Stilldream Festival 2012 – “A Dream You Dream Together is Reality”

It’s been a busy-as-a-bee Autumn for me, and as the season draws to a close, I’d like to flash back to the Autumnal Equinox. I spent it at Stilldream Festival 2012, a festival in its 12th year that was started in the barn of DJ G.A.M.M.A aka Paul Plescovbarn. This year, my friend Dingles and I drove from Arcata through breathtaking mountains known as the Trinity Alps, en route to the riverfront site in Belden. As we entered, we were given bracelets that quoted John Lennon– “A dream you dream alone is only a dream, A dream you dream together is reality.” What a nice thing to read on your wrist all weekend!

Dingles and I set up a spot on the beach everyday- it was called Shredder Island. An official framed sign welcomed all to our interactive party oasis. Dingles had the Treasure Chest O’Beers- a cooler, and participants would be blind-folded, spun around, and stick their hand in so they could pull out a mystery beer amidst a wide variety. Sometimes you might get a Dr.Smart, aka cheapie-brand Dr.Pepper, and with that you had a choice- either go again or take some Jim Beam. (I brought 2 handles of Jim Beam to be enjoyed at the debut of Shredder Island).

I provided X-rated tarot card reading; positive affirmations. If you happen to catch me doing them sometime, get one. That is all I will say about it. We were not the only ones who perkalated the party creativity- the festival had set up a floating dancefloor in the middle of the river, AND someone had put a surprise bunch of beers inside of it, accessible by opening this little storage door. AWESOME. The beach stage was built into a giant Egyptian pharaoh, and most DJ’s performed up high, over the crowd. An exception to this was DATGirl– she was right down performing on the dancefloor. This was the first time I saw DATGirl perform, and really- her recordings do not do her justice. This high-energy chick throws it down- glitch hip-hoppy stuff on hardware. The best part is, she raps the whole time, and she raps well. She sings into a microphone attached to her so her hands are free to DJ, and on top of that, she’s bouncing around engaging with the crowd more than almost any other DJ I’ve seen. Talk about a multi-tasker…

The lineup, as with previous years, hosts a ton of well-known DJ’s that play the West Coast festival circuit, as well as artists who rock the local scenes in Northern California. Some DJ’s I had never seen before that I especially enjoyed were Carly D (out of Oakland), Nick Nyquil (Sacramento), and Willy Electronarcosis. I also stumbled upon Sandwich, and this chick was my favorite. I hope to see more of this artist- she really knows how to make the booty shake! Heavyweight Dub Champion also impressed me with their live violinist- I effin’ love the violin and it was as though that beautiful lady on stage harnessed the joy and sadness of the entire world in that bow of hers. So, Stilldream, thank you for jumpstarting my wonderful Autumn! Catch you next year!