Great Coverage From LostInSound | New Painted Hats & Shoes | Looper's Night at Burning Man | Holiday Sale at Ravenectar

“It’s not what you fight against that matters as much as knowing what is worth fighting for. Wake up and dream.”

– Antero Alli

"If Art can't tell us about the world we live in, then I don't believe there's much point in having it."

– Robert Hughes

Wow, life!  After years of hard work the world is finally starting to show me some love for all I've done to try and inspire people.  My talks on the visionary horizons of human experience from Center Camp and Fractal Planet at Burning Man 2013 were just featured in Jack Rabbit Speaks, the official Burning Man newsletter!  I am so honored...and even more honored to receive not one, but two gushingly positive reviews of my festival performances from the excellent webzine, LostInSound.

Life has been an incredible challenge for me this year – legally, romantically, financially.  But we all have to polish that pearl somehow.  Thank you for growing with me.  I hope that this newsletter offers you something meaningful to carry into the rest of your life.  Stay in touch if you have anything to say, or to ask...I'm always available to help you find your way, or cheer you on.

Art Outside & Gratifly Reviews by LostInSound

Photo & Article by Bridget Chaney

"Arguably Garfield’s greatest success lies in how seamlessly he flows from one role to another – a friendly teacher, a minstrel, and a visionary – all while setting and maintaining a thoughtful, kind, and introspective tone through all of his work...offering us a refreshing dose of relatable academia that is too often left out of the festival environment. It is largely because of him, and others like him, that these events are evolving from 'just another party' to a social movement capable of 'transforming' our society and bringing about the evolution of new ideas."

"His intricately developed soundscapes delve into the internal harmonies of what it means to be human: the percussion our pulse and the melody the flow of our spirit, like blood vessels serpentinely traversing through the labyrinthine veins of the body. If cellular mitosis had a trippy soundtrack, it might be Michael Garfield."

Read more – including features on several fellow Third Coast Visions artists.

Photo by Yvonne Smith | Article by Matt Bovard

"Welcome to the future...Michael is a pioneer exploring the edge realms where the electric and old world meet. His improvised sets are the modern equivalent of Charlie Parker blowing out his soul into the smoky nights of the 1940’s...The soundscapes vibrate with eco-delic cowboy vibrato that takes the listener on a journey from which they cannot return the same as they left."

Read the entire LostInSound review of my history-making Google Glass cyberguitar set.

Looper's Night at Burning Man Center Camp 2013

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One of the most magical things that ever happened to me at Burning Man: I barely made it onto stage at all, I was so sick. But I made it work, and the act after mine at Center Camp canceled, leaving me 45 minutes to do whatever I wanted...

With an audience full of amazing musicians, including Erothyme and Cualli, I had no choice but to break out a series of unprecedented and improvised live looping collaborations.  This is deep heavy chill, perfect for late-night listening.  Throat-singing, didjeridoo, and cybernetic sound mangling for journeying and dreamwork.

After jamming with the third group, all total strangers, (my favorite jam, unfortunately not recorded), everyone left the stage in different directions and I called after them to stay in touch. A guy in a couch in the front row slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW EACH OTHER??"  Not bad for being propped up by DayQuil and playa love.  ;)

New Painted Hats & Shoes

After a short hiatus, I'm back in the game!  Email me if you'd like a custom lid, or shoes, or anything that will hold a coat of paint.  (The Bassnectar flatbill you see below is my very last, though.  I would rather make you something more uniquely you.)  You can click on each picture to get a better look:

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Holiday Discount on MG Ravenectar Tees!

Thanks to Montreal-based sublimation printing company Ravenectar, I now have my art on some very cool shirts.  If you want one of these – in men's OR women's sizes – you can use the coupon code "MGHOLIDAY" to take 15% off any order, including gift card purchases, until the first of next year.  And if I see you around wearing one of these, you're getting a huge hug.  Check out their store.

Thanks for reading and have a beautiful week!

New Painting | New Ravenectar Tees | My Talk From Fractal Planet | Year-End Art Sale!

“The gift turns toward the empty place.”

– Lewis Hyde

"The stagnant pond breeds malaria, the flowing stream is always fresh and cool."

– Gerald Rogers

Hello, everyone!  As my search for a booking agent continues (as well as my work on not one but two books, and a studio album of my percussive guitar songs), I'm still somehow managing to crank out an entirely unwholesome amount of art, music, and writing that I hope will inspire you this holiday season.  Here it is, followed by a note about my year-end sale on original art.

