Michael Garfield's Love Without End Tour Newsletter: My First Painted Skateboard, Festival Photos, and What Inspires Me

21 June 2012

My First Painted Skateboard, Festival Photos, and What Inspires Me

"The truth, from my perspective, is that the world, indeed, is ending – and is also being reborn.  It's been doing that all day, every day, forever.  Each time we exhale, the world ends; when we inhale, there can be, if we allow it, rebirth and spiritual renewal.  It all transpires inside of us.  In our consciousness, in our hearts.  All the time."

So!  Craziest summer of our lives so far?  I'm only twenty-eight but this year's cross between the energies of 1929 and 1969 has me singing the changes; regardless of what futures you imagine are on their way, everyone I talk to is feeling a massive shift in our understanding of social norms, relationships, and personal beliefs at the same time that rapid technological changes are reshaping our very definition of "human."  What a perfect time to be on tour working to inspire everyone to ground themselves in loving participation through these transformations!

On that note, my intense schedule has kept me from posting all of the new art and music as quickly as I'd like, but here are my photographs from Wakarusa, Desert Rocks, and Impulse Festivals over the last few weeks.  I'll continue to add to this album as the summer continues – for now this is the best way to get behind my eyes and see festival season as I do (minus the rain- and dust-storms).  Enjoy!



Oh, and I painted a skateboard!  Picked up a couple of blank decks in Wichita during my move to Austin last fall, and this is the first of them – dedicated to my awesome skateboarding brother John Garfield, who wows all with his legendary skillz.  Click the pictures for a closer view:

 


Yes, it's for sale.  I'm not sure for how much but if you want it, drop me a line.  This is a concept piece, not meant for skating – but the hope is that I can show this to a skateboard company and convince them to collaborate on something.  (Know anybody who'd be into that?)

On Creativity, Evolution, & Inspiration at SXSW:
Riffing at the New Basics Poetry Series

Watch on Youtube

For anyone who wonders what inspires me – or wants to see me at my jazziest, my friends at New Basics Poetry in Austin set up this cool speaking opportunity on their bus (aka guerrilla venue) downtown during South By Southwest.  I winged this forty-five minute talk about creativity, evolution, aliens – oh yeah, and my work – with musical accompaniment by my favorite cyberguitar recordings.  It's a DIY multimedia philosophy performance, as lively and spark-throwing as I could make it.

Upcoming Gigs

I'll be playing cyberacoustic guitar improvisations (folktronic prayerformances honoring the sacredness of each here and now) as well as making live art at all of these amazing events this summer.  These are just the festivals, though – I have more dates all over the country on my full calendar, here on facebook and here on my website.  Hope to see you out there!