XyloVan

A neodymium magnet around the neck makes for a convenient third hand.

Extra pro tip: Don’t forget to strip it before crawling into bed. Messy.

We returned to the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood for a screening of the new cut of “Journey to the Flames,” a travelogue/chronicle of one camp’s 11-year citizenship in Black Rock City.

As usual, XyloVan attracted some wonderful music: Here’s a member of the Dirty Beetles art car crew just pouring himself into Keyboard 1:

Here’s a more experimental/contemplative approach …

And here’s how fabulous some of you all looked before, during and after the newbie orientation and playa fashion show. See you in BRC in a couple months!

We spent the day Saturday at the L.A. Food Truck Chowdown with 50 of L.A.’s best food trucks, live bands and hungry people who streamed past us all day long. Gorgeous weather. Enough said.

Kids banged on it:

This guy mapped out the “black” and “white” keys …

A father-and-daughter duet …

A steel-drum/percussion approach – once he got the extra sticks out of the way …

… and amazingly, nobody got barbecue sauce on it – or banh mi, or cheese balls or gumbo or marinara or sushi or cheeseburgers or cupcakes or maple bacon ice cream, or boba …

We’re starting to feel like a band here. We have gigs comin’ out our ears.

L.A. Food Truck Chowdown
Saturday, June 11: (late morning to 7 p.m.)
If you’re hungry and/or bored this Saturday, come down to the Los Angeles Food Truck Chowdown. XyloVan will be there along with a ton of art cars, vintage vehicles, artists, live bands, craft vendors, a video-game truck and oh, about 50 of L.A.’s best food trucks. Nice way to spend an afternoon.

Everything happens at the Cornfields (I’ll never get used to calling it the Los Angeles State Historical Park) near Chinatown. Ticket proceeds ($10) benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Film: “Journey to the Flames and Burning Man Newbie Orientation
Sunday, June 12, 2p.m.-10p.m.:
XyloVan will be joining veteran Burners all afternoon in the magnificent courtyard of the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood to welcome a screening of the latest in the L.A. League of Arts Burning Man Film Series.

“Journey to the Flames” is a 10-year documentary about a group of friends gearing up, traveling to and plunging themselves into Burning Man. (Here are a few film clips.)

Burning Man founder Larry Harvey and longtime communications director Maid Marian Goodell will be on hand with filmmakers Doug Jacobson and Steve Binder for some post-movie Q&A.

The screening starts at 7:30, but people can wander through the courtyard all afternoon and evening to check out XyloVan and other slices of interactive Burning Man culture.

Burning Man newbies are most welcome to come and learn from other Burners (including us) all about playa life – including Where to Get Materials, How to Survive, Why We Do It, What Are the Secrets, and Isn’t It Really Just a Bunch of Stinkin’ Naked Hippie Drug Cases Making a Mess in the Worst Desert in North America. (No, it’s patently not!) C’mon down.

And then, of course, XyloVan will be traveling to …

Burning Man
Aug. 29-Sept. 5.

About which, more later.

We introduced the van to my 11-year-old son’s classmates and their families last weekend at a huge campout/gathering/party at El Capitan Resort up in Goleta.

Kids make the best xylophonists. They have sharp enough chops to make interesting sounds, even if it’s playing “Chopsticks” together, and what they lack in precision they make up for in boundless enthusiasm: “Omigodthisistheawesomestthingever! Youmadethis? Omigodthisissofreakin’cool!!!”

Love it.

Thanks to everyone who played – I hope we’ll see you all again before too long.

More photos after the jump … Continue reading

I had the supreme privilege of taking XyloVan to BarCampLA 8, an ad-hoc un-conference that I like to think of as an intellectual mosh pit, where tech, art, community and strategy thrash and get sweaty.

I set up in the upper lot, and told the stories of how I built it (one of these days I have to arrange all the posts on this blog into a single stack of step-by-step links), and gave helpful instruction on how to not get killed at Burning Man.

Many thanks to everyone who listened kindly and played energetically. You’re an inspiring community of fertile minds.

Can’t wait for the next BarCamp.


More pictures here, courtesy of Jane Lee:

That was great – a little microburn without all the driving, heat and dust.

XyloVan trekked a massive 4.3 miles last night to the Egyptian Theater to help kick off the L.A. League of Arts Burning Man Film Series. We utterly devoured the fascinating first film in the series – Dust and Illusions.

Check it out wherever you can – it traces the community’s 30-year-deep roots from a coagulation of like-spirited artists up through its raucous early years, the watershed ’96 burn that spurred creation of Black Rock City and its rich, monstrous growth up to last year’s 51,454-strong burn. If the nostalgia and inspiration don’t grab you, the politics will – so many strong minds struggling to define the undefinable.

We had a blast setting up in the courtyard – many thanks to Beth and Athena for graciously making space for XyloVan, and to Dore and Cristina for sharing Calliope the Wonder Wagon and their judicious barge-guiding skills with us. Thanks to them, maneuvering XyloVan in and out of the 7-foot-wide alley through the courtyard was a joy rather than the nerve-shredding crunchfest it could have been.

Thanks, also, to the Krishnas for the wonderful food, spiritual generosity and musical interaction.

And thanks especially to all of you – happy burners, playful Angelenos and all the had-to-be-coaxed-but-wound-up-enjoying-it souls who made lovely music into the night.

Tons of photos after the jump – if you spot yourself there, drop a line in the comments and leave your name and link!
Continue reading

Egyptian_Theatre_Hollywood_7.jpgLast night was the Burnal Equinox – the precise halfway point between Burning Man festivals – it’s sort of the formal kickoff season for preparations for the 2011 burn.

On the off chance you don’t already know about it, Sunday’s festival kicks off a
film series in at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood with a little BM culture
bath.

There’ll be a few theme camps and art cars in the courtyard all afternoon
(including XyloVan) – a lovely half-way-there dose of
playa.

At 7:30, there’s a showing of Dust and Illusions – 30 Years of History of Burning Man followed by
Q&A with the filmmakers and another hour or two of courtyard frolic.

DEETS after the jump.

See you there! Continue reading

XyloVan doesn’t usually do requests – we like to show up where we think people will have fun with us. But Jim Hodgson, a Burner alum, asked us to park at the Down Syndrome of L.A. Buddy Walk last weekend, and it turned out to be a nice experience. We gave a lot of kids smiles – probably the polar/thematic/social/atmospheric opposite of the playa. Here are a few snaps:

If we’d stopped to take more photos, we wouldn’t have had near as enjoyable a time chatting with everyone. If you spot yourself, drop a line in the comments and say hey!