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An epiphany of sorts from a sober experience while dancing to DJs Bodhi and Arahat tag team and together as Monks of Madness at Noizemakerz Wednesdays at the Platinum

KEVIN — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:46:50 GMT

... tag Arahat tag Bodhi tag Arahat tag Bodhi tag Arahat then they both stayed. Lots of tunes had me hopping and stomping. Right nice group of people. Too bad for me that I don't know your names from your IsraTrance handles or tribe.net handles come to think of it as it seems some people use different handles on each website. Yeah, I kind of took the mystery out of it by using my name for my handle. PsyCore! :) Say hi next time, or did you? :) And keep saying hi as it takes me lots of repetition to learn a name with a face when I might not see you again for many weeks or months. Interesting experience to be stone cold sober and actually feel the trance effect from what I assume would be dancing hard, the music's beats, and all that stuff that goes on inside those crazy twisted songs played and mixed this particular night! :) Had I not experienced it, I would have predicted such a thing would not happen. I had thought it had been caused in me at other times because of induced altered states from various things, or when sober it was just a fleeting thing that I passed off as being tired or something, or a different effect from different music that, though I liked the music and dancing to it, did not do this to me even though a different type of music at an event had given to me one of the happiest emotional states I have ever felt. I think dancing in a group, tribal style, has a part to it too. Jacquilynn and I were there early and had the dance floor to ourselves for a short while. Sorry about the spelling Jackeroo, as I almost always ask about how to spell someone's name, but somehow didn't this time. It was a pleasure to meet you. Joyful dancing with women dressed in white under the blacklight amongst large mushroom sculptures. What is that music the Monks of Madness play, separately and together? Many times during the night I was tripping on it. During the second tag while Arahat was it, a gradual shift in my perception came upon me during a few minutes of this song with this crazy driving beat while these percussive type tones were zipping back and forth that took me to a space not quite inside myself and had me viewing the world outside while I continued to dance. I'm sure there's a lot of factors that'd make this frame of mind for myself possible, but now that I'm aware of it being possible I'll have to try to repeat it or improve upon it. I'll have to do some more research this upcoming weekend. :) This effect stayed with me for most of the remainder of the night, though it would diminish or go away when I'd stop to take a break. Back to the floor seemed to bring it back in varying degrees and more readily as I was now aware of its existence and desiring to be in that state gave me incentive to be open to its returning. Being closer to its cause from being warmed up from previous dancing and listening probably helped too. I'm sure it has a lot to do with many variables starting with the music, myself, and my frame of mind. I tried dancing and just thinking of nothing except the beats and moving to them in whatever manner I could without falling down. :) Just four hours for me this time, as compared to the last time I went to a psytrance gathering that went thirteen hours of psytrance and other music aforehand and afterwards. Knowing this let me expend as much energy as I wanted to without having to reserve as much to be able last to the end. Perhaps this fatigued me in such a way to make it happen more intensely? Since I have been going to these events regularly starting in March I have noticed an improvement in my health and stamina with the possible exception of the ringing in my ears, that is. :) I know music and dancing are supposed to be fun and I do indeed have lots of fun at these events. I don't want my talking about any experiences I have to give the impression that I do not have fun. If it wasn't fun for me, I would not go. Learning things about myself or others while at the same time having fun just makes it that much better and gives me something else to look forward to. It'd be hard not to have fun with such good people that this music and vibe attracts. I like being around happy people. It makes me happy. When I'm happy, it makes other people happy. A right nice arrangement as happiness seems to make me and those around me feel lots better than when I'm feeling sad. I usually view the world from within myself looking out and think that my presence is often of small consequence to the world's goings on, but I have learned that I can have a very strong effect on those around me just by the outward expression of my inner emotional state. I might seem naive about stating such a thing, but I have most of my life been largely unaware of other's emotional states and not even be aware of their happiness or sadness except when it is so strong that it cannot be ignored. Subtleties were often missed by me. Probably why my Poker playing friends often take my money when we play Poker even if I'm the one that understands the odds and numbers to the cards and bets. Being aware that I can affect others in this way and letting them affect me in this way is a changing thing for me that I'm just now beginning to appreciate even if I'm not too sure of its ramifications or what comes of it. A year ago I would never have imagined that I'd go one of these events, let alone dance at one, and now write about it. Especially to this kind of music and in such a manner. Lots of unknowns. I have the feeling that aboriginal people did something very similar with extended tribal dancing and this psytrance music and dancing is an extension of it with modern equipment. Society and living conditions might be lots different than centuries back or even decades, but us people are more or less the same. It seems to me that we should be able to recreate various things ancient people have done within our own bodies even if we're not doing it directly or with intention, and even moreso if we purposely pursue the old ways with modern vigor. Yep, more research! I like research for the greater good of humanity. I'll do my part. You guys keep playing and I'll keep dancing. Sober states and altered states. If I figure it out, I'll let everyone in on it. And if it already has been figured out, tell me about it and we'll compare what I've learned to what you know, and then we'll have to do some more research to collaborate it and get the word out.

