This last weekend, while I was enjoying myself in Milwaukee, folks here in Ypsi had themselves a big shindig under the moonlight on the banks of the Huron River. This now annual event, as you might recall, got off to a wobbly start a few years back, when it attempted to get off the ground as the Ypsitucky Jamboree, but, from what I’ve heard, things went well this time out at the newly rechristened Michigan Roots Jamboree. No one was crushed to death. No hippies overdosed in their tents. The parks are still intact. And the music, from what I hear, was sufficiently pleasant. But, as is always the case in Ypsi, there was some drama. And I’ve spent my last few evenings trying to figure out what exactly happened, piecing together menacing notes left here on the site, threads on Facebook, and the like.
As best I can figure, it started when someone with the Jamboree decided to pull the plug on a shadow puppet performance. This, as far as I can tell, isn’t disputed by either side. One of the folks with the Jamboree put it to me this way, “A scheduling error was made, which resulted in part of the puppet show being shut down by our security. We made a huge error, and then we handled it incorrectly.” Not having been there, I don’t know how “incorrectly” it was handled, but, however it was handled, it pissed some people off to the point that someone, or some group of people, decided to exact a bit of revenge.
It was apparently at this point that Jambo Man, the valuable mascot of the Jamboree, was abducted.
I, along with others, was forwarded this grainy image of Jambo, demanding that certain conditions be met. (The demands, we were told, would be forthcoming.) The implication was clear – unless these demands were met, the beloved Ypsilanti mascot would be ground up and smoked, or otherwise destroyed. The Diazotrophical Liberation Armada, the terrorist organization taking credit for the heinous act, didn’t, at least in their first messages, focus too much on the incidents surrounding the puppet show. For the most part, they just rambled on about roots, and how roots in and of themselves couldn’t sustain life – how an intricate web of organisms, including rhizomatic entities in the soil, are necessary for for life to flourish. The implication, of course, was that this so-called “roots” music event, had only captured one part of the Michigan scene.
Here, sounding very much like a statement made by the Symbionese Liberation Army after the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, is one of the first notes that I received:
Greetings of profound love to all our comrades. Early on Sunday August 8, 2010 combat elements of the Diazotrophical Liberation Armada served an arrest warrant for Jambo Man. He is safe and being treated well and is enthusiastic about all the local music, art and ideas that he is being exposed to for the first time.
And here are the demands, which came soon after. This list reflects revisions made by Jambo’s captors in the wake of a number of letters by members of the Depot Town CDC explaining the structure and intent of the Michigan Roots Jamboree:
1. Increased transparency with regard to the mission and purpose of the Michigan Roots Jamboree.
We consider this polite suggestion met! The specific action items we would like to see for next year are a formal mission and/or vision statement for the festival and a link to depottowncdc.org on the festival website more clearly explaining how the festival helps improve the parks.
2. Organize a free high quality meal and theater show on Frog Island for each and every feline in Ypsilanti.
[NOTE that the very serious puppetry artists behind Wayang Kucing don’t want any involvement with the Jamboree so alternate theater appropriate for cats will need to be arranged] To be honest, we would settle for a token donation to a local no-kill cat shelter or anything like that on this one.
3. $20 to reimburse the cost of one wasted ticket to the Saturday Michigan Roots Jamboree.
Since there seems to be a pattern of disrespect from certain members of the Jambo Committee for certain artistic idioms (i.e. the idiom of shadow puppetry theater for and about cats, the idiom of satirical pan-species liberation terrorist organization facebook pages), it may be difficult to believe, but one citizen of Ypsilanti literally spent $20 to get into Saturday Jamboree late Saturday night solely to see the puppet show that had been moved to midnight by the festival director only to be shut down gestapo-style by Jambo volunteers. We reimbursed this citizen with funds from our pacifist guerrilla contingency fund, and politely suggest that it would be appropriate in turn for the Jambo to reimburse us this expense.
4. Modify all relevant Michigan Roots Jamboree informational material to explicitly include credit for the role of nitrogen-fixing rhizomatic soil systems in the soil without which roots have no agency to carry nutrients into plants.
So obviously this is a metaphor, the point being that we are all interconnected and exclusively celebrating the “roots” misses the full picture. It would be nice if there was a little bit more representation of what makes Ypsilanti such a unique and magical place rather than a line-up that is highly difficult to differentiate from dozens of other festivals happening in Michigan every summer, especially when such a project entirely unique to Ypsilanti was invited to play, spent a large amount of time and energy making a special show specifically for the festival was treated with extreme disrespect by the festival organizers.
5. Seriously consider extending an invitation to Charlie Slick and Manhood to apply to be performers on the main stage for Jambo 2011 and hiring Stanley the Mad Hatter as emcee.
These local treasures have deep roots in assorted musical traditions in the case of Mr. Slick dating at least as far back as Bolshevik research by Leon Theremin into proximity sensors in turn inspiring the invention and evolution of synthesizers until this regular guy fell in love with them and was inspired to make music that everyone can enjoy. In the case of Manhood roots span deep and wide across many genres inspired by close readings of the catalogues of Ween, ELO, They Might Be Giants, The Roches, Steely Dan and many others, which combined with the intense passion of amateur ornithologists form a creatively original whole that is something completely different but ideally suited to the hippy festival environment. The Hatter is himself a root going directly through decades of such diverse local cultural traditions spanning everything from the White Panther Party to the original Detroit Techno scene. This polite suggestion is not meant to subvert the booking process or disrespect the line-up at this years festival but rather to very humbly suggest that making an effort to reach out beyond the defined borders of musical style and social category would positively impact the festival.
6. Add “James Osterberg Statue” to the potential project pool for parks improvements with an eye toward forming an Andy Ypsilanti Statue exploratory committee at some point in the future.
Speaking of roots music, there is one giant taproot of creative music worldwide of the past 50 years that goes straight down into the earth of Ypsilanti (as defined by the United States Postal Service) This cat soaked up the rich and diverse cultural tapestry of our immediate vicinity putting in time in blues bands, digging Sun Ra, breathing in the Ann Arbor circa 1960s air, etc. and then teamed up with three other dudes, named themselves the (Psychedelic) Stooges dropped some of the most game-changing next-level rock and roll music of all time. Iggy Pop statue would allow our little city to formally claim its rightful position as the fountain of punk rock.
And, yeah, it looks like they stole my idea for an Iggy Pop statue in the park. I don’t know about the rest of it, but that’s something that I can get behind, even if it puts me on the same side as the terrorists.
So, I’ve now done my part as “the most trusted source of Ypsilanti news and information” (which is what the terrorists keep referring to me as) – I’ve posted your demands. Now, can I be left out of this? I don’t like sitting between warring factions, especially when both the sides, as is the case here, are working hard to improve the City. I get that there are different visions as to how this is done, but, really, it seems like there’s enough room for us all to coexist…. Or, failing that, maybe we should get together over a map and carve the city up. If we do that, though, I’m going to fight for Riverside Park, and Puppet Mark is going for Frog Island. And we will win.
86 Comments
Sigh. I’m tired, so I’m just going to make a list.
1.I don’t want a statue of me to ever be considered for any reason. Unless there is a WW3 and I go all “Wolverines!” on the Chinese or whoever. An even better idea would be to come out Saturday morning to Water Street and help work on the trail. Pretend the trail is a statue you can walk on. I would also support an Iggy statue.
