Draft version January 05, 2004 08:54:22 PM -0500
The object of the exercise was to take a shared spontaneous moment from a
live event and create a tangible record of the moment.
This "tangible record" referred to below as the "Bumpersnicker" was
created, then divided into a speculative pile [100] and public pile [900] to be
distributed and adhered in public areas for viewing and eventual removal. (The Game)
The concept of the exercise came up after the original idea that inspired the sticker, but
the potential of the exercise justified the expense of tangibility.
The evolution of the project continues as the supply of Bumpersnickers dwindles, hopefully
evolving into some sort of potential "collectable" commodity on ebay with the
speculative ones used as some sort of money equivalent that would complete and help fund
the exercise.
The concept of giving out free handouts had been a long tradition at
Grateful Dead shows and some of the stuff was pretty cool.
I collected many of these artifacts and thought it would be nice to do some original, yet
traditional, pieces for friends that I went to the shows with.
This was based on the memories of the tribal atmosphere of the shows that had distinct
customs and traditions like any true society.
Stickers have a long traditon in the GD subculture, pocket sized artifacts that can be displayed and make a great conversation piece.
There was some sort of game called "Cosmic Wimpout" I never understood but always saw the stickers for on toll plazas everywhere.
The act of putting a small sticker on audience members during the show and collecting it later seemed to be happening also, but I might have been confused. Many people would walk around with bright orange stickers from grocery stores saying "FRESH", "HOT" or "SPICY" that had mysteriously appeared on their shirts.
The online trading lists have become an electronically connected tribes replacing the road families that would convene for the tours. This has many benefits compared to touring, mostly involving the ability to be in a patchouli free zone and not having people constantly ask you for a freebie, unless you happen to know grote ;) The tribal feeling of the lists allows for a close approximation of the lot outside the show.
For many years I supported my touring by working at printing companies, which gave me
access to professional quality printers and copiers.
After the break up of the Grateful Dead the potential to acquire artifacts from the
parking lot marketplaces at the shows dwindled, I decided to do some myself. In 1998 I
started creating unique posters for the concerts I was
attending. I would create digital images and print limited runs
[10 to 25 copies] on laser printed card stock and give these out at the shows to friends.
The prints were signed, numbered, and suitable for framing with the ticket stub for a
unique souvenir.
The Bumpersnicker
Project is in the same vein as the posters just a larger run, less show specific and
unnumbered.
The theory behind the "art" is that the collectability of the sticker increases
as the fixed supply is distributed; the more that get used or destroyed the
"value" of the remaining ones increase. While I don't go out of my way to just
get rid of the stickers in piles, I do silently hand them out at shows and watch peoples
reactions and I've noticed if someone drops one someone else will usually pick it up.
Many people find the sticker "in the wild" and many bring it home not knowing
what it really means.
I will sign the stickers on request.
There are a few remaining public PLQ Bumpersnickers appearing
occasionally at shows, for finding and collecting.
The final 100 Bumpersnickers will be reserved for speculative purposes.
There are no plans to have another edition printed.
These are some notes relating to the project, some of these notes have
links to more information or potentially could in the future.
This is only a portion of the data collected for the project and is still just a
collection of cut and paste notes and flashback sequences to the genesis of the ideas and
inspiration for this exercise. It will be updated as time and interest permit.
It isn't my first public art project but so far it appears to be the most "popular".
The contents of this page are private and subject to
change and revision.
All copyrights remain with the original content creator.
Any use of this site, photos or portions of, must have prior written approval from
the content creator.
This is a fictional account based on real events.
Names have been altered and composite characters may have been used to create flow
in otherwise unrealistic and silly situations.
The entire project has been documented with correspondence, notes and photos of the various sticker sightings.
The Game is played by "Hiders" putting the sticker up where
"Collectors" might find them.
"Collectors" play by finding a sticker "in the wild" and collecting
it. It's a single item scavenger hunt.
It's free and only requires paying attention and recognizing it. They are all the same so
you only need one.
