Chopper Rocket sighting in this month's DJ Mag
If you check out the cover story in this month’s DJ Mag you’ll Space Cowboys Kit and Kirk rolling along on their Rocket Chopper. The article is about Carl Cox’s Burning Man experience, but if you ask me DJ Mag missed an even better story about the Rocket Chopper. Rather than let that story go untold, we’ve decided to bring it to you here—so now, in Kit’s words, here’s the story behind one of the coolest contraptions to cruise the playa.
The Chopper Rockets were inspired by our original Burning Man art project from 2000 which was a vertical rocket with fins that was also a burn barrel. We had built the burn barrel rocket with the help of Che Voigt up at his parent’s ranch. During the construction we talked about how cool it would be to be able to ride the rocket around the playa. Fast forward to 2009 and Kirk and I decided to build an art car for our return to the Playa. Talked it over with Che and he was completely on board with the project including building one for himself.The bodies of the rockets are fuel tanks from old military aircrafts and the classis are Honda Elite scooters. We strip the scooter’s bodies and stretched the wheel base about 10”. We upgraded the battery and suspension, and modified the kick stands. We cut out the insides of the fuel tanks and added access panels, fitted the bodies onto the bike, and added the ape hanger handlebars, some lights and decals. The whole project took two months with a lot of help and support from Che, Cairenn, and David Bothun.
They were a lot of fun riding on the Playa and we loved seeing peoples’ reactions to them. We can’t wait to bring them back next year.
This Sunday: Decompression 2009!
Ahh, summer! I do love this time of year, no matter how exhausting SF Rocktober can be; but everbody loves the sunshine and it just keeps us begging for more! It’s supposed to be 73 degrees and sunny this Sunday, perfect weather for Decompression! Warm enough for bikinis but too cold for naked guy? (I can dream….) Get it while the getting is good, ‘cause I heard that meteorologist talk about rain next week (though I think they know more about meteors than the weather). The Cowboys will be returning to our 2007 spot under the “overpass”. The Janky Barge, Jimmy Dies of Dysentery, the Disco Limo and Martha will all be there… as will you; ‘cause you just can’t get enough, and tis the season for gettin’ down. Don’t worry, we’ll have enough Space Cowboy and RIPE signs hanging in case you get lost or confused (we often do ourselves, thats why we have so many) The shennanigans start at noon and the sound goes off at ten. My recommendation: get there super early to avoid the crazy long lines. Pack a picnic, go check out the art, and then go get down!
We’re once again happy to team up with our good friends, the House of Lotus and they will be hosting the after-party at Retox Lounge. It’s just 2 blocks away at 628 20th St. @ 3rd. It’s a fundraiser for the Braindrop, that killer art piece by Kate Rodenbush, where we partied with the Mog on Monday night this year on the playa. (I barely remember that night myself.)
You know the music is gonna be tight all day and night, with:
Space Cowboys:
Kapt’n Kirk,
Mancub,
Rrrus,
Aaron Jae,
Shissla,
ShOOey,
Deckard,
Tamo
House of Lotus:
Shissla,
Deep Eddy,
Neeziak,
Beth Murphy
Seismic:
Trav
a bootyshakin' roadmap OR the UNIMOG schedule for 2009
We here at the Space Cowboys are very, very excited for our return to the playa. After our much needed break last year (twelve years in a row ain’t bad) we’re re-charged and ready to rock. We’ve got a great bunch of events planned, a great bunch of other camps we’re stoked to collaborate with; and of course we’ve got an incredible line-up of djs, from our own amazing crew, to our international “celebrity” friends, all excited to rock your world (or at least shake the dust off your ass!). We never like to ruin the surprise of great music, so you won’t find any line-up cheatsheets here (that just takes the fun out of it). but its gonna go a little something like this:
Monday night – The UNIMOG, SC djs & special guests go BLUE (Happy Birthday Chrissy!) at the Braindrop (11pm – 4am)
Tuesday afternoon The UNIMOG, SC djs and friends rock out the greeters! Just our way of giving back, and saying hello.
Tuesday night – The UNIMOG shows its dark side at False Profit.