Thank you for your support and have a wonderful week!

Optimus De Los Muertos

Buy 11"x17" Prints | Like, Comment, Share

Paint markers on stretched canvas – 20"x30" – Original painting sold.

Painted live at the following concerts:

• 2013 11 01 The Parish •Random Rab, Happy Happy James
• 2013 11 09 Fun Fun Fun Fest •Miami Improv Machine, Jenny Slate, Doug Benson, Tenacious D, Quasi, Sparks• 2013 11 10 Fun Fun Fun Fest •Sarah Silverman, Wild Child, Daniel Johnston, The Dismemberment Plan, Washed Out, MGMT

Working during comedians at an uncomfortably-small festival venue packed with sweaty hipsters was a new experience for me.  But I liked it, for the most part!  Thanks to FYounK Clothing for having me and the Third Coast Visions Collective out to paint at Fun Fun Fun Fest.  

I filmed some of each layer through my Google Glass (the painting was a perk for my crowdfunding campaign) and will post the video soon...stay tuned!

Click below for a detailed view of the process:

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New Ravenectar Tees!

Buy 'Em Here

My friends Ravenectar in Montreal, Quebec have the coolest t-shirt company in the world and I'm delighted to have two new shirts in their winter line!  And in a world full of exploited artists, I'm happy to say that they're not just putting out the best shirts I can find; they're also giving us designers a great percentage on the sales.  Go pick up "his" or "hers" editions on their website and know that you're supporting the same people who brought you this awesome social network.

Cosmic Perspectives From A Fractal Planet

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Recorded on 29 August 2013 as part of Burning Man's Fractal Planet Village Speaker Series. This hour of ecodelic philosophy explores the shifting boundaries between human and machine, past and future, self and society...one of Michael's noteworthy performances, energized by an excellent venue and audience. Appearances by Jonathan Zap and Mitch Mignano round out the discussion.

Topics include:

• The evolutionary imperative of taking a "cosmic" perspective;
• Why you don't need to fear a killer robot uprising;
• How an internet for dolphins will help with humanity's coming of age;
• The importance of absurdity and play in 21st Century society;
• And other "required" listening for post-millenial existence.

In related news, you can find links to free downloads of my entire archive of Burning Man recordings – both music and talks – right here.  The archive starts in 2009 with my first public speech at a festival, and continues through this year's inspiring music/dance collaboration with the Center Camp Aerial Fabric Showcase.  Enjoy!

Follow Me On Instagram

Because as great as these newsletters are, you and I would like to also be in constant superficial contact.  Follow me on Instagram and you'll see a bunch of cool stuff that won't make it into this newsletter, including shots of work in progress and pics from stage at festivals...also, wildlife adventure!  Yes.

Here are a few recent highlights – clickable links:

The Year-End Painting Sale Continues!

I know this is no way to talk about fine art – art that I labored over for hours and hours, carried with me across the country, shared in some of the best festival galleries in the world...but seriously, folks:

Get this art out of my apartment.  I'm happy to negotiate with you if 30% off still isn't enough.

Thank you.  That is all.  :)

Annual Art Sale | Featured Artist on Integral Life | New Collab Painting | New Article on High Existence | Frank Heiss Remix | Sonic Bloom 2013 Panel | ISO Booking Agent

"Human beings must have an epic, a sublime account of how the world was created and how humanity became part of it.  Religious epics satisfy another primal need. They confirm we are part of something greater than ourselves.  The way to achieve our epic that unites human spirituality, instead of cleave it, it is to compose it from the best empirical knowledge that science and history can provide."

– E.O. Wilson

I have so much to tell you.  I'm sure you have so much to say.  I don't even know where to start having that kind of authentic exchange via this newsletter.  Feel free to write to me – I'd love to know what Great Work consumes you, these days, and if I could contribute to it.  And of course, more goes on in my life than I have space for in this newsletter – so feel free to follow my thoughts and recommended reading over twitter, instagram, facebook, tumblr, or youtube.

