David Silverman: So That's How That Started

Explicit content warning

09/18/24 • 47 min

Burning Man doesn't make itself. The people who share their time and treasure, they create this weird wonder. Each of these people have stories about how Burning Man influenced their lives and how their lives influenced Burning Man.

The Flaming Tuba Guy is one of these people. His name is David Silverman aka Tubatron. Andie Grace talked with him about how his animation career started, how his musical career started, how the Mansonian Institute started, how his career with The Simpsons started, and how that influenced his involvement with Burning Man and vice versa. He also volunteers at BRC with the DPW at the Man Pavilion.

They recorded this at Burning Man and you can hear in their voices the phonic patina of the playa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Silverman_(animator)

https://x.com/tubatron

David shares more of his story in Episode 27 from 2020:

https://burningman.org/podcast/holiday-special-santacon-from-home

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They recorded this at Burning Man and you can hear in their voices the phonic patina of the playa.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Silverman_(animator)

https://x.com/tubatron

David shares more of his story in Episode 27 from 2020:

https://burningman.org/podcast/holiday-special-santacon-from-home

LIVE.BURNINGMAN.ORG

Previous Episode

In Paiute Country: The Numa of Pyramid Lake

Allow us to introduce you to the people who called the Black Rock Desert “home” way before we did. This is your backstage pass to the original Burners of the Great Basin: The Pyramid Lake Paiute.

Strap in for a road trip that's part history lesson, part cultural exchange, and essential listening for when you wonder, "Who lived here before we showed up in tutus?"

We're not just passing through, we're digging deep with...

Billie Jean Guerrero: Director of the Pyramid Lake Museum
Mervin Wright: Environmental Manager
James Phoenix: Former Chairman
Steven Wadsworth: Current Chairman
Dean Barlese: Elder and Spiritual Leader
"Double D": A tribal member at at the Golden Spike Ceremony

Find this episode wherever podcasts prevail, and on YouTube:

Helpful links:

A Message from the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe to All BRC Citizens 2023 (Burning Man Journal)

Donate your leftover, non-perishable food to the Pyramid Lake Paiute. Drop it off at Bunny’s Tacos in Nixon! Here are Google Map Directions from playa to Bunny’s.

Camp or recreate at Pyramid Lake. Buy a permit here.

Volunteer at the Pyramid Lake Visitor Center and Museum. Help build out the new medicine garden or improve the museum’s new haba (traditional Paiute shade structure). Contact Billie Jean Guerrero at [email protected]

Donate to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. Stop by the Pyramid Lake Museum and Visitor Center. You can donate in person! Gifting!

You can also write to the Tribal Secretary at [email protected] with which program, department, or tribal office you’d like to direct your donation.

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Next Episode

Volunteer Voices

Thousands of people volunteer each year in Black Rock City, for days, weeks, or months. Add to that the volunteers at the many Regional events around the world and it’s more than can be counted on fingers and toes.

Why do we volunteer?

Is it because we feel we received a gift and we want to pay it back, or pay it forward?

Is it the meditation of hard work in a hard place adding a dimension to our experience?

Is it the chance to do something different, for a pixel pusher to build an object, an engineer to cook for artists, a project manager to manage a different kind of project?

The answer seems to be YES.

We interviewed a few longtime citizens of Black Rock City about why they volunteer with the Greeters, with DPW, and with the Man Base to hear the stories of Topless Deb, Tamsin, Ruin, Terra, and a guy named Fuckyeah.

Listen to the stories of Topless Deb, Tamsin, Ruin, Terra, and a guy named Fuckyeah.

https://burningman.org/event/participate/volunteering/teams

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