Review of the Bucks County Music Festival, upcoming events and random hoo-hah
Sometimes, you just have to do things. Life is funny that way. It unfolds, I believe, unto those that seek and try and believe. The universe delights in the triumph and joy of a unified love…of children and adults laughing and dancing. Earth and human become one, the little body in the big body and The Big Smile bursts forth upon the world.
Yeah, sometimes you have to work crazy hard at a group home during the week, decide midway that you should paint that weekend out of state, then drive 5 hours to throw rainbows everywhere. Sometimes, I declare, you have to do things.
So Julia and I decided that Bucks was a good idea. Our mutual affinity for the Natural Breakdown and Buzz Universe made it an easy sell, but knowing that Dave Halchak, Britt, Jordan Simms, Ilana, Don Dix and others would be there made it a no-brainer. Plus, after last weekend’s success at Some Kind of Jam 3, I honestly felt a little buoyed by the experience, so it just seemed…right.
After hashing it out with my love, I decided to paint only Jordan, Dave, Natural Breakdown and I Yahn I Arkestra. I Yahn I didn’t happen, but it was just as well. I was plenty spent after crafting a Rainbow Ark for Natural Breakdown, so relaxing to their irie vibe was a perfect way to end the evening. Ghetto youth be strong. Come together for the cause but do it peaceful and noble, like the true lions that you are.
Snipes Farm is a small little area located right next to an on-ramp in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. Standing next to a golf course, the venue is chock full of varied props, livestock, beautiful landscaping and other miscellaneous surprises (including a maze and giant boat that I commandeered on Sunday morning).
We pulled in a little after 2 in the afternoon, unfortunately missing Kelly Carvin. This little error would later be redeemed when she joined the Natural Breakdown on-stage for some wicked crooning in what I thought was one of the highlights of the festival.
We got the car unloaded under an overcast sky while listening to Animus. Animus was a nice surprise for me and I could definitely see them playing a later slot. After getting the easel set up and everything laid out on the field next to the side stage, we threw some paintings around the site and chilled out, waiting for Buzz Universe to start their set.
They wasted no time in rocking out one of their best sets I’ve heard in awhile (and that’s saying something…they really don’t ever play BAD sets). It was nice to dance and mingle during their show rather than painting. I sometimes forget that I really DO love to just take in the music sometimes…Julia reminds me gently to give the brush a break and I am the better for it.
Greg from Buzz
Universe, with a
painting created
to their music
in 2007
Alex and Greg from Buzz U
Please check out more photos of a lot of the bands and the live painting process, along with sites from the weekend here.
After Buzz came Jordan Simms. Jordan is a good friend from the now defunct Breadbox Band, a group that I painted with quite a bit last year, and actually introduced from the stage at the same festival in ‘07. Jordan has been solo gigging since Box wound down, as well as tweaking out his old band, the Roy Hobbs Agenda. After catching up with Jordan for a bit, he tipped his hat by pointing out how big the side stage that he’d be performing on was. “Enough for a lot of people.”
True enough, Jordan brought some friends along and surprised the audience with the Roy Hobbs Agenda, which ended up being my gem of the festival. Having not heard them before, I was genuinely pleased with their bouncing funk which toyed with covers, their own tunes and extrapolated jams that were fun, quirky and energetic. After coming off the stage with Buzz U, Jordan was obviously in his element and sparked the crowd for the upcoming evening bands. Here’s how his painting turned out, though the flash kinda washes it out some. This was a commissioned piece for Ms. Hemphanie!
After Jordan, we milled about in preparation for Dave Halchak’s set. Another Breadbox alum, Dave ended up busting out a hilarious Snoop Dogg cover, while looping his own originals. Dave is moving to Colorado soon, so it was nice to see him and catch up. Dave was a big catalyst for me last year in providing a lot of opportunities for me to paint with Breadbox, which ultimately led to me meeting a slew of new musicians. So it was my honor to paint for his solo appearance one last time before he and Ms. Britt hit the road. I’ll miss them both.
I’ve decided to work on Dave’s piece in the studio, but here it is as it stands now.
(Think mountains and trees. Now think about love. Now think about mountains again. And now trees. Got it?)
The final painting of the night was created to Natty B. What an amazing group of guys and what an amazing two weekends getting to paint with (for) them. On my drive up to Philly on Friday, I decided I wanted to do a love meditation prior to their set and so I did. I invited the audience to meditate on love during the set, because truly, for me, I’m praying during the creation of a lot of these pieces. Thinking thoughts of love, triumph…overcoming fear. So I asked the audience to join me in that moment to do the same and to extend that to the rest of their lives more and more. So with that, the band began, and I started a painting which became The Rainbow Ark and a Helping Hand…a vision of what’s to come…of using love to ride the waves. Of surrendering to the Benevolence in this vast ocean of non-reality…to allow the flower to bloom in peace, harmony and goodwill. It was my interpretation of Noah’s Ark and while painting it, I felt guided in a strange way. I used a new technique to create the water effect and I really like it a lot. The band, with audience members on stage, ended the set with a synchronous Hallelujah, which made perfect sense to me as thoughts of interstellar peace flowed through me. I later remarked to Mingo from Big Boss Sausage that the ark, I thought, could be a spaceship. Some interplanetary vessel…it sounds strange, but more and more when I paint these live pieces, I get this sense of things to come. That we better love, because something HUGE is coming. I don’t think it’s Thanatos, either, because I love my life, or paranoia…it’s just a feeling. That things are going to change dramatically and in a way that’s going to shock most of the planet. And that we better be ready with love as our life preservers.
My view from the stage
Sing-a-long with Natty B…Hallelujah!
The Rainbow Ark and a Helping Hand: Painted live to the Natural Breakdown on 05/03/08 for the Bucks County Music Festival III on Snipes Farm, Morrisville, PA
Welp…that’s it for now…oh yeah! I’ll be painting this Saturday at Washington Square in NYC to Buzz Universe, so come out and enjoy the day with us…we’ll hopefully have an art booth and will be doing a video documentary of the event so come out and be in a CRB Production! And Stonehenge is ON! Be prepared for a full weekend of art!!!
Much love and thanks. Give praise, be blessed and do good!!
Your friend in art,
Monsieur Crazyredbeard
