I took a trip in early October with my artcar pals to Art Car World, where we took part in Artcarfest Arizona ‘07.  It was a grand, unforgettable journey and I loved the chance to spend time with my people again… Emily, Philo, Chasterus, Scottling, Nod and Reverend Rot’n Hell were all excellent traveling companions, and we met up with several other artcar artists along the way.

Some of the artistic highlights included visiting Leonard Knight’s Salvation Mountain, Noah Purifoy’s High Desert Test Site installation, Elmer Long’s Bottle Forest (along historic Route 66) and the settlement of East Jesus in storied Slab City, on the periphery of the Salton Sea.  Our fearless leader Philo also had his artwork displayed at the True World Gallery in Joshua Tree, California, and we were fortunate to be part of the opening festivities.Here are some of my photos from the trip:

Artcarfest ‘07 Pics

My artcar (pictured above) got me there and back again with no problems, taking in over 4,000 miles of driving in two weeks!  It got several scritches on the dashboard for being such a good car.  My new convertible top worked like a charm and got me into and out of rain-soaked Oregon without a drop of water coming in.  The car has now passed from being a masochistic mechanical obsession to being a boon companion and faithful mule… it’s broken in and is now my daily driver.

I told myself I would name the car on this trip, and I utterly failed to do so… I seem to be stuck on variations of female names, which is odd to me as I’ve never been big on endowing inanimate objects with a gender.  Still, I find myself leaning in that direction.  The current fave is a composite of several women I have known, but something is holding me back from formalizing it and breaking that bottle of champagne on the bumper.  Eh.  I will get off the dime and christen it before too long.

A Link: June and Farrar Burn

A Word: Inspissate: To thicken, as by evaportation.

The Pickathon roots music festival was GREAT! The most enjoyable festival that I’ve been to in years. The setup was close to perfect: a beautiful location, well arranged, free drinking water, decent food and vendors and, yes, even plentiful and clean portajohns! But, of course, the best part was being able to see so many excellent musicians and acts in one place. I really have to hand it to the organizers… I can honestly say that there wasn’t a single act that I disliked.

Highlights, in no particular order:

The Handsome Family: Dark and funny as hell. A major part of their show is Brett and Rennie’s on-stage banter… they can spin yarns like no one else, and it’s actually kinda fun to hear them bicker with each other. I am undecided if I like their new drummer (a laptop) as compared to their old one (a 70’s era Sears and Roebuck rhythm machine… foxtrot, anyone?).

Flat Mountain Girls: Damned entertaining, as always. Their banjo player and overall good egg Rachel was heavily involved in organizing the festival and seemed to be everywhere… she was one spent cookie by the end of the weekend!

Sassparilla Jug Band: My favorite Portland band… washtub bass, resonator guitar, bucket drum kit, a portrait of Mike Ditka and gobs of energy. My best memory of the whole weekend was seeing all six of them jammed onto a 10×10 outdoor stage at 1:00 AM. I set off what became a large crowd of manic dancers and before you knew it, it was all slide guitar, flailing feet and dust everywhere… a VERY large time was had by all.

Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band: A gritty little hillbilly blues trio from Indiana. Most memorable song: “Your Cousin’s On Cops”.

Gregory And The Hawk: Singer and guitarist Meridith Godreau, backed by upright bass. Proof that you can get good sound out a $25 Stella Harmony guitar… the only thing more brave than playing one in the sunlight before a large crowd is retuning it for each song, without the aid of a tuner! Yikes! Beautiful vocals… I could hear just a touch of Joanna Newsom in her voice. I hope she makes it out to the west coast again.

Trampled By Turtles: Speed bluegrass, with great harmony vocals and a distinct hard rawk flavor. They really lit up the barn. The pride of Duluth, Minnesota.

Two Man Gentleman Band: An old-timey Vaudeville act, replete with period suits and kazoos. These guys were the life of the party pretty much everywhere they went that weekend, on or off stage.

There was a ton of good pickin’ to be heard in the campgrounds throughout the day and night. Some particularly talented folks were camped out by my tent and lulled me to sleep.

This week, I’m gearing up to do some kind of a week-long camping trip. This’ll be my main outdoor excursion for the summer, and I am torn between a bicycle tour of the coast or a drive out to eastern Oregon. I have four more days to get it together, so I’ll have decide soon.

A Link: Portland artcar herder Emily’s new blog! This is cool, it’s great to see someone organizing our mobile freak-shows like this… look for an artcar extravaganza on September 15th at the Alberta Street Fair.

Portland Artcar Revival Club

A Word: Peroration: The concluding part of a discourse, especially of an oration; a final summing up of an argument.

Hey, all… time for an update. The latest news:

I’m going to Pickathon!!! Yaaaaayyyy!!! This is a weekend-long roots music festival not far from Portland. Big, big fun, acoustic music workshops and too many cool bands to list, check out the link below. I’m going to ride my bike out there and camp, which will give me a chance to try out my new tent and backpacking stove. I’m cheating just a bit on the bike riding, a friend is coming later in a van that will have my heavy and bulky stuff like cans of soup, extra clothes and my guitars.

