What You Need At Burning Man
So it has come to pass that a few of us at the Garnish Music Production School will be going on a little summer holiday; and when we say little, we mean the BURNING MAN festival! That’s right folks, it’s almost time for us to lose our virginity and make the pilgrimage into the desert to spend seven days with a fantastic array of naked hippies, flower power freaks and sparkle ponies.
I think it’s fair to say that we weren’t fully prepared for the amount of planning that is required to survive seven days in the desert. I’ve spent less time organising 8-month trips around the world than I have over this week of madness. As ‘virgins’ it’s amazing the size of the inventory that’s required just to survive.
To get around the playa, bicycles are an absolute must. This means not only purchasing a bike and a bike rack, but also hauling it all the way from Los Angeles to San Francisco to attach them to the RV. We then need to drive from San Francisco to Reno to collect what we need at Burning Man. These will include such staples as –
- Vinegar to soak our feet every night
- Camel packs to store water
- 15 gallons of water per person
- Industrial size lip balm
- Shade Structure
- Dust masks
- Duct tape
- Rope
- Goggles
Thankfully we decided against camping, but this brainwave hasn’t worked out quite as we expected. Some ‘veterans’ say that you don’t experience ‘The Burn’ properly unless you camp, but that’s their opinion and they can keep it! We are virgins and will be in a big RV with a cooker, shower and toilet. Sounds great right? Unfortunately it gets so hot in the desert that you can’t use your own toilet, as it will stink the whole cabin out within 24 hours. Nice. We can’t even pee or use the shower, as we will require the water to survive. I repeat; SURVIVE!
> > Click here for Burning Man Survival Guide
This is not Coachella or V Festival by any stretch of the imagination! Burning Man never announce their line up beforehand, so we really are heading into the unknown. Luckily we will have our own bottle of vinegar and some vintage tennis rackets. That’s right, we are setting up our own little court on the playa and giving something back to the people of Burning Man; the gift of racket sports. That is of course until the net blows away after about 5 minutes. Yeah, we didn’t really think that through properly!
Having watched videos, created lists, read literature and talking to ex Burners, we have pretty much done everything within our power to be prepared. Yet it still feels like we really haven’t got a clue what’s in store for us and I guess that’s half the fun.
With no money being allowed at the festival, you have to barter with your goods and services. Someone may offer a hug, a massage, a free shot or a Polaroid picture. Personally, I will be handing out a mix CD that I created specifically for Burning Man 2014. You too can have a free copy if you like by clicking on the link below. I’m all about the love these days!
> > Click here to download Burning Man 2014 by Devious Soul
Inside the CD I will add a little personal letter about my Burning Man thoughts and why exactly I am at the festival. It’s my 40th birthday on September 13th 2014 and this will be my first ever festival. Burning Man. Talk about jumping in with both feet!
I have no idea exactly how I’ve never been to a festival; I guess it was always written in the stars that I would lose my cherry at Burning Man. Or it maybe it was because I’ve always been afraid of festival toilets! The beauty of hiring the RV was that I could enjoy my very important toilet time in peace, and now I’ve even had that small pleasure taken away from me!
I will be writing 3 more articles from the playa at Burning Man about exactly what madness goes on there. We shall post them upon our return, or should I say IF we return! This is not a can of coke, a tuna sandwich and monging out to some Snow Patrol. This is the real deal. Hopefully we will all come out the other side with our minds still intact and with a plethora of tall tales to tell.
Enjoy the mix and watch this space. We are about to enter the nether world…