artists and photgrapher, Mr. Jesse von Fange

He gave me a big shout out from the stage and I received a lot of applause which was pretty special. The painting was made for and inspired by Starr Hill Brewery, and particularly for a beer known as…The Love.

Feelin’ the Love on the 7th Day

So, 7 paintings at Floydfest 7. Painting Love on the 7th day. The 7th painting, painted on the 7th day at Floydfest 7. 777.
LOVEVOLVER.

Me with small painting created to GPGDS and a larger one created to Buzz U on Saturday. And no, I’ve never smoked a Cohiba, but I do have a shirt. Hm.

So that was the weekend in summation. I also talked to Kat Mills and Ryan, I told her that you talk her up all the time and she was very touched.
So…more to come. But man, I feel VERY BLESSED right now. So much love from the FF crew, the stage managers and everyone involved. Special and most important thanks to Julia who puts up with my mad painting tendencies and loves me anyway. Thank you, baby, for allowing me to chase this dream and for being there with me. I LOVE YOU.
Can’t wait to get my camera fixed up so I can post the paintings. Pics to come….for now, enjoy these photos that were generously donated by one of my best Ruthless friends of all time….Ruthless about yoga, that is. THANKS RACHEL!!! And thanks to Kat for photos as well. I ninja-ed them off of her myspace. Heehee!! The head photographer of the festival took a BUNCH of photos as well and will be sending them to me, so you’ll see them soon.
Ok…enough rambling. Big Love to all of you and thanks for reading this far if you did. See you at Vibes.