My band Quilt was invited to play the 3rd annual Marfa Myths festival in March 2016. We had been lucky enough to play in its inaugural year, back in 2014, and it was great, but this time really took the cake because of how truly chock-full of good times it all was. Like, holy shit. Highlights include seeing Lower Dens and Parquet Courts, making avocado toast in the morning at the house on the hill, singing with Connan Mockasin, ordering pizza late at night and sitting in front of the fireplace, chilling with some horses, perusing rocks and crystals at Moonlight Gemstones, eating the worst microwaveable mozzarella sticks of all time in a group of people who were all simultaneously experiencing how terrible they were, watching a moth almost die in the ketchup, driving to the Marfa Lights and seeing lots of stars, playing with Mary Lattimore, and watching Dungen live score a phenomenal animated film from 1926. Phew!
Here are some pictures, mostly of me and the Quilt members, taken on disposable cameras and my Nikon EM to help document this bizarre journey.
Here I am outside El Cosmico with Rachel Barnhart from Mexican Summer. She’s a really great gal. I like the stripey lighting that is falling over us.
Ladies and gentlemen, June West.
Natalie Mering and Shane Butler, two dear friends of mine, doing their trademark photo poses.
I saw this exhibit during Heron Oblivion’s set on the first night of Marfa Myths. There was a fog machine inside this little room, so you had to peer through the smoky mass to see the paintings and drawings.
Keven strolling along the train tracks during sunset.
The sunset, view from the house on the hill.
Rachel, John and Shane on the porch.
Rachel, again.
The house on the hill, featuring many cacti, three horses, two dogs, and two roadrunners fucking in the backyard (seriously).
John Joseph Andrews, Jr.
Here I am with the handsome white horse that lived in the backyard of the house we stayed in. He spent most of his time in this little hut, but he didn’t seem to mind.
This picture makes me laugh because a.)the light happens to just be illuminating the entirety of John’s face, and b.) the shadow on this ceramic ball makes it look like I’m holding a giant butt.
The little dog in the backyard that wouldn’t shut up, but in kind of a cute way.
Here I am again, rolling along in the desert on a disembodied Kardashian ass.
Mr. Horse doing what he does best.
June and the other two horses.
Alex the photographer. I took this right before he took a photo of us sitting on the mantle in the house.
Keven bought these weird yellow leather gloves for $15 at a gas station and was so into them.
I could say this is “the squad”, but I’m not going to because I’m getting soooo sick of the word “squad”.
Mary Lattimore, harpist and human extraordinaire.
John and I stumbled into the Marfa radio station to look around after we got some coffee, and they asked us to do some “radio drops”, which is when you take a deep breath and say, like, “This is so and so and you’re listening to….” in your best cool-calm-and-collected NPR voice.
John, Keven and Rory just having a laugh like a couple of regular old chaps that have laughs together all the time.
John n’ June.
I grew up in New England in a granite house built in 1823, so southwestern architecture will always look exotic to me no matter what.
We were in a Walmart for sooooooo long, and then finally got to Marfa and someone took this picture of me.
Approaching El Cosmico.
Moonlight Gemstones — like heaven on earth.
Shane ‘n’ June.
I hope I never own a car larger than our tour van, but if I had to, I’d get an RV.
Here I am with Connan Mockasin the night our bands played at El Cosmico. We also played “Hissing My Plea” together, which was completely nuts.
Bonus pic: John reading the Shining in the backseat and getting emotional.
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