BURNcast #079 - The Tasseograph Trash Tea House & Satan's Calliope

In today’s episode we meet up with Shrine to discuss his project the "Tasseograph Trash Tea House". Then Lucy Hosking plays her incendiary art car called “Satan’s Calliope”. Recorded 31 August 2007 in Black Rock City. Music by Williamson available at Magnatune.com. Photos by Tristan Savieter available at Playa-Dust.com.

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BURNcast.TV #52 - A Conversation with Olivier Bonin

Olivier Bonin is the director of "Dust & Illusions: A History of Burning Man" with Jerry James, Larry Harvey and John Law and narrated by Tom Kennedy. The film explores 30 years of history of Burning Man all the way back to the late 70s into the origins of the event (with never seen footage of the Suicide Club), the Cacophony Society, and the early burns on San Francisco Baker Beach.

Organize a screening in your area.

Update: Hollis Hawthorne

 

Last week during a visit to the Bay Area I stopped in to visit with Hollis Hawthorne in the hospital. While she's doing a lot better than the first time I saw her she still needs to come out of her coma.

Hollis' mother Diane is with her 24-7, sleeping in a bed next her and providing constant care above and beyond what the medical staff at the hospital can offer. It's beautiful to see Diane's love and devotion for her daughter. But it's a lot of work for her and I feel she could use some encouragement and strength from the community.

Please support on-going medical care for Hollis by making a PayPal donation to her cause. I know times are tough so if you are unable to donate please take a moment to write Hollis, write her mom, send a card, burn a cd, make a gift... something... anything. Or if you're in the area, come stop by and visit. Visiting hours are 12-8 p.m.

Hollis Hawthorne
c/o St. Luke's
3555 Cesar Chavez St.
San Francisco, CA 94110

Video Submission from Embracing Haight

YouTube - Bat Country Pendants

EmbracingHaight is a vlogger who's new to Burning Man this year. Check out some of the pendants he's making as gifts.

Shopping from A-Z

Longtime listeners will fondly remember our first season when BURNcast was sponsored by Playazon. They're still around and boy do we love them! Be sure to tell'em DaBomb sent you to receive an additional 10% off every purchase! Use promo code: "BURNcastTV" at checkout.

But for those of you that prefer to do your last minute shopping on the go, get your ass down to the Mid Town District in Reno where burner-based businesses offer you everything from costumes to camping or bicycles to bikinis! They claim to have it all. Perhaps more than what you can get at MalMart!

Burning Wiki

Hippie Steve turned us on to the Burning Wiki which looks to be a now defunct project but still chockerblock with some really good information for first timers. While this wiki was last updated in 2007 it's worth checking out.

BURNcast.TV Home Videos: The Playa

From the filmmaker Jason Siadek who writes: "I didn't bring a camera the first time I went to Burning Man and by mid-week I was soul deep in eye boggling experiences. I couldn't have stopped to take a picture when I was first exploring, but on my next trip in '00 I definitely wanted to bring a camera. I shot this short in my p.o.v. and left in the downtimes and the ambient sound to give my friends and family a feeling of what it's really like to be in Black Rock City. Of course it's a pale realization of the politics, the art, the beautiful people, the culture, but it's a glimpse. I didn't tape the man burning that year, but I did the following year, and cut it in. I had originally left out the burn to keep that special experience on the playa for the people that can make it there, but then I said: fuck it... The burn is awesommmme! and put it in."

divaDanielle BURNcast Events! 06.25.09

Hey Everyone!

This week, we've got tickets to Plump for our LA Burners. It's another Twitter-based contest so here's information on how to enter. We will announce the winner tomorrow!

xo
divaD

If you have an event, you'd like to plug through BURNcast, fill out the form here.

Los Angeles Burn Community: Win Free Tickets to Plump on Saturday

Last week BURNcast.TV launched a new contest to giveaway free tickets to Disorient's "GlamTech" in New York City.

This week we're giving away two free tickets to Plump in Los Angeles, put on by Project Alma.

To enter all you have to do is follow @burncast and @divadanielle on Twitter and then twitter (just cut and paste) the following phrase :

"You could win 2 tix to Plump's 3 Year Anniversary in Los Angeles. To enter just follow @burncast and @divadanielle and retweet this."

