Cacophony Society

Last updated
Cacophony Society
Predecessor Suicide Club
Formation1986
Purpose Counterculture activism, culture jamming
Headquarters San Francisco, California, United States
Official language
English
Website cacophony.org

The Cacophony Society is an American organization described on their website as "a randomly gathered network of free spirits united in the pursuit of experiences beyond the pale of mainstream society". [1] It started in 1986 by surviving members of the defunct Suicide Club of San Francisco. [2]

Contents

Cacophony has been described as an indirect culture jamming outgrowth of the Dada movement. One of its central concepts is the Trip to the Zone, or Zone Trip, inspired by the 1979 Film Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky.

According to self-designated members of the Society, "you may already be a member". [1] The anarchic nature of the Society means that membership is left open-ended and anyone may sponsor an event, though not every idea pitched garners attendance by members. Cacophony events often involve costumes and pranks in public places and sometimes going into places that are generally off-limits to the public. Cacophonists have been known to regale Christmas shoppers with improvised Christmas carols while dressed as Santa Claus. [3]

San Francisco chapter

Members of the Cacophony Society's first group also became the primary organizers of the annual Burning Man event [4] after Cacophony member Michael Mikel attended its previous incarnation as an as-yet-unnamed beach party at Baker Beach in 1988 and publicized the 1989 event in the Cacophony Society newsletter. Cacophonist Kevin Evans conceived of Zone Trip #4 in 1990 and organized it with John Law and Michael Mikel, publicizing it in the newsletter as "A Bad Day at Black Rock". Larry Harvey and Jerry James were subsequently invited to bring their effigy along after they were prevented from burning it on the beach by law enforcement. Other events created by the Society are: the Atomic Cafe, the Chinese New Year's Treasure Hunt, the picnic on the Golden Gate Bridge, driving an earthquake-damaged car on the closed Embarcadero Freeway to commemorate the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, [5] the Brides of March, Urban Iditarod, and the Sewer Walk. After a lull in activity in the San Francisco branch of the society in the late 1990s and the cessation of publication of that chapter's monthly newsletter Rough Draft listing of events for the San Francisco Cacophony Society (172 issues were produced during the years 1986 to 2001), a group of subscribers to the practically defunct society's email discussion list became active under the Cacophony Society aegis following a mock Pigeon Roast put on by a fictitious organization calling itself "Bay Area Rotisserie Friends" in San Francisco's Union Square in 2000 proposed by Drunken Consumptive Panda. This new group of Cacophonists is occasionally referred to by its members as Cacophony 2.0 and emphasizes their chaotic, ebullient spirit with the motto "If you don't live it, it won't come out your [bull]horn." The Society's newsletter was briefly revived under the name 2econd Draft.

In 2013 Kevin Evans, Carrie Galbraith, and John Law co-authored Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society, [6] a book published by Last Gasp.

In 2013 a digitized collection of The San Francisco Cacophony Society's Rough Draft newsletters was uploaded to the Internet Archive. [7]

Los Angeles chapter

The Los Angeles chapter, started in April, 1991, [8] listed events in their monthly newsletter, "Tales from the Zone". After several years of mailing out monthly newsletters, they switched to an online newsletter format. The events produced by the Los Angeles branch often pushed the boundaries of pranksterism with several historical events, including "Cement Cuddlers," an event where they filled a dozen teddy bears with cement and put them on toy store shelves, complete with bar-coded labels; [9] "Pet Cemetery Bingo"; "The Crucifixion of the Easter Bunny"; and "Klowns against Commerce," which tested the limits to which a clown could abuse businessmen in downtown Los Angeles before being assaulted or arrested.

The Los Angeles group splintered in late 2000 when longtime leader Reverend Al pranked the society itself and declared a "bold new direction" for the branch and allegedly joined an Orthodox Christian community out of guilt over the deaths of two young Cacophonists who reportedly died in a drunken post-event car accident. However, one of the men eventually turned out to be completely fictitious, and the other, Peter "Mr. Outer Space" Geiberger, was discovered some months later, alive and well and quite amused at tumult resulting from his 'death'. On September 13, 2006, Geiberger died, which proved somewhat anticlimactic in light of the elaborate mourning of his initial "passing." In the spring of 2001, Al Ridenour stepped down as leader of the chapter. [9]

In 2005 Reverend Al resurfaced as Dr. A.P. Ridenour, leader of a safety consciousness organization, The Art of Bleeding, along with several members of the Orthodox faction of Los Angeles Cacophony.

