cockzombie

Santa Fe Muzik Fest (This Blog is LONG)

I was really lucky to have started voulenteering since Thursday, and i sent my volunteer app. early and was assigned the VIP tent. I don't think I would have had anywhere near as good of a time had I spent 3 days parking people.

I got there around 11 and helped set up the bar, things got rolling, I went to see Brian Botkiller in the electro tent and there were like... 5 people. I was really disappointed that the local stage was the smallest, and you really had to go out of your way to go listen to those bands. The other thing that bothered me about this was that They were making some local bands haul their stuff across the track, which is a total pain in the ass. They also didn't give most local talent VIP passes, even for the day of their performance. if they want this to grow- they are going to have to give a little more to
the local talent then they did this year, in my opinion.

The VIP tent is set up next to the 2nd largest stage, and next to the 'talent' tents, aka where the performers hang out. There is a beer garden to the left of it, and it is done beautifully.

The afternoon went slow- I got hit on like crazy by men, everyone LOVED my zozobra tattoo, and I got to meet some more cool people. It was interesting to me that I only got hit on by men that were my type. You know... Big and Hairy. And tall. yesss.... But I digress. My boss was awesome, and the bartenders were like my big brothers. By the end of the weekend they even shared a portion of their tips with me! I was picking up women with them- but I wasn't having any luck. Only the men were interested. Its funny to check out women with guys though. Especially these ones. Their trick was to pretend they were shy, and reel them in, and the BAM! Out comes the charm and the smiles and the booze. Viola!


On Saturday there was a woman I felt comfortable enough to be around. She was beautiful. She had a wife beater on, and a great smile. I asked to see her tattoos because she had this lovely koi fish on her back. A little later I saw her intertwined rainbow female symbols a little below the waist of her jeans. I went in for the kill. Turns out she is a DJ in LA, and really a wonderful person. The highlight of my weekend.


It picked up around 5 on Friday, and I finally took my break around 6 and decided I wanted to ride around in the golf cart with the event organizer for awhile. Just then Wu Tang got to the grounds and they were supposed to follow us in the golf cart to get to their tent. Andrew (the even organizer) gets motherfucking LOST on his own site and we are driving this limo all around the racetrack like idiots. Hes like "haha. Were fucking with wu-tang". And trust me, Wu Tang Clan aint nothin to fuck wit. I served them drinks, and got their tent prepared. Here is a pic from their performance. They didn't allow cameras or autographs and I don't like looking like a fan and asking, you know?


Public Enemy got there shortly after, and this guy from public enemy.. (I should know what his stage name is, but I don't) Stumbles out of the limo and yells at me "HEY TITTIES!- YO! GET OVER HERE!"

ok..



So I go over there and out pops this little 6 year old kid who seems smart as all hell and wore these cute little glasses and has a new Mexico shirt on and a hot air balloon pin. Public Enemy Dad tells me I look 'motherly' and then walks off with the rest of the crew and leaves me with the kid. (he later tells me his dads name is Adam... But I don't think that's his stage name) I drive the kid around in the golf cart, and take him to the Trader Joes booth (in case you didn't know- I work there now) and get him some granola bars and fruit leather. It was really fun to be Public Enemies official babysitter. Adam invited me into their tent (which is a big deal) but I took the kid in and was about to leave, (but not without a kiss on the neck.) When Flavor Flav walked into the tent from signing autographs in the public. I was so excited, dude. You have no idea. Anyway we were at the entrance, and so was he, and I asked for a pic. I had been carrying around that pink "I'm really Karen" sign in my back pocket, and I held it up and 'Adam' took that neat pic of us! I asked him "If I were on Flavor of Love, what would my nickname be?" and he looked me up and down and said "titties". Which, I suppose, is better then 'gravy' or 'cunt'.


I managed to get all of Crazyfool into the VIP area, and it was cool to hang out with my old friends. Work was a little hectic, I was in charge of making sure that no one was in the tent that wasn't supposed to be, and carding the people that came in and giving them a wrist band. Me? kicking people out? That was new. Sophie and Hector were in the beer garden, so I decided to let them in too. It was the first time I had officially met this woman who has been in Hectors life for 9 months, and it was a long time coming. I glad I got to do it on my turf, doing somethin I was good at, where people respected me and I could play favorites to them, you know? She is really a beautiful woman, and very sociable. I told her straight up that I was uncomfortable with her watching Barley alone, but that I was grateful that she had opened up her home to my family. And I am.

