August 23, 2008 by PT Rothschild.

“TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE …”

Temecula, CA – “Twas the night before leaving for Burning Man (BMP) and all through the house, the creature stirring was me, as quick as a mouse.”

A flyer I saw earlier in the week when I swept the scene for the latest 411 and got around the newest ‘smokeshop’ in town, The Glass Warehouse, billed as going to be Southern California’s largest, caught my eye . The flyer touted a new band, Peter Puffington & The Rocketship Explosion, and the attention-grabbing artwork beckoned my curiosity. Getting dropped off early helped me to get a closer look at this month’s Neighbors’ mag cover-story artist Paul Jay Price, who had his work on exhibit there inside The Merc.

To my surprise, Bill, owner of Full Value Entertainment and sponsor of the show, was off at an Anaheim Angel’s game, and the Capt. was in charge. Since it was the same Capt. Tuesday as is going to be one of my teammates on the BMP adventure, I thought this was a good sign since he is a ‘burner’. I wasn’t proven wrong as the night wore on.

First up were The Kunder Thunts (can u spot the word play here?), who were local and pretty hardcore. A small crowd of close fans cheered their friends on, except one little girl who had her hands clapped over her ears. Her daddy led her out and they reappeared once Mouthful of Snow took the stage.

MOS, though not old enough for their voices to drop yet, showed amazing maturity and skill beyond their years as they thrilled the increased crowd who applauded each song. Though some major tech difficulties happened (corrected by the use of an ‘Original’ Universal Finger Light’s steady bright blue beam), MOS showed quick adaptability when they turned to rocking out instrumentally, bringing a standing ovation from the impressed crowd.

I thought of Bill and remembered how we sometimes spoke of seeing a remarkable show with maybe 10 people in attendance on occasion. This time a remarkable show was seen by a much larger crowd, but Bill wasn’t there. It was also the bass player Andy’s birthday which maybe added that extra endorphin to the evening as they followed an old Madlins tradition and did a brand new song for the first time live.

It can be said a band’s name says a lot, and the band that MOS replaced at the last minute was named 40 Years Too Late. Guess we’ll see them sometime in 2048. Then the night revealed its biggest surprise, the debut show of Peter Puffington & The Rocketship Explosion.

Peter and crew, an amiable trio when I talked to them before the set, took the stage, entertaining the now SRO crowd with a very original sound and some very original songs. Peter’s throaty vocals coupled with a funky rock sound delivered the songs perfectly and lent well to the one Neal Young cover about the Kent State shooting of yesteryear.

Then after congratulating the boys on their first performance, it was off to meet Pete’s family who live atop one of Murrieta’s ‘hogbacks’. The view from there is a magnificent 360, and the dad tells me he has to go to all the city council meetings to make sure the city doesn’t ‘develop’ his land from under his feet. What a world we live in. Then it was off to the ‘after party’ and there I remembered the more ‘down-home’ partying style of Murr-ville, as a beer pong tourney started up and I saw the girls play a brand new drinking game with more quirky rules than a squash match. I love Murrieta, 2.

So now, as I climb into the vehicle and get ready to blast off to BMP with the Capt. saying, “give her medium power, aim for the second star to the right, and then straight on to the Clovis Quadrant, Queen Francie is waiting,” it’s time to say ‘stay tuned Sports Fans… get ready for The Burning Man Project!’

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August 23, 2008 by PT Rothschild.

“THIS IS THE SKETCHIEST ADVENTURE SINCE I HITCH-HIKED TO SEE THE ROLLING STONES”

French Valley, CA – The hours are now counting down till lift-off for the Burning Man Project or BMP from here on out. After a night filled with drama (not my own) and nervous anticipation from not knowing any details or times concerning the trip, Friday morning, after the latest episode of ‘Days of Our Wives’ was over, I received news of the travel itinerary and the day took on a ‘let’s get you packed for camp’ kind of feel to it. A business call turned away from being totally professional when the senior buyer found out I am going to BMP. “We went about 6 years ago, before the kids, me and the wife. Awww, you’re going to have fun. There are a lot of highly educated people there from all over the world.” After that, the conversation seemed to be a little more on the personal side, which, if you knew the entire situation for the phone call, was a good thing, a very good thing.

