Headspace Magazine by Alex

SPRING - SUMMER 2013

HEADSPACEMAG.COM

SPRING - SUMMER 2013

HEADSPACEMAG.COM

CONTENTS

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parking lot

tunes

5 Letter From the Editor

13 Headspace’s Festival Guide

6 Comix Corner

14 Mickey Hart Band

- Fresh joke - Sudoku

7 Rocks With A Fox Cracking into Chrysoprase By Shawn “Fox” Rybacki

8 A Head Of The Game Featuring Doug Bledsoe

Interview by Alessandro Satta

greens 10 Everyday Solar Tech Shedding light on the sun’s

power

By Tim Dougherty

munchies 12 Lighten Body and Soul Discover the cleanse for you

By Amanda Wagner

Hunt the groove in Kempton,PA

Interview by Alessandro Satta

18 Suckerpunch!!! A knockout round for Philly

Interview by Jesse Bellosi

19 Copyright Alert plank!

By Mandie Pandarella

spaced out 21 It’s A Bike… It’s A Work of Art… It’s a Kinetic Sculpture!

It seems as though the wondrous time of year known as “Festival Season” is finally upon us. I don’t know about you, but the winter really makes me itch to get out to a musical festival with my family and friends. Luckily this took place for the first time this season at Willie Jack’s Midnight Crazy Train Campout, April 12-14 in Kempton, PA. Seeing the same beautiful people looking out for each other as in past years was a true reminder of what family is. When you aren’t blood relatives, it takes a lot for one person to say to another, “I got your back, no matter what.” Seeing people go out of their way to be helpful and kind to others helps create that sort of connection. Taking a leadership role in our grassroots community by becoming involved or even just helping someone in need will gain you respect those 73 hat pins and shiny wrap cannot. Many feel like they have never been given the right opportunity. No one is going to just give you an opportunity; you have to make it for yourself. Being a considerate member of the community will build people’s confidence in you and help you find your way.

founder/ editor -in-chief Alessandro Satta

alexsatta@headspacemag.com

chief executive officer Tim Dougherty

tim@headspacemag.com

creative director Joe Gurreri

joegurreri@headspacemag.com

copy editor Becky Blumenthal

becky@headspacemag.com Mandie Pandarella

illustrators John Warner

-Alex Satta

West Chester Open Jam

By Kaitlin Garlitz

staf f

Letter from the editor

I hope to see you all this summer!

20 Headlight:

jduballstars.com Kate Lonigro

Joel Kirckhoff Ben Fowler

contributing photographers Nick Irving

By Mia Jester

Chris Huffy

Yo Matt Foto

22 Finding Philly’s Funky Flea Markets

Eraj Asadi

Lauren Daniels

By Mia Jester & Becky Blumenthal

What’s all the hoopla about?

By Becky Blumenthal

26 Grateful Gallery Tour By Tim Dougherty

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Forcing pirates to walk the

24 The Modern Hula Hooping Movement

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graphic designer Jason Waggaman

contributing writers

Shawn Rybacki Jesse Bellosi

Kaitlin Garlitz Mia Jester

Cover art by John Warner based on photo by David Oppenheimer of Performance Impressions

Amanda Wagner

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parking lot

Comix Corner

We are always looking for fresh jokes! Submit them on our Facebook page and we will illustrate the joke with the most likes! www.facebook.com/ headspacemag

SUD OKU

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Cracking into Chrysoprase

hat better way to celebrate spring than with the vibrant color of chrysoprase? This cryptocrystalline variety of chalcedony owes its gorgeous bright green to trace amounts of nickel. Other green stones like emeralds owe their coloration to chromium. Chrysoprase, a cousin to onyx and carnelian, reaches a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, and is mostly found in Brazil and Australia, however it can also be found in the U.S. The legends surrounding chrysoprase are amongst some of my favorites. This crystal has been said to enhance communication with animals, particularly lizards. Chrysoprase has also been associated with helping thieves achieve invisibility (although, I definitely do not encourage trying this). Cleopatra and Alexander the Great are rumored to have kept specimens with them to attract youth and victory. There is even

a mentioning of chrysoprase in the New Testament. It’s hard not to look at a piece of chrysoprase without feeling uplifted, cheerful and positive. This kind of stone works wonders for the heart, particularly during this time of year when creative energy seems to be spilling over from every blossoming flower. Many of its metaphysical properties involve the dissipation of negativity, softening of the ego and healing of emotional wounds. All of which can lead to a life rich with love. Chrysoprase is a fantastic “break-up stone,” as it can invoke compassion and

forgiveness. Many times when relationships end we still carry resentment for our lost love or anger towards ourselves. It reminds us that we all have a life to live and everyone needs to find his or her own way. When we remember that we’re all human, it becomes easier to let go of the things that hurt us. This is a crucial step in moving forward, and sometimes also in reconciliations. Chrysoprase is also associated with connecting one to nature. If you’re like me, praying that nice hiking or adventuring weather falls on your day off work, this is the stone for you. Carry or wear a piece with you the next time you are out exploring, as it said to increase adventure, action and harmony with the Earth. So shake off those winter cobwebs and get out into the world. There is sunshine and opportunity waiting for you! Written and photographed by Shawn “Fox” Rybacki

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of a heagdam e the

featuring.

Doug Bledsoe

VENDOR placement 101

“A Head of the Game” is our bimonthly focus on a member of the local hippie/jam community who is having a positive impact. We choose these “Heads” based on a number of criteria namely passion, ethics and a long-standing commitment to the scene. For a more in depth description of what it takes to be “A Head of the Game,” check out headspacemag.com. HS: How long have you been in the hippie scene? Well I guess 1982 was technically the first time I was in San Francisco around hippies. HS: How long have you been vending on parking lots at shows? That would be right around ’82 too. Basically, I had gotten kicked out of Indiana. I went to L.A. first and got in trouble there too and a guy said to me, “ya know this ain’t San Francisco,” so I got on a

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train and went to San Francisco. When I got there some hippies were like, “You wanna go see the Grateful Dead?” And I was like, “that’s not mother’s music,” cause I was a “metal” kid from Indiana. Those kids said, “but that’s where the good times are.” So I kind of followed suit. My first show was at the Berkeley Community Theatre. HS: What keeps you coming back? Well, I say it’s a psychosis that most vendors have. Maybe they weren’t held enough by their mothers or didn’t get

