09.15.05--Harvest Bash Lineup, Bonfires in Manila, Grey Eagle Benefits

MY ADVANCED APOLOGIES to the newbies on this mail list--for the intrusion. Sorry for my rambling, ruminating habit of sending out periodic updates of Traveling Bonfires and Indie programs, projects, and activities. If you dont wish to get more of this "sweet blabbery," send me a short, personal email... I do understand.

Anyhow, I hope everybody had a great day, yesterday, as well as today. Hurricane/Storm Ophelia was said to have landed in the Appalachians but I dont think I even felt it. Not sure. Me and Marta The Nicer Osbourne spent most of our evening-to-earlymorn cleaning up Park Place bldg (where we are housed)--a new job, better pay. Quite silently interesting, intriguing job, I may say. Cant help but attentively observe how occupants/souls keep their offices--from compulsive-impulsive paranoia to topsy-turvy abandon to just-ordinary to achingly boring to I-dont-really-care nonchalance. (But nothing beats The Indie Crib, I know...) I always find it quietly challenging to read/analyze/pore over human beings' sensibilities and sensitivities--by the way they keep their houses, offices, rooms.

ASIDE: An enlightening, flabbergasting movie to watch is "Kinsey"--the movie about notoriously celebrated sex researcher Alfred Kinsey. It's a movie about sex that isnt sexual, at all. Kinsey's discourse reminds me--or very parallel with--Ayn Rand's objectivist (or objectimist) take on sexual urge. Two of my friends--Maria L and Lacy M--will surely agree with Kinsey and/or Rand, without batting an eyelash--but that doesnt mean it's bad. They're good company, I guess. (A cool book to read, by the way, is John Le Carre's "The Constant Gardener"--you can rent it out at the Pack Library, I just returned it).

Okay, the Updates...

[ ] The first "Bonfires for Peace in Manila (Philippines)" is set, booked, ready to rock--on Oct 14. Kudos to Bonfires associate producer Jaja Campos for an excellent, focused, consistent work in putting things together. This event also marks the Asian launch of Third World Asheville and The Georgiana R. Pascua Memorial Foundation. Headlining acts are world music stalwart Pinikpikan and Kapatid, a funk-rock outfit woven around the flamboyant swagger and knockout stage-presence of frontman Karl Roy. Other bands include Taggu Ndios, Chrome 8, Acidstone, and Dahon. Emcee is Kathy Pajarillo. Proceeds go to Third World Asheville--Manila/Asia and GRP Foundation's "pilot communities" projects. For more details, go to http://bonfiresmanila.blogspot.com/

The second of the 3-event Oct-to-Dec Bonfires "coming-home" rock extravaganza is set in Nov at 70s Bistro in Quezon City--and topbilled by Joey Ayala and Pearlsha "Peach" Abubakar. (Peach used to be my Manila band's--Duane's Poetry--vocalist). An outdoor 15-band/acts concert is set in December...

[ ] Bearly Edible's "HARVEST BASH: Bonfires for Peace in Mars Hill, NC" music camp (Sept 30, Oct 1 and 2) is also ready to roll. Final lineup of performers--Blues Forgotten, Dashvara, Ash Devine, DJ Medisin, Fiddle Dave, Bric Friesland, The Great Slide, J. Wail, June Bugg, Peace Jones, Phuncle Sam, Planet Hooston, Sunshine, Jaimee Tomas, with a Poetry Stage hosted by Jarrett Leone and Pasckie Pascua. As the press releases go--the weekend fundraise is launched to raise fund for the continued production of "Bonfires for Peace" concerts and events at Pritchard Park and other places, and for the benefit of an impoverished pilot communities in poor countries via The Bonfires' partner project, Third World Asheville. Entrance fee to the music camp is $15.

Direction to the Mars Hill camp: Exit 3, off I-26, right off exit, left at stop sign. First left after Little Creek Restaurant (Big Laurel Road), go down road and under bridge and look for parking signs on left. For more info, call Mark at (828) 225 8154. Thanks to Be's Mark for almost-singlehandedly putting this project together... he seems more comfortable this way--anyhow, we deeply and sincerely thank him for choosing The Bonfires as Harvest Bash's beneficiary. Sponsors include Terra Diva, Bonnie's, Save The Earth, Art by Fozzie, Bearly Edible, Caravanserai, Tony's Salty Chocolate Balls.

