Armenian DJ Setup at Syncytium

[miko]

Sooooo -- with all of the chaos in planning and such this year Syncytium, which has been out on the Playa since 2010, is reorganizing heavily and trying some new and arbitrary things. Firstly we're building a 20,000 sq-ft wooden maze complete with swinging doors and crow's nests and other awesome tidbits.

THE OTHER thing that we're doing is, with at least two Armenian DJ/burners coming out from Detroit, is looking to get some sort of Hye Camp presence, PARTICULARLY WITH ARMENIAN DJs going out on the playa this year. Not sure what sort of sound system we're going to have but at the very least I've got 2x300w PAs that I can bring, we'll need to genny it up and the like, but, basically [b]we're looking for Armenian DJS, and other Armenians to get their HYE ON playa-style.[/b]

So who's in!? Throw your name in the hat!!

<3
Miko

[jkisha]

You do know that there are a lot of gay people at Burning Man, right?

[Eric]

JK, are you implying that there aren't any gay Armenians or stating that there are, because I honestly can't quite connect your response with a request for Armenian DJs...

[International Incident]

I've been to Armenia and I have a fantastic range of alt-country sounds - can I DJ?

I can tear it up with a mix of The Jayhawks, The Band and Emmylou Harris. I'll have the crowd shaking their cowboy boots.

And JK, I'm also confused, much like Eric.

[jkisha]

JK, are you implying that there aren't any gay Armenians or stating that there are, because I honestly can't quite connect your response with a request for Armenian DJs...

I know several gay Armenians. That being said, I know many more straight ones and they are all extremely homophobic. (I'm not sure homophobic is the right word...unless it also means gay hating fag bashers.)

So, I was just phishing, I guess.

[Eric]

JK, are you implying that there aren't any gay Armenians or stating that there are, because I honestly can't quite connect your response with a request for Armenian DJs...

I know several gay Armenians. That being said, I know many more straight ones and they are all extremely homophobic. (I'm not sure homophobic is the right word...unless it also means gay hating fag bashers.)

So, I was just phishing, I guess.

I'm not sure that the assumption that just because someone is Armenian they're more likely to be a "gay hating fag bashers" is any different than the assumption that just because someone is gay they're someone you have the right to bash. The OP said nothing about gays at all, just that (he?) wanted to have Armenian DJs in the camp.

[theCryptofishist]

So, would mentioning the genocide be invoking a turkish offshoot of godwin's law?

[jkisha]

JK, are you implying that there aren't any gay Armenians or stating that there are, because I honestly can't quite connect your response with a request for Armenian DJs...

I know several gay Armenians. That being said, I know many more straight ones and they are all extremely homophobic. (I'm not sure homophobic is the right word...unless it also means gay hating fag bashers.)

So, I was just phishing, I guess.

I'm not sure that the assumption that just because someone is Armenian they're more likely to be a "gay hating fag bashers" is any different than the assumption that just because someone is gay they're someone you have the right to bash. The OP said nothing about gays at all, just that (he?) wanted to have Armenian DJs in the camp.

Let's wait for the original poster to answer that question.

[oneeyeddick]

and here I thought ALL DJs are gay, regardless of nationality...

[jkisha]

and here I thought ALL DJs are gay, regardless of nationality...

Only the good ones.

[Bob]

Now there's tautology for you.

[jkisha]

Now there's tautology for you.

That was funny!

[miko]

You do know that there are a lot of gay people at Burning Man, right?

Wow -- that's an unwelcome bit of racism there. Thanks, I guess? Probably not so much room for that on eplaya. Actually the first time in my 28 years that I've ever been discriminated against based on my ethnicity, and it comes on eplaya of all places. Maybe consider filtration of stereotypes prior to response in the future...

I've been to Armenia and I have a fantastic range of alt-country sounds - can I DJ?

Melanie -- I'd be totally open to that!! We're really just putting feelers out there right now. The idea really just came from the fact that everything seems to have collapsed in some massive way organizationally this year, and it seems like a decent time to throw artistic convention to the wind and do something just for the shit of it. Are you open-camping or with a theme camp?

The OP said nothing about gays at all, just that (he?) wanted to have Armenian DJs in the camp.

Eric -- thanks for "keeping it real", as the kids say

[jkisha]

I wasn't discriminating, stereotyping maybe. But mostly Just checking to see if the stereotype was true or not.

[miko]

Wait, you're going to (or have been to) Burning Man? You know there are loving and open-minded people there who don't propagate ridiculous stereotypes and claim that they're just testing to see whether they hold up, right?