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enough attention at home and seek something outside of themselves. At least that’s sort of why I first went there. I wasn’t getting enough attention, so I was going to get it somewhere. After a while it becomes your family; you know, the people, the places and the faces. It seeps into your soul. In the beginning, I was about the money and the women, but now I’m not about that. It’s really all about the music, the friends and the associations I made on the road. HS: What is a vendor placement coordinator? I work with placement; basically, I give the promoter my assessment of how it should be laid out so the vendors won’t bitch. I tell the promoter that’s my guarantee, “If you let me lay it out, I’ll do it right and you won’t have any problems.” HS: How did you get into that? I’ve driven too many places and had too many problems with vending. I drove to this one festival and the vending coordinator had never vended a day in her life. She laid the festival out probably thinking, “This would be cute.” She took all

of the vendor’s money and stuck them in a random spot because she thought they would be the draw. That’s just not how it works, man. Merchandise is an impulse buy that should be in the flow. Food is a destination. At another festival my friend had made five thousand bucks by Friday night and I was only at fifty. I asked the promoter if I could move and he said no. I couldn’t believe they would take your money, stick you over in no-man’s land and not even give you the opportunity to try and make your money back. That’s the kind of thing I don’t allow at the festivals that I do placement for. I lay it out so everyone gets a fair shot; not just the food vendors and the people who have been there forever. It’s a hard thing to be an artist or a vendor starting up in our scene. I’ve been in those shoes. HS: Can you describe what “good placement” means? Well midways have been laid out for hundreds of years. You put one stage on one end and another on the other and the best flow is going between them. Or if you have food and beer it needs to be laid out with some forethought. Because you can’t simply place the vendors alone in a cul-de-sac and expect they will draw a crowd. I’ve been vending for thirty years and I have found that to be true. At the Furthur Festival in 1996, the vendors revolted because they had the stage manager for Metallica as the vendor coordinator. He was great at what he did

and an awesome guy, but the truth of the matter was he didn’t know shit about vending. He took $400 from each of the vendors and stuck us outside the amiphitheater of the show. We voted in a guy to go in and give his opinion to the coordinator. For each amphitheater along that forty-two-city run, I was that guy. I had to go in every day and give my opinion. HS: Where can we find examples of your work this summer? This year I am going to be involved with the Big Up in upstate New York and I am working with Nate at Spring Pickin’. I’m also working with Backwoods Farm Fest, I just helped Eric build his new stage at Sunshine Daydream and I will probably be involved with the lay out of the New York Harvest Fest. So I’m definitely out there and I’ll be vending at a ton of parties in Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts. Interview by Alex Satta

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Everyday solar tech

SHEDDING LIGHT ON THE SUN’S POWER

I’m on the go now everyday!

olar technology is on the leading edge of alternative energy solutions. Believe it or not, the sun radiates enough energy toward the Earth in one minute to provide power for the entire planet for a year. America’s drive to capture natural energy and use it to our advantage has brought us to the forefront of this scientific enterprise. Solar powered devices run the gamut from cell phone chargers and radios to solar powered space stations. A newly funded NASA project will be using solar panels to power a nuclear engine that is able to make the trip to Mars in thirty days. Even the technologically-shy Amish have begun using solar panels for everything from powering computers to charging the lights on their horse drawn buggies! While some solar technologies may seem out of the realm of everyday use, there are many solar options that we can use to save our environment, and even a little cash. We are on the cusp of a new revolution in solar technology that will drastically change the way we power devices. Research in the area of photovoltaics (PV) cells that capture light

and turn it into energy, is exploding and the new tech coming out is mind blowing to say the least. Current projects are developing everything from photovoltaic films and fabrics to straight up solar powered glitter. That’s right, glitter. Researchers at Stanford University are currently developing a thin solar film that can be stuck literally anywhere using double sided tape. You could just slap some on your phone and start harvesting the sun’s power right then and there. They are even working on transparent films that cover the screen of your smartphone and provide extra juice whenever you use it in the sun. There is even a solar powered paint in the works that will allow you to turn pretty much any surface you want into a cheap and effective solar panel. The tri-state area is actually on the forefront when it comes to implementing solar technology. You may have noticed the solar powered trash cans in Philly. They are technological marvels that also save the city a million dollars every year. Since 2009, nine hundred “Big Belly” trash units have been installed across the city. More than four hundred of those have a recycling can attachment for reusable trash. A compactor, sensors and

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a wireless card are powered by a large solar panel on the roof of the unit. When the trash reaches the height level of the sensor, the compactor activates. Those sensors also track the unit’s fullness level and let the Streets Department know when they need to be emptied. According to a government website, “Philadelphia also plans to transform the local solar energy market, making solar technologies cost-competitive. The Solar City Partnership will develop a strategy through which 57.8 MW of solar electricity will be generated within the city of Philadelphia by 2021, the proportional share of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s stated goal. The city of Philadelphia is also working on possible solar projects on city-owned land. For example, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation is working with Conergy on the development of a 1+ MW photovoltaic system at the Naval Yard. The project would produce more than 900,000 kWh of clean electricity.” Solar tech is useful for more than just big companies and city planners. There are many ways that you can incorporate photovoltaic tech into your everyday life. There are currently a wide variety of solar

chargers you can use to power everything from phones to air-conditioners. Currently, solar panels cannot provide enough juice in a portable package to permanently power these devices, but they are totally capable of charging enough for a few hours of extra use. When buying a solar charger, make sure to consider build quality, price and power output. Just like anything else you might buy, the build quality of solar devices varies greatly. There are tons of cheap knockoffs so try to stick to a reputable company and you should be fine. Price and power output considerations should go hand-in-hand. The more you pay; the more power you can get. The key is to find a happy medium between these three parameters. The easiest way to make sure you have enough juice is to check how much power your current charger uses. If the solar device puts out an equal or greater amount of electricity than your charger then you will be good to go. There are many pre-made chargers you can use for phones that simply just plug in and they will charge up your device as long as you are in direct sunlight. Solar chargers come in a range of shapes and sizes which can be separated

into two categories: the first type has built-in batteries (meaning you can store your sun-power for later use). The second type doesn’t have batteries (sending the solar power straight to your device — no middle man, but also no reserve power once the sun sets). You may also choose one with a battery to use at home to save on electricity. You can leave the charger in the sun all day (on a south-facing windowsill, for example) then come home and charge your device at night. A majority of the devices offer a female USB port, similar to the ones on your computer. The USB port offers the flexibility of charging many electronics that already come with a USB cable, so searching for the right connector isn’t a pain. You can use the power of the sun to bring your tunes with you on-the-go. Everyone who travels to festivals or goes on camping trips should consider purchasing a set of solar powered speakers. Once again you have the power to choose between the models with batteries or those directly powered by the sun. So if you want to keep your tunes rocking late into the evening you will have to dish out a bit more

