Inspirational Materials From my Main Man J. T. Gatto

Although the majority of my youth was misappropriated by the education establishment, I somehow managed to survive the attendant Thoughtocaust.
I was robbed of my time, but not my mind.
Millions of others weren't so lucky.

No child deserves such a fate, and via Humanity I intend to build the strongest possible case against Centralized education systems and the dysfunctional lives/societies they so often engender.

I highly recommend reading the entire article below and all related materials.
And wish I'd discovered them earlier...

http://www.thesunmagazine.org/archives/937

Met A Very Interesting Fellow Recently...

An older, formerly homeless dude who's been offering some great advice and insights for the Decentralized Community project. He's an intelligent, funny and creative guy, with some very novel ideas for helping people out.. and he even found me a boombox!

Like most of the homeless/formerly homeless people I've spoken with, he's not concerned with material wealth, his primary desire being to give of himself and help others who are struggling with homelessness and addiction...

I have a strong feeling he's going to be an instrumental member of the Decentralized Community.

People who've been to hell and back, lost everything and stared down death generally seem to have also dispensed with the pretensions and artificiality which so pervade mainstream society. They are far more authentic, interesting, loyal and open than those one would normally brush elbows with...

These people are the genuine article and spending some time with them can be a very refreshing and rewarding experience...
I wholeheartedly recommend it.

The Fourth Ever Decentralized Dance Party / Vancouver Santacon 2009

In its glorious, unabridged entirety!

Just Scored Sixteen Awesome Stereos!

Oh yeah!

We Flooded It And There's Yoghurt Everywhere!

At long last, we've received clearance to release the teaser!
DVD now available to discerning viewers worldwide.

This Is A Charity Drive For Figgy Puddings!

The New West News Leader Reports:

Parade crashers stage Santa 'dance party' on Columbia Street

"Everybody was surprised," said Melanie Vogel, executive director of Hyack Festival Association, which organized the parade.

The mob of Santa-clad revellers were making lots of noise, many carrying "boom box" stereos. The group was dancing and cheering as they joined the parade—an unofficial entry.

"It was not organized by Hyack at all," said Vogel, adding that most people in the crowd thought it was all quite funny and entertaining.

The group had a portable trampoline, and a few had sleds that they carried along.

Most wore Santa robes and hats—some quite elaborate, while others looked cobbled together. A few others wore risqué Ms. Claus outfits.

The group danced its way with the parade down towards New Westminster SkyTrain Station, at the corner of Eighth and Columbia, where they lingered and continued their "dance party."

The crowd seemed to enjoy the spectacle, Vogel said.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/greater_vancouver/newwestminsternewsleader/news/78695742.html

The Awesomeness That Is "The Found Footage Festival" Premiered In Vancouver Last Evening

“A one-of-a-kind event that showcases footage from videos that were found at garage sales and thrift stores and in warehouses and dumpsters across the country.”

And a one Gary Lachance was lucky enough to snag the final ticket to the sold out show...
Which was truly amazing, and had the entire audience laughing and interacting for two fun-filled hours. Can't recommend her enough.. definitely check out their site for upcoming tour dates, tons of hilarious clips and the opportunity to purchase a wide array of life-affirming merchandise!

Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher are the two Crap Connoisseurs behind this venture and it was quite exciting to have them drop by my place after the show in order to check out my own sprawling VHS collection...

For you see, I too am a Compulsive Crap VHS Collector, and have amassed about 800 of them over the past decade.

At first I was obsessed with them for no good reason, just enjoyed casually collecting and coercing random friends into watching "Getting The Love You Want", "Emotional Eating" "Denise Austin's Pregnancy Plus Workout" and other such treasures.

But deep down I knew that somewhere along the line these videos would reveal a Far Greater Potential... And one momentous day that Greater Truth struck me.

The mountain of schlock which had grown to dominate my apartment and so perturb my (ex) girlfriend did indeed serve a divine destiny. For, unbeknownst to me, the tapes were to serve as essential building blocks for a film I'd begun to develop several years earlier (and am only now about to begin sharing with the public)- Humanity!