If you find a sticker take a picture of it and send it to me with the story of how you got
the sticker originally.
This is a noncompetitive game and has no winner or score, just the
positive feeling of participating in something fun and sharing the silly stories with
others.
Feel free to start your own game using stickers of your own creation. This could become
more popular than hacky sack.
Description of the "Bumpersnicker"
The Phil Lesh Quintet is
Phil Lesh
Warren Haynes
Jimmy Herring
John Molo
Rob Barraco
This is a limited edition single printing of 1000 high quality vinyl
collectable bumperstickers.
These stickers are only available as free handouts and found on location.
For those of you who are offended by this sticker please read the disclaimer.
This is not an Anti Bobby statement,
it's a private joke between friends that has been revealed to the public.
PLQ is a reference to the Phil Lesh Quintet, a band that only exists in the mind of
certain online fanatics that frequent the Philzone.com.
The name of Phil's band is Phil & Friends, they have a contract with Sony, Bobby is a
member of Ratdog.
This attempt at humor only proves how poor my sense of humor and judgement really are.
If you are still offended please leave the site now, as it goes downhill from here.
The PLQ sticker was only 1 of 3 sticker ideas that were considered and the only one that gained any notoriety.
The "Ratdog, Who Needs Phil Anyway" stickers were canceled,
due to lack of interest.
The fall tour sticker idea "The Other Ones, Who Needs Vince Anyway" was
abandoned, due to it's lack of humor.
Currently being test marketed are the new summer 2003 edition "The Dead, Who Needs
Jerry Anyway" sticker.
;)
The PLQ Bumpersnicker is the end product of a mental process which began
on the road following Phil Lesh and Friends Summer tour in 2002.
It is a warped example of what can happen when tour buddies, list members and online
archivists gather at shows and meet up face to face. There is no underestimating the
excitement and pleasure of meeting someone you have known online for years and getting to
shake hands and hang out with no typing involved. This is one of the main reasons I still
travel to shows for the camaraderie of the road and spending time with others that enjoy
the festivities surrounding the shows. This is the timeline of the Bumpersnicker.
Jones Beach 7/14/02 I'm with my tour buddy Ben, who constantly
baits me with his good natured proBobby lobbying, he also uses Phish in the same way, so
I'm used to it. It's part of the good natured ballbusting that happens between friends,
like local sports rivalries. I playing my role as Devil's advocate, extole the virtues of
Phil. This is an ongoing thread that started many years ago and has never ceased to amuse
us.
During the 1st Phil set Ben keeps commenting about how positivly wonderful it'll be if
Bobby comes out to play with the Quintet. I just smile enjoying the great day on Long
Island and finish off a snack I got in the lot. The band is rocking, it's a beautiful day,
I'm feeling fine and Warren goes into a killer Lovelight that is just begging for a
crossover with Bob, but nada. The whole time Ben is asking "Where's Bobby", Ben
really hates Phil's singing and figures if Bob is on stage Phil will sing less. The set
ends and Ben is starting to feel funny from something he ate in the lot. I go out in
search of others and meet up with a bunch of people from my list, while Ben enjoys the
amazing sunset.
Chris & eD come up to the seats and we find Ben in a semiverbal state and wake him
with an introduction to grunk. The grunksters leave and the 2nd set progresses, Ben is in
the row in front of me now and deeply enjoying his 1st show at Jones Beach. Phil rumbles
into a ferocious Other One and as Phil steps to the mic to sing the 1st verse I lean
forward and in Ben's ear say "Who needs Bobby anyway?". I figure this will
rouse him into some witty comeback and act as a tether to the reality of the show. He
never moved or replied and I went back to enjoying the show, not knowing if he even heard
me.