Truth and Lies

KEVIN — Tue, 20 May 2008 04:13:10 GMT

http://www.milkandcookies.com/link/107257/detail/ Do we have investigative reporting in the United States? I'm sure this has a bias, but come on, why haven't I heard of this stuff before? There's no chance the Democratic nominee will use any of this in the campaign once selected is there?

An excerpt of an e-mail about my experience at PsyTribe's Back to Nature Part II event

KEVIN — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:14:02 GMT

... It's probably just as well that I missed the turn and went home as I got stuck behind a sig-alert in the Silverlake area on the 101 and didn't get home until 10:15. Yep, made it to work on time at 4:56AM. Not too sore and feeling pretty good. That was a lot of psytrance to dance to and it is so fast and powerful most of the time. Energizing and exhausting at the same time! It was good to hear it as the main focus of an outdoor event as I missed most of what was played at the LunarSun while I was sleeping. I think I best like how the Fire 2 was done with the music so far if only because I like the type of music you, Armando, and Gabriel play and that's not the kind that Psytribe plays. Fire 2 had a mixing of the music forms and they seemed to have a build up, then tribal, then psytrance, then progressive, with Willy front and after. Kind of rising curve and then a tapering drop, but I have liked every event I've attended. It is more than just the music, but as Willy says in his e-mail of his upcoming event, it is the music that brings us together. Meta and Bodhi fit right in with the PsyTribe. Wow! Was the music ever going and relentless! I saw your post about thinking of sleeping while it was playing. Not a chance! You did well to get up and over to the dancefloor if only to listen. You are a strong person as I could not keep from moving and just had to move to most of the music. Skip even teased me about it when he happened by my truck and saw me moving. :) Every time I walked away to get a drink or take a break, the music, the vibe, and the people would call me back and I'd be stomping to the beats again. A lot of the songs and how they were mixed sounded really good and I liked them a lot. ...

Of my experience at the LunarSun and a few things I thought of. >>Originally posted on IsraTrance 3-25-8 plus an add on

