(This interview is years in the making. This camp is responsible for some of the wildest nights I’ve had in NYC, and always took care of me on playa. Kostume Kult is a massive undertaking. One of the major facilitators of this tremendously popular barrel of kostumed monkeys is Isabeau Vidal, who refused a title more impressive than “Camp Lead” as a tip of the hat to the amazing krew that helps make it happen every year. If you’re in NYC over Valentine’s Day weekend, head over to Santos Party House for their Monkey House fundraiser. It’ll be bananas. ~Interview by Terry Gotham)
1. How was Burning Man 2015? People who camped with you thought it was spectacular, but as the producer, how was the build, the burn and the breakdown?
It was definitely a great year for the camp. We grew bigger than ever before, and I think that everyone involved had a great time. Of course, growing so much bigger also put quite a bit of strain on all of our camp leads, but I think everyone handled that amazingly. Of course there were the usual curveballs that Burning Man will throw at you… This year it was big winds, but even more so our shipping container from the east coast – containing some of our camp infrastructure and pretty much all of our campers’ personal stuff – which was supposed to get there on Tuesday of build week but didn’t arrive until 4 days later. Our Monday build team had all of their essential camping gear with them, but several of our Wednesday team members ended up sleeping in our central shade, kostume tent, or borrowed tents for several days. But, that is Burning man… 😉
Category Why We Burn
Ten Questions With Terry Gotham: Brad Burge – MAPS
(Interviewing the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies has been a dream of mine for years. I’m honored to present this conversation with their Director of Communications & Marketing Brad Burge. Not only does he give us an update on the SIX (6!) Phase II clinical trials of MDMA for PTSD, but he also shares totally new developments & tips on how to talk about this stuff for people who don’t quite dig yet. And a couple of his favorite tunes to boot!)
~Interview By Terry Gotham
1. How was 2015 for MAPS? Any good news from the front to share?
Just a little.
I can say without hesitation that 2015 was our busiest, most exciting year yet. This year (2016) we celebrate MAPS’ 30th anniversary, and all that we’ve accomplished in those three decades. Our Phase 2 clinical trials of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are now nearly complete, and this year we’ll be meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to plan the much larger Phase 3 trials needed to make MDMA a legal prescription medicine, approved for use in conjunction with psychotherapy to treat PTSD. We are on track for FDA approval as soon as 2021.
As one of the first steps to getting this first approval, in February 2015, we announced the formation of the MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (MPBC), a new wholly owned subsidiary of MAPS which will serve as a vehicle for conducting MAPS’ research, and for balancing social benefits with income from the legal prescription sale of MDMA, other psychedelics, and marijuana. We also initiated the purchase of one kilogram of pharmaceutical grade MDMA manufactured under current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to be used in our Phase 3 trials. This batch of MDMA will cost us approximately $400,000, which we are seeking to raise this year through the Global Psychedelic Dinners and 30th Anniversary Banquet in Oakland, Calif.
Another major 2015 success is our Canadian Phase 2 study of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD, which finally started after eight years of effort. This study has already completed treatments as of early 2016, and has been the first clinical psychedelic therapy trial in Canada in over 40 years. In 2015, we also completed and fully funded our two largest Phase 2 clinical trials, one in South Carolina primarily in U.S. military veterans, and one in Colorado primarily in female survivors of sexual assault and abuse.
Why We Burn: Pink & Jaguar
(For the first 2016 edition of Why We Burn, I had the privilege of speaking to two emerging talents in the NYC Burner community. They are part of the leadership of DiscoFist camp, which provides carbonation to water, or Disco Fizz, to weary travelers in need of some bubbles. They also run a tight, forward looking label called Talon&Claw and a cool party series on the Lower East Side, the next happening on the 15th, and for you LA people, they’ll be in your neck of the woods on the 22nd. They’ve been involved with retail venues, burner communities and more exclusive invite-only stuff only the island of Manhattan can offer, so I think you’ll enjoy their perspective. ~Terry Gotham)
1. How the heck was your 2015? Heard there was a little West Coast travel for you, how’d they treat you two out there?
Jaguar: 2015 was great! There were amazing, positive changes for both of us. We decided to drive across the country to BM this year and once we got to the West Coast, we decided we needed to stick around for awhile, so we extended the trip by about 5 weeks. We loved it out there so much that we’re heading back to California this week, and we’re looking forward to playing a number of dates there in 2016.
Pink: Our West Coast burner family is pretty tight and it was amazing to return from the desert to their dusty apartments to feel just as welcomed by them in San Francisco and LA as we felt on playa. Our West Coast friends didn’t want us to go and we didn’t want to leave, but we had stops on our tour in other states. We were treated very kindly everywhere we went, and had the most incredible reception of our DJ sets in Austin and in DC. Crowds there really come out to move their bodies! A refreshing change from the all-too-common stand-and-snapchat dancefloors of clubs in NYC. Continue reading