Stereotyping, discrimination, whatever you want to call it -- it's racism.

[oneeyeddick]

Fags come in all colors nowadays, no need to be racist about it!

[jkisha]

Stereotypes are stereotypicle for a reason.

[lemur]

as a proud member of the gay race..

i just want to congratulate Armenia with their decriminalization of homosexual behavior..

Homosexuality has been legal in Armenia since 2003. However, even though it has been decriminalized, the situation of local lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens has not changed substantially. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Armenia

oddly enough.. it happened in the same year that the United States decriminalized it.. 2003..

A Texas law classifying consensual, adult homosexual intercourse as illegal sodomy violated the privacy and liberty of adults to engage in private intimate conduct under the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court voted 6–3 to strike down the Texas law, with five of the justices holding that it violated due process guarantees, and a sixth justice, Sandra Day O'Connor, found that it violated equal protection guarantees. The majority opinion, which overruled Bowers v. Hardwick, implicitly invalidated similar laws in 13 other states.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_v._Texas

s0o.. while it is a shame that it was a crime in Armenia..and that there is social stigma against it.... the United States doesnt appear to have done much better ...and we also have plenty of social stigma against it..

we neednt single out Armenia ! we have plenty of it right at home !!

[jkisha]

Lemur--you're GAY! I didn't know.

Anyway...I live in, I believe, the second largest gay ghetto outside of San Francisco--West Hollywood. So my perceptions and expectations are a bit different than for someone living in the mid-west or central parts of the country; it's especially egregious hearing slurs and threats in this part of town and it is almost always by an Armenian or a Russian immigrant or one of their children. And it's especially disturbing when it occurs during the High Homo Holidays, like gay pride for instance. So, call it racist, I'm just reporting what I have experienced with my own two eyes and ears in my own back yard.

[miko]

Jkisha -- understood. I'm a Detroit Armenian myself, and my family's been in the country for a 100 years as of 2012. Some would consider me more of an American than an Armenian, but my blood and roots run deep back to the Caucusus, and many of us still identify strongly with that heritage.

Anyway, not looking to spawn any hate or gay-bashing, just some good tunes and celebration of the life that our grandparents and great-grandparents died and fought to allow us to have in this amazing and country. And what better place to celebrate life than on the playa?

[iguanajan]

Soooo Detroit


I live in the bay area, I just returned home from an Armenian event, and thought GOshhh are there any Armenian Burners out there, I search and find this thread.

i am very much involved with the burner community here and in-fact with the burning man org, and their volunteer departments.


I HAVE TO ADmit very sad/angry to see all the gayphobic talk, but I simply ignored it, dude that is everywhere Armenia, RUssia, Italy, Iran, China, name a place where people are not homophobic, it will take a world a long time to understand the principals of homosexuality, it is not weasy. Educating people is the only way.


Now back to my cool finding, there are Armenian DJs in detroit!!!
Let me know how I can help, starting to have an Armenian theme camp or something similar is pretty awesome, I know some other folks that come from LA. but they usually do their own things, I can put you in touch with them. I am pretty excited.


my email is : a d i b o o d i (AT) that gmail website

[trilobyte]

I think it's probably good that people are talking about it, talking it out. There's definitely some history and some stereotypes to get past, and it could be that miko's camp is just the thing that's needed to move things forward.

[miko]

iguanajan -- yo man.

Haha -- glad that you found this thread. Sounds as though there's some small amount of redemption for you here. Anyway...

Indeed!! I'll shoot you an email shortly. Right now we're at a grand total of two (maybe three), four if I can dig up the name/email of a guy from Philly who I ran into at the BWB camp on playa last year. Anyway, please put me in touch with your friends!! We're going to be a fairly ecclectic camp this year. We've officially applied as an art support camp (we're building a HUGE maze), but we're doing the Armenian DJ thing and we'll have plenty of infra and other accoutrements to keep camp itself comfy and interesting. Everything's still shaping up as right now we're focusing primarily on Lakes of Fire, the Great Lakes Regional burn (and bringing a HUGE sound system and a full healing node out there), but you'll see plenty more from me here as we progress.

We're a fairly international camp with groups from the US, UK and Canada (and maybe some other places,we'll see...) and a really loving family. It's a pretty wonderful thing all in all.

Okay, lots of brain-dumping there. I'll shoot you an email. We'll chat

<3
Miko

[Simon of the Playa]

Kisha you Idiot, EVERYBODY knows that the TURKS are Bigger Fags than You.


they're just acknowledging that now.

[jkisha]

I don't know any Turks personally to either confirm or disavow your statement.