2.Yup, we screwed up the scheduling on Saturday night and it was the folks that put on the puppet show that suffered. Yes, the person who shut it down was probably a little too forceful and not so nice about it, but please take into consideration: a)putting on a music festival is hard, we all do it as volunteers, and we do make mistakes. b)most of the people working at midnight on Saturday had been working since 8am, and had worked until 1:30am the night before,
(as volunteers) and were all probably a little testy. Is this a good excuse for what happened? No, not really, but can you cut us a little slack?
3.There were some parts of the DLA manifesto which have now been omitted that I found particularly offensive. I, along with a lot of other people, put a whole lot of work, a full time jobs worth of work, into producing the festival, all as volunteers. Some of those statements covered the work I did personally, There were a couple of flat out lies and smears in there, and that was, well, hurtful. The theft of Jambo Man started out as funny, it was when those particular statements showed up that I stopped being amused.
4.For more information on the festival, and how any profits might be used, visit: http://www.depottowncdc.org But I don’t think it’s a big secret about who is putting on the festival and what its about. (Hint: goal #1 is to bring people into the city to have a good time and spend money)
5.I would have felt a lot better about the whole situation if the founder of the DLA had come to one of us from the festival staff and spoken their mind in person and asked for an appology. Or, as I had another person do, tell me that they though we had something wrong and offer to help make it work better next year. Again, making a festival happen isn’t easy, we’re all volunteers, and we can always use more help.
6.Look, again, putting on a festival is a lot of really hard work, and a lot of risk. We want to make it as inclusive as we can, but we are also trying to turn a profit so that we can grow the festival and invest in other projects. To that end, yes, we make choices about what music we program and what goes on on the festival grounds. Those choices certainly don’t appeal to everybody, but I don’t think any music festival does that. Not to sound like too much of an ass, but, hey you pony up the money, put in the time, organize the people, sell the sponsorships, keep out the gate crashers, deal with the artists, and juggle the 10,000 other things that can go wrong out of nowhere when you put on a festival and you can program it exactly as you see fit.
7.Thank you to everyone who volunteered, vended, attended, promoted, performed, danced, told a friend, brought a friend, camped, and generally had a great time. We really, really appreciate it. That’s why we do it.
8.Watch these clips and tell me we didn’t have fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s2mGbNpAaE
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10100266957312269&ref=mf
9.I wish I could publish a picture of the lights/projection under the Cross Street bridge, because that was just about my favorite part, and anyone could visit that. (Thanks Rob)
Put the Iggy statue in front of the Target in Pittsfield Twp where he was born. Let him be facing west with his ass arched towards Ypsi. Those who fall to worship him will still be facing east. That, I think, is fair, honorable and true.
This is like when the New York Times printed the Unibomber manifesto.
The terrorists have won.
As Dr. Rodney King once said, “Can’t we all just get along?”
Knox, the more I think about this whole thing, the more I think you are exactly right, and the more annoyed I get.
It’s really easy to co-opt other people’s work and try to force your own ideas into it. It doesn’t take nearly as much time/effort/money to write up a bogus manifesto as it does to produce a music festival or write a blog. “We don’t like the music at your festival, and we demand you change it.” “We don’t like what you write about in your blog, we demand you change it.” Sounds a lot like the lazy, self-centered, and irrelevant politics of 1960’s Ann Arbor; we’re not capable of doing it ourselves, and we’re mad as hell you won’t do it for us. I’ve never been a fan of protesting, to me it’s just an excuse to go stomp about and yell instead of trying to, you know, actually put effort into changing/fixing/creating something.
And so, it is in the spirit of America that I have the following statement for the DLA: SCREW YOU.
If you want to program a music festival that is your own personal wet dream of local bands and artists, stop trying to co-opt ours and do it yourself. If you want to express your opinion on a blog, stop trying to co-opt Mark’s and do it yourself. If you just put a little extra effort, you could be creating festivals and blogs of your very own, just like we did. Judging by other efforts by you and your compatriots, you are capable, but are you willing? There is nothing I find less amusing in Ypsilanti than people who are willing to degrade, insult, and demand change to the projects others are working on to try to improve the city but aren’t willing to put in the work on their own or even help with ours.
So ha-ha, you have your protest. Who cares? The whole stealing Jambo Man thing was pretty funny when it was to promote your own art. When it changed into demanding we change how we produce our projects, I didn’t find it so funny anymore. One more time for posterity: sorry for what happened and the way you were treated at Jamboree. We screwed up. But next time, you might try talking to us, man (or woman) to man and try to create a beneficial solution. Because we don’t negotiate with terrorists.
Thank you, and remember kids, don’t be like me, don’t blog before breakfast.
Wow…just when I thought Ypsi couldn’t get any more ridiculous. Is this for real? I started reading, thinking it was some sort of joke, but I guess I was wrong. Instead of statues in the park, could we maybe get a tombstone that says Ypsilanti on it? This town isn’t that big…you would think all of the “artists” could form one single camp, and move forward. This is better than pro wrasslin’! Maybe Bash Boulder SHOULD run as a write in mayoral candidate.
I hear Jambo Man has been brainwashed and has been seen sporting a barret.
Let’s all just cool down a minute. There’s no need to turn this into another battle of Ypsitucky. Lot’s of good people are doing work in the city, and sometimes they step on each other’s toes. In this instance, it sounds like the Roots crew reached out to the Dreamland crew, offering them a place on the lineup. In return, the Dreamland crew got shut down in humiliating fashion. That sucks, and retribution is called for. But we have some kind of apology on the table. Let’s go from there.
As an outsider I’m finding this all pretty hilarious, though I missed out on the original “lies and smears” version of the manifesto.
Ypsi is a small town, and the Facebook photo of Jambo with the works he is currently being exposed to seems to be enough of a hint to make a shortlist of places where he could be residing.
Call it a hunch, but I’m betting at least some involved with the Diazotrophical Meowkestra have booked, organized, and otherwise looked after local shows/festivals/etc before.
Besides, if said folks were truly lazy, they wouldn’t be jumping through all these goofy hoops. Someone who was agitated and lazy probably would’ve just trashed Jambo, and left him in a dumpster somewhere for the organizers to find.
This is not crime. This is art.
Look it up, mother fuckers.
Chill out, Andy. This isn’t an attack on our festival. This is good-natured ribbing. Go with it. It might be good for the festival. At least people are talking about it.
On another note, can someone tell me why Manhole changed their name to Manhood?
Speaking of Patty Hearst:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEsZ23aZEK4
You know, I guess I am still reacting to the (now removed) part of the manifesto suggesting the whole festival was nothing more than an elaborate birthday party for our festival director, that we were intentionally misleading the public as to what we would do with any profits and (especially) that we had lied to volunteers about what we were trying to do and what they were working for. With those parts removed, this whole thing is a lot more amusing. So yes, my posts here are over the top. But that’s the fun part right? Issuing manifestos, calling people terrorists. But when you publish statements like the ones I mentioned above, even if you later remove them, you are going to cause some damage.
In the end, this all started over hurt feelings; we did the wrong thing and hurt some feelings, the response to that was to say some things to hurt our feelings. I just would have preferred a hearty “hey, asshole, that was a lousy thing to do, and I don’t appreciate it” maybe along with a little “I think I can help you do it better, let’s talk about next year.” Then maybe we could have done something truly productive.
