The Zone Trip concept was pioneered by Ethyl Ketone when she discovered that fellow Cacophonist Phil Bewley grew up a few blocks away from her childhood home in the prototypical nondescript LA suburb West Covina. They (of course) decided they must do an event. Her fascination with the Tarkovsky movie Stalker and the weird locale called “The Zone” that serves as the central metaphor and place of action (inaction, really) for the film set the idea in motion. The Zone was a place where anything could happen, the laws of physics did not always apply and where people often were last seen. Any Cacophony road trip could be (and often was) a Zone Trip.
Camera Obscura, 1st LA Zone Trip 1989
Zone Trip #1 Covina Church in Covina
The only criteria was for all participants to mentally prepare for the trip to another place as they would were they going to another planet. The first time Burning Man appeared in the Black Rock Desert in 1990, it was as a part of the “Cacophony Society Zone Trip #4: Bad Day At Black Rock.” Carries idea was mirrored a few years later by Hakim Bey’s T.A.Z. Temporary Autonomous Zone and together with William Binzens “Desert Site Works” events, provided much of the philosophy behind the emerging Burning Man Culture throughout the succeeding years.
Stewart and Michelle Mangrum created the entertaining zine “Twisted Times”. Full of wit and lore it often documented the adventures of the Cacophony Society.
Twisted Times Car Hunt B
1st SantaCon, December 1994 – “Here comes Santa Claus” from Stuart Mangrums zine Twisted Times
The Suicide Club was the organization that Cacophony morphed out of some years after the Clubs demise in 1982. Begun in February 1977 and growing out of former S.F. State University “free school” Communiversity (that went rouge breaking free of institutional restrictions and forming a non-profit school) Communiversity birthed the Suicide Club as a “class” in it’s Winter 1977 calendar of free classes. The Suicide Club became known for bridge climbing and other urban infra-structure exploration, Infiltrating cults like the Moonies, street theater (naked cable car stunt, etc.) and live action games on city streets among other types of events.
Louise Jarmilowicz, Nina Feldman, David T. Warren & Kathy Hearty at the Suicide Clubs “Tribute to Paranoia” at the Roxie Cinema.
One of the many endeavors of Gary Warne during his short life was an early “weird film” series that he co-hosted with Ron Sol called The Fantasy Film Festival. Each week at Gary’s bookstore on Judah St., you could settle into a giant pile of pillows and futons and watch a double bill of movies that were guaranteed to keep your interest. Perhaps the hi-light of the series took place at the Roxie Cinema in late 1978 when Gary showed the (long forgotten and virtually unknown at that time) “Dr. Suess’ Five Thousand Fingers of Doctor T.” The second movie on the bill remains one of the very strangest I have ever seen: the Italian made “Catch as Catch Can. This film starred Vittorio Gasman as a fastidious, dirt loathing TV star who is incessantly attacked by any and all animals (bulls, pigeons, insects) that he happens to run into.
Suicide Club food fight “before” – photo by Greg Mancuso
Communiversity Summer 79
This parody of hippy dippy new age free schools such as “Lifeschool” (real non-profit school in SF in the 70’s) and Marin County sensibilities in general went out with the class calendar mailer for OUR hippy dippy new age free school, Communiversity.
Harrod Blank – art car artist, and celebrated photographer and documentarian of the Art Car Movement shared many of his photos for the book. Here are a few selections from the NYC Santa trip, bridge climbing, art cars, and the elsewhere.
5:04PM with Crash Dummies Cacophony Society – photo by Harrod Blank
5:04PM with J.D. Boggman at Burning Man 95 on hood –
photo by Harrod Blank
Art Car Festival – (Reno lodge) Cacophony Van – Photo by Harrod Blank
Revered Chuck Linville with Lady of Eternal Combustion
– Photo by Harrod Blank
Santas in NYC 1998 – Santa Chad Mulligan – photo Harrod Blank
Santas in NYC – Santa Ron English – photo Harrod Blank
Santas in NYC -Santa Peeing in Manhattan – photo Harrod Blank
Santas in NYC – Michael Moore with Santas in NYC – photo Harrod Blank
Santas NYC – Santa Squid, Scott Beale on bus – photo Harrod Blank
Manhattan Bridge – Looking North/NE toward the Chinatown & The Bowery – photo by Harrod Blank
Manhattan Bridge – Inside the Tower – photo by Harrod Blank