In 2008, The Los Angeles Cacophony Society was revived by San Francisco Cacophonist Heathervescent and Rev. Borfo with Michael Mikel's Blessing. These events included Cacophony classics like the Brides of March and SantaCon as well as new events: Xmas in July, The Caveman Picnic, the LA Marathon Zombie Stop, and zone trips to San Pedro's Sunken City, LAX-T, Salvation Mountain and beyond.

Seattle chapter

In December 1993, the Seattle Chapter held a protest event called "Uncan the Cranberries" at a shopping mall, where Cacophony members asked the public to "save the free-range cranberry". Another Cacophony member asked the "adult children of parents" to avoid "dysfunctionality and substance abuse" by staying home and avoiding family gatherings. [10]

Portland chapter

By the mid-90s, Cacophony had spread to Portland, Oregon. [11] In 1996, Portland Cacophony hosted the infamous first Naughty Santa rampage to take place outside of San Francisco. [12] The arrival of the planeload of Santas was met by Portland's police in riot gear, as someone in the SFPD had sent word ahead. [12] Swift action by Santa Melmoth, inviting the police along for the fun, kept confrontations to a minimum. The weekend resulted in only one arrest - involving a gift wrapped in a Playboy centerfold given to someone without checking the recipient's ID to make sure he was over 18. [12]

For several years Portland Caco took responsibility for the Disgruntled Postal Workers - a group of surly, heavily armed people in postal uniforms who, when they felt like it, delivered newspapers and other forms of "mail" at the Burning Man annual festival, until the Burning Man organizers outlawed their guns (which, reportedly,[ citation needed ] made some of them even more disgruntled). A kinder - gentler BRCPO (Black Rock City Post Office) which sends US postal mail from the Burning Man festival (with their own BRCPO postmark by special arrangement from the US Postmaster), [13] is still run by PDX Cacophony associates.[ citation needed ]

Other favorite events include; Stripper Bingo, Goodwill Hunting, Brides of March, Rest Stop at the Shamrock Run, Mondo Croquet, the Nuclear Family Picnic, the Ice Cream Anti-Social, Kindergarten Art in the Pearl, the Great Pumpkin Shoot, Spam Poetry Readings, Mutant Toy Workshops and SantaCon events throughout the year.

Costumed bar crawl events, notably Plunderathon, have been run with PDX Cacophony member support in association with Drunken Rampage, The Alter-Egos Society, and other groups.

Many individual members quietly conduct their own small D.I.Y. splinter missions, culture jams, zone trips, happenings, reverse shopping and "art projects" that do not require mass group participation or attract widespread attention.

Possibly the most widely known Cacophony member is novelist Chuck Palahniuk, [4] who has mentioned his experiences with the Society in his writings, notably the book Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon . [14] He used the Cacophony Society as the basis for the fictional organization Project Mayhem in his novel Fight Club . [15] [11] Palahniuk himself was pranked by a gang of Cacophonist waiters at one of his book readings in San Francisco. [16]

Other chapters

Even as "official" Cacophony activity was dying down in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Caco chapters continued to spring up in other US cities and other countries. Cacophony chapters are or have been active in about two dozen American cities and in at least a half dozen other countries. In 2003 through 2006 and in 2008, "santarctica" was held at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. [17] [18]

Other events, affiliations

Many activities have been inspired by Cacophony and vice versa. Although in San Francisco the 'official' Cacophony label is presently not used often, Zombie attacks, Pee-wee Herman day (commemorating Paul Reubens' arrest in a pornographic theater) and other comedic individuals are alive and well. The Santa rampages, which many believe have devolved into simple pub crawls, have been largely disassociated from Cacophony. Periodically, clowns, bunnies, zombies, whores, and others have staged anti-Santa activities, to shake things up (sometimes called counter-culture jamming). Another example of counter-culture-jamming was Smiley Man, a neon prank installed secretly on the Man at Burning Man 1996, the last year that Cacophony founder John Law was Director of Operations at Burning Man before control of the festival was taken over by a new corporation headed by one of the other founders, Larry Harvey. John Law had been responsible for the original neon on the Man, six years earlier.

Flash mob activities share some ideas with Cacophony, as well as groups like Improv Everywhere. The Society also has links to the Church of the SubGenius and the annual Saint Stupid's Day Parade held on April 1 in San Francisco, sponsored by Bishop Joey (AKA Ed Holmes) and to the Billboard Liberation Front a group of artist/pranksters responsible for many infamous billboard alterations. Urban explorers also have taken some inspiration from early Cacophony events such as the Sewer Walks. [19]


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Palahniuk</span> American novelist (born 1962)

Charles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk is an American novelist who describes his work as transgressional fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two adult coloring books, as well as several short stories. His first published novel was Fight Club, which was adapted into a film of the same title.