See how much more reasonable I am after caffeine and breakfast?
I know it’s not a perfect analogy, but when I read this I was reminded of another news story.
http://www.boingboing.net/2010/08/09/church-protests-stri.html
I don’t mean to be crude, but you know that, somewhere in Ypsi, at this very moment, this Jambo doll is being ejaculated into. When it finally comes home, I’d boil it for a good hour.
I remember a rumor going around that Jambo was stuffed with pot. Can his captors verify this?
Greetings of interdependent cooperation and profound love to all the creatures of the Huron River watershed and everyone in the markmaynard.com ecosystem!!! The frogs, owls, crickets, lichen, and birdies sing out in celebration of MARK MAYNARD! He of the Monkey Power Trio, Crimewave USA, undesputed seal-blogging champion, instigator of positive community change and zombie puppet attack victim live talk show host! We send you waves of appreciative vibrations for bringing our profound message of peace and Ypsi Love here on the most trusted source for up-to-the-minute ypsi cultural news, commentary, analysis, scholarship, research and discussion!
Sometimes you should appreciate the work of nature’s g*d the work of nature’s g*d the work of nature’s g*d! Give some credit where credit is due! We celebrate the presence of this positive community development idea as the fulfillment of politely worded constructive suggestion number 6 and give all the credit to Mark Maynard for being the first to remember that Iggy was from Ypsilanti and manifesting the brilliant and original idea of immortalizing him in statue form! Piggy Op is right on the money re: location, but may we suggest that Mr. Pop be placed looking to the east in a rising sun consciousness while shining his beautiful moon directly at the drive-thru starbucks? Huzzah to free exchange of ideas!
We feel there has been some confusion between our manifesto, more properly referenced as “The Mycorrhiza Federation and the Diazotrophical Meowkestra Declaration of Revolutionary Peace and the Diazotrophical Program” which is the succinct expression of our purpose and program (available for reading on our creature’s guerilla facebook user profile) and our list of “Six Politely-worded Constructive Suggestions to the Michigan Roots Jamboree Society That We Kindly Request Be Taken Into Consideration Before Jambo Can Justly Be Returned” (posted in its entirety in Mark’s incisive news piece) We sincerely regret that one of the demands in the original Pittsfield Chrtr Twp Statement (not the compromised second draft) was perceived as hostile, but please understand that relying on young unpaid feline interns to handle your cooperative community liberation direct action group, it is in inevitable that we will find ourselves in a lolcatz type situation from time to time.
Felicity, Ypsi Lover, Edward and all other peace-loving comrades in the watershed regardless of species, we celebrate and acknowledge your beautiful essence! Sometimes you should appreciate the work of nature’s g*d. Lightning, sunshine, wiiiiind. The birds, the bees, the leaves on the trees. Symbiotic Cultures Of Bacteria and Yeast working together in glorious synchronicity!!! We reject taxonomy as arbitrary construction of the diseased but redeemable collective human psyche!!!
This is some top-notch news reporting from Mark for the most part. I really like how you tie these contemporary events into a coherent narrative as well as comparing them to obscure historical precedents that happened across the country thirty-six years ago! I wasn’t even nearly born then. Nevertheless, I can’t help but feel like there is a alarmist slant to the depiction of this kidnapping group. The numbered list seems to only refer to politely worded suggestions and the group’s propaganda seems to promote peaceful co-existence and joyful spiritual celebration of somewhat naive descriptions of microbiological symbiotic systems. And is there anything in the groups radical and extra-radical literal that indicates a revenge motive?
As someone who has been intimately involved with a free no-budget three-day festival for six years running as well as eight years hosting and producing a weekly two-hour radio program that programs exclusively local music and features live in-studio appearances by local artists each week, setting up hundreds of other shows in whatever possible space was available and just hoping i could hand a touring band $50 at the end of the night all for zero pay, I can empathize with the sentiments regarding people putting a lot of volunteer time and energy into making them happen.
I know that projects like 88.3 WCBN FM Ann Arbor (a 24-7-365 volunteer-run radio station dedicated to creative freeform celebrating diversity and cooperativity), the Local Music Show wednesday nights 9-11 pm, We’re Twins Records (R.I.P 2001-2006), Totally Awesome House (R.I.P. 8/04-4/05), The Dreamland Theatre, Melting Moments (2002-present), Hot Meat For Young Lovers (R.I.P. 4/30/2005), Hobo-A-Go-Go hound tour 2004, Ever Will You Get There, Leafblower Churchpipe, meow-meow-meow -meow-meow-meow [AKA rainbow vomit family band AKA fancy panthers AKA friends featuring Patrick Elkins], Manhole Classic Throwback, Wayang Ypsi Shadow Puppetry Theater Troupe, JAV experimental composition [once featured in WIRE!!! :0 :) ;) ], Pink Octopus, The New Sound of My Bossa Nova, Adapt Collective & And Spiders are all really small potatoes in comparison with the giant scale of the Michigan Roots Jamboree and that all of those things for last 10 years without any real compensation or recognition [even being officially deemed by Wikipedia editorial staff to be “a completely unnoteable musician”] really compares to the intensely complicated work of putting together the Roots Festival this year by noble volunteers solely working virtuously for the common good of the community. But each and every one of those mentioned projects that I have put time and energy into has been trashed in public and complained about and several of them even vilified so I think I can relate to the fact that it hurts too see the fruits of your efforts trashed.
But as far as I can tell, the Jamborganizers flipped out at the suggestion right out in public for everyone too see two comments deep on a post on the Facebook page of the fictional mascot of the festival by a satirical feline/rhizobacteria alliance direct action group regarding the public perception of the festival by certain members of the local arts community with respect to the Jambo supporting the arts and having as its purpose the betterment of the parks. Which was then removed upon demand hours later.
If this project really could possibly even be considered art (which as far as I know is still the minority opinion of the community), it’s fascinating how it comments on the dialectic of contemporary online and offline communications and the control asserted over them by power dynamics and cultural chauvinism, using vague claims of volunteering for the good of the community and parks and very small examples of promoting local artists to justify any sort of behavior. Perhaps if there was some sort of artist’s statement and bibliographic references and commentary, the community at large might be able to better understand and appreciate the confusing Jambonapping experience, but it seems like it would be premature at this point while the disorienting confusion is still working its magic.
So sorry to take up so much space here on someone else’s blog riding on someone else’s coattails because I’m too lazy and negative to put any energy into anything myself. I ain’t mad at anybody. I feel the same way as Rodney and Wallup. Why can’t we all just get along?
i guess i shouldn’t be yawning.
Yawning? Are you serious? This is the biggest thing in Ypsi since we were fooled into building the giant penis.
Where to begin…. I suppose my biggest gripe with this set of demands/criticisms is the contradictory nature of finger-pointing by an anonymous group asking for transparency. Some of the questions that were asked are legitimate and if presented in a reasonable fashion, would be answered with little fanfare. However, to take personal shots and to distort the facts publicly, that’s another story.
I challenge each and every person affiliated with this to sign their names and take accountability for their words and actions. With that said, it is a pretty reasonable assumption that this is coming from the group that organized and performed the puppet shows at our festival. Here is my account of how things went down relating to the puppet show….