[ ] Final lineup for the Nov 18 Bonfires/ThirdWAsheville fundraiser at the Grey Eagle is almost sealed. We are negotiating with local bellydancing troupe, Baraka Mundi, to be the main headliner. A traveling act--Caitlin Cary and Thad Cockrell (with a full band)--asked to be included in the lineup but they're asking for a fixed rate, so it looks like that's not gonna work. No act is paid on this benefit event (including performers in the Dec 3 event, same venue). So pending Bakara Mundi, the performers for the Nov 18 show are--locals Phuncle Sam, Dashvara, Sunshine, Vanessa Boyd, and visitors (from Frisco) Deborah Crooks and Mica Lee Williams.

Brief info about Ms Crooks and Ms Williams... A native of Santa Cruz, Deborah is also a published essayist and poet, and a leader of San Francisco's "No Limits for Women in the Arts." Mica is a nationally/multi-awarded singer-songwriter whose voice and songs have been featured in several TV shows, including "Malibu Shores" and "America Lost and Found." She has won the top prize in the New York City International Music Festival (2003, pop rock category) and VH1 Save The Music Song of the Year Contest (2004). She has already shared stage with Melissa Etheridge, Kristie Stremel, Rachael Sage etc.

The Dec 3 event is headlined by local favorite Laura Blackley, with visiting funk-blues-rock journeymen, Mississippi Cactus, from Milwaukee--and singer songwriter Patty Keough from Boston. Phuncle Sam adds Asheville flair and savvy with their phunk, rock/blues, and soul. Ms Boyd, favorite Bonfires performer, also returns.

[ ] Vince Junior contributes a song to the "Bonfires for Peace/Traveling Bonfires, Volume 2" CD compilation. Those who have already submitted their contributions are Stephanie Rearick (from Madison WI), and locals Phuncle Sam, Dashvara, and Kimberly Summer.

[ ] Joining Courtney Allen and Brett Albers as The Bonfires/The Indie new set of volunteers are interns are (co-UNCA student) Shelly Sanders, and new Asheville arrival Heather Duncan (from Michigan). Courtney (very very shy, not as outrageously in-your-face as her namesake with the "Love" surname) has already rendered a lot of hours for The Bonfires--in the last two weeks or so. Brett is writing a UNCA/student/campus column for the next issue of The Indie. Hopefully, it'll be a monthly section... Heather is coming over to the office early this afternoon to work on some marketing/advertising chores, mostly on the phone. (Ben Yoder is also back... he might help out in the Mars Hill weekend camp.)

[ ] Upcoming "small" shows, mostly open mic-oriented--Sept 23, Oct 7, Oct 28 at Bearly Edible; Oct 6 and Nov 19 at Malaprops. (The Nov 19 Malaprops show features visitors Deborah Crooks and Mica Lee Williams.) Meantime, our cafe shows are trying to feature/focus/give space to young student poets and performers, and also to give them the chance and opportunity to promote or advocate their projects and activities. Perennial Bonfires open mic'er Aja Hamden (remember, "Me & Bobby McGee"?) asked to publicize UNCA's Student Global Aids Campaign in Bonfires shows.

[ ] Ben "Benjammin" Bernstein starts a column on astrology this Oct issue of The Indie. Of course, you know him more as the funny-goofy-sedately peaceful folksinger with sweetly-different/intriguing songs about dogs, ghosts, mountains, and stuff. Definitely, one of the longtime homeys of The Bonfires... dating back to my early days at Beanstreets.

[ ] Our Oct 29 "Vampires for Bonfires" 3-event BforPeace Halloween day at Pritchard Park is also shaping up pretty good. It will be a whole day of colorful, outrageous costumes and gags and antics, music and fun, plus a children's playground and a Halloween costume ball (aside from the concert at the park). More details coming up...

That's it, for now. We are trying our best to get the Oct issue out by Sept 20 to 22nd to make room for more/ample exposure to The Indie's election issue and the Mars Hill event publicity. We are doing fine, so far... Mike Hopping has already submitted a story on city council aspirant Robin Cape; he's also doing articles about the rest of the (Asheville) mayoral candidates.

Gracias--amigos, amigas. As usual--live good, love good, sleep good, and eat good.

--Pasckie
5:23am. The Indie Crib.
Asheville NC