I just got through with my artcar resurrection project. The Volvo that you can see developing in earlier entries in this blog made it to San Francisco and back last year, but barely. By the time I made it back home, its limited slip differential was toast and was making the car hop like a wounded bunny around corners. The transmission’s overdrive unit went south and leaked like a sieve; I had to refill it twice during the trip, not fun as it involved jacking up the car and getting underneath. And, the front brakes began to leak fluid. To top it off, the car also had numerous intermittent electrical gremlins.

So, did I junk the car? Of course not! That would be too easy! Actually, I didn’t want to start yet another artcar and the engine was still in excellent shape. So, I bought a junker 240 that had most of the parts I needed and went at it.

I swapped out the entire rear end… suspension, brakes, differential, rear axle and all. I replaced the transmission and overdrive unit and put in a new clutch. By the time I was through, I’d replaced the entire drivetrain.

Then I rebuilt the braking system, did surgery on the wiring harness and buttoned it all back up. Started on the first try! I have an artcar again!

Okay, gotta get back to getting ready for Pickathon.

A Word: Panjandrum: A burlesque title for a powerful or pretentious official.

A Link: Pickathon

Oh, geez… Two months…

Um… look at this swell new theme! Hey! Shiny thing, over there! (ahem)

A somewhat scattered update:

The cycle tour saga, part three, is not quite there yet, a victim of too much editing followed by diversions to other things.

Other things? Several really great holiday activities, an adventure into old time music via guitar, transcribing lots of 78 RPM records to digital, continuing work on the old homestead (a bathroom mirror attached to an actual medicine cabinet door! a basement sink that doesn’t leak like a sieve!!! woo hoo!).

I’m helping Bro A get his new ride together, an ‘84 Volvo wagon which will replace his slowly dying ‘yota. As with any used car, the Volvo needs some work before it will be ready to serve as a faithful road dog; most of the usual used Volvo maladies are present and being corrected. Today’s pic is what this process looks like about halfway through. The experience thus far is in keeping with the Used Car Haiku:

What was he thinking?
He cursed, above all others
previous owner

On the evolving work front: anyone reading this with experience or things to say about arts administration, drop me a line, eh?

I’ve added a load of new links (to your right); if you haven’t checked them out recently, take a gander.

A Word: Naumachia: A mock sea fight or a spectacle representing a sea battle; a place for such exhibitions.

A Link: Looking for shaded biblical mini-golf? Why not Golgotha Fun Park!

Today: Someone asked me recently about what I’ve been reading… books about traveling was the answer. They wanted some examples, so I cooked up this list. After I got done, it seemed like a good thing to blog on, so here you go.

You can google the ISBN numbers and get some info, or perhaps more directly, go to Powells.com and do an ISBN search.

Bad Trips
edited by Keath Fraser
Vintage Departures, 1991
ISBN 0-679-72908-9
An excellent compilation of essays and short stories centering around horrible travel experiences. Very entertaining, it turned me on to several authors whom I’ve checked out since. A good book to bring to the airport, not in the least because it will assure you that you’re not alone.

Fresh Air Fiend
Paul Theroux
Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000
ISBN 0-618-12693-7
A compilation of Theroux’s more recent travel writings. An articulate and keen observer of place and culture, he’s been to some exotic and bizarre places in his day, and his descriptions have the depth of his experience behind them. He can also be a bit of a crank at times, which, of course, only adds to the charm.

Blue Highways
William Least Heat-Moon
Fawcett Crest, 1982
ISBN 0-449-20432-4
I’m re-reading this after finding a paperback to replace my lost hardcover edition. In my mind, the archetypal American road trip book. As much as any other influence, this book got me off the Interstate and into two-lane traveling… and travel writing.

River Horse
William Least Heat-Moon
Penguin Books, 1999
ISBN 0-14-029860-6
Heat-Moon traverses America again, this time via river. This one had me reaching for my dictionary more than a few times, a good, thick read with lots of history, detail and lush description.

Highway 50: Ain’t That America
Jim Lilliefors
Fulcrum Publishing, 1993
ISBN 1-55591-073-4
The story of a man who travelled west across America via Highway 50. Lilliefors is a bit of an odd duck, he tends to dwell in the lesser forms and places of living, making for a slightly depressing read at times… but it’s still worth it.

Travels With Charley
John Steinbeck
Penguin, 1962
ISBN 0140187413
A pickup, a camper, a cranky old man and his poodle.

Metal Cowboy
Joe Kurmaskie
Three Rivers Press, 1999
ISBN 0-609-80911-3
If you like touring by bicycle as I do, you’ll like this one. A light read, not too gritty or exceedingly deep but quite entertaining, it helps explain the sickness that is self-contained bike touring. I like his philosophy… he sounds like a good guy to go on a ride with, to be sure. Interesting tidbit: Kurmaskie lives in Portland on N. Willamette Blvd, only a few miles from my house. I’m going to try to meet him in person one of these days.