You can enter -- that is "retweet" or RT -- the above phrase as many times as you wish. Each RT will count as a single entry. Contest ends at 6:00 pm this Friday.

The name of the lucky winner will be drawn from a hat and then announced later on Friday evening. To create a Twitter account of your own simply sign up here.

UPDATE: 23:57 24 JUNE 2009: Unfortunately reposting the phrase solely to your Facebook status and not on Twitter will not count as an entry. It must be Twittered because it is the only way we can track who's tweeting and place entries in a hat. Sorry about that!

PleasureSean's First Timer's Guide To The Playa

A word from PleasureSean:

Yup - I'm going, not quite out of dodge yet and it's still way more fun than a Labor Day BBQ in the city in my book. But hey I understand it doesn't work for everyone's circumstances or mindset these days - I'll take pictures for ya in that case - deal?

PleasureSean's First Timer's Guide To The Playa is pretty similar to last year's edition - only this one has some funny pics along with the text. Forward it to your friends who are going for the first time so they don't bother you with a million questions - skip it if you've gone before because you're a pro now. And there's a bright moon during Bman this year with a full moon on friday night - nice!

Also, if you know of some unique/groovy art or music events going on up there this year, let me know as I'll send out a list of fun sounding stuff a week or so before Burning Man.

PleasureSean's First Timer's Guide To The Playa by PleasureSean
is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at pleasuresean.com.

BURNcast #078 - Virgins and Veterans

This episode of BURNcast features conversations with virgins and veterans. The first recording is a conversation with a virgin and a veteran and the second one is a couple of veterans at Burning Man 2007. The third recording is a conversation with a veteran recorded in June, 2008, in Los Angeles. Music by Astronaughty.

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BURNcast.TV #51 - Advice for the Virgin & Veteran Burner

At SciFi Night at Ranger Bacchus' house I asked some friends for advice. Here's what they said.

Got advice? Leave a message at 775-363-5861 and share it with us.

BURNcast.TV Home Videos: mOOnshOt

From the filmmaker Jason Siadek who writes.

We put the lunar rover and tranquility base on the playa for the 2003 Burn: "Beyond Belief". Built by the Space Monkeys, conceived and edited by Gigapede.

If anyone in the Los Angeles area has a space where we can park a car, tear to pieces, then weld and paint and otherwise mutate an art car, let gigapede@yahoo.com know! We're going to make another art car this year: the Sensatron 5000. It's a time traveling machine from the future, sent back to experience these visceral times before machines replaced contact.

We're using the cubatron technology LED technology along with programming and sensors to create a huge visualizer, that hangs the lights like an umbrella around the perimeter of the car to translate the sounds and movements we experience into light!

We just need a place to work for 2 months and then we will transport the Sensatron 5000 to burning man. We will work duing whatever hours are best and we'll leave no trace except a rad art car.

Helping us out will earn you: ONE FREE RIDE!!!!!!!*

*all rides are free.

-j*

UPDATE: PAUL ADDIS

Video by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

Paul Addis, the man convicted of Felony Arson Destruction of Property for igniting the Burning Man effigy before its scheduled conflagration in 2007, was granted parole in a unanimous vote from the Nevada State Parole Board. Almost a year ago on Friday, June 27, 2008, Addis was sentenced to serve as many as four years in prison and ordered to pay restitution by the Pershing County District Court in Lovelock. A parole date has yet to be announced.

UPDATE (16:20 19 June 2009) I stand corrected. This from Amacker Bullwinkle, a close friend: "Paul was not convicted of "Felony Arson" he was convicted of "Destruction of Property." In a "Damaging Property" or "Destruction of Property" verdict, the sentence is based solely on the amount of damage claimed and proven. The amount demanded by the BORG amounted to an automatic arson charge."


The above recording is a conversation with Bullwinkle. Here she shares information of what she believed occurred regarding Addis' involvement in the Early Burn. She also shares a story of their devoted friendship to one another. Recorded at Burning Man on Wednesday 29 August 2007.

divaD BURNcast Events VLOG 06.18.08 FREE TIX to GLAMTECH in NY!!