But yes, Joe, Nick and I had a great time rummaging through and discussing my collection, including such gems as "The Larger Woman's Workout", “How To Raise A Street Smart Kid”, “The Art Of Successful Breastfeeding” and "How To Win At Parenting (without beating your kids)". Encountering fellow humans who appreciate such beauties is extremely rare and it was a lot of fun to nerd out with them. Definitely looking forward to trading some footage and whatever else the future may hold for our overlapping bad tastes...

Check ‘em out at http://www.foundfootagefest.com

Or enjoy one of their finest (and a few photos of my collection (the shelved ones are two deep)) below:

Another Application Of Decentralization...

In recent years, the concepts of decentralization and open-source and their yet-unrealized potentials have really captured my imagination. I believe wholeheartedly that they alone hold the keys to a positive future for Humanity.
As such, last Fall I began developing another decentralized project, called the Decentralized Community.
And although I unfortunately had to put her on hold for awhile, I'm pleased to report that I'm now able to spare a little bit of time, and will be devoting my Sundays to focusing on the Decentralized Community and Humanity projects...
If you'd like to provide feedback or help out, please do.

www.decentralizedcommunity.org

The Fourth Ever Decentralized Dance Party / Vancouver Santacon 2009 Was A Success!

Great memories and great madness as we teamed up with with 500 other Jolly Old Souls, lugging 30 synchronized boomboxes, a trampoline and several toboggans in a ridiculous adventure across the GVRD.
Highlights included Brentwood Mall Crawl, Santa's Private Skytrain, the unauthorized crashing of the New Westminster Santa Claus Parade and Figgy Puddings!
(all photos c/o Jenn Summers and Laurent Piché)

Youtube.com/garylachance Is Three Years Old Today,

And though she was barely utilized initially, recent efforts to post more frequently have garnered some favorable results...
Now receiving around 1,500 hits per day and even received the coveted "most-viewed" medallion recently.

Been really getting into the Youtube "Insight" feature lately too.. it's pretty neat and it can be pretty fun tracking your discoveries, hotspots, communities, etc. and applying this information to future traffic shaping...
A funny inadvertent example being this old video, which has received 10,000 "related" hits only by virtue of having a "prosthetic" tag... meaning a bunch of random people researching prosthetic limbs have been hoodwinked into watching my ridiculousness.. :)
And 33% of the viewers have inexplicably been from Austria...
Your guess is as good as mine!

And Something A Little Historic...

Gonzo Gone Bananas!

Now behold the true power of the Party Revolution!

The Third Ever Decentralized Dance Party

Looked a little something like this...

Who's Gonna Fuckin' Record This?!?

I really love this style of filmmaking; just surrounding yourself with maniacs and rushing headlong into the wildest situations imaginable; dragging along a handycam and allowing the storyline to create itself as the night unfolds...
There are no lights, a boombox delivers your soundtrack, all dialogue is improvised and wardrobe consists of whatever hilarious garb was scavenged from the latest garage sales.

Raw and profane, most would surely dismiss this as artless; mere moronic misadventuring.
But I've long held that Partying is a medium/discipline with the potential for elevation to High Art.
And that my circle of friends possess unparalleled aptitude.
And that it must be documented at all costs.
In True Gonzo Style!

So,

After BC Arts Council’s recent rejection of my third major grant application for my Humanity project, it’s time for a GRANT RANT!

Although I don't believe our government should be involved in financing the arts, someone receives these grants every year, so I gave it my best shot...

But as a libertarian-minded individual, I strongly disagree with the notion that maintaining a vibrant and relevant Art scene requires money to be taken from certain individuals, run through a bureaucracy, and then portioned out to the few deemed worthy.

Running counter to mainstream Canadian ideology, I believe that inspiration (individualism), rather than coercion (statism), should guide the flow of resources and support for any communal undertaking, be it commercial, social, or Artistic.