Camden 7/20/02 After staying over at Ben's house we hit the lot and find many list members hanging in the lot in what has become a ritual at some of these venues. I was lucky to spend the day with John V. rabid Bob fan, Vince supporter and active lobbyist for 1992. During the 1st Phil set I'm hanging with many people from the list and meet Dave H. We end up hanging with John on the lawn Bob comes out and John is psyched. It was good but the Quintet was now more of a backup band for Bob and not a cohesive jamming unit. John mentioned something about how great it would be if Bobby stayed on for the whole show. I replied, remembering the Other One from Jones Beach, and said "who needs Bobby anyway". John turned to me and said "that's sacrilege" and I said "no, it's a bumpersticker". He came back with "Bobby fans are people too" as another potential bumpersticker idea. We smiled at each other went back to enjoying the set and I wandered off into the dancing masses on the lawn, thinking "that's not sacrilege it's a bumpersticker" would make a nice story for the list when I returned home from tour.
Merriweather 7/21/02 A spontaneous final night of a nice minitour
that should have ended in Camden. I got to meet lots of people from the list and
even grabbed some photos. On the way in I see a familiar shirt and introduce myself to
"Don Gregory", who really turns out to be pb. We chat and I end up meeting John
again and others including Dave H. who seems to be everywhere. We hang on the lawn and
talk for most of the show and I finally get to my seat with 15 minutes left to the show.
I had started working up "the bumpersticker story" to the different people
hanging on the lawn. The limited test market at the show seemed to like the "sticker
story" so I decided to post it when I got home.
After returning from the shows I write my typical rambling difficult-to-comprehend post to the list describing the fun I had and people I met. The talk on the list is all about the upcoming Red Rocks Phil shows and the large number of East Coast list members making the journey for the final Phil Lesh & Friends There and Back Again Tour on Labor Day weekend. Dave H. posts something about the shows to the list in late July mentioning the sticker idea and I start getting email about "my stickers".
I decide to go for the sticker as a unique talisman/souvenir from the
"Final Phil & Friends shows" and did some research on getting them done so I
could have them to hand out to the list members at Red Rocks. I figure I could use them as
my "hobby" business card and they would be gone quickly.
Once I committed to the idea of paying to have the stickers printed, I sat back and
thought about the concept behind a sticker and what the public might think when reading
this on the back of a VW microbus. I wanted it to be easy to recognize from a
distance, yet giving no valid reason for probable cause or copyright infringement. I
remembered Phil introducing the current line up of the band, on several occaisons as
"members of the Quintet". I always liked this as a term to distinguish this line
up from the earlier prefall 2000 lineups.
It also made reference to the 5 man line up, which Bobby was not part of. It worked and
the idea was rapidly becoming tangible.
I decided due to potential copyright issues not to use the list logo on the sticker, which
originally was inside the Q.
By this time I was convinced that this project came from divine inspiration and I was just
a tool in the Great Pranksters hands.
The only downside I could foresee was the cost of the stickers coming right before the Red
Rocks shows. I wondered if people would have difficulty getting who PLQ or Bobby were. I
knew almost immediately that this had no commercial potential, like most of my ideas.
My biggest concern was the PLQ would be mistaken for PLO and people would wonder if Bobby
was Ysr Arafat's nickname.
The image I came up with was simple, a single color on white. It allowed me to get a better quality vinyl sticker for the minimum investment.
| PLQ? No copyright issues here. | "John's Line" to remove the potentially"offending" statement | So arcane it isn't "Probable Cause" |
|
||
The price quote came back for $135 for 100 stickers, I asked for larger run pricing and
ended up with 1,000 stickers for $300 delivered the week before I left for Red Rocks. I
posted to the list about my plan to get the stickers printed and it was suggested I put
one on the Ratdog tour bus while they were opening for Phil at Red Rocks. This brought up
the interesting concept of using the sticker as a prop for photos.
Labor day weekend 2002 outside Denver Co. The final Phil & Friends
shows for who knows how long, and many people from the list made the trip.
I brought 200 of the stickers and gave everyone a couple as I met them. People knew about
the stickers before I got to meet them, it was so cool.
At the shows I started putting them on the trash cans lining the stairs going up the side
of the seats, watching as many people out of breathe would look up and try and catch their
breathe and find themselves puzzled by the sticker.