The Merry Pranksters were followers of American author Ken Kesey. Kesey and the Merry Pranksters lived communally at Kesey's homes in California and Oregon, and are noted for the sociological significance of a lengthy road trip they took in the summer of 1964, traveling across the United States in a psychedelic painted school bus called Furthur, organizing parties, and giving out LSD. During this time they met many of the guiding lights of the 1960s cultural movement and presaged what are commonly thought of as hippies with odd behavior, tie-dyed and red, white, and blue clothing, and renunciation of normal society, which they dubbed The Establishment. Tom Wolfe chronicled their early escapades in his 1968 book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and documents a 1966 trip on Furthur from Mexico through Houston, stopping to visit Kesey's friend the novelist Larry McMurtry. Kesey was in flight from a drug charge at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SantaCon</span> Annual pub crawl

SantaCon is an annual pub crawl in which people dressed in Santa Claus costumes or as other Christmas characters parade in hundreds of cities around the world. The event has sometimes been characterized by drunken behavior, sparking community resistance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Survival Research Laboratories</span> Machine performance art group

Survival Research Laboratories (SRL) is an American performance art group that pioneered the genre of large-scale machine performance. Founded in 1978 by Mark Pauline in San Francisco, the group is known in particular for their performances where custom-built machines, often robotic, compete to destroy each other. The performances, described by one critic as "noisy, violent and destructive", are noted for the visual and aural cacophony created by the often dangerous interactions of the machinery. SRL's work is also related to process art and generative art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Harvey</span> American artist, co-founder of Burning Man (1948–2018)

Larry Harvey was an American artist, philanthropist and activist. He was the main co-founder of the Burning Man event, along with his friend Jerry James.

The Suicide Club was a secret society in San Francisco, which lasted from 1977–82. It is credited as the first modern extreme urban exploration society, and also known for anarchic group pranks. Despite its name, the club was not actually about suicide. Rather the club focused on people facing their fears and engaging in daring experiences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redding Regional Airport</span> Municipal airport serving the city of Redding in Shasta County, California, United States

Redding Regional Airport, formerly Redding Municipal Airport, is 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Redding in Shasta County, California, United States. It is one of two airports in Redding, along with Benton Airpark. In addition to general aviation, the airport has scheduled passenger flights nonstop to and from Burbank (BUR) on Avelo Airlines Boeing 737s, Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO) on United Express Canadair CRJ200, CRJ700 and Embraer 175 regional jets, and Alaska Airlines Embraer 175 service to Seattle (SEA).

Ken Babbs is a famous Merry Prankster who became one of the psychedelic leaders of the 1960s. He along with best friend and Prankster leader, Ken Kesey, wrote the book Last Go Round. Babbs is best known for his participation in the Acid Tests and on the bus Furthur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Tuck</span> American political consultant and prankster (1924–2018)

Richard Gregory Tuck was an American political consultant, campaign strategist, advance man, and political prankster.

The Brides of March is an annual event that takes place in San Francisco, California, US and other cities around March 15. Started by the Cacophony Society, the event's name is a pun on the term Ides of March, and is a parody of weddings in western culture. The event, which began in 1999, is part pub crawl and part street theater. while wearing a thrift store wedding dress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acid Tests</span> LSD experiments/parties in the 1960s

The Acid Tests were a series of parties held by author Ken Kesey primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area during the mid-1960s, centered on the use of and advocacy for the psychedelic drug LSD, commonly known as "acid". LSD was not made illegal in California until October 6, 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Law (artist)</span> American artist and cultural figure; co-founder of Burning Man

John Law is an American artist, culture-jammer, and neon sign technician. He was a primary member of the Cacophony Society and a member of the Suicide Club. He is also a co-founder of Burning Man which evolved out of the spirit of the Cacophony Society when a precursor solstice party was banned from San Francisco's Baker Beach and merged with another Cacophony event on the Black Rock desert in Nevada. Originally from Michigan, Law has lived in San Francisco, California since 1976, and has maintained the signage and clock face of the Tribune Tower in Oakland, where he also has an office, since 1996.

The California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc. (CRFG) is a non-profit organization of rare exotic fruit enthusiasts, hobbyists and amateur horticulturists based in California. The CRFG, founded in 1968, promotes rare fruits in the Southern California marketplace, according to a 1997 article in the Seasonal Chef online newsletter. As of 2008 the CRFG has 3,000 members in approximately 35 countries with 20 Chapters in Western US.

