Rockin’ counterculture bus a real trip
PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER
From right, Tycho (“The Bus Daddy”) , Zariah, with her steering-wheel
pillow, and her mom Lori, with friends, family and paying customers.
that was, as she put it, “a portal into a
peaceful world.”
“It’s not political — it’s about freedom
of expression,” she explained. “We want
to create something beautiful out of liberation
and playfulness.”
Owned and operated by Tycho a.k.a.
“The Bus Daddy,” the converted school
bus has been to Burning Man 10 times
and has an intriguing history.
“I bought it in 2008 on eBay,” he said.
“It was a traveling reptile museum, with
the largest king cobra in the U.S. It was
well taken care of — nobody wants to
break down with a bus full of cobras.”
With the stench of snake
feces long
gone, the bus is now full of friends, family,
performers and the lucky paying customers
who bought space on the bus through
Airbnb Experiences. Nine year-old Annie
got her money’s worth, sitting for glitter
makeup (as did her dad) and putting on
a costume while the bus was en route
to a performance. Gail, from the U.K.,
thought the whole thing was “fabulous.”
Newman’s mom was onboard, as well,
on a day the singer chose to wear an old
silk robe of her mother’s, which frequently
opened wide to reveal her solidarity with
the Matriarchy.
“My husband and I are ‘old hippies,’ so
we are probably less affected by the extraneous
antics like the partial nudity,” said
mom Diana Brady-Herndon. “When I see
my only child standing on top of a converted
school bus in Lower Manhattan,
singing and playing with a great band, I
can only feel joy, pride, happiness and a
sense of accomplishment for what Laura
and the band have created.”
As for Newman, it’s easy for her to sum
up the day.
“It’s always a beautiful scene,” she
said.
The next trip will be on Sat., June 8.
For more information, check out @
abracadabratrip on Instagram or the
Facebook page www.facebook.com/
abracadabratrip/ . To ride the bus, visit
https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/
173687.
BY BOB KRASNER
The Beatles had their Magical Mystery
Tour, The Who sang about
the “Magic Bus” and the Merry
Pranksters had Furthur, about which the
Grateful Dead frequently sang, “The bus
came by and I got on, that’s when it all
began.”
And now the Abracadabra Field Trip
— the brainchild of musician Laura Newman
and former “gypsy” Tycho — has the
Bluebyrd, a machine that aims for counterculture
status as a literal and fi gurative
way of navigating the journey of life.
A number of times each year you can
see Newman fronting a band on top of
the bus at their usual stops — and occasionally
while in motion between destinations.
Union Square and Washington
Square, the Whitney Museum and Tompkins
Square are the favorite spots, where
the band plays a mix of ’60s standards
and Newman originals from atop the bus
while “dancetigators” hit the ground and
get people moving. They are frequently
joined by
members
of the Radical Matriarchy, a group
that, among other concerns, hopes to
desexualize women’s bodies by being topless
in public.
Newman, who sang with performanceartist
preacher Reverend Billy as the
“Diva of the Stop Shopping Choir” for
16 years, wanted to create
an experience
PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER
Members of the Radical Matriarchy, post-performance outside the
Whitney, from left, Gravity, Queen of Love and Hope; Heather Morowitz;
and Michelle Joni.
PHOTO BY BOB KRASNER
Performance art outside the Whitney Museum of American Art in the
Meatpacking District.
Schneps Media TVG May 30, 2019 19
/173687
/173687
/
/173687
/