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cash. Once again there are many different options available, so please shop wisely. Make sure to read reviews on the products since solar technology is very new, and still may have some kinks to iron out. All in all solar tech is making moves to transform the ways that we power our lives. The flood of new announcements regarding solar technology is increasing every day. Be on the lookout for super advanced science debuting in the near future, and look into ways you can save yourself some cash while saving the environment by going off the grid. The only way this technology will realize its full potential for betterment of the world is if we start to incorporate it into our everyday lives. By Tim Dougherty Photo (top right) from NASA

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munchies

Lighten Body and Soul: Discover the cleanse for you

he birds are singing, the flowers are emerging from their long period of rest to greet the world with their beauty, and the days are stretching out to wake us all and warm us. Spring is here! The holidays, with their rich feasts and festivities are long over. After months of staying indoors where it’s cozy and eating heavy, warm meals to keep us nourished, our bodies may be feeling a bit sluggish and unprepared for the cool lightness of the new season. Fortunately, there are ways we can assist our bodies with the cleansing of the necessary excesses of winter. Show some love for your natural detoxification system: your liver, colon, kidneys, lymphatic system, and skin! These are the most important organs for cleansing your body from the inside out. They work constantly to keep your systems running smoothly. Your liver is at the forefront, and if you party hard you may wish to treat it with extra care. Responsible for producing bile, which assists the rest of the alimentary canal, the liver also filters and purifies the blood. This workhorse of an organ is constantly trying to keep up with the toxins introduced to it by food, fluids and the environment. A poor diet, stress, too much alcohol consumption and other environmental factors can slow the liver down causing the rest of the body to struggle as well. The intestines, especially the colon, need to be shown the respect due to all waste management systems. If your diet is crap in, crap out, then your small intestine may need more effort to absorb the nutrients from food and eliminate waste. Most cleansing programs address this issue, encouraging more elimination so that little is left to fester and cause more problems. Another important thing to remember is that the intestinal tract is home to different kinds of bacteria, good and bad, which thrive or decline depending on the environment provided by your diet. This is why adding fermented foods to an otherwise healthy diet is smart, as fermentation helps with digestion and helps balance the flora in the gut. There are many ways to execute a detox program. Always discuss with your doctor before beginning a cleanse. Historically and traditionally, a fast or water cleanse would be employed, which would quickly encourage the system to eliminate anything not necessary for survival while the digestive tract rests. But the body needs nourishment for basic metabolic processes. There are several different juice cleanses, including the infamous cayenne pepper, maple syrup and lemon juice regimen. There are herbal supplements on the market which offer a milder sort of cleanse that allows you to continue eating and living as you normally would. Some herbs are taken as teas or tinctures to help aid specific organs or processes, such as dandelion root, which is good for boosting the livers ability to process toxins. There is a lot of information online to help you find the type of cleanse to fit your lifestyle. Of course, a good, fresh diet is the first step toward good health. Drinking plenty of clean water and healthy fluids, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, getting fresh air and managing stress well are all ways to keep the body working at an optimal pace. But if the winter or life has your body and mind in need of revitalization and rejuvenation as the season begins, then a cleanse or detox program might be just what you need. “Emotional things tend to surface, you don’t know what you were suppressing with food,” says Lauren DiMemmo of Arrowroot Natural Health store in Bryn Mawr, a fan of juice cleanses. So this spring, treat your body kindly, lighten its load, and step into the sunlight feeling fresh and renewed! By Amanda Wagner

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tunes

FESTIVAL GUIDE

We made a list so you can map out your festival plans for this summer! Mountain Jam Hunter, NY 6/6 - 6/9 Camp Railroad Big Indian, NY 6/10 - 6/14 On The Rise 2 White Haven, PA 6/28 - 6/29 Clearwater Festival Croton-On-Hudson, NY 6/15 - 6/16 May Flora Fest 4 Lehighton, PA 5/3 - 5/5 Jam Along the Creek III Millmont, PA 6/14 - 6/16 Jibberjazz Presents: Madsummer Meltdown IV Schuylkill Haven, PA 6/21 - 6/23 Opple Topple Festival IV Warrington, PA 6/14 - 6/16 In and Out the Garden We Go Morrisville, PA 6/14 - 6/15 Spring Pickin’ Festival Blain, PA 5/3 - 5/5 Camp Jam in the Pines Monroeville, NJ 5/16 - 5/18 Springscape Festival Coatesville, PA 5/11

DelFest Cumberland, MD 5/23 - 5/26

Moonrise Festival Baltimore, MD 6/8 – 6/9 SPRING - SUMMER 2013

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central rhythm. It’s what makes you you, and what makes you go. I want to know what it sounds like and what sonics are in certain organs that are diseased or healthy. Eventually, all this work I am doing musicologically will reflect into the scientific rhythms and the human experience.

Hunt the groove in Kempton, Pa Mickey Hart’s journey through musical time and space has continued to spiral forward since the end of the Grateful Dead. Hart has pushed the limits of the rhythmic structure of reality. His experiments with different musicians and the sounds of the universe are shaking the foundations of science and musicology. Alex Satta, of Headspace, was given the opportunity to have a conversation with Mr. Hart about his past, present and future projects. How does it feel to be writing new songs with Robert Hunter such as “The Sermon”? Wow! It’s just magic. Writing with Hunter at this level couldn’t be better. We’re just clicking and writing some of the best stuff we’ve written in years. “The Sermon” is just one of many. Sometimes the light goes on and sometimes it shines a little bit brighter. This is one of those times.

Are there more projects in store you might be able to tell us about? Of course, there are always more projects Alex. That’s what life is about: projects, one right after the other. Right now I’m sonifying stem cells and brain wave patterns to find the medicinal uses they may have, for instance in Alzheimer’s and dementia research. I also want to be able to use them in musicological situations and make music with them. Your brain waves are the

Can you tell us about your recent work with NASA? They control pretty much all the satellites, so I have access to that because I’m on the board at the Smithsonian. I’m able to access a lot of the information from the radio telescopes, which makes it possible to explore the Universe. I get the information in radiation and light, and then I change its form by sonifying it to bring it into our limited spectrum of sounds. Most everything that is happening in our Universe and around us is either above or below our ear’s reception. Sonifying is the art of bringing it into our range of reception whether it’s visually or audibly. Anything that moves has a vibration, has a light and has a sound component. Period. If you want to know about that world you have to bring it into our world. Like Carl Sagan said, “we are made of star stuff.” So everything we are made of, whether it is the apple pie we eat or anything else, is made from the waveforms that preceded us.