KEVIN — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:38:07 GMT

So naive I seem to myself, but I had a really good time at the LunarSun. I've read a lot of the posts on this site that I have just joined and on the tribe.net. I must've been oblivious to the goings on all around me even while I was there and awake until 8 PM Saturday. I met some really great people, we talked of anything under the moon and sun, and we danced to some songs that had me ecstatic just from hearing them. I did not know music could do this to me as strongly as it did. I like a lot of rock songs and there's plenty of them that can make me feel very emotional. This trance music is something that I just can't fathom and some of it is the best music I have ever heard. How is it possible to have tears of joy just stomping to music and being with others enjoying it too? It often takes me awhile to feel this way towards a particular song, but there were a few songs played during Part I of the LunarSun that I had either never heard before or had only heard once before just three weeks prior that were so incredible sounding to me that I have to wonder if there's something wrong with me or if I've been leading a way too sheltered life. So much of the music I have listened to through the years is dark and moody music. Yes, I can be happy listening to Alice in Chains and Black Sabbath's first album. But how is it possible to not have fun listening to Ticon's 2 AM without smiling and being joyfull? Must I always listen to political or melancholy music? I now know the name of the one song that sends me much happiness and good vibe. It doesn't seem to be a very complicated song, but it feels good to hear. I'm glad it has just been released and I'll have a chance to hear it a few more times before it gets old and is not played by DJ's any more. Though I would indeed like to think that it might survive for some time or that I will continue to feel it fresh to myself and not ever want to not hear it. "Plovdiv" by RPO vs. David Weed, a title I have no clue as to what it means by a band or person whose name makes no sense to me. Thank you Gabriel for playing this song after sunrise not soon after I came down off the ridge to be amongst the dancers and bonfire in the gathering light of daybreak after watching the sunrise and moonset from such a great vantage point. You really seemed to enjoy playing this particular song as much as I enjoyed hearing and dancing to it. Such a vibe. It was Armando who played this song three weeks prior that gave me the chance to know of such things being possible. I hope my speaking of songs and not sets is OK. I have over a thousand records and it seems I often will buy an album just to have one song on it. Music has often been something I do for myself. Being with others like at the LunarSun and Fire 2 for the music is something I might have thought of or dreamed about, but never really considered that people actually did or that I would or should participate in. Now I know it is done and I have indeed attended myself. The flow of the music is talked about in great length on the Part II of the LunarSun here. I tried to follow some of the arguments from the various sides, but I just wanted to hear music I liked and be with people having a good time. Perhaps I'll know enough about it someday to know what it is that I'm supposed to like or know, but for the time being I'll have the bliss of ignorance. And I also was not able to hear all the music as I wasn't able to stay awake when a lot of the music that was played is being talked about. I will plan better the next time. How you DJ's are able to even find such obscure music and then piece together coherent sets with a flow and vibe is truly an art. And musicians that make the music. It must be a tribe and word of mouth way of doing things. I like the no superstars and how approachable everyone was. Talking with the DJ's before and after their sets helped me enjoy the music in a thinking way, but listening and/or dancing to it was where it was happening. Thank you Darvin for putting up with my naive and often unschooled questions about music. Good thing we could talk of many things or you might've had to start a DJ class right then and there. I really wish I could've stayed up for another 16 hours, but I ran out of steam and had to crash. When I awoke Sunday morning it was around 3 AM. I made my way down the ridge to the fire after 4 AM to be with the people and get a little warmth from the chill. Apparently I missed some more good music! When oh when will the cure for sleep be found? And I need advice for shoes! My poor toes. The bottoms of my feet where fine as running shoes seem a good choice for stomping in the desert sand and dirt. Perhaps just a larger size? I have plenty of sayings, but one that seems to get universal agreement when I say it is, "If your feet ain't happy, you ain't happy." I suppose I should be thankful that I am one those that can get by on a lot less sleep than the average person. Going to work Friday morning at 4 AM left me lagged for making it until Sunday night. I shall think of ways to get around this if I'm in a position to come to another event like this. When Shadow FX mixed in the Pink Floyd my whole reason for never having danced for my whole life was destroyed right then and there. I'm not sure if I liked the effect of it or not being the Pink Floyd fan from the sixties that I am. Yep, started listening to them when I was eleven, but it was indeed an epiphany to me to open my mind and ears to other realities. Maybe rock will someday be replaced, but it has survived for so long. I have Eno from before his Ambient music and I suppose Emerson, Lake, and Palmer have plenty of electronic music