Our artistic chair for the festival scheduled the puppet show. She was the person responsible for the live art and fire show, and did an amazing job bringing a new flavor to the festival! She received approval from our festival director for the performance. Patrick Elkins was our point of contact for the puppet show. It was originally booked for 9:30 pm and Patrick came to our festival director on Friday and said it wasn’t dark enough for the performance. Don gave them clearance to move the performance on Friday to the end of the festival to catch people on their way out of the park. The show went on as planned Friday night, beginning right around midnight.
The Depot Town CDC Board informed our festival director that the puppet show could not be held Saturday night when the festival was shutting down. This is due to the fact that 1) our event permit ends at midnight and 2) we needed to ensure that our security was able to effectively clear the park to keep patrons safe and to comply with rules set forth by the city.
Our festival director spoke with Patrick on Saturday night around 11 pm as they were setting up for the performance. Don informed Patrick that the show needed to start earlier because security will clear the park at midnight regardless of whether the puppet show was finished. I do not know exactly what time the show began, but they were running beyond the time allotted and our security shut down their performance. Jambo Man was given to Patrick Elkins for the performance and was never returned.
I’ll address the relevant questions that were raised by the group. The festival is hosted by the Depot Town CDC and our mission statement is very clearly stated on our website. The group also inquired about the use of funds. The festival was conceived as a way to showcase local artists, bring visitors to our city and to raise funds for community projects. Last year we lost money and we probably won’t have an accurate projection for this year for at least another week (invoices from the city for services such as police and public works typically do not come until several weeks after the event). For what it’s worth, we risk a substantial amount of our money (over $40,000) to test the waters. And it’s not exactly a friendly economic environment to build a new festival (just ask Top of the Park, Rothbury or 10,000 Lakes). For a group bent on transparency, I’d implore you to start in your own backyard. The Dreamland Theater (a non-profit organization according to their website) doesn’t mention a word relating to how funds generated by the organization are spent (not trying to pick a fight here, as I do not know how closely the folks running the puppet show are involved in the venue), but hopefully you catch my point.
A couple last thoughts…. Regarding your suggestions for booking Charlie Slick and Manhood along with the Mad Hatter. Everyone has their own opinion as to what musical genres/performers should be featured in the festival. Everyone involved in the festival has their own opinion as to what should be included, and the bottom line is that someone will inevitably be left out. We’ve learned that there is no way to make everyone happy. But it helps if you contact or submit your material to the festival director before the event if you want to be considered (we had over 100 bands make an inquiry and Manhood was not among the applicants).
I am by no means perfect and have made my share of mistakes. I hope that no one feels like there was any intentional slight or disrespect in conjunction with their role in our festival. I am happy to answer any legitimate questions regarding the festival or the non-profit organization that I run. And if anyone disagrees with the sequence of events listed above, lets have an adult discussion without all the BS. In my opinion we’re all working towards the same goal of building culture and vibrancy within our city. Taking shots at each other does little to further that vision and gives ammunition to those on the outside pointing and laughing.
And I’d be happy to personally give the $20 refund to your friend. Tell him or her to contact me at the phone/email listed below.
Erik Dotzauer
Executive Director
Depot Town CDC
erik@depottowncdc.org
734.926.1762
I can say that, beyond possibly aiding in the abduction of jambo man, Patrick Elkins is not involved in this. I spoke to him and I’ll keep it at that. I can also say that the person who shut down the puppet show could certainly have been more tactful. Once again, an apology was in order for that. Are we wrong to think that sort of thing is best handled in private?
My only other thought is that I’ve made some pretty strong statements in reaction, and unfortunately, the statements I reacted to have been erased, making it look like what I am angry about is the considerably less harsh manifesto above. Its hard to defend your position in something when the person attacking you is changing their story.
I blame Brian Robb, Stewart Beal, The unfinished Water Street Project, Steve Pierce, underground bee keepers, and all the residents of Ypsitucky for this whole mess. Now if you’ll excuse me, there are some jalapeno poppers at Applebees with my name on them. Rock the vote, and peace in the middle east y’all. Lizz’ater!
So, Jambo Man appears to have dissappeared from his captors. I assume he is roaming free in a field of flowers somewhere.
I did, however, meet with his captors. Appologies were exchanged, and an agreement to hold further talks in the future was reached.
I saw Jambo last night. He was at the Savoy. He was wearing a WCBN t-shirt. He looked happy, well rested and sufficiently hydrated. (His tongue wasn’t wagging out of his mouth, like it usually is.) I saw Andy and Don a little while later. They were also at the Savoy. I’d assumed that Jambo made his way back to them. Perhaps there’s security camera footage.
Mark Maynard has absconded with Jambo Man’s tongue. Not even a joke.
As for the rest of Mr. Man? I personally like the fields of flowers theory.
Mark is apparently sorry about taking the tongue. He said the following this morning on Faceboog;
Mark Maynard apologizes for removing Jambo Man’s tongue last night, and, by doing so, getting involved in the whole abduction drama. He’d like to say that said tongue was just barely hanging on, and he put it in his pocket for safe keeping, but that’s not what happened. Truth is, he’d been drinking, and, in his delusional state, thought that it would be funny. It was not, and he’s now full of remorse.
The good news is, he’s offering to pay for reconstructive surgery…
If you have no idea what this is about, you’re lucky….
Long live Jambo Man.
I’m in favor of another Jamboree.
In 2 weeks.
Let’s make this happen!
Wow … what a bunch of dickweeds. It’s hard to pick which side to back in this particular tempest in a pisspot.
On the one side we have the sanctimonious organizers of a festival practically no one goes to, who apparently want the entire community to fall down before them and lick their balls for going out on a limb to create a festival that appeals to themselves and a small clique of their friends. Gosh, thanks so much you guys. I know it’s really hard work doing something totally for yourselves and I just want you to know that — although no one I know really has any interest in the homogenized hippie pablum the Roots Muzak Ypsituckoree offers — it really means a lot to us all. We know you’re doing it all for us and you really don’t get the credit you deserve. And then, to add insult to injury, that ridiculous stuffed animal that’s been darkening the Facebook page of everyone in town that happens to like music gets stolen … and … weird people say politely critical things about you.
Oh the outrage! Oh the oppression! Oh the … wait, who exactly gives a fuck?
But then there’s the other side. The hipster puppeteers. Now, I have nothing against puppets in general. Okay, they’re a little creepy, maybe. But on principle, I don’t have any fundamental problems with marionettes, ventriloquist dummies, sock puppets or even puppet regimes. Same goes for puppeteers, although they also kinda give me the skeeves. But there’s an element that’s been growing in this community that is really starting to burn my beans and which I believe finally needs to be exposed as the bunch of poseurs it is. And it, of course, is this faction of people who are so determined to let everyone else around here know that they are “arty,” and “different” … that they’re, like, waaaay more unconventional than the rest of us, man. I mean, who else but a bunch of “true artists” could so convincingly recreate SLA manifestos nearly word for word? That takes a real talent for, um, plagiarism. This is the kind of guerrilla street theater makes one think of Jerry and Abbie all over again. (Yeah, Jerry Lewis and Dear Abbie … who else?) It occurs to me that if you have to try as hard as you all are trying to be “weird” and “different” and “artistic,” then the sad truth is that you’re probable neither THAT weird nor THAT different. As for being “artistic,” what it really smacks of is a self-consciously inept attempt to mask a distinct lack or artistic talent. Sorry dudes. Now will you please go get a fucking job?