Another brush stroke of the BMP ‘elephant’ was painted. Grabbing my ‘desert’ bandana (yeah, I know what I said in the Dirt Tour story but this is different), I headed down the hill on my bike to work. Not far from the now defunct Cuppy’s I was hailed down by Paul of the Green Cleaners, which is about two doors down from Cuppy’s. I put this bit of luck down to some BMP karma as I never get a pick-up riding to work. We reminisced about the scene and then had a delicious ‘home-made iced Raspberry/Vanilla tea from the shop I visited Wednesday on the way to Mr. Pete’s. Turns out Paul is a regular there at the month old shop (Aghh! I was scooped by the Valley News on this one) and walking in with him just put a ‘scene spin’ to the whole visit. But wait, it gets better! As we all converse socially, as happens in a gentile environment, a side conversation about songwriting from the owner’s wife leads to a mystical version of Password, with her guessing the first and last initial of the name I’m thinking to help her get noticed professionally (in the scene). Still never saying the name I said, “We’ll do lunch, when I get back in town,” then Paul and I left so I could return ‘A Tree Grows In Brooklyn’ (with a ‘tip ‘o the hat to the Sex Pixi for her recommendation). Another interesting footnote to BMP and I can tell the adventure is starting. I think if Las Vegas is the adult Disneyland, then BMP is the adult version of ‘summer camp’. Let’s see, fedora, bull whip, compass, light sabor …

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August 22, 2008 by PT Rothschild.

“I FEEL LIKE A TRADER GOING TO A NEW WORLD”

T-Town, CA – As I get my supplies together for the Burning Man Project coming up early next week, I am electrified to be attending the indescribable event this first time. As such, I have been telling people of my excitement, to which people who are below the age of 40 all say, “Wow, I’m so jealous” as a gleam comes into their eye. For folks who are a bit closer to my actual age (not the age I act), their reaction and questions are a bit different. They look at me with a glazed eye and ask, “Is this a cult?” as they try and figure out why I would even be interested in attending something so outrageous, so completely off their radar.

Well, Sports Fans, it’s like this. When I first heard or read anything about the BMP, I’ll admit, it scared the bee-Jesus out of me. I mean, a week long event, out in the middle of the desert, with no official city structure, sharing your survival with 45,000 strangers, in a rave-like atmosphere. It sounded like something happening on Mars, a scene out of the movie ‘Total Recall’. But then I researched it more and every article told of something different. It was like each writer was a blind man, describing just the patch of elephant he felt.


I started seeing that scene from ‘Jerry Maguire’ where ‘Jesus’ tells him that sometimes you just have to ‘lay your balls out there’ on the line. I started to think about Woodstock, the original one, and how that worked, that first societal experiment done open air and unattended, unlike a cult where strict control and conformity are adhered to. Then the ‘scene’ happened and naturally one of the first elements I uncovered were ‘burners’, then the poi (fire) spinners who were trying to get good enough for BMP. Looking at pictures of Bridget (Food Not Bombs, Earth Day Fest), Jimmy (Madlins, Java Joz), and others grinning, covered with dust, looking like Mad Max leftovers was the final vote for trying something completely different.

So as I pack my ‘barter bag’ with trinkets (money is not allowed in this city) for the natives that gather once a year to make this experimental city, filled with experimental art, under survival conditions attended by people from around the world - yes Sports Fans, this is a global event like the Olympics, I would like to dedicate this series of my journalistic reporting to my favorite two writers. To Ian Fleming, who through James Bond, taught me that having gadgets is always something cool and necessary; and to Hunter S. Thompson, who taught me that the real story is in the trenches, gotten by ‘gonzo’ journalism, down and dirty. I hope they are both looking down at me from their heavenly writing desks, and cheering me on. WooHoo!

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