Zippy Pronoia Tour to US '94

Zen Inspired Performance Publishing


Traveling with the Zippies
©1994 by Cap'n Crunch


I first met the Zippies at the Rainbow Gathering, but had NO IDEA on what they were all about, dispite the numerious reports on the nets that described them. I had also heard on the nets that they would be at the Rainbow Gathering, but I had other things to do, mostly in part because my friend, originally from Iowa, wanted me to drive him there to get his stuff.

While in Iowa, I contacted a friend in Pennsylvania who was planning to drive out west to the Rainbow Gathering, so that was when I made the decision to go to the Wyoming Rainbow Gathering, but reports I have recieved indicated that the rainbows were down on amplified music.

I'm in the Gathering, and I ask people coming from the main camp about the rave, but nobody knows or has heard any amplified music. Hmmm! Strange... So I finally decide to trek out there and check it out myself. As I approached the parking area, I get lots of rumours from people on it's location, but I still don't hear the music. Eventually, I run into someone who's been there, and they point in the opposite direction from where I thought it was located.

I learn and we eventually decided to stay with the Turtle Soup camp, a bunch of hip folks from Michigan. On the 2nd day, I decided to take a trip on "Felix the cat" airlines, and peaked about the time a forest fire started. Talk about having a bad day....

Then, toards the end of the Gathering, I think I hear electronic music. WOW!! It sure sounded GREAT! Next thing I knew, I was sprinting madly down the hill towards the dancing area and proceeded to get really physically involved with the music. WOW!! What incredible sounds, like I've never heard before.

I see this sort of stage area set up with two speakers and a cool sound system with synthesizers, two DAT players, but no turntables. After approaching a person named Jason, who is part of the live zippy band "Universal Sound". After stashing my jacket, I head over to start dancing my ass off. WOW!! The music was totally awsome. Much higher energy content than anything I've heard from the SF crew. As I was dancing, I was making eye contact with a few other people, who also turned out to be part of the Zippy tour.

Eventually, I had to stop dancing and chill for a while, but not after I met Mark from New York, doing a magazine article, who then interviewed me about the SF rave scene and my involvement. He was most interested in talking to me, because of my older age and how happy I was while dancing.

That evening was the coldest night at the rainbow gathering, as the clouds cleared just after sunset, making for about 28 dege below freezing evening. But I was hot on the inside and freezing on the outside, and eventually made my way to a camp fire to warm up my outides.

At the camp fire, I finally meet Frazer Clark, a very interesting person (Who is as old as I was). Frazer was one of the co-founders of the London club Megatripolis, who eventually dropped from that scene to travel with the Zippies. Although he is not really affiliated with them, he is sort of a "free wheeling" type, with some great stories to tell.

When I eventually went back to dancing, very few people were there, but it just gave me more room to dance like crazy to start warming up. Yow!! It was COLD.... After that, I had to head back to the fire and warm up, even my dancing failed to warm me up this time.

Eventually, we made it to one of the camps just as the sun came up for some coffee and eventually a good meal of pancakes. Boy, was that a welcome treat!!!

My perception of the Zippies changed permanently, as I was led to believe them to be a media hyped up "money grabbing" group,. I find them to be very generous, and exactly the opposite, with very little money available, they are able to do this tour in a grand fashion, yet use very little resources, primarily getting money from donations and doing their gigs along the way, yet charging very little for their shows.

When they showed up at the Rainbow gathering, they had just completed a show in Boulder Colo. with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, and Regis McKenna.

I was told the next evening the Zippies were to do another performance. So we had planned to leave shortly afterwards. So we broke camp, loaded the car, and got ready to leave after the rave.

As I approached the parking area, I learn that the rave was cancelled because the Zippies needed the time to set up in San Francisco the following week.

Eventually my friend shows up with the car, and we leave regrettably. After staying awake with little sleep, to start on a 1000 mile trek back to California was pure insanity, but my friend took the first driving shift until even he burned out, so we were doomed to travel across the desert in the daytime (Yukk!) it sure was hot.

We eventually make it to Reno where we stayed all night at a roach ridden hotel (Yukk!! what a "fleabag"). While in Reno, we run into these high shool type dudes that harrassed us as they tried to get us to believe they were cops. We didn't follow their bluff, and they eventually went away. That evening, we catch a movie and eventually crash.

In the morning, we head out to Pyramid lake for a great swimming venture to clean up after a long trip. Finally, that evening, we cross the California border and do the final trek home, to arrive just after 3 am on Sat night. I thought about going to a rave, but decide to catch up on my raving next week.

After finally being home, I strive to catch up on my Email, and as I was reading it, I get a few negative postings on the Zippies which to me was sort of unfounded, and appears to be based on some misconceptions and mis-information about the zippies. This debate had been in-progress when I left for Iowa. I then posted some of my findings on the nets, as well as a killer report on the Rainbow Gathering. I posted it to alt.raves and alt.culture.zippies newsgroups on the internet, which generated immediate responses.

Almost everyone wanted to be a part of the Zippies and travel with them. As it turns out, the zippies have collected quite a following. Andy met me on the way through Iowa, and invited me to come along with him to the Rainbow Gathering. I'm sure glad I did, as my earlier reports have reflected the strange time I had there.

My perception of the Zippies

My perception of the Zippies is that they are a freeform group of British folks, currently touring the USA, setting up gigs, parties, and/or being featured at exising parties, bringing together the mindset of "Pronoia" or the opposite of paranoia. Pronoia is the suspicion that others are out to help you. In this way, they believe that in positive thinking, they are able to bring together some type of synergy and cooperation among people to end all the bad vibes in the world. I would tend to believe that this is actually working.

They seem to have a good understanding of techno-fun. They are also interested in inter-relational cultural ideas. Agus says "We have intellegence and technology, and plan to use it".

A few days later, I had the opportunity for the Zippies to come to my home and rap about related work they wanted me to help with, at performance to be held in the new Crash Palace. This was where this piece was written. So I brought my Mac down here to the "Palace" to participate in this performance.

In recent days, many people ask me "What is a Zippy, and how do I join them", I would say... Anyone that believes in Pronoia is and can be a zippy, and you have already joined them if you like and believe in their music which I would consider as "Acid trance" or "Techno" of the European variaty, as well as the type of music plaology, and use it very well to their advantage. For instance, they are on the Internet, and will soon have their own internet site set up. Already, they have subscribed to the SFRaves mailing list, a group of San Francisco Internet users who like to go to raves.

Angus is an organizer of the Pronoia tour and producing the Zippie events. He is also responsible for the visual and interactive media. Angus says that the SF scene is further ahead then other scenes in America. He also says the met with me to discuss some computer related work they wanted done. Angus then told me of his idea to have the Jupiter Bash party, and to responsibly hold the planned larger bash at the Grand Canyon.

At one of their parties, I recall this young person coming up to me, asking if I'm a Zippie, and I responded that I was with them in Wyoming at the Rainbow gathering, and working with them on this publishing performance. Angus says that it's inevitable that the Acid techno music will soon take hold in the SF area, and the Zippies won't be the first or the last to do it.


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The Zippy Pronoia Tour site was developed by cubensis@well.com © 1995.
Images from original 16mm film captured across America © 1995 Angus Dunwoody Dun
Extra special thanks to the gracious, skoochin' internet love-fest.