That is the primary interest and how it all falls together rhythmically, in trance. You know it becomes in sync and will allow us to become humans, whether healthy or diseased. All these things have rhythm. Being a rhythmist, that’s my job. Besides having fun, because that’s part of the human experience. As opposed to an ant, Alex, the ants don’t have any fun! How long have you been doing experiments with sonification? I started sonifying probably about 5 years ago. I started sonifying the Universe and the Big Bang. Then I started to knock off the planets and the stars and that’s what the album Mysterium Tremendum was about. Music universalus: universal music mixed with the music of the whole earth. You know, the humans. We make our own kind of music. That was my conversation or dance with the infinite Universe. Now I’ve been working on the Golden Gate Bridge and with the America Cup sonifying the bay and the boats and finding out what a rhythm experience is like that. Then I work my way to the brain and into the micro, which kind of completes the circuit from the macro to the micro. I work with real scientists in San Francisco who allow me to use all these amazing machines on the cutting edge of technology to measure the macro and the micro. I’m not a scientist, but I am an artist and a musician that has a scientific side, which helps me to realize these visions. Can you tell our readers about your new song “The Jersey Shore” and its significance? The Jersey Shore, that was just a beautiful baby. It just popped out. That was a gift from the gods. I was watching T.V. after the horrible storm hit and it was Bon Jovi and Brian Williams talking about losing parts of that place and it moved me. About ten minutes later there was a song. I wanted to help in some way. Not during the storm, but after the storm. After the headlines died down. I wanted this to really give somebody somewhere some hope, some strength, and the courage to rebuild.

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How long have you been playing with this ensemble of musicians under the name The Mickey Hart Band? Good question. I’ve had Mickey Hart Band in different incarnations for 15 years, but I never really stuck with any of them. I just played it, went out on the road, came home and went on to the next thing. This band is different, this is a real band with real songs and it has a heart (and I don’t mean HART). This band’s got a heart. It’s fascinating for me really. I love it. That’s where my heart lies.

I’ve always wanted to do and couldn’t do for one reason or another. The Grateful Dead was very good at allowing creative growth, but there were some things that were just out of the ordinance. There are some things that I’m hearing that have no relationships to the Grateful Dead. This band has some of the good stuff of the Grateful Dead like the way it moves from thing to thing and is very spontaneous, but it is doing it with new music in a different way.

What brought this specific group of musicians together? That’s a good question with a simple answer. The rhythms of the Universe, Mysterium Tremendum; being able to dance and interpret the music of the Universe. I found people who wanted to dance with the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, Saturn, the black holes, the super novas and the big bang: the singularity. I asked for them, listened for them, scouted them and carefully picked them. Only the willing have been picked for this mission. So I found a bunch of visionary locals who wanted to go on the ride. That’s how this band started. They have a liking for this kind of sonification work and being able to play with dimensions that are unseen and unheard. They have now created their own identity. It’s a new kind of music. More than anything we pulse and we throb. Which is what the Universe really does is it pulses and throbs. That’s a big part of our music. It’s based on dance music and a rock and roll type of thing, but it’s quite different. Have you ever heard us live? Yes, I have seen you several times. So you understand what I’m trying to get at. We’re developing that kind of pulsing thing, you know drones and all kinds of things that live on the edges and now occupy the main stage. I’m allowing myself to explore all the things

It seems as though your musical comfort levels as a band have increased in the last year. How has this affected the recorded and live settings? It’s everything. That’s everything. That comfort level that’s the mayonnaise or grease or however you want to call it. That’s the oil. That’s what makes a band a band as opposed to a bunch of musicians playing music. I call it band head when you get that feeling of grand sync. That’s big stuff, that’s big grooves. We got some big grooves, as you’ve heard there are some powerful monstrous grooves that lie out there that have never really been discovered. Do you remember what shows you were at?

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I saw this incarnation of the Mickey Hart Band for the first time at Penn’s Peak in Pennsylvania last year. Oh yeah I remember that. That was cool. Did we pulse and throb you and the audience? Absolutely! Well that’s the thing man, music is supposed to be visceral like that. If you really want to feel it you have to be vibrating and you have to be in tune with the basic elements of the Universe. In rhythm Alex, in rhythm! So that’s what we try and get into powerful rhythms every night. We try to conjure them, we try to find them, and we hunt them. We think of ourselves as a wolf pack and we’re packing. We’re hungry for the groove. We go out looking for the groove everywhere, every night in different places until we find it. We’re groovists or groove hunters. So the spirit of the band is red hot. That will only last for a while I imagine. Bands get hot and they get cold. We’re hot. Eventually we will cool off and then maybe we will get hot again. That’s what happened with the Grateful Dead. There were periods where we were hot and periods where we were cold. Then we would get our band head back together or our shit together and come out steamin’. That’s the way of life. Music is reflected in life cycles. If you had a bad day doesn’t mean you have to have a bad night. So music has the ability to turn a really bad day into a really good night. Usually it doesn’t turn a really good day into a bad night. Usually. Our averages are way up. I can’t even think of one show that I recall as a sinker-stinker. I don’t think we’ve had one of those. I’m sure we will, but hopefully not at one that you and your friends are at.

very sophisticated to be able to do what we are doing, so you need a very powerful compact and dependable delivery system. The most important thing is that you feel good on the stage whether it’s inside a club or outside in a stadium. You have to create an intimate musical conversation, and then you can throw that out to three hundred people or three hundred thousand people or three million people. We create an environment on the stage. That’s the most important thing. In the old days I used to think about reaching that guy at the end of the field that you could hardly see. That’s not possible. That’s not physically possible unless you have a great sound system, which would be doing the work. I focus on having a great environment on stage, which we can then give out to the rest of the world. That’s how we deal with it. We don’t try and punch it out or over play it just because we have a huge crowd in front of us. I’ve played some pretty big places in my years so I don’t get intimidated at all. I think that’s kind of contagious. When we walk out of a place with forty or fifty thousand people it’s the same as walking out of a club with a thousand. After all the years you kind of get a kind of sensibility for that. Of course when you’re facing hundreds of thousands of people your blood rate will go up, no doubt. But eventually you have to reach a place where you’re comfortable. That means you have to all be on the same page as far as rhythm. If one guy’s eyes are all bugged out because there are a hundred thousand

people, he is not going to be able to relate to what’s going on. He’s off in some other place in some land of glory and wonder or just anxiety. That’s not the way I push the music. The band is successful a lot for that reason. It’s not scared. The band is not afraid to go places musically or to face any challenge on the road. The band has character. Like we broke down on the last tour and sat on the side of the road for three or four hours which hap-

Did you have any sort of hand in having the African Showboyz as your opening act throughout the tour?

pens sometimes and everyone was kind of watching me wondering if I was going to be mad or upset and I was just thinking, “this kind of thing builds character.” So you have all these kinds of experiences with these guys and gals and you try and take that confidence with you on stage. The band is very confident. One of the upcoming dates on your tour is an overnight camping event in Kempton, PA. Do you have any memories of traveling through beautiful Pennsylvania on past tours? I do remember when we were on our tour bus with the Dead and the driver took a wrong turn. We ended up in the back woods on this street where we couldn’t even turn around. Finally this farmer came out and tore his fence down so we could turn the bus around.

