We know that a lot of you have been waiting for an explanation
of why the 2012 project was cut short. We've been delaying sending
this message out for two reasons - we wanted time to cool our
frustration and we didn't want to kick anyone while they were down.

As you may have heard there is still trouble on the playa, mainly
due to the rain. The last I heard, the tent belonging to CMR
(our grab-all-you-can neighbors) was still stuck. I'm curious if that
world's largest paper-weight that they called a generator has gone 
to sleep with the world's largest woolly mammoths inside the playa...

The ironic part of all of this natural disaster is that the weather
had nothing to do with the cancellation of the 2012 project.

We had very large expectations of the Burning Man and Disturbia
experience - we planned for 3 months and kept current with the Disturbia
and Burning Man e-mail lists. We were inspired heavily from last year's
experience and from the ongoing preparation events - including the
Flambe Lounge party and the lighting of the man ceremony both in SF.

We were disappointed that we spent so much time and money on this
project with little results. We were disappointed that we were so close.

Most of all, we were disappointed with this year's Burning Man
experience as a whole.

Everything seemed to be thought of in advance - 
from the more-than 1300 messages to the Disturbia e-mail list, 
there was certainly enough discussion about power, space and noise 
limitations. We did everything we could to detail our power and 
space requirements, pay our dues and make sure that we follow 
the wishes of Disturbia and the Burning Man project. We were also 
careful to refrain from extraneous discussion/argument about money 
and space. We bit our lips and went along for the sake of the community.

Again, everything seemed in order. V 7.0 of the map would, basically,
work. Our sound system was within spec and our power requirements had
been graphed and detailed.   Geni had spent an hour on the phone with
Lizard Man discussing the Disturbia map layout so that our space needs
would be met.

We arrived on the playa early to help stake out the village and to
ensure that, when the bulk of our 2012 party arrived, that the basics 
were set - mainly space and power. We planned to have the basics out 
of the way by Monday so that we could spend the entire duration of 
Burning Man dealing with our theme:  

      Recording After the Apocalypse. 

How hard could it be to get power and a plot of land determined in 3 days?

We awoke on the playa, Friday Aug 28th to find that CMR had staked their
circus tent on top of what was supposed to be the 2012 and AMF camps.
Also, campers set up in what was supposed to be the center of Disturbia.

We were then told repeatedly that the V7.0 maps which we had just
printed "meant nothing" and that "this is not reality" and that "this is
not to perspective" and that "this is what Burning Man is all about,"
"this is a big playa," "take what you need," "there's no way we're 
going to move this tent" and "we have 80 people and you 2 are simpler
to move." 

We argued this most of the morning and by 2pm had arrange to have 
the CMR campers move and setup our camp adjacent to CMR's tent stakes. 
We said repeatedly that we had arrived early since
we would not have time to deal with the space issues later in the week,
that we would not have time to explain to other camps why we had to take
their space, that we would not have time to explain to Burning Man why
we were in the middle of a designated road. "Don't worry about it," we
were told. "This is Burning Man." "This is a big playa." "Move over
there; AMF doesn't need that much space." "Don't worry about it."

Well, we should have worried about it since we were the people who had
to pay. We had to move our camp boundaries two more times - once by
order of the fire marshal. Ance because when Lizard Man finally got
to the playa he wanted to know why our camp was sitting in the middle of
what was supposed to be the center of Disturbia.  If it weren't for us,
AMF would have been squeezed out entirely and there would be no
"center of Disturbia."

By Monday, we had our camp setup and re-setup, but there was still no
power.  We heard all of the stories about why there was no power. The diesel
generator was wouldn't start.  The axle on Doug's truck broke and we 
couldn't get another generator  until he got to the playa.  
When  the new generator got there it too was broken (something about the 
oil indicator) and the rental company guy would show up with another generator.
It was Thursday evening before we got power out of the diesel generator!  
By Friday, there were problems with the generator again.  It was no
one's fault and there was no backup plan. We had offered again and again
to bring gas generators. We were instructed not to do this because of
the noise.