too. Was I dreaming or was a DJ talking over the mic as would Hawkwind in Space Ritual? I was in a tea daze I think so I might have been hallucinating. I never really have considered most Pink Floyd music as rock music. Definitely not dance music! It's not called progressive rock any more. Apparently that term now means a different kind of music when you consider that a lot of Yes's music was once called progressive rock. As for progressive trance, I really don't know what it is, nor psychedelic trance. Beats, mood, and tempo? I'm learning, but it seems like there's plenty of different interpretations of it all. I like that! Just like games, it fits my theory of enjoyable activities. "A game is not much fun if you can't argue over it" and "The object of a game is to win, but the reason to play a game is to have fun." Often times having fun is lost in society's obsession with winning. Kids playing sandlot games know all about having fun, but get some parents to attend a little league game and the kids' fun is lost in the parent's desire to instill the importance of winning into them at a young age. I have a lot of fun playing a good game, win or lose though I always strive to win. How did Matthew ever beat me at tic-tac-toe in the sand near the fire? :) Such a wonderment, especially for those that know me for my game playing abilities. Sharing kite flying was something I hadn't done in thirty-five years. Wow. If it's a good game played by good players that have a good time playing it can be fun to watch too. This should fit right in with my other activies and I shall endeavor to keep music this way for now on. Thank you all. Though it is not possible to repeat this whole experience as we all did it, I would like to put forth the motion that we attempt it! Aside from just showing up and being there, I really have little that I can do with the helping of making it happen. Soon I shall be released from an oppressive weight upon me and I might indeed be able to directly help in the set up or taking down of an event. I'm strong and knowledgeble in moving stuff. A little direction and training from those that know where things go and how and I'll be a person you'll be glad to have help. One post makes it sound like any future such events will have the amounts of people limited. I see pros and cons for this, but if asked I will back whatever decision is made. I had very little luck in persuading any of my friends to attend and so I came alone. Perhaps it is a younger person's thing to do, but people my age don't know what they're missing. At least there were a few there that did. I shall also just have to make friends with younger people! Ah, such a simple solution to what seems such an inextricable generational problem. Here it is afterwards and these longtime friends of mine are saying that I am somehow changed and different. They do seem to like the change, even if I'm more or less the same as I was yesterday. They're not used to seeing me move my body or talk with excitement about a gathering of people and music. We all went to concerts in the seventies, so how is this any different? Perhaps it is how the passage of the years and how each person's individual growth in life has affected them? It certainly is too bad for those my age and older that they are the ones that rule the world and have no clue about such gatherings or worse demonize them and make laws to prevent them from taking place in the first place! Twenty-five years from now I want those of you that will then be my age now to remember how it is and make sure that we can be free to have these events. And also stop by and say hi to me in 2033! Smaller gatherings and just one night events like Fire 2 are good for me too. When's the next one? :) >>Addendum to this post. 4-14-8<< Interestingly enough, I have been to two events since this one and I have not heard the song "Plovdiv" or "Keen String" a song that I heard mixed in with "Plovdiv". But I've heard a lot of other ones that are very good. This type of music seems to get into your body. The volume, the actual music and beats, the vibe of the event, and the vibe of the people that are there with you. And I am learning about the music and how DJ's have style and it actually being possible to hear the difference in the DJ's styles. I'm still fairly ignorant, but even with increasing knowledge the bliss is still with me. It is almost impossible to find out what songs they are at the time they're being played. So I shall just have to go to events and hear them when they come up again, if ever. It's very dynamic how the music is changed so fast from event to event even when I've seen the same DJ at different events. A few of the DJ's have been kind enough to actually give me a copy of their set or a part of it. This of course lets me play the songs for myself. I have put them on my stereo, turned it up, and couldn't help but get off the couch and dance to them. I am tripping on myself. It makes me think that no matter what a DJ plays or does when you hear him that particular night, this is the only time that you will hear him play those songs in that order for that group of people. And this is antithesis of commercialism! Which requires things to be done over and over and repeated so as to become familiar to everyone and create a demand. With this music the only thing that is repeated is the type of music, not the actual music played! Big difference then when you go to a rock concert and the audience is singing the words with the musicians. Safety in the familiar? It does explain why I do like hearing certain songs again. And now I have this whole new experience of dancing and of being with people who like the music too. We just love kicking up the dust! :)