Whomever emerges still standing after this little dust-up shall be deemed … “The King of the Dipshits.”
Unfortunately, the real loser in all of this, is the one person who should be apart from and above it all. Sorry Mark, but you fell for it. You took the bait and legitimized two of the most annoying factions at work in one of the most factionalized places known to mankind.
I see only one way to put this particularly inane episode to rest and that’s to have representatives from both sides — I’m thinking Andy Ypsilanti and Patrick Elkins — sit down with Steve Pierce at some neutral location (ahemPub13cough) and have him mediate a compromise. After all, he’ll buy the first round!
And if there’s one thing that stinky hippies and bohemian posers can agree upon, it’s free beer!
WHEW! My sense of humor is getting a serious workout today!
I like the idea of puppeteer posers. A bunch of people walking around with unanimated puppets on their hands.
Had to read this after Mark’s Facebook post. All this should have been kept between the two parties via email.
Greetings of unextingusihable joy, peaceful co-respect and profound love to all the creatures of the Huron River watershed and everyone in the markmaynard.com ecosystem!!! My name is Toblerone Bananas, feline resistance fighter and spokescreature for the Diazotrophical Meowkestra. We sing out a celebratory rhapsody for Mr. Erik Dotzauer having fulfilled our kindly request that politely-worded constructive suggestions numbers 4 and 5!!!! Our positive vibrations of energy are instigated by his encouraging words that it really helps getting booked when a band makes contact prior to the festival. We are hoping that it really will help the chances of our suggestions of Manhole/Manhood/Mantroll and Charlie Slick on the main stage for Jamboree 2011 becoming reality that the ball is rolling now 11 months and 3 weeks in advance of the festival and sincerely appreciate the encouraging words!!! With that in mind, we would like to take this opportunity to public announce the candidacy of the Diazotrophical Meowkestra as a contender for the main stage at Michigan Roots Jamboree 2011!!! We will be performing pan-species arrangements of the greatest jams by Sun Ra, Funkadelic (throwing in Parliament’s Osmium), Arthur Russell, Allen Ginsberg, Shocking Blue and Black Sabbath. It will take a lot of work to pull it off but we sincerely believe that if all the creatures of Ypsilanti regardless of species or kingdom truly bring themselves together working in beautiful combination as though Symbiotic Cultures of Bacteria and Yeast, we can provide the ultimate transformative mind-expanding experience on the gorgeous banks of the Huron River in downtown Ypsi at YPSIT***Y JAMBOREE 2011 and look forward to completing all the appropriate paperwork,etc for consideration!!!!!
As a unified and interconnected assemblage of liberation fighters from every kingdom, we declare that we as a Meowkestra and Federation take responsibility for politely-worded constructive suggestion #2 and will begin making preparations to organize a free dinner theater for felines on Frog Island. We strongly feel that there is a dearth of dining and entertainment options for cats in the area and that this project would benefit the community at large by uniting the feline community and making Ypsilanti more attractive as a destination for travelling cats. We would like to reach out to the community at large in search of creative suggestions to our one major obstacle: cats being by nature nocturnal animals, any kind of theater designed to be enjoyed by cats can only properly be staged after dark and we are not clear about what we need to do to go about this legally.
The Diazotrophical Federation publicly announces that we have received inside information from our operatives that formerly trusted local journalist Mark Maynard has deliberately distorted the motives and actions of our organization in an attempt to discredit the Diazotrophical Foundation in an evil scheme to disrupt the peaceful return of Jambo Man to his family so that Puppet Mark Maynard, host of Dreamland Tonight might overtake Jambo as the most prominent fictional celebrity in Ypsilanti. We refuse to be demonized as terrorists by this biased information source! We instead define ourselves as “terroirists” coming from the word terre meaning earth for we are concerned with the special characteristics that geography and history bestowed upon the precious soil of our beloved area contributing to the unique qualities of the crops grown here! Our mission is to improve that terroir and to enlighten and illuminate the wonderful creative crops that spring from our soil! We have never been trying to hurt the Jamboree, we are here to help the community heal and purify negativity.
We are hurt and bothered that our group has been attacked, demonized, called BS, and our politely-worded constructive suggestion that the Michigan Roots Jamboree give credit to the role of nitrogen-fixing rhizobacteria in the soil converting Nitrogen and Hydrogen in the air into metabolizable material for vascular roots systems as well as all the other creatures that contribute to our terroir, without which the roots would have no agency to grow and live whatsoever. This is our main issue with the Michigan Roots Jamboree. We have always been as clear as possible about our purpose, previously indicating that “The Mycorrhiza Federation and the Diazotrophical Meowkestra Declaration of Revolutionary Peace and the Diazotrophical Program” is the succinct expression of our purpose and program (available for reading on our creature’s guerilla facebook user profile). We have made an honest effort to respond to constructive criticisms such as changing our name from the Diazotrophical Liberation Orchestra to the Diazotrophical Meowkestra when the former was said to have too militant a tone and re-worded our list of ransom demands as politely worded constructive suggestions. WE KINDLY ASK THAT OUR CONSTRUCTIVE SUGGESTION REGARDING THE ROLE OF BACTERIA IN VASCULAR ROOT METABOLISM BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION!
Wow, Pit, I thought we had all made done a really good job of making ourselves look like dumb assholes, but you really set the bar high, we’re going to have try a lot harder to look like dumb assholes with you setting the standard.
Bah. Hot air out of an explosive asshole don’t mean shit. Jealous turds who’ve failed at accomplishing as much as you have will always blow up at you like the petulant little diaper-wearers they are. It’s their only means of feeling better about their personal failures. The worst it can do is make you mad for a little while, then you continue on with your accomplishments, and they continue on with their sucking, and life goes on.
Great job, festival organizers!
DLA.
I stand by my positioning of the statue. I think it lovingly reflects the direction Iggy went. At least in Ypsi we still live within the smell of greatness.
Bra Ache.
Thank you for reminding us we dare not question anyone who has accomplished something we haven’t. I am admonished by your admonition. Barack Obama and Glenn Beck are the bees knees. I blush in my huggies at the thought of their greatness. And I need to call my landlord and apologize. I must not need plumbing near so often as I think.
Interesting posts but odd that everyone is referred to as volunteers. I understand that Erik is paid a yearly salary.
Does anyone know how much Erik is paid?
Piggy Op, we admire and celebrate the diversity of the pool of creative input that our cooperative efforts are cultivating! In solidarity, the Diazotrophical Meowkestra offers this reference material in hopes that this community development project can really get going!
Also, although the story has been ignored here on the locally-focused blog of record like all previous communications from Jambo, the following was dispatached yesterday:
Greetings of profound Ypsi Love! On behalf of all creatures of all kingdoms in rejection of taxonomy as arbitrary construct of the maggots in the mind of the universe, we wish to relay a message from Jambo:
“I have been given the choice of being released…or joining the forces
of the Diazotrophical Meowkestra and fighting for my freedom and the
freedom of all oppressed creatures. I have chosen to stay and work for peace.”
Iggy Statue location scouting/brainstorming research material:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=4139&id=100001464828063&l=dfee8899eb
We will post this somewhere on the actual public web upon request if we receive any feedback that FB makes this unavailable to non-users and/or is an evil corporation.
In Mycorrhizal cooperative unity,
Toblerone Bananas Ba-nay-nays
Diazotrophical Meowkestra
Looks like I hit pretty close to the mark.
