About GigsList 4.0
Researching useful info, weird art history and for working in indie arts, entertainment and media. Stuff the industry does before it does it. GigsList is a lab ever evolving. Surf the whole RoundUp stream to get contacts whenever you need. Post on GigsList to get yourself seen. Follow and like posts and people and make connections. The more you hang out on GigsList the more GigsList works for you Join/Subscribe here.​
History
My name is Deborah and I founded GigsList in Haight Ashbury San Francisco in 2001 as a mailing list and Yahoogroup then hand coded website then online magazine. 2024 GigsList m4.0 now has its own social networking platform. And I do everything myself.
Handson Inspiration
The arts and creative industries have kind of been my life, my whole life. I grew up with horses in Australia and training and riding them in horse shows. My Dad is a hands on history geek and my sister and I participated in, and made our own costumes for, historical reenactments.
I started in show biz riding elephants in a traditional big top touring circus. 120 people, elephants, tigers and horses and 4 king pole circus tent, seating galleries and vintage full trapeze rig on the road for a year. Traditional generational family owned circus and and many lifetime and generational talent and crew. A whole village and zoo. The elephants were all female and their names were Lena, Tara and Minyak. Touring circuses with animals are also zoos and the only time many people see a real elephant or tiger or monkey. Or see a girl in a sequin bikini, worn over two sets of tights. The costumes were handed down performer to performer and the performers maintained them. Everybody lived in bunk dorms on big semi trailers. Girls separate from boys. It's not an easy life, but it's fun, fascinating and adventurous.
Then toured in a Polynesian cabaret as a hula dancer for 2 years. Small resorts for months and year long gigs. I found I could pick up dance moves fairly easily. The band played the cabaret, then rock and chart songs for the nightclub. The other dancers taught me how to make hula skirts and headdresses. It's a nice life. Accommodation, food, resort amenities and time to explore the local towns and sights and meet people.
My exploration of different creative formats sent me on an adventure. In Melbourne Australia, I apprenticed in high end fashion leather clothes manufacturing. I got to design and make a dress and received special mention for originality at the Australian Fashion Awards Awards. Then I studied fine art in London UK and had a drawing exhibited at the Royal Academy. Somewhere between all that I studied acting and modern dance. Then rode a Royal Enfield motorbike around India and into the Himalayas, explored their hand woven blankets, silk and shawls. And got into EDM at small beach parties in Goa.
Back in Brisbane Australia I landed at an indie FM Station 4zzz, working in admin and learning about that. A lot of paperwork and grant applications, all analog by hand on paper. The admin team are called Zed Girls and respected for being the logistics that gets the money and makes everything happen. 4zzz works with all levels of artists, from unknown indie to Greenday.
Friends I'd met in India had landed in Byron Bay and there I helped found a youth arts centre and teen DJ training program. My friends and I worked small bush doofs, EDM parties in forests, I had a chi bus. Didge Daz negotiated with the local Native Australian tribe for a desecrated sacred site for an outdoor arts and festival venue. IQ.org.au I did the paperwork and got funding through my mentor Peter Wynn Moylen, director the Australia Council. National arts council. I got to spin fire on stage with Midnight Oil.
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USA
Then landed in San Francisco, California. More friends were from India were in SF and introduced me to alternative EDM warehouse parties. My friends' warehouse was Dimension 7 and they founded How Weird Street Faire. I put the e in Faire. Another photographer friend, Victoria, introduced me to San Francisco's world wide infamous costume balls.
I was smoking a cigarette on the backstairs of one of San Francisco's world wide infamous costume balls when a tall older gentleman came out. He sat down on the stairs and lit up a joint. I was a little surprised as it was't quite legal. He offered me puff but I declined, it makes me foggy. We introduced ourselves and he said he was Chet Helms. I casually said "Right on" and we got talking about working in the arts and entertainment. The chat was jaded and cynical, not star struck. He seemed impressed with my adventures, especially that it was my whole career. Chet had an antique shop to support his family. He never made much income from concerts, or books about or photos of him.
Chet introduced me to one of his friends at Bill Graham Presents. Rebecca Nicols who did ambience in the Greenrooms. Rebecca could be nuts, but fun and nice to work with, I've worked with worse. Plus the Greenroom is where to meet everybody in the industry worth meeting. As well as helping manage festivals. Worked with some vintage notables. Family Dog, Pretenders, Angela Bowie, Grateful Dead, and laundry list more. Chet personally inducted me into Family Family Dog, a world famous concert production company. Today Chet is probably most famous for discovering Janis Joplin during that fateful Summer called Love. And yes I've been to Burning Man too.
While doing all that I got into web tech and worked on GigsList. Using my experiences to find ways tech and information can help the industry. And made costumes for parties, private collectors and performers and sold one of a king upcycled party wear to local boutiques. Then I focused on the costume. I was juggling too many careers all at once and burned myself out. So GigsList slept for a while.
For a hobby I got into weird art history, and symbols in old masters' art and architecture. After some years of that and getting ill for a few more years I resurrected GigsList while convalescing. First as a digital zine, now as a zine and social networking platform.
More soon....
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