How does this band adjust between the outdoor and indoor setting? We have great sound capabilities. This band is sonically very muscular. It seems

He came out with his tractor and everything, and we paid him so he could build himself a nice new fence. We turned the bus around and got back on the highway. I had never done something like that before. I think that happened in Pennsylvania.

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They are protégés of Babatunde Olatunji, a great African drummer. I thought it would be cool to add that kind of rhythm. It brings a whole different kind of sensibility to the night, starting it off very up beat. Headspace Magazine is heavily based out of Philadelphia and we know that this was a city the Grateful Dead would play often. Can you recommend any GD dates from the City of Brotherly Love other than the famed night that became the Crimson, White and Indigo album? No, no, no. I don’t go that deep. We played those places so many times it was like our living room. We played there a lot. It was just like home in San Francisco. I remember when we first walked into the Spectrum it looked so big. Then after playing it a thousand times it looked really small. We had some titanic shows there, but which ones in particular I don’t remember. Photos by Joe Gurreri

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SUCKERPUNCH!!! Suckerpunch was formed in 2003 as one of the multitude of livetronica-based side projects. Suckerpunch featured an original lineup of Mark Brownstein and Aron Magner of the Disco Biscuits, Jamie Shields of the New Deal, Mike Greenfield of Lotus and Zach Velmer of STS9. The band reformed nine years later in 2012, this time without Velmer, for a reunion tour. Once again, Suckerpunch will reunite for a limited number of shows this summer, including a performance on June 22 at The Blockley. Headspace had the opportunity to speak with Jamie Shields, former keyboardist of the New Deal and current member of Suckerpunch about the band’s plans for the summer and beyond. HS: What do you think of all these side projects like Kick Rocks, Conspirator and the Maui Project? JS: I love them; I think they’re great. It’s kind of what music is designed to be, right? We’ve evolved in our social life and our romantic life. You get married, and most people sort of stay committed to one person for the rest of their life or as long as they’re married. Sometimes that happens in bands too, but I don’t think it has to happen with bands. I think music should feed off other peoples’ ideas and feed off other peoples’ energy in order to be shared with all these people. Always, with music,

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A KNOCKOUT ROUND FOR PHILLY

the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It’s just that equal contributions don’t equal something finite, right? Different chemical reactions happen when you involve different people. It’s nice to be able to do what you do with other people and see what they contribute to it, and that’s what I love about side project stuff. HS: So you and Aron Magner have your own styles. How does it feel working with another keyboardist? JS: Well, it depends on the keyboardist (laugh). I’ve worked with Aron Magner a million times before and we’ve played in a bunch of stuff together. We very rarely step on each other’s feet. We’re always very cautious. Like if you play with somebody who’s listening, or if you play with somebody who’s got good ears. It’s kind of like the Keith Richards/Ronnie Wood syndrome

HS: What do you think of the nickname James “Guitar” Shields? JS: Well it was given to me a long, long time ago because I’m terrible at guitar. I’m good at drums, I can play the bass and I’m great at keys. I can play the sax. I can play a bunch of instruments. I cannot handle a guitar, and I don’t know why. Some old bands I used to play in would make me strap on a guitar for the encore and they’d make me play in front of people because I am so bad. And at that point I got the nickname James “Guitar” Shields. HS: How do you feel about the music scene here in Philly? JS: I’ve always loved the music scene in Philly. It’s awesome. Its got its own thing going all the time. It’s dance music, rap music and hip hop; it’s just everything. There’s only a handful of cities that can actually boast a specific scene that is specifically relevant to the city itself, you know? Philly is like one of three, I think. The city has a very distinct personality. HS: After the New Deal split, you’re now focusing a lot of your work on StudioCat. Can you tell me what that’s all about?

where those guys are playing, but they never step on each other. They never play the same thing and they never play something that doesn’t compliment the other. It’s just that weird synchronicity they have, and I kind of have the same thing going with Magner.

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JS: I’ve been running StudioCat for about eight years. I write a lot of music for TV and for film. I manage it with two other guys and it’s basically a composing company. We score music for film and TV. This way I get to write music and sleep in the same bed every night. Interviewed by Jesse Bellosi Photos by Nick Irving (middle and top left) and Joe Gurreri