Thursday sunrise – The UNIMOG & SC djs say arrrgh at Swashbuckler Sunrise (the saloon out by the fence).
Thursday afternoon – The UNIMOG strips with the SC djs at the Chinchilla Lingerie Show (3pm-6pm), somewhere behind our camp, listen for the Mog, or ask us before.
Thursday night /Frday early AM – The UNIMOG, SC djs, guests & a laser show rock the Flaming Lotus Girls’ SOMA. (1am- 4am)
Friday afternoon – The UNIMOG & SC djs Shissla & ShOOey rock out Rock Bottom (formerly known as the Deep End)!
Friday night – The Space Cowboys 9th Annual Black Rock Hoe Down at the Raygun Gothic RocketShip. With the UNIMOG, Martha, Jimmy, The Janky Barge, Garage Mahal’s Ganesh mobile and a flotilla of other art cars.
We’ll have a BYO cup bar for your drinking pleasure, grilled cheese and bacon at sunrise. This IS the one not to miss folks, why do you think we’ve been doing it so long?
Saturday afternoon – The UNIMOG, SC djs and those Rock Bottom Deep Enders, get the dust off all afternoon at Disorient’s ArtCar Wash
There’s more to come…. but we know how everyone likes to plan everything out with the best intentions, if only to be distracted by cool beats and blinking lights!
Questions? Requests? Drop a line to pk (at) spaccowboys.org
or
Swing by our camp, the ol’ RIPE Ranch at 3:30 & Esplanade!
See you out there!
Hold on to yourself! (Upcoming events, incl. Beyond The Fence, Return of the Wookie, More!)
Hello Friendly Person:
(This one’s long and NSFW, so if you’re in a hurry or if the boss is looking over your shoulder you can skip to our cool upcoming events like the Beyond The Fence trunkshow this Saturday, or our recommended fundraiser event DODOCALYPSE… otherwise, buckle up and hold onto your junk!)
Back in the olden days of 2007, people on the interwebs were getting all hot and bothered about something called Second Life. For those of you who are too young to remember, Second Life was basically just like Burning Man—a big, wide open landscape where people were free to wave their freak flags and behave inappropriately 24/7, except whereas Burning Man is just a week or so and takes place in a real space on a big ass playa, Second Life is all year ‘round and takes place in a fake space on a bunch of computers. So keeping all that in mind, let me tell you about my buddy who I’ll call “Ralph” and the adventure he had when he went into Second Life.
Ralph had been hearing about the whole Second Life thing for a while, so eventually he decided to find out what all the hub bub was, so he downloaded the app, logged in, and got himself an avatar. Ralph customized his avatar until he felt it looked sufficiently bad ass, but then he noticed his new body was missing a key component. He had no dick. This could not stand. So Ralph up and flew around the world of Second Life in search of a dick shop. Luckily, there’s plenty of dicks in Second Life, so Ralph didn’t have search long before he found a happy little shop with a wide and varied selection of schlongs. Ralph browsed the dicks until he found the nice, slightly curved length of flesh pipe that he knew would complete his avatar. Ralph coughed up a few hundred Linden dollars, and the new dick was his. Since he was new to Second Life, Ralph was unsure what the proper social protocol was for installing a dick—was this something he could do in public, or would Second Lifers react the way real lifers would if they saw some tall, shirtless dude with a pink mohawk slipping into a strap-on in public? Ralph decided to fly away to some place more private. Sailing above the islands of Second Life, Ralph spied an unpopulated beach. That was the place. Ralph landed a few virtual yards from the surf, looked around and decided he was alone. He took out his new dick and gave it a look. It was something alright. Bigger, shinier, and veinier than his own real life unit. This was a thing of beauty and power. It was the best dick ever. Now he just had to figure out how to put it on. He waved it over his crotch, hoping it would magically attach, but the dick just stayed in his hand. He tried holding it between his legs, but that didn’t work either. Finally, he decided to press it into place and then let go. When he did, the dick dropped into the sand. Unfortunately, Second Life is a world without much texture, and at times it lacks visual depth. Since Ralph’s dick was essentially the same color as the sand, it virtually disappeared the minute it hit the ground. Ralph squatted, and squinted, sifted, and scoured, but after a long time of looking he realized he’d completely lost his dick. He finally gave up and Ralph flew away, bummed and dickless.