For our ticket giveaway this week to "Disorient pres Glamtech" we're going to run this contest is a bit different than how we've been doing it in the past. All you have to do to enter is follow @divadanielle and @burncast on Twitter and tweet the following phrase:

"I <3 the Burning Man community (drink!)! And I <3 @divadanielle and @burncast for producing the podcast all about BRC: http://burncast.tv." Do it before midnight tonight (that's Pacific Daylight Time) Thursday June 18 and DaBomb will put your name in a hat. Tomorrow morning she will post a video here on our blog at BURNcast.TV announcing the winner. Also, this weekend DaBomb is going to be in the Bay Area and she'll be taping an episode of BURNcast TV called "Playa Rumors". We're asking everybody to step up to the camera and share your playa rumor. She's going to be at two events (both of which are on the BURNcast calendar). The first one is: "Journey to the End of the Night" which starts at 7:00 pm this Saturday night in Oakland. The second event she will be at later that same night is "Fight Party @ Nimby" which is also taking place at the Nimby space in Oakland, too. If you wanna know where DaBomb is throughout the night you can follow her on Twitter here. If you want to know more about these events, click here.

If you have an event, you'd like to plug through BURNcast, fill out the form here.

The ChakraTron by Scott "Gaspo" Gasparian

In this video Loni Kao Stark of StarkSilverCreek.com heads on down to the SubZERO arts festival in San Jose where she encounters and interacts with the ChakraTron, a fortune-telling interactive kinetic light sculpture art piece created by burner artist Scott "Gaspo" Gasparian. When you get to 2:30 mark Gaspo gives a more detailed commentary about the creation of this piece and shares his feelings on how the Burning Man has attracted huge crowds that fail to respect art.

More about the ChakraTron in this vidbit below:

I Stole This From Chicken John

Click on image for more info.

I totally stole this from Chicken John full stop. He said it was OK. Really. Here it is, cut and pasted, in its full glory:

Journey to the End of the Night – ØAK
(a pursuit across the city in 6 parts)

On the night of Saturday, June 20th meet at 7pm in the amphitheater at Mosswood Park (Broadway at MacArthur, near MacArthur BART)

Wear comfortable shoes, bring water.

The city spreads out before you. Rushing from point to point, lit by the slow strobe of fluorescent buses and dark streets. Stumbling into situations for a stranger’s signature. Fleeing unknown pursuers, breathing hard, admiring the landscape and the multitude of worlds hidden in it. For one night, drop your relations, your work and leisure activities, and all your usual motives for movement and action, and let yourself be drawn by the attractions of the chase and the encounters you find there.

Journey to the End of the Night is a free street game of epic proportion, presented across the city of Oakland. Players will try to make it through a series of checkpoints, while avoiding being caught by chasers. Those who fall will become chasers themselves, rising to pursue their former friends and allies. No skates, no bikes, no cars, just your feet and good old public transportation.

More information www.totheendofthenight.com

“This was a fantastic voyage, and one we will remember for a long time. You turned us from plainclothes Chicagoans into metronauts, and set us loose upon the city.” [Sparrows Fall, Journey Chicagø '08]

This is an intense game, capable of recomposing your perspective of the entire city – it has often irrevocably changed the lives of players. But while it will test your mettle, Journey is not an exclusive sport by any means – players range from spunky 18-year-old athletes to computer geeks to 60-year-old common citizens. Journey is not a competition of youth and strength, but a chance to test yourself against the city. This is liberty through genuinely free, self-conscious, authentic play.

This game is staffed entirely by die-hard volunteers and is run on a $0 budget without any kind of sponsorship. We are not accepting any donations for this event – if you want to help us out, help us spread the word!

Journey was first presented in San Francisco in 2006, and has been presented 11 times since then by local organizers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, London, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Chicago. This year’s Øakland run is the first Journey to be run in the Bay Area since 2007.

Journey will also be presented this year in Los Angeles and Minneapolis (stay tuned to sfzero.org for event announcements).

Please invite anyone you think you can outrun. We look forward to chasing you down.

*** Please forward this email to anyone and everyone who would like to get chased through the city at night! ***

FWIW I am going to be in the Bay Area and not only am I gonna go and check this out, but I'm also going to check out the Fight Party at NIMBY later that night. Come join me! Follow me on Twitter so we can geo-locate. Or something like that.

Click on image for more info.