of the information superhighway and these gumshoes have the power to really muck up your browsing speeds. They can easily downgrade your household to a slower connection for up to 48 hours. And if bandwidth throttling isn’t enough, the newly-appointed web-based ISP power rangers do have the force to terminate your service. This provision may have a powerful impact on the ability of businesses to host open Wi-Fi networks. The nice perk of free Wi-Fi access at your local internet café may eventually be restricted, if pirates set their sights to pillage open-access internet resources. However, since the new CAS is not governmentally operated it has neither the strength nor legal pull to enact serious penalties such as prosecution or jail. The reality is that the worst repeat-offending (recidivist) pirates will face a total These days it seems like everyone However, the alerts do not provide the shutoff of their internet service via their knows someone who downloads media user with educational information about present ISP. Although this final terminaillegally- slyly bypassing payments to the the principles of copyright law, nor do tion step may not be in the ISPs best inintellectual property owner. Whether it’s they specify the exact material that was terest, considering most pirates probably that blockbuster movie still in theatres, supposedly obtained illegally. To be pay for internet service and cutting them or your favorite band’s newest album, accused of a crime there must be off may drive these paying customers into you can bet the content is being pirated evidence to show for it. Yet six-strike the arms of competitors. somewhere. Pirates are people who have offense content has so far been The new CAS begs questions: what learned how to circumnavigate the proper undisclosed to the people held repercussions will this have on the local channels of media purchasing by sharing accountable. music industry? What are bands doing or downloading content for free via peerMost ISPs have even neglected to post differently now to fight piracy on their own to-peer (P2P) networks. Up until recently details of the new CAS in plain sight on terms? I caught up with local band FiKus, there were relatively few repercussions their web pages for public perusal. News a five-piece neo-funk group based in for these web-surfing swashbucklers. has largely been under the radar, yet Bergen County, NJ. Recently FiKus These days torrent downloading has ISPs have quietly joined forces to morph joined the ranks of those generous become so popular that the holders of the into the role of cyberspace patrolmen. A musicians opting to distribute their own intellectual property have now teamed up word of caution to anyone out there that original music for free, a recent moveto exert a measure of control. leaves their Wi-Fi network open, without ment that has turned the concept of piraThe top five major players in the protecting it with a complicated passcy on its head. The last FiKus EP (Plus+) United States internet service provider word. That kid across the street could be was released exclusively in digital format (ISP) game joined forces to fight stealing your internet to pirate media for via MP3 download and streaming. Inanti-piracy in a step-wise manner. themselves, leaving you to collect alert stead of relying solely on album sales to Namely: AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, “tickets.” ISPs are now the secret police make a profit, a forward-thinking attitude Time Warner Cable and Verizon are has led FiKus to thrive, while rendering fighting against their customers’ illegal the concept of ‘music piracy’ moot. Profits downloading habits. The new can be made through other avenues such enforcement policy is formally entitled as shows, merchandising, or even the the Copyright Alert System (CAS), yet it relatively new idea of assigning value by has famously come to be known as the paying what you feel the album is worth. six-strike system. This six-strike CAS is “I think efforts should be made to give the brain child of the Center for Copyright incentives to people for buying [an album] Pete Kozak of FiKus Information (CCI), an umbrella rather than to restrict people from downPhoto by Joe Gurreri organization encompassing the Motion loading. I personally appreciate the effort Picture Association of America (MPAA) and commend the purpose of the CAS, and Recording Industry but people always seem to find a Association of America (RIAA), way around things like this,” says amongst other powerful CONSEQUENCES FOR EACH OFFENSE Pete Kozak from FiKus. Indeed, if entertainment lobbyists. there is a will then there will most Strike 1: Internet user is Apparently losing billions of Strikes 3 and 4: Must certainly be another way. FiKus, and dollars every year doesn’t sit watch a video about the emailed about the illegal bands alike, have been successfully well with the bigwigs. dangers of piracy thwarting piracy by charting their download On February 25, 2013 the own unique course and navigating Strike 2: Another email Strikes 5 and 6: BandCCI rolled out their much anticalong a different bearing than the or call from the ISP, width is throttled and/or ipated and highly collaborative vast majority of musicians in recent requiring a return email/ service is permanently label it as “education” as history. call terminated CAS program. They prefer to SPRING - SUMMER 2013 HEADSPACEMAG.COM 19 opposed to “punishment.” Written by Mandie Pandarella

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FORCING PIRATES TO WALK THE PLANK!

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Headlight:

West Chester Open Jam Nothing quite brings people together in the ways that music can. This seems particularly true of live, local and spontaneous music. Open jams hosted by the Rob Perna Band at the Social Lounge in West Chester on Wednesday nights are a good place to find signs of this funky musical kinship. Together, the Rob Perna Band and the Social Lounge have created an open environment to allow a unique community to blossom while encouraging a wide range of musical experiences. They have honed in on a specific formula for funk in order to inspire and create a fun and friendly environment for music. “My formula for how to run a jam is based on the blues jams I used to attend when I was a kid. It has always been an important part of my learning process to play on stage with random people, being “thrown to the wolves, never knowing quite what would come next,” Rob Perna, band member and open jam organizer, said. The party-like atmosphere of these open jams has attracted a wide range of musicians, collectively influenced by every genre of music. The point of open jams is to allow these different musicians to come together and create a musical experience reflecting funk, blues, rock, hip hop, and other genres. Even as an audience member, you feel like a part of the musical process, to see spontaneous jams forming from so many different influences. The set up of the event is based on a sign up sheet for musicians that are welcomed to invite friends and strangers to hop on stage and perform with them. And of course they feed off your creative energy, the more you dance the more they will bring the funk. “Running a successful jam is about

making it equally fun for people who do not play music,” Perna explains. “Many jams are overpopulated with musicians sitting around like vultures waiting to cut someone’s head off. We’ve got dancing.” This point is made apparent by the friendly and communal open jam party, which takes place every Wednesday. The energy is up from start to finish thanks to the formula used by Rob Perna Band. This includes hand-selected iPod playlists between sets to keep the energy going. “It’s especially cool to see so many different musicians who normally don’t perform together jam out on stage next to one another. It’s become a really cool scene. I’ve been coming out regularly since The Rob Perna Band started to host it. I do not perform, but really enjoy listening and dancing to the tunes every week. Great venue as well, I dig the Social Lounge a lot!” Jessica Drinkwater, a fan of open jams commented. When the Social Lounge needed a regular Wednesday night gig they asked experienced open jam coordinator Perna to throw the weekly event. Working with his band and a family like group of friends and music lovers has led to Wednesday night becoming party night in West Chester, PA. The merry band of funksters known as the Rob Perna Band is composed of Rob Perna Jr., Kevin Farrow, Rick Reinhart, Joe Buono, Alicia McDevitt, Evi Kim, and Meg Rage. The band is responsible for hosting and inspiring energy and fun in other musicians who attend to the jam. “Personally, I just want the good times to keep rolling for the Rob Perna Band and the open jam sessions. We are like one big, happy, funky, Perna-graphic family,” Rick Reinhart, bassist for Rob Perna Band said. Max Platt, another regular open jam audience member expressed that, “Rob Perna has opened my mind to levels of funk I had previously thought unattainable.” Supporting local music by attending open mics and open jam sessions is a great way to encourage free and open artistic expression. Jams are held at the Social Lounge in West Chester, PA every Wednesday from 10pm-2 am. Come out to play, sing, drink and dance- all in good company.

