Highway 62

By: Danny Thompson
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  • Summary

  • In this weekly podcast we explore the eclectic, cool mix of businesses, people and stories along highway 62 from Morrongo Valley, Yucca Valley, Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms.
    2023
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Art Cooking
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Episodes
  • Joshua Tree Music Festival with Barnett English

    Joshua Tree Music Festival with Barnett English
    Oct 1 2024
    In this conversation, Barnett English shares his journey from a music enthusiast to the founder of the Joshua Tree Music Festival. He discusses the unique aspects of his festival, including its intimate atmosphere, focus on emerging artists, and family-friendly environment. Barnett also addresses the challenges faced by the festival industry, especially in the wake of recent cancellations, and emphasizes the importance of shared experiences among attendees. The festival's diverse activities and workshops, along with its camping accommodations, contribute to a holistic experience for festival-goers. Vist the Website HERE Instagram HERE Follow The Highway 62 Instagram HERE Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Barnett English and the Joshua Tree Music Festival 03:05 Barnett's Journey into Music Festivals 05:58 The Unique Experience of Smaller Festivals 08:47 Artist Selection and Festival Philosophy 12:02 Challenges in the Festival Industry 15:03 The Importance of Shared Experiences 17:57 Family-Friendly Atmosphere at the Festival 20:56 Workshops and Activities Beyond Music 24:03 Logistics of Running a Biannual Festival 27:03 Camping and Accommodations at the Festival 29:55 Final Thoughts and Festival Highlights Barnett English (00:00.269) Yeah, it wouldn't be my first time. Danny (00:01.914) And so here we go. All right, Barnett English. Thank you so much for joining me here on the Highway 62 podcast. How are you today? Barnett English (00:12.377) Fabulous, best day of my life. Thanks for asking. Yeah. Danny (00:14.235) Every day, right? I love the background there. You got some really cool artwork going behind you. that you in the home office or? Barnett English (00:19.374) Hmm Yeah, world headquarters. It's our only headquarters. Yeah, yeah, some killer photos that friends have taken and trinkets and books. Things that inspire. Danny (00:33.838) Wonderful. Excellent. You are the founder, the creator of the Joshua Tree Music Festival. And I want to talk all about that and, you know, what's in store for this year. But first, I'd like to hear a little bit about your background prior to that and kind of how you found your way into starting a music festival. Barnett English (00:57.351) Yeah, that's a good question. Gosh, I've been a music junkie my whole life. So I started collecting albums when I was 10 years old. I'd get split albums with my brother and it Sears and Roebuck back in Louisville, Kentucky for five bucks an album. And then made hundreds and hundreds of mixed tapes and spent a really stupid amount of my earnings in my whole life on. Danny (01:12.044) Yeah. Barnett English (01:25.927) on records and CDs. So I've always loved music and then started a coffee business back in 93. Started selling coffee at music festivals. And so now 30 years later, I've been to over 1200 music festivals selling coffee. And the first one I went to back in 95, I saw some of my favorite bands and met these friends, people that are still friends today and had the most amazing time. Danny (01:34.815) okay. Barnett English (01:51.656) I walked away from that one going, you know, that's all I want to ever do is be at a music festival. This is, this is it. This has got it all, you know? And so here we are 30 years later and I'm still doing it. So I was going to coffee, selling coffee at these festivals. And then on a whim, I came to Joshua tree to the campground on Sun Fair road, the Joshua tree Lake campground, where we have the festival. There was a small didgeridoo gathering there. And so I came to sell coffee there and I drove in in the middle of the night and didn't see a thing and woke up in the morning and looked out and went, holy smokes, look at this view, know, looking at the national park and, you know, stars all, blinding stars at night. And then, so I mentioned to the folks that own the campground, said, hey, Sally, why don't you have a real music festival here, you know? And more than just didgeridoos, nothing against didgeridoos, but there are more instruments. Danny (02:29.23) Yeah. Danny (02:45.913) You should. Barnett English (02:47.689) So she said, you know, gosh, if you're so smart, why don't you do it yourself? And so she dared me. And so within six months, I'd moved to Joshua Tree, found a home and had our first music festival. And that was April of, April 9 through 11 of 2003, we had our first one. So, so I just fell in love with Joshua Tree instantly. Danny (03:05.324) Wow. Danny (03:09.579) It's, know, as you know, from just a little bit of, you know, chatting we had done, I'm a musician myself, so I'm used to, you know, from that musician side of going to big music festivals as a musician. You know, I've played Reading and Leeds and I just got back this weekend, this last weekend, we played Riot Fest in Chicago, which is a huge music festival. And I guess from my standpoint, when you say like, Barnett English (03:23.506) Yeah. Barnett English (03:32.349) Right. Danny (03:37.741) All she ...
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    29 mins
  • 29 Palms Queer Film Festival

