At the closing of the year

I was torn as to where to post this.  It could go on my music blog or on Put A Face On It but since it covers all arts and artists, here seems to be the best choice.

Again, I choose the best song for this night, "At The Closing Of The Year".  It took up residence in my heart and my spirit the first time I saw "Toys" and it lives there still.  "If I cannot bring you comfort then at least I bring you hope".  "There is nothing more precious than the time we have".

2013 was a year of hope and precious times for me.  It started with a couple of interviews and meetings I'd waited a while for.  Wil Francis/William Control and Geoff Rickley were both part of the very first Warped Tour I went to in 2006.  This year, William was the opener for Black Veil Brides' U.S. tour.  Our conversation proved to me how intelligent and dedicated to his craft Wil is.  The NY show was so great.  William Control and his fans were a perfect match with Black Veil and theirs.  I also had my first and only photo pass for that show.

I had briefly met Geoff in the Acoustic Basement tent at VWT in 2012.  This year gave me the opportunity for a full interview before the Acoustic Basement Tour stopped in Connecticut.  I also got to spend some facetime with him at the show.  The Acoustic Basement show also brought Brian Marquis into my life.  Later this year,  Brian caught me offguard by remembering me when I climbed onto Bus #22 to interview Billy The Kid Pettinger.  Brian is a great musician,  a great road dad and such a genuine person.  He's also lucky to be alive.  During the Warped stop in Key West, Brian was struck by lightning.  He tried to stay on the tour but his doctors did end up sending him home.

January saw two huge tribe features in FourCulture.  After having his feature put on hold by William Close being selected to compete in America's Got Talent, we were finally able to do a second interview and create a great article.  Also in the first issue of 2013 was Lucent Dossier and their wonderful founder, Dream Rockwell.  In our interview she left me with truly great words of wisdom.  I do my best to always be mindful of the point on the arrow of my life compass.  Dream and William both introduced me to some more of the core values of the tribe.

In February, I had another one of those close encounters that didn't quite connect with Adam Lambert but I did get to do a short interview with legendary, funk guitarist Nile Rodgers.  I discovered that he lives right here in Connecticut and his "We Are Family Foundation" works with the people dearest to me...youth.  Thanks to meeting and befriending photographer Robert 'Bobby' Braunfeld, I was able to watch the whole awards ceremony and performances from the floor at the Hammerstein Ballroom.  The performances included the first and only of Lambert's "Shady"by all the artists involved in its creation - Adam and Sam Sparro who wrote the song and Nile who was asked by them to add his perfect guitar line to the recording.  Live with Chic adding the extra punch, it is by far the best live version of that song.

Although hectic schedules prevented the father-son interview to go with Hans and Bill Haveron's first father-son gallery show in Dallas, it didn't stop me from getting to know the Haveron patriarch.  Today Bill is a very dear, dear friend and is yet another one of the special gifts that has come from my friendship with Hans.

St. Patrick's Day was spent in Manhattan but not for the parade. I was downtown at Webster Hall for Canadian multi-genre band Dehli 2 Dublin.  After experiencing their show, I still believe they need to be on Warped Tour.  These musicians took a challenge of mixing Celtic, Eastern Indian, African and Reggae and have come up with something exciting and really great.

May was super special.  After a year and a half I finally got to meet William and experience The Earth Harp.  I did write a review but words don't do that instrument justice.  They also fall short when trying to describe William.  However, I will tell everyone that I now am even more certain that he is the chillest person I know.  Also at Metro Tech Plaza that day, I had my first encounter with Treeman, Lionel Powell.  This meeting gave me a chance to watch him interact with people and the environment.  I was totally enthralled.

A few days later was actually the beginning of June and a super-special trip from Steven and I to Queens and Manhattan.  My son had recently turned 21 so we included a birthday lunch in the adventure but we started out the morning on the #7 to go to Long Island City to do a photo-journal at 5 Pointz.  Both of us had our breath completely taken away and took hundreds of pictures.  After lunch we headed down to the East Village and met up with Treeman and videographer Michael Angelo.  We did interviews and photoshoots and had a blast.  After I treated Steven to the best soft-serve in the city, The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop.  Sadly the photos we took were used in a series of op-eds for 5 Pointz as greedy developers flexed their muscles to destroy the one and only living museum of aerosol art in the U.S.  Today, the complex has been white washed and is an horrible splotch on the landscape of Long Island City.  At this time it seems like NYC is in store for yet another big steel and glass generic box in its skyline.

Early in May I came to the understanding that my plans to go to Temecula, CA for Lightning In A Bottle were not going to happen.  As many friends know, I'm calling that my "Dorothy Moment".  I understood that "If you can't find your heart's desire in your own backyard, then you never lost it to begin with".  The moment I accepted that more members for the tribe came east.  So in the end it all had a purpose and I love where it has gone.

