I was feeling a bit acidic the other night so missed catching Raccoon Fighter at BSP, but I did wake up the next morning reflecting on how Brooklyn singer Takara Larson of psychedelic dream-queens Prince Rama was bitten by a raccoon in Central Park awhile back. See, there is a thread to my thoughts. Indie rock begets raccoons begets indie-rock starlet bitten by raccoon. Since the current healthcare system, even under Obamacare, is still laboriously dragging feet through uneducated public discourse and intentional corporate pitfalls, as opposed to resembling a functional single-payer system, it turns out a lot of musicians still need healthcare. Takara, if your raccoon bite glows and turns blue in the fall for one that would be kind of awesome, and for two they can maybe give you ointment for that at the O+ Festival!
Yes, we are counting down to October’s O+ Festival, the banner regional celebration of the arts and community that has helped put us back on the map.
Prince Rama, Corey Glover (the tremendous lead vocal of Living Colour), Screaming Females, my band GET OUT. and many more performers will rock our city this year, from Friday, Oct. 9 through Sunday, Oct. 11. That weekend, Kingston will reflect the creative industry in the hearts of our forward-thinking and fun-loving populace even more brightly than at other times of the year.
Community involvement has made O+ the most anticipated regional event for the last few years — a real pull-up-your-sleeves endeavor with heart. Director of Communications Kathleen Murray discloses, “Instead of telling attendees what we think they should pay for three days of unlimited art, music and wellness, this year we are asking them to decide what all of that is worth. It’s a leap of faith as we bring the festival further into a gift-economy model that already includes an all-volunteer staff and the donation of art and music by the creative community and health and wellness services by volunteer providers.”
Attendees who donate $50 for their all-access wristbands will receive a card that entitles them discounts on goods and services at participating O+ Blood Relative businesses for a year, geared toward local folks. The participating restaurants, art supply stores, music stores, yoga studios, etc. will have O+ Blood Relative decals in their windows. It’s estimated the festival, which includes six large-scale murals this year, will cost $78,000 to stage so let’s hope folks will give as generously as possible.
Ross deals death
New York City’s legendary Dictators and founding Manowar guitarist Ross Friedman, who once partied down hard on 9/11 at The Basement a few years back, is playing Motörhead’s Motorboat Cruise this year with his new band DeathDealer!
“We, DeathDealer, are thrilled to be part of The Motörhead Motorboat Cruise,” says Friedman from atop Riff Mountain. “Lemmy is God and we all love him!” (That’s why I could never consider myself an atheist, duh!)
One of the best boat cruises for metal fans is undoubtedly Motörhead’s Motörboat. (Editor’s note: This is not exactly a local event, as it leaves from Miami, but that doesn’t mean it ain’t awesome.) And for this year’s edition, DeathDealer has been added to an absolutely stellar line-up, which includes of course, the legendary Motörhead, as well as such renowned/heavy acts as Slayer, Anthrax, Exodus, Suicidal Tendencies, Hatebreed and Corrosion of Conformity, among others.
Go to motorheadcruise.com for details.
In other news, Paul Craig Roberts wrote in support of Gerald Celente and Occupy Peace last week. “Commentators are bemoaning the death of the American peace movement. However, Gerald Celente is in the process of reviving it,” Roberts blogged. “You can participate on September 20 at High Noon in Kingston, New York, at the intersection of Crown and John streets, the four most historic corners in the United States with pre-Revolutionary stone buildings on every corner. Many historic happenings occurred in Kingston.”
Occupypeace.org has a plan online and information on what it’s about. Whether you agree with the feasibility of all the finer points when faced with the weakness of human nature or believe in our ability to rise above the fray and our differences, Occupy Peace is a very good opportunity to promote pro-peace discussion.
But seriously, the beauty of O+ and Occupy Peace that these types of things allow us to alleviate what ails one another, lift spirits and aim towards solutions. As someone who always hustles but really needs a filling right now and has a lot of other bills to pay first, that is reassuring. And you can always “just” listen to Motörhead.
Join the family! 