The story has a happy ending, though. A couple days later Ralph got a package in his email from a stranger who’d found his dick and sent it back to him. So, apparently Second Life is like Burning Man in another way—people aren’t scare to handle dicks that don’t belong to them. (Oh, fine, and people are honest, yadda yadda.)
XO,
H8
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, August 15 – Beyond the Fence – A Playa Inspired Independent Designer Trunk Show
From the designers and event producers that brought you Beyond the Fence, Inspiration for the Playa, Prepare for the Playa, Funk n’ Trunk, and more…
NicolePresents, Tamo Design and S&G Clothing present…
Over 40 of San Francisco’s finest independent designers are gathering together to bring you the freshest design for both on and off the Playa!
For a full list of the designers participating please visit:
http://blog.nicolepresents.com
There will be fabulous DJs from all your favorite camps.
Opulent Temple – Dulce Vita
Deep End- Zach Moore
Space Cowboys – 8Ball
Green Gorilla Lounge – Anthony Mansfield
Dustfish – NoMe
Robot Heart – Bianca
Have fun! Bring your hoops, poi and staff for community practice. Isa Glitter Girl will perform at 4pm indoor and 6:20pm outside with FIRE!! Costumes encouraged. Live photo shoots by renowned photographers! Food by “What’s up dog?” with Regular, Chicken Apple & Veggie Dogs! $5 pineapple lemonade spritzers!
August 15th, Saturday
Noon – 7 pm
Mighty – 119 Utah, SF
FREE EVENT
Saturday, August 15 – Miles Dyson at 103 Harriet
Lineup:
Kapt’n Kirk (Space Cowboys)
Miles Dyson, Syd Gris, Influence, Dex Stakker, Deckard, Simple Green and more!
$10 Presale. $15 Door. 21+
Wednesday, August 18 – “Feel The Beat – Sports Basement Shopping Party”
Benefits the Organ Donation Awareness Campaign
RSVP and more info
6 – 10pm at Sports Basement on Potrero Hill!
Friday August 21st – TOKE (and every 3rd Friday)
Guest DJs: Kapt’n Kirk (Space Cowboys) and Sneak-E-Pete
Resident djs: Dawn of Sound, Moody Eva
at new club
AMSTERDAM
937 Geary @ Larkin
$5 cover, 21+
10pm-2am
Friday August 21st – The Return of the Wookie @ SHINE A welcome home birthday celebration for Kevin Wardell
With DJs:
Brad Robinson (Space Cowboys)
Murpstar (SEISMIC)
Jayo (BFF)
and percussion by Kevin Wardell
Shine Dance Lounge
1337 Mission Street @ 9th
Free before 11pm, 21+, $5
Aaaron Jae’s Playa Schedule…
Sept. 2/Sept. 3, Tue night/Wed morning: (3-4am) – Nexus (w/Function1 Sound this year) – Located @ 10th & Extinct
Sept. 3, Wed daytime: ( Day Party the Boombox: timeslot tba) - The Brass Tax "BoomBox" - Located 10th & Chaos
Sept. 4, Friday evening: (10-11pm) – Robot Heart (w/75,000 Watts of sound) – Location tba…..
Date & Timeslot In the Works:
Purgatory Cruiser – date & time tba….
Space Cowboys – on the Unimog …....
Garage Mahal – Art car set…....
RECOMMENDED
Friday August 14th – Space Cowboys recommend a very special fundraiser for a tremendous art car
DODOCALYPSE//the christening
Behold The Winged Beast As Beats Send Booties A’Soaring
Il Pirata
2007 16th St, SF
21+, $10 donation requested on sliding scale
Every few years a camp stands to stand out on the playa with an energy that you either didn’t notice because you were too busy with your own projects, or you missed out (FOMO) because of the 1800 other events going on that minute of the day. Our friends from Monticello – The Camp have been working their flying fingers to the bone to get their airship ready to launch for the playa in a few short weeks. We would love your support as well as attendance at a great event to meet and greet with the Dodo wise-crack team!
More info on Facebook