Later in the night it was revealed that she was bisexual. This was a familiar situation. A little TOO familiar. We had been talking about my recent breakup and how I thought the church was being more then fair with me and helping us out, and that I had hoped that the girl I was seeing would be the first and last, but that I honestly thought that I was bisexual.

Then she kissed me.

She finished getting drunk. Which is funny because Hector and Sophie biked the 15 miles out of town, and had to go back that night. woooooow. That should be interesting. All in all I give Sophie an 8. I'm glad hes with someone like her- and I think we could end up being friends. Plus its fun to introduce them.
"this is my husband hector, and this is his girlfriend Sophie."
It turns out that on their way home, Sophie randomly 'got a flat' and they had to abandon the bikes and take a taxi home. Ha. Luck or did she hit a rock so she didn't have to bike? You tell me...


The next day was slow all afternoon and into the evening. I took a few hours off to go see George Clinton, because Liaf thought the tent would be empty. Who the hell was RBD anyway?
How foolish we were.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RBD
The crowd for this show was the biggest of all the acts that weekend. People were holding signs, there were hundreds of toddler girls dressed in pleated mini skirts and bras with ties. They rocked the stage, and although no one in the VIP tent really knew who they were, instead of using thier own private tent they hung out in ours. I wonder if they were insulted or relieved that we didn't know who they were, even face to face? They were great entertainers, and brought some people up on stage, and played for longer then they had to.

The organizers of this event did a really good job (with regards to Saturday, in particular) of ensuring that everyone who lived in Santa Fe could come out to The Downs and listen to something they liked. It was brilliant to have George Clinton, The Darkstar Orchestra and RBD play that night. It covered the hippies, the 'scene' people, and the Hispanics. It was incredible to see the Downs being used again after almost 20 years. How amazing it must have been to being coming from Albuquerque on the highway and see so much LIFE over there! I think if we got it together, The Downs could be bigger or as big as Journal Pavilion.

I hate getting new artists, but I had heard some good things (and some bad) from H & H Tattoo and went to go check it out. The only artist there was the owner, the other ones had gone to see George Clinton. So I look through his book and there were some girls there, I looked at their tattoos. His lines seem to be clean, and all I wanted was some script across my back, so he set me up with an appointment the next day, and I gave him a $40 deposit.

The next day I show up for my appointment and he isn't there. One of the other artists tells me he isnt going to be in all day.. Ok- wtf? So I ask him if I can get my deposit back and hes like, well- I dont even see you in the book. SO I show him my little appointment card and the artist is like "Well we are just setting up. come back in a few hours" Which pissed me off. So I tell him this looks bad for the shop, and he freaks out at me about how it isn't his shop, blah blah- total rudeness.

I go back to work the VIP tent, and later a different artist comes in and is nice and I tell him, he tries to hook me up with this OTHER artist who is 'great at script'. I check out his book and I don't like his work. I was tired of dealing with them, I gave a deposit for a tattoo that hasn't even been drawn up yet and I want the deposit back. Yeah- they tried to hook me up with someone else- but I don't like his work. I don't want to be rude and tell him this, so I stood him up. I'll take up the issue of getting my money back tomorrow.


I didn't work at all on Sunday- I just hung out with my friends. Lyndsay and I hardly got to talk as much as I wanted to, because she was always in the catering tent, but Roland and some of the other guys and Dana came and it was nice. I introduced Hector to some of them, and he was in charge of Barley. He did a really good job of watching him for the weekend. One of Rolands friends I had previously met at Willies, so that was cool. This long haired hippie dude sold some peanut butter pot cups. I had like, 1/4 of one and those things definaely had something in them becides pot. Either that or it had been so long since I had been high... I fucking hated it. Seriously. I hate being high. Sunday was the day I was looking forward to the most and I spent the evening hoping the high would go away. I watched Blue October and I swear I thought he had a blue face mask on. But nothing I felt was as bad as the man I meantioned I had met at Willies:



By THE NEW MEXICAN
August 13, 2007

Naked intruder blames brownies

The spiked brownies made him do it.