<i>Fight Club</i> (novel) 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk

Fight Club is a 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk. It follows the experiences of an unnamed protagonist struggling with insomnia. The protagonist finds relief by impersonating a seriously ill person in several support groups, after his doctor remarks that insomnia is not "real suffering" and that he should find out what it is really like to suffer. The protagonist then meets a mysterious man named Tyler Durden and establishes an underground fighting club as radical psychotherapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laughing Squid</span> Blog and web hosting company

Laughing Squid is a blog featuring art, culture, and technology, as well as a web hosting company based out of New York City, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Beale (cultural curator)</span> American blogger

Scott Beale is a New York City based cultural curator, photographer, documentarian and social media expert who founded Laughing Squid, a blog about art, culture and technology and a web hosting company.

The Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society is a Unitarian Universalist church in Granada Hills, Los Angeles, California; holding services the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month at 17622 Chatsworth St.

Desert Siteworks was an event held on the Black Rock Desert for three years (1992-1994). Participants built art and participated in self-directed performances.

<i>Going Furthur</i> 2016 documentary film

Going Furthur is an American-Canadian documentary film about taking Ken Kesey's bus Furthur back on the road in 2014 for a 75-day trip covering 15,000 miles, along with a group of new Merry Pranksters.

Paragon Restaurant & Bar, or simply Paragon, was a restaurant with two locations in the United States. The San Francisco restaurant closed in 2017, and the Portland, Oregon location closed in 2018. The restaurants were owned by Moana Restaurant Group.

References

  1. 1 2 "You may already be a member!". The Cacophony Society. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  2. ↑ Dunham, Elisabeth (December 23, 1993). "Public pranksters enjoy tormenting stuffed shirts". McCook Daily Gazette. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  3. ↑ "'Santarchy' Serves Up Holiday Cheer With a Twist". The Washington Post . December 9, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Cacophony Society Prankster Group Gets New Exhibit and Documentary". LA Weekly . February 2, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  5. ↑ Caen, Herb (1990-11-03). "Herb Caen". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 26. Retrieved 2018-10-23– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  6. ↑ "Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society". Last Gasp. Archived from the original on 2013-05-08.
  7. ↑ "Internet Archive Now Home to San Francisco Cacophony Society 'Rough Draft' Newsletters (1986-2001)". Laughing Squid. May 16, 2013.
  8. ↑ Ehrman, Mark (1991-12-22). "CLIQUES". Los Angeles Times . p. 14. Retrieved 2018-10-13– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  9. 1 2 MacGregor, Hilary E. (2002-02-07). " "A Punch Line and an Exit; With its leader's departure, the prank-pulling L.A. Cacophony Society is at a crossroads". Los Angeles Times . p. E.1, E.3. Retrieved 2018-10-13– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  10. ↑ Dunham, Elizabeth (1993-12-23). "Public Pranksters Delight in Tormenting Stuffed Shirts". Ukiah Daily Journal. Associated Press. p. 12. Retrieved 2018-10-18– via Newspapers.com. Lock-green.svg
  11. 1 2 Gagliano, Rico (2015-05-29). "Chuck Palahniuk Gives a Lesson on Prank-ology" . Retrieved 2018-10-12. Chuck Palahniuk: A lot of "Fight Club," especially the second part of the book, was based on the Cacophony Society, which was a group of people based in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Los Angeles, who organized enormous pranks and spectacles — to entertain themselves and to kind of shock the world around them.
  12. 1 2 3 "Big Red's In Town Again"
  13. ↑ Kane, Jenny (2016-09-03). "Return to sender: Burning Man won't accept mail anymore". Reno Gazette Journal . Reno, Nevada.
  14. ↑ Silverman, Julia (August 22, 2003). "Cult author pens twisted Valentine to hometown". Daily News. Retrieved August 22, 2010.
  15. ↑ Wazna-Blank, Stevanie (2013-09-20). "What Inspired Fight Club, Santacon, and Burning Man?". San Francisco Magazine .
  16. ↑ Garchik, Leah. "Getting the vapors over literature." San Francisco Chronicle, September 12, 2003.
  17. ↑ "Santarctica 2006". santarchy.com. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  18. ↑ sandwichgirl. "santarctica 2006". LiveJournal . Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  19. ↑ Kamiya, Gary (February 2016). "The Unkillable Arts Underground". San Francisco Magazine . Retrieved 2018-10-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.