Gemini gathering from Santa Ana

KEVIN — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:29:29 GMT

From: W Edinger Ave & S Bristol St, Santa Ana, CA Drive: 533 mi – about 8 hours 41 mins 1. Head north on Bristol St toward the Orange Crush (57/22/I-5) 3.5 mi 9 mins 2. Turn right onto the Garden Grove Fwy E ramp to Los Angeles/San Diego 0.4 mi 3. Keep left at the fork, follow signs for I-5 N and merge onto I-5 N 420 mi 6 hours 17 mins 4. Take exit 525B to merge onto CA-70 N/CA-99 N toward Marysville/Yuba City Continue to follow CA-70 N 34.4 mi 37 mins 5. Turn right at CA-20/CA-70 0.2 mi 1 min 6. Turn left to stay on CA-20/CA-70 Continue to follow CA-70 74.3 mi 1 hour 36 mins 7. Turn right at Howells Rd 400 ft 8. Continue on Belden Town Rd 0.2 mi Belden, CA 95915 It's long drive, but I'm looking forward to it. I should know by the end of April if I'll be able to get there or not. I'd rather not go alone if only to spare the cost of buying the fuel all by myself. 1066 Miles ÷ 19 Miles Per Gallon × $3.60 per Gallon = $202 round trip. Hmm, maybe a plane and rental car will work, but I think I'd rather go with someone or more than one and make a group effort out of it. We share the fuel cost and we also have company for the drive. I am a professional driver, so that helps too. I'll post more when I know more about my situation. mmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmm May 15th, 2008. My unrelated ordeal has continued. Perhaps I'll know if I'll be able to make it to the festival after May 27th. Stay posted. mmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmm mmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmm Now to May 29th. Then I should know how the world spins, but from what I've seen of system and a little of its inner workings, I ain't counting on it. Well, gasoline had gone over $4.00 a gallon. So I'll have to adjust my estimate of fuel expenses to get there. It is certainly making me want to use other means to get there, but I'll be driving myself there as a friend of mine is coming out from Colorado to go to the festival! Says he's thinking of flying to Sacramento. I told him I could pick him up there and continue to the festival. Cool! :) 1066 Miles ÷ 19 Miles Per Gallon × $2.00 per Gallon = $112 round trip. 1066 Miles ÷ 19 Miles Per Gallon × $3.00 per Gallon = $168 round trip. 1066 Miles ÷ 19 Miles Per Gallon × $3.60 per Gallon = $202 round trip. 1066 Miles ÷ 19 Miles Per Gallon × $4.00 per Gallon = $224 round trip. 1066 Miles ÷ 19 Miles Per Gallon × $4.25 per Gallon = $238 round trip. 1066 Miles ÷ 19 Miles Per Gallon × $4.50 per Gallon = $252 round trip. 1066 Miles ÷ 19 Miles Per Gallon × $5.00 per Gallon = $280 round trip. It better not hit five bucks a gallon! Ouch! At least I get 19 miles to the gallon. Just imagine those that get 12 MPG 1066 Miles ÷ 12 Miles Per Gallon × $4.00 per Gallon = $355 round trip. My work truck gets only 7.3 miles to the gallon. I saw diesel at $5.01 yesterday! I filled up 68 gallons. So in just four days of working my local job, my employer's cost for the fuel only would be $340! A year ago when it was around $2.50 it would be half that, so I am wondering how long my company can continue on without doing a surcharge or other things that companies have been trying to do to help mitigate the expense of fuel. When I had a line job going to Reno from Pico Rivera, the rig would get 6.5 miles a gallon. Not bad for pulling two trailers up the US395, but I can imagine the surchages that freight companies are adding to the freight charges. Ouch

Test of blog system

KEVIN — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 21:47:37 GMT

Format and layout test.