    29 Palms Queer Film Festival
    Sep 10 2024
    Summary Graham Kolbeins and Jonathan Andre Culliton, founders of the 29 Queer Film Fest, discuss their backgrounds as filmmakers and the inspiration behind the festival. They talk about the films being showcased, including world premieres and queer horror shorts. The festival is designed to create a space for queer stories and foster the filmmaking community in the high desert area. They also discuss the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in the area and the support they have received from local businesses and organizations. Visit the webiste HERE Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 04:10 Inception of the 29 Queer Film Fest 06:01 Film Highlights and Gala Events 08:35 Festival Schedule and Venues 11:31 Attending the Film Fest: Tips for Newcomers 13:46 Future Plans and Fostering the Filmmaking Community 15:01 Acceptance and Support in the High Desert 17:28 Closing Remarks and Event Details Danny (00:01.779) All right, Graham Cole Beans and Jonathan Andre Coliton. Coliton, thanks for being on the Highway 62 podcast. How are you guys today? Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (00:02.208) Yeah. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (00:10.902) Thank you for having us. great. Yeah, we're doing good. Danny (00:16.915) Awesome. And you guys are the founders, right, of the first ever inaugural 29 Queer Film Fest that's happening in September the 20th and 22nd. Before we get into a little bit about the actual Film Fest and kind of what it's all about, give me just a brief little background on each of you. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (00:24.214) Thank Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (00:40.758) Sure. So we're both filmmakers and I'll just start talking about myself. I'm mostly a documentary filmmaker though I've recently started doing some narrative filmmaking. I shot a short film here in 29 Palms in June called Outage that I'm currently in post -production on. Danny (00:50.707) Ha Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (01:07.688) I'm pretty deeply involved in film and when we came out here... Can I roll that back a little bit? Okay, great, I just lost my train of thought. Sorry. Yeah, so I'm a filmmaker, a videographer. Danny (01:20.669) Sure. I can edit anything too, it's fine. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (01:33.654) and I'm a queer person in 29 palms and those all informed co -founding this festival. I'm also... Sorry? Where are you originally from? I was born in Vancouver, Canada. Danny (01:43.315) Where are you originally from? Danny (01:48.648) Where are you originally from? Danny (01:53.467) Okay. Right on. I love Vancouver. I was just, I was just in, I've been to Canada a lot lately. I was in Toronto last weekend and the weekend before I was in Edmonton. So I spent a lot of time in the Kenyatta. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (01:57.504) Yeah, that's a great place. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (02:06.143) I'm cool. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (02:10.142) Nice. What were you doing in Toronto? Danny (02:13.043) I play in a band, so we're playing some festivals up there. But yeah, we do a lot of Canadian shows. Graham, what about you? Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (02:16.319) Awesome. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (02:21.11) me? You mean Jonathan, yes. That's okay. No, I'm a born and bred Bostonian with all the details. But yeah, I'm also a filmmaker. Currently I'm rolling out a couple of films. Danny (02:24.967) Jonathan, I'm sorry, your buys are both Canadian. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (02:43.542) Spookable which played at the Maryland Film Festival in frame 48 and is about to play at Prism 37. And then I have Will It Justice Drag Queen Private Eye which is showing, both of those films are showing actually at the 29 Queer Film Festival and that film stars Lady Shalane who is the premier high desert drag queen of our current timeline. Danny (03:12.083) Yeah, Yeah, she was one of my first guests on the podcast, like second or third episode ever. Right on. How did you guys how did you guys end up settling in the 29 Palms area? Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (03:13.462) Amazing. She's really special. Yeah, so I moved out here four years ago from Los Angeles. It was during the pandemic. I had lost work and I had always wanted to move to the high desert but never really thought that it was feasible. But in that moment an opportunity became available. A friend said, hey, I have a cabin that just opened up and I moved into that cabin in July 2020. And I've just loved living here ever since. Yeah, and then I followed Graham because I fell in love with them so I just followed. I just came out here to be closer to them. Danny (04:01.949) Right on. Danny (04:10.449) Very nice, very nice. So tell me about kind of the inception and the idea and how it came to be that you put this film festival together. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (04:20.438) Yeah, well ...
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    19 mins
  • Patrick Hasson -Joshua Tree Artist