Written by Kaitlin Garlitz Photos by

Chris Huffy

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The morning of May 18, Philadelphia residents might find themselves doing a double take as they spot Mummer-like or Burning Man-esque creations ambling down the lane. These unusual structures will (most likely) be en route to the 7th Annual Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby. At noon, a fleet of artistically themed human-powered vehicles will take off from the intersection of Norris street and Trenton avenue, parading down Girard and then Frankford avenues before crossing the mud-pit finish line. With an entrance speed requirement of only 3 mph., prizes are awarded for best engineering, art, costumes, people’s and judge’s choices, 1 or 2 person entry, and breakdown. Interestingly, despite all these prizes, there is no award for the fastest vehicle. Last year’s attendance surpassed 10,000 people, which

guarantees a great outcome for 2013. The New Kensington Community Development Corporation organizes this event in conjunction with the East Kensington Neighbors Association, which concurrently runs the Trenton Ave Arts Festival. This means that only steps away from the derby, spectators can check out over two hundred food and craft vendors and explore Kensington’s rich history. “The fun part is showing up with

what you’ve been spending months on in your mad science laboratory, letting everyone see it and then crashing into mud,” Kimberlee Traub, a Fishtown-based artist and last year’s best 1 or 2 person entry award recipient, said. In 2012, Traub’s experience transporting herself and her boyfriend Andrew Skrzyinsky’s sugar skull vehicle past onlookers perched on stoops is an experience that sounds authentically Philadelphian. This kinetic enthusiast even cites the Trenton Avenue Arts Festival as her sole reason for moving to the area. She appreciates this derby’s ability to provide an atmosphere for both edgy art and families, without feeling staged. Traub began sketching her design for the upcoming derby back in February, but admits the final two weeks before the event are crucial. Traub is quick to identify and support fellow participants, a fact that further demonstrates the sense of community nurtured by the derby. She cited Neighborhood Bike Works as a community-based group that supports the derby. Run by derby Veterans, this non-profit educational organization partners with artists from the 40th Street Artists-In-Residence

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program to hold a weekly class where urban youth prepare an entry for the derby. Program Director Liz Pisarczyk fondly recalls assisting the team navigate a large space-ship structure through the course and into the infamous mud pit. “The kids were amped when we explained what to expect, but it took a minute [for them] to realize the mud pit was going to happen.” When asked how the children reacted to winning the judge’s choice award, Pisaryzk laughs, explaining, “we had to leave before it was announced,” as their priorities had shifted toward getting the mud-soaked children and sculpture back to West Philly. After chatting with Traub and Pisaryzk it seems like the structural and creative aspects of the competition are equally important. Artist Traub was appreciative of her welder boyfriend and Pisarzyk expressed gratitude for the 40th Street AIR artists that literally provide structure for the children’s creative endeavors. Be sure to check out kinetickensington.com/ and trentonaveartsfest.org/ for more info on the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby and Trenton Ave Arts Fest and kimberleetraub.com and neighborhoodbikeworks.org for more on our featured participants!

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By Photos by Phila Flea Markets and Lauren Daniels (pg 22, top right pg 23)

and

Lauren Daniels Marketing Director of Rice Market, said.

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The Modern Hula Hooping Movement:

It’s affordable, it’s iconic, it’s fun and it’s playful. Do you think that all of this contributes to hooping’s growth?

WHAT’S ALL THE HOOPLA ABOUT?

As summer comes, a surge of LED hoops, fire hoops and handmade hoops are sure to be released from their winter resting places. In recent years hoops have been found everywhere from concerts and festivals to fitness and yoga classes. Their extensive history has made it easier for Hula Hoops to become such a popular pastime and exercise enabler. Arthur K. Melin and Richard Kerr invented the toy known as the Hula Hoop in 1958, however hooping has been around for thousands of years. Ancient Greeks used hoops for play and exercise, similar to how we use hoops today. While the hoop has often been thought of as a child’s toy, it has evolved into more than that. Headspace had a chance to speak with Jacqui Becker, Master Trainer and Director of Content Development for Hoopnotica, the largest distributor of fitness hoops in the world. The goal of Hoopnotica is to combine playful exercise with beautiful techniques to bring laughter, joy and health to hoopers everywhere. Tell us how you got so involved in hooping. How did that turn you into being a professional hooper? I always thought hooping was really stupid. I thought hoops were a really silly concept. Which is funny, because I don’t reject silliness; I embrace it. Hoops rubbed me the wrong way. I was so opposed to them. I have this image of my fourth birthday party on my front lawn. As my friends arrived, I saw the hula hoop being walked down the sidewalk. I was like, “aw crap,” I need to pretend I like it. It was perfectly gift-wrapped and everything. I didn’t even bother unwrapping it and threw it away with the trash. Because the universe is hilarious and stubborn, I had the same experience 24 years later. A friend who was into hoop dancing brought me a hula hoop. My first thought was to be polite and pretend I like it. My second thought was that I didn’t have to deal with this anymore. However, I felt guilty taking it to the dumpster. So I made a pact that I had to learn how to keep it around my waist. I put on some music and stood on my couch

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then I started lurching and lunging and laughing at myself. It felt good to feel that ridiculous. I was pushing so hard that I had bruises on my hips afterwards. But I enjoyed the process and didn’t care that it wasn’t working. The moment that it stayed up the first thing that came to mind was that I was on the moon. I had this inflated sense of accomplishment. I was so happy with myself. It was simple, childlike, playful and joyful. That day, I was totally convinced that I was going to share this with the world. I was already late to the party. People were hooping all over. I became obsessed with YouTube videos, attempting to learn the movements and then the dance components of it. I made the joke that I was going to be pro within the year. I didn’t know you could be a professional hula hooper. I thought I was hilarious. Within eight months I was getting paid to perform. Shortly after, I became certified to teach at Hoopnotica. I already had a certification as a pilates instructor. The next thing I knew, I was being groomed as a master trainer for Hoopnotica so that I could train and certify other trainers. Since I have a background in writing, I was asked to edit manuals and ended up rewriting them from scratch. I became the defacto director of content development at Hoopnotica. I’ve now trained probably between 500-600 teachers in fifteen countries worldwide, all within the past four years. How has the hooping movement changed since you started?

When I first started, it was “hula what?” People had no idea what you were doing. There is still a lot of that, but now more and more people are like, ”Oh, I’ve seen this before,” or “You can dance with it, right?” meaning the implied knowledge has deepened. What’s interesting is that it only takes one person in a community to create a massive hoop movement. Just by virtue of the fact that there are so many more communities and local hoop movements, the gaps between the hotbeds for hooping are getting smaller and smaller. This year, the first hoop festival was hosted in the Middle East called Hoopla Dubai.

