Out Shout: Jon Brumit!

There are some people one just feels lucky to know. High on my own awesomeness list is Jon Brumit, peddler of such opportunities as Drum On My Face, founder of the world-famous Lombard Street Bring Your Own Big Wheels (BYOBW!!) race, and owner/operator of the Vendetta Retreat walk-in Revenge Clinic. I first met Jon through his leading role in the performance/ entrepreneurial duo Sliv and Dulet. They had the coolest-ever summer show, a few years ago, at New Langton Arts when I worked at SF Camerawork, who shared a gallery with NLA. I ended up participating in the show via elaborate fax machine correspondence with the boys outside my office, and Jon's partner in crime, Marc Horowitz, soon became my bandmate in Whitestool. (!!!) Jon is an incredibly gifted musician (check out Piledriver, the sweet album he made while he was an artist in residence at the SF dump--p.s. only in SF....), a talented installation artist (I included him in the Defunct show I curated at SFMOMA in 2004), and the possessor of a truly positive can-do attitude not often seen in these parts. Oh, yes, in his 'spare time,' Jon cranks things to eleven (11!) as one of the agents behind Neighorhood Public Radio (NPR!), with whom I'm organizing a program at ISEA06. Last night I went to see his new improv band, Split Lip, perform. (Before the show they were trying to explain to someone that they were 'Mills College meets'... and then they kept debating the second term.) They threw an awesome gig. They are two drummers, two guitarists, and they had a guest on horns. Jon's one of the drummers and he rocks! I told him that, for some reason, his set kept making me think about Flash Gordon. Weird. Anyway, if you're reading this and thinking 'hmmm I wonder who did invent the meat hat,' I recommend you pay a visit to Senor Brumit's website. It's chock full of awesome 'content.'