Riding Outside The Lines
Joe Kurmaskie
Three Rivers Press, 2003
ISBN 1-4000-4798-6
Another book by Kurmaskie, this one has a bit more attitude, concentrating on tall tales of adventure by cycle. An excellent companion piece to his first book.

Miles From Nowhere
Barbara Savage
The Mountaineers, 1983
ISBN 0-89886-109-8
The story of a couple and their around-the-world cycling trip during the late 70’s. Considered essential reading for those masochists among us who enjoy cycle touring, it describes the joys and horrors in unflinching detail… the reasons for taking on such a quest in the first place, gut-churning descriptions of physical strain, hunger and intestinal disorders, the trust and hospitality shown by complete strangers, being pelted with rocks thrown by locals.

Surely, some of you will ask why Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road” is not on my list of travel books. It wasn’t through lack of trying to read it. There were a few interesting moments, but in the end the plot and characters struck me as tedious, solipsistic and more than a little annoying. In two attempts to read it, I put it down less than 1/3 of the way through… I eventually gave my copy away. What can I say.

So, what are you reading these days?

PS: A tip o’ the hat to The Cardhouse Robot for recommending several of the titles above.

A Link: Why are so many of my friends and acquaintances on this site?: Weird America

A Word: Mordacious: Biting or gven to biting; acrid; hence, now of language, caustic.

Today: Artcar progress:

I’ve still got more painting to go, and the new top needs a back window, but I’ll be ready to go to Artcarfest in the Bay Area this next week. Big fun!

Other fun lately includes a long bike ride… my first solo overnight trip on a bike, fully self-contained. I’ll post details on that later when I’m finished writing it up. For now, I’m grinding away on the artcar to get ready for my trip.

A Word: Primero: An old gambling card game.

Bro A and I got back from a camping trip to Steens Mountain in eastern Oregon late last week… pics and details one of these days.

A Link: Lori Fields

A Word: Probity: Tried virtue or integrity, uprightness, honesty.

Today: Artcar assembly! The Volvo (I haven’t a better name for it just yet) has many new toys installed… the “business man” hood ornament (featured in the pic above), a warehouse paging speaker wedged under the hood to go with the PA amp and the 4-unit pimp car horn assembly from my old Electra 225.  I took it out for a spin last night… damn, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard the sounds of loons screaming out of the grille of my car, regaling my fellow motorists.

I did the long bike ride out along the Columbia last week and got 75 miles in by the time I got home, but didn’t make it to the Bridge of the Gods like I’d planned. I need to read directions a bit more thoroughly… the route I read about started 13 miles from my house… 26 miles for that round trip added to the 84 miles that the route took came out to a potential 110 mile ride! I figured it out about 35 miles into it… I didn’t have enough daylight or food to last me for a ride like that. So, I turned around and retraced my route. Still, it was a damned enjoyable ride, most all of it along rivers and streams and featuring three or four nice parks to rest and get water. I will try it again sometime, but will plan better and leave the house earlier!

A Link: Pics of the recent Fremont Arts Fair artcar thingy in Seattle:

Seattle Art Car Blowout

A Word: Iconostasis: The partition with doors, adorned with icons, which separates the bema of a church from the choir or from the nave.

Today: Okay, I suck. I haven't updated this thing for longer than I can remember. So, some catch-up.

I have an new artcar! A 1982 Volvo sedan! I have already started tearing into it… the back window is now sitting in my basement, my PA system is already wedged into the dash and the center section of the roof comes off soon. Pondering paint and body modifications. Pics later.

I just got back from the Seattle artcar show, part of the Fremont Arts Festival. It was great to hang with my people and have some fun in the Emerald City. A friend let me use her apartment for the weekend while she was out of town, it was only 4 blocks away from the Festival, very cool! I rode up with M in the "Trophy Wife", the pic above was taken from inside of it, with the "King Of The Road" following behind.

While I was in Seattle, there was some excitement in the neighborhood back home… it seems that there were several break-ins on my block, including one that erupted in gunfire! Eeeeeek… it may just be a random occurrence, as the only problem I've had in ten years at this house is getting a tankful of gas siphoned out. On the other hand, the house where the guns were being shot has some pretty sketchy (and often annoying) folks living in it, I suspect that they may be related to the break-ins in some way. I went to a neighborhood association meeting tonight and got some good info; I'll be making some phone calls to see what can be done, if anything.

My garden is having problems… only a couple of my bush beans sprouted.  My spinach is pathetic! Some kind of critter ate the tops off of my peas.  Hopefully, things will get better as it warms up over the next few weeks.

I'm getting my bicycle touring stuff together. I still need a sleeping bag and pad, but other than that, I should be able to do an overnight trip soon. Before that, my next long ride is on a route that goes out along the Columbia River, about 80 miles round trip from home and back. I'm going to try to squeeze that ride in this week. If I can pull it off without killing myself, I should be good to go on longer trips. I haven't done any killer mountain passes yet, that is the next big goal (ugh).

A Link: Watch the construction of a rammed earth house, blow by blow, day by day: Sonorama Rammed Earth

A Word: Portmanteau Word: A word formed by arbitrary combination of two words, e.g. "slithy" from "slimy" and "lithe"