That was what a 24-year-old Santa Fe man told police after a woman who lives near The Downs at Santa Fe _ site of last weekend's music festival _ found him passed out naked on her couch about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, according to a police report.
The woman, who lives on Camino Torcido Loop in La Cienega, told police she confronted Felix Cordova and asked who he was and what he was doing there, says the report, which was filed Monday in Santa Fe County Magistrate Court.
The woman left her home and called sheriff's deputies, the report says. When Deputy Bryan Peters arrived, he found the 6-foot, 3-inch, 330-pound Cordova standing outside the home wearing only a pair of black shorts, the report says.
Cordova said he ate brownies that contained an unknown narcotic at the Santa Fe Musik Festival about 6:30 p.m., but could not recall anything that occurred afterward, the report says, and he didn't know how he got into the woman's home.
The resident said nothing in the home was stolen or damaged. Cordova was charged with breaking and entering and ordered held Monday in lieu of a $5, 000 bond.


So yeah. Drugs are bad, kids.


Before I was stoned off a peanut butter cup, I went to go talk to a really handsome guy over by the Blues Traveler bus. His name was Daniel, and he himself played harmonica. I had noticed him around earlier. He was waiting in ront to meet John Popper and I asked himif the bus next to it was BT as well. It wasn't it was the Blue October bus. I was siked. I'll totally act like a school girl here for a few, because I have such a serious crush on that man it isnt even funny. Not since the Ben Affleck insodent of 2003 have I had such sturrings in my belly. He went over to thier bus and harassed them a little for me, and next thing you know- Blue October is outside! LIKE OMG!
I got some pics and expressed my undying adoration for him. Then I went to go talk to Daniel who was talking to some equally hot guy who was freaking tall and had black chipped nail polish on.

HOLLER.

John Popper came out and I took Daniels pic with him, and got a few of my own, and went back to talking to this man who was really charming and super handsome, and quite late in the game I realized (ok- someone told me) that he was the Guitarist for Blues Traveler. I guess I could have figured it out by the BT tattoo on his arm? But ya'll know how I am. Totally oblivious. I'm surprised I even noticed anyone hit on my that weekend, since I wasn't feeling particularly pretty, I mean, hello. Its an outdoor SUMMER music fest, and I'm a fat woman who need to hide behind her makeup crutch. Bad combo. Chandler was super nice, I don't know if hes single or what- but we talked about Zozobra vs. Burning Man, and a ton of other stuff. I really enjoyed those guys from Blues Traveler, and flashed them on their way out.

A few minutes after that whirlwind, Justin came outside and said I looked like the kind of girl who had some black eyeliner for him. He took it and brought it back. Now- you know I am a conspiracy theorist at heart, and heres what I think. I think it's a trick he uses at each show, to go up to a girl and ask for some eyeliner, pretend he uses it, and then is like 'wow- you saved the day' so they can be like "EEK! HE USED MY EYELINER!"

...or did he actually use it?
we may never know.


Everclear got on stage and said that they wanted to go eat at Tomasitas, but that they were closed and that they went to 'The Rainbowlizzard' or some shit like that. HA! In your face Rainbowvision. Your food sucks next to Tomasitas, according to Everclear.
let me tell you something, sitting on the grass at 8pm on a Sunday with your friends from high school listening to early 90's alternative makes you feel OLD. I mean, OLD OLD. Its like when you were younger and your mom went to some lame casino or dive bar to listen to some band you had never heard of with her friend from back before you were born and you see them try and get 'dressed up' to go out and you pity them. I felt like I should have been pitied. They tried to rock it- but I felt like maybe their carpel tunnels was setting in, or that they were worried about their hip. I've seen the Rolling Stones and it didn't make me feel as geriatric as this performance did.


All in all- it was a successful weekend. I made some new friends, some new contacts, new references. It was me doing what I love doing- working with people, and it was nice to get to work in the field I have been trying to finish getting my degree for years.