We had setup in Disturbia, mainly for the power, second, because we were
"loud" and we thought it the considerate thing to do, third because of
the additional resources - radio, stage, porta-potties. To be sure that
we would have a good Burning Man experience, we arranged to setup our
"Twilight Zone" camp on the outer circle. This was intended to provide a
break from Disturbia JUST IN CASE we needed a break from the noise and
saturation.

By Tuesday, we had our first drum jam. Many people came by the camp to
watch and participate. It was a positive experience, but we still had no
power other than the small generator that we brought for lighting; an
1850 watt contributed by Arnie.

On Thursday when we finally had power we were able to record 3 songs
from the power from the Disturbia generator. However, the generator was 
shutoff without warning - and we lost those 3 songs. Again, problems 
with the generator were reported.

By Friday, the generator was shutoff and gas generators were used. Why?
To save generator time? To save diesel? At that point the generator
should have been up for a week; we had plenty of diesel to run 24
hours/day 'til the end of the Burning Man. With the load from other
camps, the gas generators would not push 92 volts - enough to run lights
but not much more. We had been placed next to CMR because of our power
requirements - we paid the price for being next to CMR but still had
none of the benefits.

By Friday night, we had all but given up. We had been on the Playa for 8
days and had only been able to record one sound check to hi-fi VHS. We
tried to take a break for the night. CMR was way beyond the acceptable
noise level - 40DB earplugs were useless. We left for the outer circle
and found the noise level no better. A rave camp (well "acid jazz") had
setup there. Even though, this was supposed to be designated as a
quieter zone, their noise levels were way beyond the maximum acceptable
level. Again, 40DB earplugs were useless. They had been asked nicely to
turn down their music - twice by Rangers. Apparently, they had informed
Burning Man that they were loud and were told to go "out far" which they
interpreted as the outer circle.

After finding that there was no place in all of BurningMan to rest, even at
3am and with 40DB earplugs, our minds, spirits and our bodies finally
gave out.  Frustrated by the power arrangement and the fact that we played
by all the rules and only got stepped on for it, we decided to give up
and leave. We packed up for the remainder of the morning and left the playa
by 1pm on Saturday.

What we learned from this experience is that all of the discussion and
planning before the event may have been a good idea, but in reality it meant
nothing. The power situation was a joke. There were no extra porta-potties. 
There was no noise limitation.  The mapping arrangement was useless as soon 
as CMR staked their circus tent on the 28th.

We learned the hard way that if you are going to discuss rules, you
better be damned well sure that the people involved can play be the rules
and communicated those rules to the people, for which, they have taken
responsibility.

The really sad part of all of this is that we were so close. Everything
worked, but the power, space and noise. What makes Burning Man harsh is
not the desert; not the wind; not the heat; not the rain; not the dust; 
not the lack of amenities; and not the media.  It's the people.

With all of that said, we wanted to end on a positive note. Follows are
just some of the things that were really good ideas:

   1. Drum Tripods
   2. Trailer
   3. Audio Snake
   4. Small water bottles
   5. Buying surplus wood from home supply
   6. Chicken wire
   7. Orange wooden barricades
   7. Orange barricade tape
   8. Detoxing off caffeine for 3 months before BurningMan
   9. Emergen-C
   10. Lots of nylon rope, extension chords and duct tape

So, what's next for us? Well, we're NOT going to promise that we
will "do this under better or different conditions." The best we
can do now is simplify and recover and try to regain our musical
inspiration. We hope to be back in commission by the new year...

Our thoughts on Burning Man are very mixed. Every day, we look in
the mirror and see the Burning Man scarifications on our chests.
They remind us of the excruciating pain, frustration and disappointment
that we experienced in '98, but also remind us of the inspiration and
fabulous time that we had in '97.


Trevor & Geni