Help Gamelan X get to Burning Man
Donation protected
Gamelan X has been a Burning Man tradition since its birth on the playa ten years ago. This year we will once again offer daily workshops sharing our own version of the traditional Balinese art of Kecak (aka monkey chant), 3 shows at center camp, as well as other processions and happenings all around the playa. Last year we lost our title of Marching Band Champions (to the super-deserving March Fourth Marching Band), but this year we're determined to win it back. We've also got a few new surprises that we can't wait to share with everyone at the festival. But this year we need some extra help bringing this gift to the festival.
Maybe you have seen Gamelan X in the past at Burning Man or some other venue and you already know what it's like to experience us live. Maybe you have some kind of connection to South East Asian art or culture and want to support the joys of live gamelan music to a larger audience. Maybe you have no idea what gamelan or Burning Man are, but simply like the idea of supporting live music that you think is cool.
If you are any one of these kinds of people, we wold love to hear from you.
The biggest cost that we have to overcome to get to the festival is for the transportation of the gamelan. We need to bring out our large gong cart in order to be able to make our processional ensemble mobile. This will mean renting a truck big enough to fit it as well as the gas to get it to the festival. In the past this cost has come to $2000.
The other transportation cost is for our musicians. We want to do some necessary repairs to fix up our tour bus so we can transport our performers with the minimal amount of gas and vehicles so we can keep our precious campsite as car free as possible.
In addition to these transportation costs, we need to do some maintenance on the various stands, carts, harnesses, and cases that physically support the instruments. The big project here is to replace our old and breaking gong stands that we will need for our shows on the Center Camp stage. We have come up with a new system that utilizes easily acquired heavy duty speaker stands that are rated for at least 200 pounds each as well as aluminum cross beam truss systems. These stands will quickly connect via heavy duty drum hardware clamps and the whole system will be much stronger, lighter, and more portable than the old wooden designs that we have literally pushed past their breaking points. And we can build this new light weight modular system for $500 with your help.
While we are asking for help with the transportation and maintenance of the instruments and our performers, we are not seeking funds for our general camp infrastructure or for food. That's all on us.
...so what's in it for you? Well, if you are going to the festival, you can come and chant with us at:
1) HeeBeeGeeBee Healers Camp - Monday to Thursday @ 2pm
2) Center Camp - Friday @ 2pm
...or see the band perform at Center Camp on:
1) Wednesday @ 10:30-11:30pm
2) Friday - Annual Marching Band Competition!!! 7:30-9:30pm
3) Saturday @ 1-2pm
...or at TEDx on Thursday @ 4pm
...or randomly around the playa.
...and if you are not going to the festival to experience the awesomeness, then we still have these excellent __ for you:
$25 donation - Listed as a Supporter on our upcoming appreciation page on gamelanx.com
$50 donation - Link to a pre-release of our upcoming EP this Fall.
$100 donation - Gamelan X t shirt. (Please specify Men/Women + size. We have a lot of sizes, but popular sizes might disappear quickly, so get 'em while you can)
$250 donation - Members of Gamelan X will share a monkey chant workshop wit you and your friends at a private event. (Needs to be in or near the Bay Area)
$750 donation - Gamelan X will perform at your event in or near the Bay Area. We can tailor this for your event. Maybe you need some gongs at you next yoga or contact improv class. Maybe you need a few awesome percussionists for some other event. For this level of donation, we will work with you to craft a mini GX ensemble just for you.
$1500 donation - We'll ring our bell. Actually, we'll make you one! Our resident blacksmith/instrument builder/custom waffle iron maker/bell smith/tinkerer Daniel Yasmin will make you a bell. He teaches a class in bell casting at the Crucible in Oakland and is willing to donate a few of these beauties to the greater good (you) for this level of support.
$2600 donation - Gamelan X Death Ray*
Our resident quantum physicist Keenan (soon to be Dr.) Pepper will build you (or at least explain the inner workings of) a death ray. Maybe you want to use it for good. Maybe evil. For $2600, we won't ask which.
*May or may not contain actual death ray
Gamelan X would like to thank Gamelan Sekar Jaya (www.gsj.org) for their support over the years and for sharing their guest artists with our group. Our collaborations with Gede Oka Artha Negara and Pak Subandi would not have been possible without their help.
Organizer
Dan Bales
Organizer
Oakland, CA