For, where in history flourished the freshest, most dynamic Art scenes?

And were they a product of government subsidies, supporting those who wrote grant applications that most impressed the presiding Arts hierarchy?

Or borne of a hungry and competitive creative free-for-all that rewarded those creating the most compelling works?

What force drove the Renaissance?

Modernism?

Surrealism?

Punk Rock?

Hip Hop?

Not overly bitter here, just disappointed that after receiving the Arts Council’s feedback three times and attempting to re-tailor subsequent applications to meet their criteria that the project which so excites me still fails to inspire them.

But!

Maybe it’s for the best.

Cause good Art shouldn’t come easy.

And a good Artist no stranger to suffering and sacrifice.

For my part, for the past five years I've sunk thousands of dollars and thousands of hours into Humanity’s development. Financing this has required me to live in a basement, sleep in a tent, eat low-grade food and sacrifice countless other opportunities.

And I’ve loved every minute of it.

Grants are not required to create Art.

What's required are creativity and determination.

If you haven't got those, you're a hobbyist, not an Artist.

Accordingly, I'm going to bring this film to life, if it's the last thing I do.

Above all else, it is why I was put here.

And so, instead of simply whining away on my blog about the current state of affairs, I’ve devised A New And Better Way.

And never again will I apply for a grant to create this film.

Instead, I’m going to post my grant application online, making it available for feedback and asking those who believe in the project to please contribute whatever they can (which could be significantly more if everyone wasn’t overworked+overtaxed in order to sustain Canada’s myriad bureaucracies)...

Approximately $30,000 will be required in order to complete Humanity.

Not an astronomical sum, but it far exceeds my annual income.

I have no idea how many people can be inspired to help me create this film, but the response so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

And somehow, I'm going to make this happen.

If you, gentle reader, would like to help out, that would be righteous.

I’m hoping to have the preliminary website launched very soon.

Love,

Gary Lachance

Via Humanity my intention is to creatively proffer A New And Better Way for human beings to coexist and manage their affairs...

>>Update August 2010

Just discovered Kickstarter.com, a website that has put this financing formula into practice- Awesome!

This is certainly THE FUTURE of creative financing models and once I have a moment, my projects will be there!!!

One Of The Best Metal Bands That Ever Existed

Speaking Of Those Who Are Mad To Live...

Likely The Best Booty Bass Video Ever

Currently Thrilling To Mr. Kerouac's 'On The Road'

And encountered a passage which really resonated:

"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."

Yes!

Thirty Two Synchronized Boomboxes And Over 150 Party People Made DDP #2 A Roaring Success!

Shut down prematurely by Vancouver's Finest after a noise complaint,
but still the best Decentralized Dance Party yet!
The Revolution Continues!

Thirty Two Synchronized Boomboxes And Over 150 Party People Made DDP #2 A Roaring Success!

Shut down prematurely by Vancouver's Finest after a noise complaint, but still the best Decentralized Dance Party yet!
The revolution continues!
Video soon to follow!
(All Photos c/o Photographess Extraordinaire Sarah Hamilton)

Erik Engstrom Of HORSE the band Fame Has Departed For A Second Time...

After a three day stopover which saw us viewing the remainder of the Earth Tour footage and finalizing plans for the Earth Tour DVD set.. now slated for a January 2010 release.

In several weeks time, HORSE will release their fourth album- Desperate Living.

It is an exceptional piece of work and a nice preview track is available here

After Thirteen Days Of Rehabilitation

My leg is still bum.. although it seems to be slowly healing.
Had to get an hour-long ultrasound today as the doctor was concerned about blood clot complications + stated that it will probably take six more weeks to fully heal.
:(

But this will provide plenty of time to focus on various editing projects and we've got a stereo-strapped wheelchair ready to roll for DDP#2 next weekend! Also found a sweet party spot and we're doubling the number of boomboxes to 32.. should be good times!
And in the meantime, here's part one of the Lynn Canyon footage:

First Decentralized Dance Party Video Now Online!