    Patrick Hasson -Joshua Tree Artist
    Aug 27 2024
    Summary Patrick Hasson shares his journey from being a filmmaker to becoming a full-time artist. He talks about the frustrations of the film industry and how it led him to seek a change. He bought a house in Joshua Tree and transformed it into a colorful, vibrant space, which he rented out on Airbnb. This sparked his interest in painting, and he started creating abstract art using a dripping technique. He eventually ventured into portrait painting, focusing on desert rock musicians. Patrick Hasson is an artist who specializes in creating vibrant and unique portraits using a drip technique. He shares how he discovered this technique and how it has become his signature style. Patrick also talks about his series called Desert Dudes, where he painted portraits of desert rock musicians, and how it led to his first art show. He discusses the challenges he faced during the pandemic and his upcoming series called 1969, which pays homage to classic rock musicians. Patrick invites listeners to his upcoming art show and shares his journey as an artist. Patrick's Contact Instagram Here Patrick's link tree with all the important details about upcoming shows HERE Danny (00:01.369) All right, Patrick Hassan, welcome to the Highway 62 podcast. Thanks so much for taking some time out. How's everything going today? Patrick Hasson (00:10.988) Doing okay, man. It's getting a little cooler in the desert, so things are good. Danny (00:12.716) Awesome. Yes Yeah, I actually I'm down in Irvine for the summer here, but I was home Day before yesterday came came home for a day to check on the house and all that good stuff and definitely it was starting to feel a little bit better so looking forward to Looking forward to that. So you've got a great art show coming up that we are going to talk a little bit about but you've got a great story on you know, how you became a full -time artist and I want to hear all about that stuff. give us the, you know, the dime store tour. Patrick Hasson (00:49.57) Okay, I was a independent filmmaker for about 20 years from the East Coast. Eventually, like most people, made my way to LA 2002. Did, you know, did some films that I wrote and directed. I did a little comedy called Waiting, a horror film called Bloodshed, did some documentaries, but long story short, That's a tough business as anybody who's been in it. I think for me the most frustrating part of the world of film is film's a very expensive medium. And because of that, you usually need a lot of people to come on board, especially producers. So, you know, unless you're Quentin Tarantino, what happens is the art you're trying to make always gets compromised and Danny (01:46.072) Yeah. Patrick Hasson (01:47.084) Which is fine, but what happens, you know, as the budgets start to get bigger and the last film I did had a two million dollar budget, which was really cool, but the producer really kinda came on in the editing process and it just, it destroyed the film, so that was happening with me, you know, very frustrated with that world and I was an alcoholic and pretty... Danny (02:04.92) Mm Patrick Hasson (02:16.31) pretty bad drug addicts, it was kind of this perfect circle of wasn't happy with filmmaking, my life was out of control, and then there was a period there where I just, know, most of the times I would freelance as an editor to make money. At that time, I was editing adult films. I had cut for Digital Playground, Playboy, blah, blah, which is kind of a mind fuck, you know, like. Danny (02:32.014) Mm -hmm. Patrick Hasson (02:45.41) You know, some people hear that and they're like, that must be wonderful. And I'm like, trust me, there are things that you do not want to see eight hours a day, five days a week. So I just kind of felt it. Danny (02:57.293) Well, plus the amazing dialogue you've got to work around when you're editing. Patrick Hasson (03:01.557) my god. I mean, I actually shot a documentary about that world, which was cool, but I just, was done, so I checked into a rehab 2014 and I got out, you I was living in a shitty apartment in LA and I had somehow bought a house in Joshua Tree. I bought a little drug house. Danny (03:10.488) Yeah. Patrick Hasson (03:31.906) for 73 grand and the whole reason I started coming to Joshua Tree to kind of turn the story back is when I got to LA 2002 I'm reading the LA Weekly and on the cover was it was Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri from the Stone Age and I was like huh who's this? So I knew nothing about Desert Rock so always a big music fan read this article and it they talked about you know Chris Goss and Brant Bjork and Danny (03:46.275) Mm -hmm. Sure. Patrick Hasson (04:00.874) Mary O 'Lally and it talked about these generator parties and Kaius and all these desert bands and you know what really got me was like these guys were just kind of doing their own thing you know especially like a Danny (04:09.751) Hmm Danny (04:14.647) Yeah. Yeah, I've actually, I actually played with Nick a ...
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    44 mins

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