Thanks, Brac. Much appreciated.
Don’t feel bad for me, Pit Man. I wasn’t exactly coerced into this thread. Sure, the terrorists demanded it, but I didn’t have to do it. I’m not afraid of them. I just knew that it would be a lively thread.
As for your assertion that the Dreamland crew is a bunch of hipsters, I can only tell you that I’ve seen hipsters, and these folks aren’t them. While I’m not really one of the Dreamland crew, I have the pleasure of working with them on them on Dreamland Tonight, and I can tell you that they are not poseurs, and they don’t consider themselves serious artists. They’re a lot of things, but those two labels don’t fit. At the risk of sounding like Steve Pierce, you really should come out to the Dreamland for a beer. I’m sure we could work this out in private.
And I agree with you 100%, Toblerone Bananas. The Iggy statue should be inside Babies ‘R Us. Preferably the diaper aisle.
If you are a freind of the Michigan Roots Jamboree on FB, I reccomend going to the page, finding the link to this post, and check out the insane a woman by the name of Christine Shultz went on. Apparently, she didn’t make many friends while she lived here in Ypsi or, well, like much of anything. Her rant is truly epic. She has set the asshole bar incredibly high.
If you are a freind of the Michigan Roots Jamboree on FB, I reccomend going to the page, finding the link to this post, and check out the insane a woman by the name of Christine Shultz went on. Apparently, she didn’t make many friends while she lived here in Ypsi or, well, like much of anything. Her rant is truly epic. She has set the asshole bar incredibly high.
People sometimes get really mad at you if they don’t get their way, especially if you really didn’t do anything wrong. They accuse you of all this evil shit, when really it’s just because their desires were frustrated somehow, usually without malice on your part. Not many people can admit to themselves that that’s the reason they’re mad, so they go on these big showy over-the-top rants. I’ve done it myself. The hot weather probably doesn’t help.
Holy shit, Andy. That was incredible. Epic, indeed.
We need to take up a collection to get her back to Ypsi.
Man, I couldn’t resist. That post just brought out my inner-troll. Bam! : )
You listen to me. While I will admit to a certain cynicism, the fact is that I am a naysayer and hatchet-man in the fight against violence and divisiveness. I pride myself in taking a punch and I’ll gladly take another because I choose to live my life in the company of Gandhi and King. My concerns are global. I reject absolutely: revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method… is love.
I love you Michigan Roots Jamboree.
I’m singing in the first person as a character who is fed up with cultural divisiveness. I ain’t never hurt no hippy festival mascot. I felt like it a lot of times. But I never did it. If you believe that I’m a pan-species terrorist organization under feline leadership , you believe David Bowie is an astronaut AND that Iggy is literally a streetwalkin cheetah with a heart full of napalm.
Black Jake, you hit the nail on the head with reference to frustration being the motivation for these big showy over-the-top rants from the D.L.A. Just after midnight last Saturday, I tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe. I was not offended. I just knew I had to rise above it all or drown in my own shit.
As far as accusations of all kinds of evil shit go, however, I believe that what was found to be so offensive was a call for transparency with regard to the non-profit purpose of the Jamboree. I made reference to the fact that the festival seemed to be congratulating itself a lot for funding community development projects and supporting local artists having not yet netted any such funds to date and having shown a few examples of treating like shit artists who contributed to the festival without any monetary compensation. The sentiment was that the festival should either back up those claims or change their stated purpose to expensive birthday party for the festival director. This was somewhat unclearly stated in a rude fashion, but was in the context of Jambo Man ransom demands by a coalition resistance direct action group under feline leadership (but representing all creatures regardless of species) insisting that the Michigan Roots Jamboree give some credit to the role of nitrogen-fixing rhizobacteria in the soil without which roots would unable to metabolize at all. This was posted “in public” for everyone to see 3 comments down on a post on the FB wall of the fictional mascot of the Jambo fest for a few hours on monday (until taken down upon insistence).
This was deemed over the top and completely offensive and met with a witchhunt, a series of private personal attacks, cries of “start your own festival,” public attacks on several people and projects that I am casually associated with, public attacks on the idiom of puppetry in general, the executive director of the Depot Town Community Development Corporation publicly questioning the non-profit legitimacy of the Dreamland Theater (which is in no way involved), and extreme expressions of negativity about Ypsilanti in general.
So I realize my path is a strange and difficult one, but really?
Yes, really. Seriously though, I thought we had a talked about this and had it settled, or at least had taken it private. Why profess to love us but bring it back up?
You keep suggesting that we at the Jamboree were upset by you questioning our non-profit motive. What you keep leaving out is, in that questioning, you called us liars and made slanderous statements. You stated that, not only did we lie about our non-profit motive to our patrons, but to our volunteers. You did not suggest we call it a birthday party, you stated it was a birthday party. You are in effect saying that I personally, directly, lied to over 150 people while recruiting them as volunteers. Did you expect that all to be left unchallenged? Once you make statements like that on the internet, they are out there, whether you take them down or not, and your version of removing them “on request” was more “after hours of defending them.” It is those statements (which someone from Jamboree has a copy of) that set off our response, including the director of our parent organization defending our event, and our rebuffing your “polite suggestions” by telling you to throw your own festival. Shocking. As for Erik’s mention of Dreamland, he is not attacking them, but using them to illustrate a point in response to your allegations. I would add to that, if you don’t want your friends and associates drawn into the fray, don’t make anonymous public allegations. Don’t wrap damning allegations and lies in nonsense and polite suggestions and be surprised when you are met with a vigorous defense and anger instead of laughter and consideration.
I think that word of “a few examples” of treating artists poorly would be news to the other 100+ musicians, painters, sculptors, fire performers, lighting designers, and yes, even puppeteers that appeared at the Jamboree. Its just that you and one other person decided to go on a public rant about what you saw as a slight BEFORE speaking with anyone from the Jamboree, and we responded. That’s what makes it hard to believe you had no malice intent or revenge motive; most people who don’t have either of those things choose to have private, face to face conversations, not go on public rants. I didn’t see anyone (and I’m pretty sure I know all of them) from Jamboree congratulating themselves on supporting arts or raising money for the parks. I saw lots of us thank everybody who participated, and lots of us be happy with the show we presented. And by the way, if a non-profit pledges funds raised from an event to something, but doesn’t see a return on it’s event, it doesn’t make their mission statement any less true. You can’t call a failure of action a misrepresentation of intention.
I guess finally, I just have to ask if you deny anything in Erik’s statement. Because if it is true that you were warned beforehand that you would not be allowed to continue a performance past midnight, who are you mad at? Yes, the person who shut you down did not handle it correctly, and for that we are truly sorry. The man in question is elderly, he was exhausted like the rest of our staff, and he’s always a little ornery. ( He’s also smart, tough, and generally amazing at running a festival) That was a job that should have been handled by our artist relations staff, not security. But if we told you you had to be done at 12, how surprised can you be when we tell you to stop at 12?
Can we call it quits now, at least on the interwebs? Every time I think I’ve made myself sound like the biggest possible asshole, another round begins…
Security guys got on me for not wearing my tag, despite the fact that I was clearly one of the performers. Should I have been throwing a hissy fit all this time about it cause they did their job? No, I’m afraid grown-ups shouldn’t act that way.