Black Rock Desert Spring 2009: The Art of Jim Denevan

Brochure from Peter Hinson on Vimeo.

Artist Jim Denevan makes freehand drawings on the beach, desert, and iceburgs. The total circumference of this piece is more than 9 miles and was created this past spring in the Black Rock Desert. You can check out the GPS coordinates below.

According to the Peter Hinson, the Director of Photography for this piece, the bus featured in this video is Elvis' tour bus!

I think this is the most amazing thing I ever seen done on the playa. It's truly awesome and spectacular!

Note: This video is shot in HD and takes a longer time to load than your average YouTube video because of file size. Believe me, it is worth the wait!


View Larger Map

BURNcast #077 - Hobo Pie at Tumbleweed's Chuck Wagon

In this episode we circle up for a complete breakfast with delicious hobo pie and sweet playa stories at Tumbleweed's Chuck Wagon. Featured here are conversations with Tumbleweed, Erin, and Tiptoe. There also several voice messages for Hollis Hawthorne. Music by Pleasure Sean and Daniel Berkman.

Recorded 31 August 2007 in Black Rock City.

Subscribe in iTunes

BURNcast.TV #50 - Wrybread's PhotoBoof! with Justin Credible

The PhotoBoof! is a photobooth built by Wrybread onto the back of an Cushman parking patrol auto rickshaw. In this video the Boof's spokesperson Justin Credible has a chat with BURNcast. Recorded 12 April 2009 in San Francisco, CA.

The Giant Cock Car

Three years ago BURNcast interviewed filmmaker Loki at his home in Venice, California, to talk about his art car called "The Cloud 9". It was our eighth podcast episode and can be heard by clicking here.

Flash forward to this past weekend where Loki announces plans for his newest endeavor he calls the "Giant Cock". A mutant vehicle inspired by the outlandish and satirical, and hoping to answer the old addage of "which came first", the Giant Cock will roam the desert by night and feed the hungry who make it through to dawn.

The Giant Cock needs you to pet it and stroke it and make it feel loved. It also needs your participation in the form of artistic, financial, inspirational, meditational, and transformational skills and energy. The folks of the Giant Cock can offer a LOT of fun, a chance to learn, and the camaraderie that comes from creating something truly unique and outlandish for an appreciative community (drink!). Contact the Giant Cock today!

Video Diary 2007 by Fresh

"Your 15 Seconds of Whatever" is a video diary from Burning Man 2007 produced by Fresh who wanted to participate in the creation of art on the playa. He writes: "My blank canvas was the Man. My paints and brushes were the citizens of Black Rock City. What did I ask them to do? Give me 15 seconds of whatever!"

There are over 200 videos featured in this project with Fresh bringing up the caboose at the very end. If you take the time to watch the videos in order as posted take the time to observe the progression of the event unfold as the footage is laid out in the order in which is was shot. See all the videos from this project here.

Follow Fresh on Twitter!

Help Put BURNcast on the map!

Stick a pin in it!

BURNcast.TV Home Videos: Burning Man 2008 The Amer Ican Dream

From Hedy the videographer:

"This is "my" burning man...it's all about the art, and the performance, and the beautiful souls who make up our community (drink!) not the "party" element that so many people equate with BM. I am so in awe of the creativity and energy that people put into their projects, be it a Uchronia or a fabulous costume, just or the sheer love of it. And their desire to freely share it with the rest of BRC."

Formats available: MPEG-4 Video (.m4v)

Tags: burning, man, black, rock, city, burncast, podcast, 2008, american, dream

divaD BURNcast Events VLOG 06.11.09

Lots of stuff happening EVERYWHERE! Remember, if you have an event you would like us to plug, fill out the form below!Also, anyone going to Burning Man, start sending us your On-Playa events. I am planning on doing a special divaRecommends On the Playa Events VLOG before we head out!

xo
divaD

If you have an event, you'd like to plug through BURNcast, fill out the form here.

