The Extra Mile Adventure was sent off with a bang last night at the Collective Space in Culver City. The bus pulled in around Nine O’clock with 15 ecstatic individuals ready to rock out to the bands that were already warming up inside the homey artists studio. With a triumphant hoot the christening of the bus was immediately performed inside with a little champagne, we christened her Patricia as a homage to the former owner Pat who’s help was legendary. The guests where welcome to come on board and take a tour as the music wailed on in the background. The Bus has been converted to have a huge bed across the back with storage underneath, a vegan kitchen in front of that containing such goodies as sugar cane and raw almonds, each busser has their own cubby to keep the items that they need to access quickly, and sheets have been strapped up above to create a funky little closet for each busser as well. The bus is, to be quite honest, AMAZING; people were astounded as they came onto our mobile home for the next nine weeks. To start off the night Benny Gilbert and Nuba set up outside in a ring of candles and set the vibe with some earthy folksy songs under the cool LA sky. After they finished their set, Julian Cubilluros started getting people in a dancing mood with his rockabilly sound and the smiles were being passed around like turkey at Thanksgiving. Next up, our very own Summer Shapiro got on the mic to make an announcement and fire up the crowd like she does best. Adam Stern and Ben Hall followed Summer with a funky reggae set and everyone in the room started skanking up a storm. The official line up ended with Evan Vidar’s solo act on the guitar. Evan is only 17 and rocks out with his haunting vocals and long hair. After Evan finished up the room full of artists and magicians found an array of different objects to start a percussive impromtu jam. The jam lasted for about a half hour and everyone there was grooving to it- the studio turned into one giant dance floor. As the night winded down it was time to take to the road to Echo Park to sleep in front of a generous friend’s house Bryan Crano who set us up with a bathroom, a floor for those who wished to sleep inside, and a kitchen for the next mornings breakfast. A huge thanks to everyone who came out last night and everyone who has supported us along the way, we couldn’t do it without you!
Thanks! Anthony Desmond Breen