What is it about this festival that makes people think they have a legitimate right to dictate to the organizers how it should be named or run, like a bunch of demanding, tantrum-throwing children? It’s mind boggling. Somebody must have disrespected a gypsy or something and got cursed.
People who create their own things so they can do it their own way get to do what they want with them. You can dislike it all you want, but you can’t tell them what to do with their own things and expect to be heeded. Make your own event/band/art/blog/whatever, and you can do what you want with them. That’s how it works. I understand a lot of people don’t have what it takes to do things like that with any amount of success, but if you’re one of those people, you can still show your righteousness by not being a demanding jerk to people who do, at least. Even if you dislike what they do. Criticism’s fine, but what you’re doing isn’t criticism, it’s coercion, and it’s making you look bad. If you don’t like it, don’t go.
Andy, so sorry you are so offended by the missing posting. Is there some way we could post an edited version that wouldn’t offend anyone, or put a disclaimer on it that says it has been retracted? That might provide some context.
And in response to Erik’s account:
show was scheduled for 6:55-7:10 on Friday on one of the main stages. For reasons unknown to me, it was deemed that it could not happen which worked fine since it was too bright for shadow puppets. we talked with the dir, making sure it wouldn’t be a problem to run slightly past midnight.
Jambo Man was taken out to the pavilion with permission on friday night by Jason Voss who placed him in a chair watching the show for visual appeal and symbolic connection with the festival. On Saturday, he made an appearance in the hippy cat jam portion of the shadow puppet show
Erik wrote: “The Depot Town CDC Board informed our festival director that the puppet show could not be held Saturday night when the festival was shutting down. This is due to the fact that 1) our event permit ends at midnight and 2) we needed to ensure that our security was able to effectively clear the park to keep patrons safe and to comply with rules set forth by the city.”
and this is the missing piece of information that was not properly communicated to us by the festival director when he came and talked to us sometime shortly after 11. Then the last band went over schedule and we got shut down halfway through in a humiliating fashion and the people that had been waiting to watch the show kicked out of the park.
I realize that this all happened without any intentional malice, but there was a failure on the part of the festival to properly organize our performances and the last we heard from anyone from the festival was getting booted out of the park like criminals.
As far as I know, we were asked to do the festival, and we specifically made an original show from scratch tailor-made to fit in our allotted 15 minute time slot. I personally spent about 30 hours working on it in the week prior on top of all the time there setting up and performing. We did it for free, and were happy to do it just for the exposure and to contribute to making the festival special. The show got a really good response, but the prevailing attitude seemed to be that we were lucky we were allowed to do a show at all and it was so low a priority that no institutional support from the festival was warranted.
I’m not mad about and I’m not saying the Jamboree sucks. I thought Tree of Life Drum and Dance was really amazing and Ragbirds, BJ/Carnies, Macpodz feat MC Kadence were great sets too. If we had gotten so much as any explanation for what happened following the festival that would have gone a long way. I am intimately familiar with the difficulties of running volunteer efforts and that things fall through the cracks and get fucked up, but as a top priority organization you really should be invested in maintaining good relations with people who are donating their time and creative energy into making your event a success.
I don’t think anyone who had a good experience at the festival was looking at their facebook and going “oh my god I was misled!” I mean I have to live in fear of the day Pit Martin finally exposes me as the talentless poseur that I am, relentlessly trying to make up for how completely normal I am, but I’m not demanding ze immediately remove those threats.
I really hope we can turn this into positive energy for Ypsi. We live in a small, diverse, weird, energetic, exciting and I think most of us genuinely want to make it a better place to live now that we got rid of that bitchy Christine chick.
Yeah…I blame that Christine chick. Well, in the end, everyone got an apology, everyone got some press, and we found out that The Bomber’s butter comes from Pennsylvania. And now, we are all united under the banner of the Anti-Christine Shultz League. Let’s not forget that DJ Magic Mike douche, or whatever his name was either. In the end, we are all brothers and sisters. We can fight and gripe and talk shit to each other, but let some no good outsider attack one of us, and we all unite and come together to defend the good name of Ypsi and ALL of it’s residents. I’m proud of you kids.
That sounds pretty reasonable. Rebuttal?
Do the Dreamland people or the Cdc people post their 990 forms on their web pages?
Hello.
For those of you not following multiple conversations, at once, Dirty Ypsi Lover’s reference to “Christine” is explained here.
I’m not an insider by any means, but my guess is that posting the Dreamland’s financial statement would get more laughs than all the episodes of Dreamland Tonight rolled up together… Seriously, there’s not a lot of money coming in, and the only reason it continues to be the creative ground zero that it is, is due to the financial contributions of Naia Venturi. Seriously, once we get the Iggy statue built, we should consider doing one of Naia… And, hello, Bill. Are you new around here?
And, for what it’s worth, I agree that we need to unify around our hatred of Christine, and drop all of this other nonsense. It was fun while it lasted, but I think it’s time to move on.
My rebuttal would be this; building things together usually starts with a conversation. Conversations don’t usually start with accusations on the internet. We want to bring more of the amazing art and culture that happens in Ypsilanti to the Jamboree, and we got a start on it this year, it just didn’t all run as smoothly as we hoped. We made some mistakes. But, instead of taking your argument to the public first, try talking with some of the folks from jamboree, like Catherine, who worked very hard to expand our arts and cultural offerings this year and who invited you to perform. No, it didn’t all turn out the way we had planned exactly, but what do you think would help us make it better, talking to us face to face about what we can do to improve the festival, or issue a manifesto on the internet?
We appreciate the work you put into the show, and we wanted it to be performed, but we are bound by city ordinance to end all amplified sound at 12am, even if it’s just a small speaker for a puppet show. It sucks that you got the word so late, but as you pointed out, crazy things can happen at a festival and unforeseen things occur. We don’t deny that we made mistakes, especially having security shut you down instead of artist relations explaining what was happening. But instead of telling us face to face that we screwed up, you took your argument to the internet, and instead of working something out that could benefit everyone, we all wind up making ourselves look like assholes.
To improve our city takes working together, and working together starts with talking face to face. Just think of how much different this whole thing could have turned out if all of these long, drawn out talks had been done face to face. We could have been done with this days ago, saved a lot of time and energy, and not all looked like jackasses.
At least we got a cartoon out of it.
Has it been decided that there will be another Jamboree?
I would like to clear up any misconceptions that anyone has about my involvement (or lack thereof) in this matter. I’ve had a chance to speak with some of the folks involved privately in person or via email but have, until now, resisted explaining my position in a public forum because of my desire to avoid being involved in this discussion; however, it seems that several people are still under the impression that I was involved with this incident and the conversation that has followed so I wanted to clarify my position.
I had nothing to do with the abduction of Jambo Man or the establishment of the “Diazotrophical Liberation Association” facebook profile and have not contributed to the content or conversations associated with this profile. Prior to performing a portion of a shadow puppet show on Saturday night at the Jamboree, we did borrow Jambo Man and agree to return him after the show. Following the aborted performance, I was upset; however, when persons expressed their desire to steal the Jamboree mascot I told them that I did not want to be involved in said creature-napping. While I didn’t do anything to stop the people who took him, I didn’t aid them. I was taking down my shadow screen and light, putting away puppets, etc. when he was taken. At that time, I expressed that I did not want to be a part of the situation and I am reiterating that desire now.
