Category: steve fly

A Little Introduction (approx. 7 min. read)

Hi, the following essay sprawled out of control into a what I now call a woo-woo piece. A densely packed linked up trans-media story, riddled with facts, methodology and research based thinking, yet considering epoch sized, call em’ cosmic-ramifications, or woo-woo. I’d like to thank everybody who crossed my path along the way and above all to wish readers a strong, resilient and joyous 2020 as we shuffle toward the lights. After a number of perceived synchronicities recently, charged by the universal sense of existential dread flowing through the species at the moment, I’m reflecting on 44 days that impacted my life in 2012 and what I can learn in 2020. If you get tired of my tales you can skip to video and music links.

My story begins around 1996, when I was living in Stourbridge UK and experimenting with psychedelic drugs and trip poets. I discovered two authors simultaneously, thanks to close friends, that had a deep and lasting impact on my life: Terence McKenna and Robert Anton Wilson. When I discovered the chapter, Law Of Acceleration, in Wilson’s popular work of non-fiction Cosmic Trigger (1977) and his inclusion of McKenna’s Timewave-Zero theory, the penny dropped, or my voice dropped, something dropped. Wilson’s model of information doubling and onward to distinguishing exponential growth, including McKenna’s model and his love for entheogens and magic mushrooms was precisely what I needed to hear. Since then, I’ve followed the 2012 stuff and chimed in now and then with my 5c contribution to what I think it all means. As I said, woo-woo, to mean BIG ideas about complex processes and esoteric knowledge, a bit like criticism of Finnegans Wake by James Joyce. These were the wild and out-there things this young apprentice shaman pined for. Indeed, these are the conditions that led me to adopt the artist name: Fly Agaric 23 around 1995.

To give at least some idea of what I had read at this point in my life, yet not necessarily understood correctly! I’ll list a few titles: Food Of The Gods, True Hallucinations, The Invisible Landscape by McKenna, Cosmic Trigger I, II and III, Sex Drugs And Magick, Quantum Psychology by Wilson.777  and The Book Of Thoth by Aleister Crowley, The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby, I-Ching And The Genetic Code by Martin Schonberger, plus dipping my toe into Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval and even a taste of David Icke (spits over shoulder, ugh). During this time (1996-2000) I was drumming, learning to DJ with Jungle/Drum and Bass, Hip Hop, Trip Hop music, plus discovering the diverse UK underground cultural melting pot, leading to collaborating on nights and events locally.

Jump forward 16 years, after living in America for five years, attending McKenna’s Wake in San Francisco, interviewing Wilson and contributing to his biographical film: Maybe Logic, and helping to found The Maybe Logic Academy (see MaybeLogic Quarterly). I was working at the 420 Coffeeshop, Amsterdam, collaborating closely with poet John Sinclair. It’s the 19th of November, the 25th High Times Cannabis Cup  is opening.

John Sinclair And His Amsterdam Blues Scholars At The Cannabis Cup

As an unofficial, satellite performance, celebrating cannabis and hemp culture during the High Times Cup, John Sinclair And His Amsterdam Blues Scholars performed at Club Aknaton on November 19th, 2012. John Sinclair, Leslie Lopez, Esther Croez, Mark Ritsema, Vicente Pino, Rebbecca Waller and myself played two sets of reefer jazz, one with Sinclair front and center.

During the show, Steven Hager (of High Times) and Fantuzzi (Of The Fantuzzi Band) turned up, danced and fluffed-up the aura of the party. At the end, Hager stepped on stage and invited the band to join his Temple Dragon Band: the official High Times 2012 house band. Half the band accepted his offer. Rebbecca, Esther and I joined up for a week of creativity, chaos and a wild path to the Kukulkan pyramid, four weeks later.

At some point late in the week Fantuzzi asked me if I wanted to join him, to play drums at Synthesis 2012, taking place in Chichen Itza. It didn’t take me long to decide. One song I played with both The Temple Dragon Band and with Fantuzzi is called Warriors Of The Rainbow, and is his interpretation in song format, of the Hopi Prophecy.

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