Video Submission: ArcheDream for Humankind

Philadelphia dance company, ArcheDREAM for Humankind teamed up with Bay Area composer Eric "EO" Oberthaler for this performance at Philadelphia Experiment's stage at Burning Man '08 inspired by this year's theme, The American Dream. I had to put other music to it (Keb Mo) due to the audio on my camera not sounding so good, but EO's music was awesome. See this show when it comes to your town! -- Psilly Psymon

BURNcast.TV #49 - Piss Clear Book Release with Slim

In this episode BURNcast TV meets up with Aaron "Slim" Muszalski at the Piss Clear Book Release party in San Francisco. Slim, who has been burning since 1995, was a frequent contributor to Black Rock City's alternative publication. He now currently participates within the community as a builder on the Man Crew. Recorded 28 May 2009.

Formats available: MPEG-4 Video (.m4v)

Tags: burningman, burncast, blackrockcity, burning, man, black, rock, city, slim

Weird TV

In 1994 Weird TV blasted into 45% of all American homes. No one had ever seen anything like it and FWIW they were banned in Philadelphia. There were 12 one hour episodes made in all and this one featured some of the first Burning Man video ever to emerge from the acclaimed desert event.

divaD BURNcast Events VLOG 06.05.09

Hello Everyone!

Sorry the events blog is up a day late! My internet went out. I forgot my computer at home yesterday so I couldn't upload the video from work...blah blah blah...But, it's up now! Woohoo! It was recorded on Thursday though so I do mention some things happening last night. Don't get confused. he he he.

 We've got a ticket give away for BOOTIE LA!! Come see Diva's debut as one of the R.A.I.D. dancers! Watch to win! And remember to leave your contact info when you are commenting for  a prize!

xoxo

divaD

www.djdivadanielle.com

www.shadeparties.com


If you have an event, you'd like to plug through BURNcast, fill out the form here.




Upcoming Events

More of BURNcast's events

Video Submission: Flying Saucer Art Car

As submitted to BURNcast on Facebook:

Hi, I'm Deadly Dave.

This will be my fourth burn (2006 was my first). Last year was the first year I tried building something for the playa. I made an 80-channel LED rope light sequencer for a flying saucer surrey - you can see in this video.

I'm not actually sure what I'm going to do this year. I'm bringing the surrey back but the saucer was a huge PITA to transport. I want to reuse all that rope light, but build something easier to assemble and deal with on the playa. And some friends are doing an art car and I may build them a lighting controller as well.

Cheers,
Deadly Dave

Flickr Photos: Burning Man 1992 - 1996 by Malderor

These photos were all in an album Liz had compiled and labeled by year, so for once I'm certain about the dates. (The 95 photos are in there as well.) This was the first year Alan & Bill and I really managed to convince our friends in the City to come to the event en masse. It was the first year we really had a largish group, as opposed to one car and a few tents. Fandango's first community "theme camp" is evident here, too, in that Gregorio Cortez brought out his pool table for the first time.

This is the year the name "Fandango" was born, in reference to our humble three-RV encampment. Includes guns, hot springs, motorcycles....you know, all the stuff that makes Burning Man so awesome...

I'm not sure which years these photos are all from. They're pretty much a smattering from the earliest years of Fandango, circa 1993-1999. I'm doing a lot less "photo editing" on these, as I think they're kind of interesting as-is for what things were like back then.

Kevin Evan's Flickr Album: Burning Man 1990-1995

"Zone Trip #4, Bad day at Black Rock” & Beyond. 1990 to 1995 from Kevin Evan's Flickr Album. He writes:

History on Laughing Squid.

An evolving photo archive I’ve started of the first year and the following 4 years of Burning Man in the Black rock desert. A time when the event was both serene and surreal.

Special thanks to Sebastian Hyde for contributing some of his photos to this collection.

“It’s so empty, it’s full” - Bringing Burning Man into the Black Rock

Labor Day weekend, 1989. I, with my roommates P Segal., Dawn Stott and a mutual friend, Cynthia Kolnick, attended a wind sculpture event in the Black Rock desert sponsored by Planet X pottery in Gerlach, Nevada. We hauled a lightweight, mobile, canopy bed (our sculpture) on top of a tiny sedan out to this remote, inhospitable, area. The surreal locale combined with mobile sculptures was both incredible and inspiring. That weekend was one that had a great and lasting impact on my life. I never wanted to leave. The desert attracted and stirred me; I knew I had to go back.