Also in June, having cancelled that trip, I saw that July 14th was now an open date on my calendar.  Deep inside I knew I was supposed to go to Warped Tour, despite being without my photographer for the first time in four years.  When I quickly and easily got my application in and approved, with an ace in the hole if that didn't work out, I started contacting PR's for some old acquaintances as fast as possible.  The result was outstanding.

The first band I interviewed upon choosing a journalist's path was Motion City Soundtrack. Although I met Justin Pierre two years earlier, after that I spoke to every other member of the band but him.  Earlier this year I got to interview Josh which was great but the other founding member continued to allude me. It would be at the Comcast Music Center that I would finally chat with Justin.  I also introduced myself to tour founder, Kevin Lyman who in turn, introduced me to the general manager of the venue.  I got to hang out with my road daughter, Bethany and gift her with a unique piece of Kill Hannah jewelry.  Courtney was no longer typed words on Twitter but someone I could actually share a hug with and watch her work.  I reunited with JT from Hawthorne Heights, got to interview someone else I'd waited quite a while for, Shane from Silverstein. Got to dance with Young London and then talk to them later.  Learned the stories of upcoming pop band, Echosmith, saw The Used, William Beckett and Relient K.  Then it was off to the bus yard to spend some very precious time with one of my oldest road kids...Jinxx.  I ended the day as perfectly as it started,  watching him with Black Veil Brides.  Driving home, I knew that I was never supposed to go to California.  In Hartford, I recharged my batteries and was reminded why I came this way to begin with.

October presented the chance to do the interview correctly that I had started with Sutan Amrull in April of 2012.  I also did my first Skype interview with someone in Bali.

2013 closes with news from a friend that has the potential to bring a huge change to my life.  There are things already in the works for sharing more of the tribe with the world.  I come into 2014 with a even more respect and appreciation for the tribe, their graciousness, generosity and sincerity.  I will strive harder to earn my place in this family by living these ideals.

Happy New Year.  Let us find more keys and unlock the doors to freedom, peace and unconditional love while locking away hate, fear, deceit and all other manners of evil.  My light to you.

Vans Warped Tour - tribes organic and contrived

The 17th Vans Warped Tours kicks off today in Dallas, TX.  This year's line-up seems to have a more pop flair to it with bands such as 3OH3, Simple Plan, Family Force Five, Gym Class Heroes and Jack's Mannequin.  Paramore will grace the mainstage for four stops.  There are plenty of hardcore, scream-o, ska and great punk bands too.  But the point of including this event on the Art Tribes blog is because with 80 buses, 20+ eighteen-wheelers and all the rag-tag vans and trailers bringing up the rear...THIS is probably the biggest, most complex, well organized gypsy caravan North America sees.

Unlike most tribes, whose members gravitate towards each other based on common interests and goals, Warped Tour has both contrived and organic elements.  Organically, everyone on the tour is there for the music, believes in various social, environmental and medical causes, and likes to travel.  Most are ok with the lack of major creature comforts over periods of days such as showers, laundry facilities and a comfortable bed.  As the gypsy king and queen, Kevin Lyman and his wife set examples by living the same life as everyone else if not moreso.

The organic tinkers, travellers, and minstrals send requests, compete in contests and, sometimes, hunt Kevin down to plead their cases to join his cirque to wander the U.S. and Canada from late June to mid-August each year.  Some musicians have become mainstays, groups such as NOFX/Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Less Than Jake and The Casualities.  There are also the new kids that include bands recently signed to majors that have become really popular with the 12-30 crowd and then there are the unknowns looking for that break who play the "Kevin says" stage for meals and assisting in various ways around the tour.  Most of the non-profits are fairly well established; The Truth campaign, Peta2, Boarding for Breast Cancer, Music Saves Lives, etc. 

Then there is the contrived part of the caravan.  These are mainly musicians who are invited by the production team.  Many are headliners or play the larger secondary stages.  Most are well-known and are the names that will draw the crowd.  Considering how many people there are to feed, vehicles to maintain and all the other expenses that go with this enterage, they need to sell tickets, merch and concessions to fund it.  Some of these groups and solo acts are Warped veterans so they meld in with the troupe with no issues.  Others are artists who came out of left field (myspace, facebook, ilike, etc) got a sweet record deal but have zero street cred.  And then there's even others who have done time on the tour and/or been van bands who forget where they came from once they do become popular and show up with an entitled attitude. 

I hope some day to actually get some real time inside the workings of Warped Tour as I see the potential for some real 'flies in the ointment' or 'oil and water' with the mixing of an organic tribe with a contrived tribe.  If I get press again this year for my stop, I am going to have my eyes open and will have questions for artists, volunteers, and staff about the social condition of the tribe.  I'm also going to be watching for members of other tribes in this area and their interactions.  Having now experienced the cross-overs, suspecting they were there all along, it will be interesting to see the meetings from this perspective.

For more information please visit VANS Warped Tour 2011  If you're as addicted to your Android or iPhone as I am, there are apps that provide dates, line-ups and ticket information.  Please come out and support your local bands playing "Kevin Says" and all the artists and non-profits who give up their summers to bring great music and causes to you.