I don’t try to make the rounds as a “Scientology survivor” or whatever, it’s really not a huge deal because I wasn’t deep in it. My parents were serious church members and stuff, but we didn’t really get into the inner circle.
Forest Mommy wanted to interview me about it so I said, of course, because I trust her. It is a great basis for my spiritual story, my narrative. Without it, many things would not be possible. This interview gets into the weird, but we aren’t attacking it. That’s what I want to do.
Here I am with Mary-Sue Tobin, a celebrated Portland saxophonist, at this time she is my Vice President, I am 29 years old, taking over a festival older than myself with a crew better established in Portland than myself, all of them around age 40 and up.
This was a dicey decision. I truthfully have never watched this video because it is painful. Not long after this, things got ugly.
In this video, we are vibrant, excited, full of vision and camaraderie, there is no infighting, and I’m looked upon as a young visionary.
Ego trips everyone up.
My InterArts memoire is going to be epic. That experience, from No.Fest in 2008 to CPJazz, by the time I dissolved the project in 2014, the journey had become overwhelming and I retreated home.
The tale of InterArts is one of community creation, inspiration and perspiration, backstabbing, professional fumbling, wild imagination, creative conquests, and fools errands.
One thing that I enjoy about this is seeing Lenny Bruce in my mannerisms. I was absolutely obsessed with him around this time, and his style works quite well for my personality. It is especially told in the snapping of my fingers. It’s a beatnik thing that nobody does anymore. It comes across violent in our world of micro-aggressions, while for myself it is exuberant and shows my passion.
We are standing at the foot of the bridge preparing to cross, pontificating on the possibilities of the other side. Mesmerized it may appear, but this is just theater. Promotion is an illusion.
What is happening is the universe exerting its will through its honorable vessels, that is us. Twin gets into right away, discovering we both have arrived at the place of letting go and letting God, as it were.
Twin is ready to let go of his business, Held Gear, and rather than take an offer from an investor, he decided to hand it off to a friend, which turns out to be me. I am humbled that he would observe consistency in my behavior and bestow the honor of trusting his integrity with mine, in essence.
All he wants to do is vibe on his land, make it an expression of sustainability, transmitting good vibes through the only FM signal in Why, Arizona, at 106.9. It is not a commercial operation, it is anarchy.
I am a former radio engineer. I could build a radio station on his property from scratch, given the time and budget, all with my hands and standard power tools. This is only one way that my life path intersects in a way that I can benefit him by leveraging Held Gear.
We discuss the brand, its ethics, its concept and his life story in the first hour. In the second hour of this talk, it is more like another casual livestream. We get into old Portland and anarchistic cooperative artist lifestyles we lived. It’s a good talk.
And the internet held.
Exciting as this project is, it is always a grind, but it can be joyous. Much more will be written and published here, but the real place to follow Held Gear is heldgear.com.
Larry Yes has been finding a new audience, a new art form, by tripling down on LOVE. Long time songwriter beloved by many, he finds himself painting rainbows and words of encouragement, especially the words love and peace.
My own heart has been breaking through those layers of bitterness that keep us from seeing life as it is, from enjoying it to its fullest, from our heart’s desire.
There was one day that I had when the ego dissolved and I knew I needed to have Larry Yes on to talk about it.
We discuss this love vibe, its impact on daily life, drug use, his Sun Ra moment, and more.
Our conversation was enjoyable, although in retrospect I would say his live painting demonstration put a little more pressure on me to fill in the conversation.
Once again, the internet was rough, but the audio held together. These are still kind of in test mode for me, and what I’m going to have to commit to is ensuring that my guests are prepared.
Chad breaks the spell of bad internet with an ethernet cable. The saga of my livestream has light at the end of the tunnel.
I enjoyed my talk with Chad, the man from Men of Order, the great white Hotep, co-host to Aquarian Anarchy Podcast, and former Adam Kokesh operative. He is passionate and committed, but he discusses his weakness and near-resignation to mediocrity.
Our conversation gets a little bumpy in the middle, and this is a Livestream, so if things go south you risk cutting your losses. No edits. Sometimes he glossed over some perspectives that I don’t totally jibe with.
I remain very much aligned with the spirit of lefty politics. I continue to hang out in this community while making new friends in conservative circles. Whoever I talk to, I want to find the common ground that we share.