For now:

Annual Live Art Sale

Browse The Gallery | Join/Share FB Event

Last week I lost a shoulder bag containing about 150 of my prints and a nice presentation book, as well as electrical cords for live painting. In other words, it's Holiday Art Sale time! Take 30% off the listed price on all original paintings, and pieces priced on my (seven-year-old) hourly wage are now stupidly cheap (like the only live painting ever made at NASA, for example).  I'll accept monthly payments as low as $100 if you want a piece but have to pay for it gradually.

This isn't just good news for high rollin' gangstas who want to line their cribs with original art - you're also in luck if you want inexpensive prints, pins, merch, etc. for your loved ones (or enemies - good for you!) this year. More details on the FB event page.

Featured Artist on IntegralLife.com!

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Big thanks to Integral Life for featuring my art this month! Here is a community that really knows how to THINK about stuff...it's an honor.  I've been an admirer of Ken Wilber's integral philosophy for a whole decade, and am delighted to give back by sharing my art and ideas.

Check out the great gallery they put together with academic commentary and a new artist's statement...

The Encroaching Tides

(a collab with Tourmaline Todd)

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My friend "Tourmaline" Todd Shepherd is a fixture in the Austin, Texas live art scene and familiar to admirers all over the country for his cool work on hat racks, vinyl figurines, and all kinds of other unusual media.  I think his futuristic, spacey style and mine dovetailed together quite nicely on our first-ever studio collaboration...

New Article on HighExistence.com

Read It Here

We humans have a bad habit of assuming we're special.  But science teaches us over and over that we're not.  Here is my latest morsel of food for thought, on High Existence, about how to strike a balance between grandeur and humility.  A teaser:

The accepted story of physics right now is that we live on a miraculous, impossible planet where solar eclipses can happen because the Moon is the same apparent size in the sky as the Sun, and where our orbital wobble, the Precession of the Equinoxes, takes exactly as many years as we are light years from the center of the galaxy – which just so happens to be a cozy intermediate zone where core radiation won’t melt DNA and the frigid depths of space don’t render chemistry a moot point. (And all chemistry is biochemistry, it seems .) Above it all, we live at a special moment in the life cycle of our star, a narrow window before it swells to consume the entire Earth. Statistically, life is impossible, but if it’s possible anywhere, it’s here – in this impossibly convenient place.

This is the Goldilocks Hypothesis, and it’s junk. If we’re going to take the Copernican Revolution all the way, let’s go there: we are perfectly adapted for this place because life is always adapted to its surroundings. All that hawking radiation from the supermassive black hole at the galactic center might boil carbon-based life, but as NASA’s astrobiologists are quick to remind us there’s no reason to suppose that heavier elements haven’t grown metal minds, evolving at breakneck pace in the roiling creation, linked through the instantaneous communication of frictionless superfluid field dynamics, vortices within vortices.

Sonic Bloom 2013 Panel Discussion

Free Download Here

The third annual Sonic Bloom Festival all-star panel discussion was our most diverse and impassioned yet. In a conversation moderated by Solpurpose.com editor-in-chief Michael Garfield, festival director Jamie Janover, community builder Mark Heley, bass producer Lux Moderna, astrologer Ver Dar Luz, dream interpreter Jonathan Zap, healer Alaya Love, video blogger Jordan Pearce, and his friend Ray all gave real talk on life, death, and categories beyond and between. This hour is the fruit of a truly transformational festival - potent, raw, and deep...

Remixed by Frank Heiss

Download Here

I recently uploaded an archive of my guitar loops for producers to play with – little did I know that living legend Frank Heiss would take advantage of it for his next album!  But he did.  Now you can listen to his strange and beautiful remix, "The Good, The True and the Beautiful," the closer for his awesome full-length release.  You might recognize some of it from various instrumental improvisations on last year's Love Scenes & Field Recordings – as well as the artwork, by my homie Michael Divine.

In Search Of A Booking Agent

This week in the Ask-And-Ye-Shall-Receive Department:  I've been booking my own gigs for the last six years (full history here) and as successful as it may seem I've been with that, I can't keep making all of this art, music, and writing AND book 70+ shows a year.  It's hard work that I have to outsource if I'm going to take my career to the next level...and I'm ready to make friends in some different scenes.

So if you know people who represent musicians or performing artists, please introduce us!  Anyone who can hook me up with a good booking agent gets my eternal gratitude and a bunch of sweet art.  (Here is my full EPK, to make things a little easier.)

Thanks again for reading, enjoy the art and ideas, and have a beautiful day!