I did a get a photo of eD next to one I put on the bulletin board at the top of Red Rocks,
the 1st use of the sticker as a photo prop.
After all the climbing around the theater and in the lot there was no way I was going to
attempt the bus pran, I did give many away exiting the show on the long walk down to the
lot.
Not many people got it, a couple were offended but not many (1 out of 10). I left some at
a friends house rather than flying back with them and considered the Bumpersnicker episode
successful.
Now what?
I have ~800 stickers left and they are paid for, with The Other Ones touring and Phil
& Friends no longer active they are even less understandable.
While I'm flying home from the weekend at Red Rocks I have a panic attack on the plane and
it manifests itself as a marketing problem I have to solve.
I can't see what is the problem. I'm giving them away and I'm worried that no one will
want one. I drift in and out of the adrenaline fueled state that is the result of the
panic attack and can't wait to see how the shot of eD at the top of Red Rocks with the
sticker comes out. Staring out the window, trying not to see the adrenaline gremlins I
remember a news story about a lawn gnome that got taken hostage and photographed around
the world. I'm really in an alternate reality now, the panic attack now in full control of
my mental processes. Trying not to attract attention on the flight i tried to think of
other things, I thought of that Talking Heads song about flying over the midwest and I
went into another dream sequence remembering sticking one of my old bands bumperstickers
on the Talking Heads tour bus in 1983 at the Cape Cod Coliseum. the Dancing Quads, now
that was a funny sticker. In the middle of this adrenaline inspired moment, I realize that
I have no idea what to do with the rest of the stickers. Then as some sort of political
images are on the planes movie screens I realize I must use the remaining stickers for
good and use them to start a grassroots effort to lobby Phil not to retire the Quintet, as
the rumors have said was very likely since Alpine was successful. I finally passed out
somewhere over Kansas trying to remember how that stupid Talking Heads song went.
When the various Red Rocks posts hit the lists, as the members returned home after the shows, it was a great collection of memories and stories from the shared tribal experience we had together. Most people seemed to like the stickers, and everyone had a lot of fun. I offered them to the list and started sending them out with vines and trades. It became a minor thread, but when there started to be a perceived "antiBob" subcurrent attached to the sticker, I let it drop and by October it was a forgotten thread.
I had plans to bring some to the Fall Govt Mule shows and like Red Rocks, just hand them out silently in the show and to people in line. I saw the Mule tour bus and had my photo taken next to it holding the sticker. I placed one nicely on the back above the plate and took a couple photos. I went in the show, gave some out to friends and put a couple up in the men's room. It was a good exercise in guerrilla art, I was happy. I repeated the same exercise at the State Theater in Portland, ME. noticing the original sticker was gone without a trace from the bus. I also started putting a few of them on trash cans and other previously stickered objects near the theater. I had thought about trying to get Warren to sign one but didn't have the chance. I did meet Greg Rzab at the show but had just put the last one I had in the men's room downstairs. Another successful prank and I'm having fun with this. I'm starting to make plans that include photo ops for the sticker and the concept of the website becomes a perfect medium to document the project and hopefully increase the chances of it "evolving into a potential commodity used as some sort of money equivalent".
A couple days after the Govt Mule show Ratdog was playing at the Orpheum. While I wasn't going to the show it's close enough to my office that I was able to go up during the day and get a photo of a sticker on the tour bus and equipment truck. I posted the photos to the list to give closure to the original suggestion of putting one on Bob's bus and getting a photo. Next I started planning for Fall 2002 The Other Ones tour would bring many list members together at various shows on the east coast, with the Philly Spectrum shows attracting more people than the Red Rocks gathering and it promised to have great potential.
I wasn't home more than 2 hours and the emails from my posted prank had filled my email box. It was nice to be able to share my little project with the list and this was one of the suggested shots. Soon I started getting wierd emails from a couple of people that didn't understand the concept behind the sticker.
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Last Updated: Monday, January 05, 2004 08:54 PM