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Gabriel Redding, the founder of Hoopnotica, says, “Everyone has a story of a hula hoop,” and that’s why it has grown. I think that whenever there is a hot new fitness trend, you have to introduce the equipment. We don’t have to do that. Everyone knows what a hula hoop is. There is 50 years of cultural cache that has done all the work for us already. All we have to say is, “Remember the hula hoop? It’s back and it’s being used in ways you‘ve never imagined.” The hoop is inexpensive, accessible, it’s playful and it’s social. It’s something that friends can do in a group, moms can do it with their kids and it is dance in a way even self professed non-dancers can get behind. The hoop is like a silent dance partner. Some of the early visionaries of the hoop movement were never dancers in their lives, but they have emerged as pioneers in a new realm. Hooping is incredible for fitness, just doing a moderate pace on your waist burns 400-600 calories an hour. Unlike other fitness, it taps into something that’s so much more desirable. Something primal and feeble, it’s a beautiful release for a lot of people. We learn that we aren’t meant to be perfect at everything right away. We can’t be that way with a hoop. It’s a process of re-learning how to learn. Move by move, trick by trick, the only way we get ahead is by patience and a certain kind of gentleness. What is your favorite music to hoop to? I can go a number of ways with my hoop tunes. I need contrast in the music. Similar to how good art tells a story, I need the music to tell a story. The music cannot operate at one tempo, one mood. It needs to take you up and down. You really need the duality. The best DJs build the crowd up and then there has to be a release. Hooping was kind of born out of the jam band scene. String Cheese Incident really made it popular. They were sick of people swaying and staring at them, so they brought a bunch of hula hoops and threw them into the crowd. It became a symbol of the String Cheese live experience. You would have a hoop thrown at you during a String Cheese Incident show. Effectively, the mothers of the modern hoop movement were born in the jam scene. Electronic music, especially Dubstep, has become the next hooping soundtrack. The hooping demographic has completely evolved, becoming less specific. It you were a hooper before, you had to be a Burner, you went to Burning Man. Now it’s

lawyers, doctors, mothers, and older people. My goals as a teacher is to allow them to dance however they would dance normally to the music that they love, but with a hoop in motion around them. Where is the coolest place you ever hooped? I hooped at Shaquille O’Neil’s New Year’s Eve party last year on the island of Anquilla. We rang in 2012 with Shaq saying, “Everyone watch Jacqui do the hula hoop.” It was pretty chippy. I never could have imagined, but Shaq is actually a hula hooper. There is YouTube footage of him and a documentary called The Hooping Life, where he did the intro. The hooping community in Philly is just as vivid as other areas around the world. Headspace Magazine had a chance to talk to Liana Comeris, the creator of Hoop Vinyasa and a professional Philadelphia-based hooper. Can you tell me about the Philly hooping community? Unlike Brooklyn, there isn’t one hot spot for hoopers. There are little groups here and there. Jen Web started West Philly Hoop Jam, a monthly Sunday night event at Studio 34. There are a lot of festival goers in that neighborhood, as well as a park where people gather and hoop. Jen Alvarez, known as J-Hoop, is a fitness hoop dancer in the city, teaching hooping to inner city children. I teach Hoop Vinyasa at Dyhana yoga. How did you bring hooping into your yoga practice? In the practice it’s about cultivating posture and breathing while being focused on one single point. Taking all that together, in yoga practice you build with what you are working with. After a while, I needed something more fun in yoga. The hoop came in as a prop to help me adjust and align my posture. The hoop can help you push, pull or open a body part. Spinning with the hoop brings a challenge – when you spin a hoop you have to let go of your tension. It allows you to get really stable and soften yourself. It’s allows me to feel more harmonious. The hooping community is very welcoming. They are open to help with anything you need. Take advantage of this amazing movement.

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www.hoopnotica.com www.hoopvinyasa.com www.lianacomeris.com Written by Becky Blumenthal Photos by Eraj Asadi

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The Grateful Gallery Tour A Traveling Artistic Collaboration T

his festival season is bringing something special to the Pennsylvania and New York region. The Grateful Gallery Tour, a traveling art gallery featuring many of our community’s top artists, will be frequenting many festivals in the tri-state area, bringing with it a unique blend of music centric art. Some of the major artists whose work will be featured include William Giese, Mike Dubois, AJ Masthay and John Warner. Framed and unframed prints will be on sale from the artists, who will also be making appearances in the gallery as their schedules permit. Visitors can view and purchase gig posters from their favorite bands, including The Grateful Dead, Furthur, Phil Lesh & Friends, The Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule, Widespread Panic, Umphrey’s McGee, Yonder Mountain String Band, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Railroad Earth, Cabinet and more. In addition, the gallery will feature original paintings from acclaimed artist William Giese, whose artwork has graced the covers of several Grateful Dead albums. There will also be many special guests at every festival which have yet to be announced. Born out of the spirit of cooperation, the Grateful Gallery Tour

will focus on show posters and related design work. Even though the different artists technically compete for the same work designing these shows posters, they decided that the best way for them to gain exposure and get their work out to the public was to come together and display their collective works. Setting their competition aside, all of these extremely talented artists are finally working together to create a centralized location at festivals where they can show their art and let everyone appreciate their work. The show posters which will be featured cover a great variety of bands and musicians, from the Grateful Dead and Levon Helm to more current favorites like Phish and Umphrey’s McGee. The Grateful Gallery was conceived at the Gathering of the Vibes Gallery, which has been going on since the Vibes started. “Pretty much we all came together up at the Vibes, and it turned out really well,” Mike Dubois said. A few of the artists involved with the Vibes gallery thought to themselves, “If this works here, why can’t we do it at all the other festivals?” With the group of artist’s collective connections, they started pitching the idea to a bunch of other festivals in the area, and from there the idea really took off. Organizer John Warner says, “I spent last year really figuring out how to throw these poster shows and now I

Mike Dubois

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feel like we really have something amazing, something that can become an institution at festivals for years to come.” The Grateful Gallery is currently planned to set up at the Old Farmers Ball, Mountain Jam, Bear’s Picnic, Peach Music Festival, and Catskill Chill. They really hope that after this first year of touring with the gallery they will be able to make the Grateful Gallery a part of festivals big and small all around the country, bringing a wide range of artists in to get their work out to the public. Besides the four main artists, the Grateful Gallery will be showcasing various other artists at each festival. For example the Old Farmer’s Ball will feature fifteen other artists. There is word of some noteworthy artists being included as special guests, maybe even famed psychedelic artist Alex Grey. Depending on the space available at each festival, visitors can be sure to see a great variety of artists. Artist proofs and originals will be available for purchase as well, so if there is a special show poster you love or one you missed while at the show, you will

have a chance to get some of your favorite posters all in one place. Many of the artists will also be setting up vending spots at the festivals, so make sure to check out their vending locations for a greater variety of their works. The Grateful Gallery will be at the following locations throughout the festival season. If you are at any of these festivals make sure to stop in and check out some amazing art and to meet the artists who made it! Old Farmers Ball - May 11t, Scranton, PA Mountain Jam June 6-9, Hunter, NY Bear’s Picnic - August 1-4, location in Central PA is TBA Peach Music Festival - August 15-18, Scranton, PA Catskill Chill – Sept 6-8, Hancock, NY By Tim Dougherty

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