It was never my impression that what happened at the Jamboree regarding the puppet show that was to be performed on Saturday night was in any way malicious or anything other than logistical oversight and/or miscommunication between various parties. I don’t harbor any animosity towards the organizers of this festival or anyone involved with it; I appreciate the efforts of all of the people in our community who organize events and activities. I was invited by Catherine to perform a shadow puppet show; myself and the puppeteers who assisted in the production of the show were not acting as representatives of the Dreamland Theater or any other local organization and there is no reason why the Dreamland should be included in this conversation. It is my position that one person can not speak for this group of puppeteers as a whole as we are each individuals who react to situations differently (as human beings tend to do) and are ultimately individually responsible for these reactions. I am extremely appreciative of the effort that everyone involved in producing the puppet show (Jason Voss recorded and engineered the sound, composed music and performed voices/music; Stef Chura & Kevin Morris contributed vocals to the recording; I cut the puppets and wrote the story, composed music and performed voices on the recording; Annie Palmer, Jason and I operated puppets).
At this time I see no reason to include myself in further discussions regarding this incident beyond the logistics of what took place at the Jamboree. If anyone would like to speak about this further, I can be reached at chewyourown@gmail.com. I’d be happy to arrange to meet somewhere and discuss this in person.
cheers,
Patrick
Oops, I omitted a word. The last sentence in the third paragraph should read: “I am extremely appreciative of the effort that everyone involved in producing the puppet show undertook (Jason Voss recorded and engineered the sound, composed music and performed voices/music; Stef Chura & Kevin Morris contributed vocals to the recording; I cut the puppets and wrote the story, composed music and performed voices on the recording; Annie Palmer, Jason and I operated puppets).”
I did not think that Patrick Elkins was behind this until now.
Now I’m almost certain that Jambo Man never existed, and that it’s been a ruse from the start.
I would rather be killed a thousand times than spend another second in the city which Patrick Elkins calls home.
In the next 24 hours we must waterboard Patrick Elkins to find Jambo.
Please knock it off with the Patrick Elkins allegations and do a tiny bit of research if you don’t know who is responsible for this satirical community development direct action group (always clearly the work of a single person, the invocation of all the creatures of the watershed being a rhetorical device). There’s a variety of research and background materials on the Facebook page and following BJ’s helpful advice on “how it works” will be making my own blog really soon. Look, all I was ever saying all along was “I DECLARE REVOLUTIONARY PEACE AND INTERCONNECTED MYCORRHIZAL COOPERATIVE SOLIDARITY OF YPSI LOVE WITH THE MICHIGAN ROOTS JAMBOREE” and am pleased to announce that all politely-worded constructive suggestions have been officially placed on the list for possible items to be taken under consideration by the MRJ/DTCDC in acceptance of this declaration of revolutionary peace!
It’s just a friendly joke and I think it illustrates the fact that a similar response to a more hostile attack on the MRJ by somebody that doesn’t give a shit about Ypsi could cause some serious damage to the community as a whole. Andy, I’m sorry I’ve offended you so much, but people will say mean viscous shit on the internet and whatever censored speech I put out in the public on facebook (and now have no access to) wasn’t really that bad in the grand scheme of mean things on the interwebs. Just look at this thread.
AND I mean c’mon, it is PUNK WEEK after all. Even though I’m not a member of the official congregation in Ann Arbor, that doesn’t mean I don’t the right to celebrate this beautiful cultural tradition in my own personal special and unique manner without having to fear religious persecution. Please stop attacking my rights as a satirist in Free Ypsilanti by making me break character.
See everybody at the SHOPPING CART RACE tonight at midnight SHARP before the FLEETWOOD DINER!!!!!!
I like punks. But, as I get older, I think I like them more in theory than in reality. At least that’s how I felt this weekend, when, taking my daughter to see the Wizard of Oz, we were confronted by a pack of them with face tattoos, dragging along their canine mascot, and asking for change.
Friendly jokes rarely include calling people liars in public but hey, your a punk right, so we should be ok with you acting like a jackass. To paraphrase Mark, assholes hate it when you call them assholes.
Mark, have you seen the PUNK WEAK protest shirts?
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=57301&l=fc8bedb983&id=100001464828063
Due credit to Mr. Jef Jenkins (The Fags, Ron of Japan, Cobra Youth, Axis of Evil, Mazinga, Versificators, Suicide By Cop, ARBCO Records) for this creative piece of contemporary local social commentary tying together the current state of punk week with the rich Ann Arbor tradition of Art Fair protest (i.e. It’s not art; It’s not fair). Please respect the diverse cultural legacy of our town’s favorite son by allowing the behavior of a few sociopathic dog lovers to represent all punks worldwide.
Andy, I’m perfectly comfortable with being called an asshole. What is troubling is that you are distorting speech made in “public” on Facebook that was taken down upon demand by you. I no longer have access to what was written, though I have elaborated on the intent and message of this statement. Yet misinterpretations of what was written are being used to threaten me with accusations of slander. If your position is in favor of censorship, I politely request that you defend this position and call on whomever is withholding this objectionable statement to subject it to open consideration in the marketplace of ideas so that it can be properly judged with reference to obscenity according to community standards.
Also credit is due to Mark Maynard for illustrating the potential of recent developments in new media technology to transform negative energy for the common good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMF5hT8m1Tc
This has nothing to do with the jamboree thing, but I saw this picture of Henry Winkler and thought of you in Milwaukee:
http://www.hereandnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/0819_henry-winkler-306.jpg
A photo like this of the real life Iggy posed next to the statue could really help the public image of the Babies R Us/Starbucks/GFS district to better reflect its cultural heritage:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2726/4189905697_8a0024c897.jpg
We would really like to see this community development project on the list of long-term initiatives but in the meantime throw our support behind the Ron Asheton statue project:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=118976228137180
Useful information on the abduction of this plush cultural hero of the downtrodden white slaves of Ypsitucky. Thank you kindly.
Where the fuck is Jman with my child support? Babies needz to eat.
So, where is Mr. Mann now? Was he returned to his rightful owner?
Word is he’ll be traveling to NYC soon. The plan, I’m told, is to put his feet into cement, and throw him into the Hudson.
I saw Jambo at the ManHoe house. He was laying in the middle of a pentagram, surrounded by candles. The one they call Logan was trying unsuccessfully to sedate a feral cat by blowing pot smoke into it’s snout, while the others fought as to the order in which they would make love to yellow pillow creature. I left.
I saw him last night, stumbling down Miles Street, wearing sweatpants.
I had a horrible dream last night that Jambo Man is in serious danger. In my dream, I saw him being force-fed. He was blindfolded, covered in filth, and at at least three times his original size. A man was cramming food down throat, fattening him up for Thanksgiving.
I found this by Googling “man jamming”. This isn’t what I was expecting.
If it’s hot man jamming that you’re looking for, I’ve got some City Council video for you. Meet me at Smarty Katz tonight at 1:00 AM. I’ll be the one in a denim turban eating candy corn.
You tried to kill Jambo, but, like Jesus and ObiOneKenObi, he came back even bigger than he was before, fuckers!
He deserves to be waterboarded for an eternity.
Ypsitucky Jamboree organizer Don Sicheneder has been sentenced to 7 years for child rape.
http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/12/former_ypsitucky_jamboree_orga.html
The guy from Dragon Wagon? Fuck.
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