When I returned to the Bay Area and started my final year in art school, I rallied a few friends and schoolmates around the idea of planning a Labor Day weekend trip to the Black Rock desert. I had been reading Hakim Bey’s “Temporary Autonomous Zone” and his ideas struck a chord. At that time I was into the youthful notion of destroying parts (if not all) of my artwork as a meditation on impermanence and the importance of flexibility. These concepts fused into a plan of generating a “creative incident” in the Black Rock desert with a central theme- the ritual destruction and immolation of both structures and artwork. It was a larger manifestation of the “meditation on impermanence and the importance of flexibility” concept. For an impoverished, young, and naive art student, this vision seemed far too grand and expensive to accomplish alone. I decided to present the scheme to my good friend John Law (whom I had met through my involvement in The San Francisco Cacophony Society) and that was when the idea for “Zone Trip #4, Bad day at Black Rock” was officially hatched as a cacophony event. I approached this individual because I sincerely considered he was (and is) person of great veracity and he would respect and lend a hand in my somewhat delusional, far fetched, concept. I was correct in my impulse and the event was to happen. Along the way, a few months from the target date of the Zone trip, I attended the Baker Beach burn of the Burning Man. Fortunately, (via the intervention of both the San Francisco police and fire departments) the monolithic figurine was not razed. Amidst chants of “burn it anyway!” and pagan-like drumming, a few of us cacophonist including Miss P. and Dawn thought it would be a great idea to invite Larry and his man along for our strange return to the Black Rock. If anything, he had the biggest, most expensive, and elaborate piece of firewood and it would make a glorious conflagration. It turned out to be a magnificent, awe-inspiring, weekend. I would return and participate for the next 4 years, 1995 being my last year. (In all, 6 years every Labor day).

The event morphed from a Cacophony event into Burning Man. In my opinion, it eventually got too big, supercilious, and in some ways aloof. It had lost its soul (for me at least) and I felt a profound need to no longer contribute or attend. A year later, after the disastrous 1996 event, John and a few other key participants would renounce. In following years, other members of “the old guard” would trickle away for (I believe) similar reasons. This is not to diminish the importance of what others have contributed and experienced in the years since. The event is what one makes of it and I know countless have had their own, life changing, occurrences in that desert. Since 1996 I’ve silently watched in admiration as numerous fresh and astonishing examples of creativity debut on the playa. I’m delighted to know that so many have had that same “feeling” I did Labor Day weekend so long ago.

A more concise history may be found in Brian Doherty’s “This is Burning Man”.

-Kevin Evans

PISS CLEAR LOS ANGELES BOOK RELEASE PARTY!

FRIDAY
JUNE 5

THEORYLABS
@
THE BREWERY
624 Moulton Ave., Los Angeles

FREE ENTRY!

Party starts at 7 PM. Park behind
TheoryLabs on 20th Street.
Buy the book for $20 and get it signed by the authors!
http://www.pissclear.org/party

* Music by ADRIAN & the MYSTERIOUS D from BOOTIE BRC - http://www.aplusd.net / http://www.bootieusa.com/brc
* Birthday party for BUCK from THE MUTAYTOR! - http://www.mutaytor.com
* Book signings from the authors!
* Piss Clear slide show in black-and-white -- 13 years of Burning Man history
* Drinks and schmoozing -- hang out with the editors and writers!

On Friday, June 5th, TheoryLabs at The Brewery helps celebrate the long-awaited release of "Burning Man Live: 13 Years of Piss Clear, Black Rock City's Alternative Newspaper." Published by RE/Search Publications, this jam-packed, 320-page anthology contains all 34 issues of the beloved playa newspaper Piss Clear, which, with its snarky and sarcastic tone -- as well as its acerbic rants, witty commentaries, and funny lists -- earned its reputation as the "Vice magazine of the playa."

And remember ... drink enough water so that you piss clear!

BURNcast.TV #48 - Piss Clear Book Release with Malderor

In this episode BURNcast's newest contributor Ricky Vegas attends the Piss Clear Book Release party in San Francisco to talk with the publication's long time columnist Malderor. Here Malderor offers an insightful perspective as a veteran burner although at times the audio quality in this recording makes it difficult to hear what he is saying. We hope you will bear with this technical challenge! Recorded 28 May 2009 in San Francisco, CA. 

Formats available: MPEG-4 Video (.m4v)

Tags: burning, man, black, rock, city, burncast, podcast, piss, clear, malderor