Our expectation was to storm Vancouver's 3rd beach with a team of boombox-armed infantrymen and women, blaring synchronized 90's Dance + Booty Bass and overwhelming what we predicted would be a 100-strong beach party in full swing.

We arrived to discover about 10 people and no hint of a party.. but once we pumped up the jams and started cutting loose, a modest crowd began to form, growing steadily as the night progressed, with all manner of passersby compelled to join us and get down.

A pretty good test run and a pretty good time!

After Nine Days Of Rehabilitation,

My leg is still bum.
Thanks to a weird accident up in Lynn Canyon.. and then biking around the city + returning to Lynn Canyon before it had a chance to fully heal. But at least some good footage and productive editing sessions came of it...
Hopefully she'll be healed enough to enjoy DDP #2 and all the other excitement we've got planned for this next month...
:)

An Epic Teaser

For the Decentralized Dance Party video.. which will be released forthwith!
Conceived and birthed by Mark Boucher!

Terribly sorry, but

haven't updated in awhile.. been focusing on decentralized dance party .com and creating the teaser for the new HORSE the band DVD "We Flooded It And There's Yoghurt Everywhere AKA 48 Hrs In Ukraine".

And while the HORSE teaser and DVD are completed and ready to go and we're very excited to share them, Vagrant, HORSE's new record label is of the opinion that a DVD release anywhere near the October release of HORSE's new album Desperate Living would somehow hinder CD sales or confuse/panic the maketplace.. which seems insanely illogical.

If anything, the film would be a great promotional tool.

It's all very frustrating, but that is life, and the DVD + teaser won't be getting released now for like another 4 months... oh well.

But plenty of other good things are in the works, like the First Ever Decentralized Dance Party video+teaser, which are looking great, and will surely inspire widespread exuberance, youthful and otherwise!

The First Ever Decentralized Dance Party Was A Success!

It's hard to tell, but we had 16 synchronized boomboxes blasting simultaneously!

Now working on editing the video footage and plotting Decentralized Dance Party #2

!

(photos c/o sarah hamilton)

Busy Times

Insanely busy since returning from Ontario visiting friends+family.

Finally finished editing HORSE the band's new DVD

"WE FLOODED IT AND THERE'S YOGHURT EVERYWHERE

AKA 48 HOURS IN UKRAINE"

Made some serious headway on my "Humanity" script.

And have been running all over the city excitedly preparing for the first ever Decentralized Dance Party, dropping this very evening!

HORSE in Singapore

A brief sample of an incredible show!

Campbell River Shenanigans

Delightful new footage from our Campbell River outing last weekend...

Erik Engstrom of HORSE the band fame has now departed...

Our past two weeks were productively spent, reviewing+discussing the mountains of Earth Tour footage and potential permutations.
And I'm happy to report that a concrete vision for the Earth Tour documentary has been finalized: It's going to be a frank and forthright Rock Odyssey, a raw and personal account of an endeavor that was truly revolutionary in its scope and bravery.
And on a similarly ambitious scale, the film will weigh in at 15 hours in length, dwarfing all who have come before!
Extremely excited to frontline such audacity, and will do my best to deliver progress reports which are both humorous+thrilling.
November 5th is the projected release date.

Dance Dance Revolution

These are the building blocks of a full-scale revolution in Partying.
And in several weeks time, the despotic party paradigms of yore shall crumble.
Full details of this scheme will soon be made public.
Stay tuned...
!






























Photos c/o Sarah Hamilton

Cold Chilling With E. Engstrom

So,

for the past week, Erik Engstrom of HORSE the band fame has been visiting.

And we've been hard at work, deciding how exactly to utilize the 120+ hours of footage that I filmed during their "Earth Tour 2008", an unprecedented feat of bravery which saw us circumnavigating the globe and passing thru 45 countries in 90 days: http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=297977

A suicide mission if ever there was one...

But we survived.

And you'll soon learn why HORSE the band is without peer

!