Remember high school? Remember those kids who would always dress weird and act goofy? Not the members of the Young Republicans — the other group of kids. Those students who just didn’t seem to care about what anyone else thought of them.
It’s not as if they were bad students — in fact, many of them may have been honor students. And it’s not like they were trouble makers, either. No sir. They were all about good, clean fun.
These kids probably had what most people might think of as “strange” appearances, and “odd” hair styles. But, since they didn’t care what anyone thought of them, no big deal, right?
Maybe.
Even if the memories of those kids in high school aren’t flooding back, that’s OK. Memory is sometimes a process.
Imagine a large group of these kids from high school. Older now, of course — some in their 20s and others maybe 30s. Age is really not a factor for them. They see people as just that — people.
Now imagine this large group of people gathering in public places dressed in wild costumes and competing in challenges (mostly of the alcoholic variety) all in the name of good, clean fun.
Sounds too good to be true? Well, believe it. They exist, and they go by the name of AZ Cacophony Society. They are a sometimes small, sometimes large group who are not afraid of the stares of disbelief, the jaws dropping to the ground and the mothers covering the eyes of their children.
The reactions people have on the streets and at the bars they visit only add fuel to one of their core beliefs — some people take life far too seriously.
Idiotarod
AZ Cacophony Society is involved in quite a few different amusements. In February, they held what is called the Idiotarod, a parody of the 1,000 mile dog sled race held yearly in Alaska. The Idiotarod features shopping carts instead of sleds, people instead of dogs, and plenty of booze.
The idea is essentially the same — there are pullers and a musher. The musher sits in the cart, and the pullers, well, they pull. It’s not too complicated. Each team must consist of five members. One team member must be in the cart at all times.
The race travels all around downtown Phoenix, with stops at many bars and restaurants as checkpoints which feature challenges. Challenges range from chugging “warm piss” (a warm beer) to taking shots and having a picture taken with the clerk at a liquor store. Every member of the group must complete the challenge before advancing to the next checkpoint.
Some checkpoints are just a 20 minute break. Teams can drink as much or as little as they’d like during the breaks, but the sooner they arrive, the faster they can leave.
Once there, they need to check in with organizers who log what time they arrived, and only after the 20 minutes can they leave for the next location.
“It’s like Halloween with shopping carts and beer,” says Heather Blaine, who was riding along on her bike, cheering for her friends. “The people really make me laugh. They really get into it with their themes.”
Each team must have a theme. A theme can be anything a team desires. In this year’s event, there was a Scooby Do themed team called Mystery, Inc. complete with Mystery Machine shopping cart.
Others included Team Zissou (from the movie “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”), The Justice League (complete with phone booth) and Team Solid Gold, which was a tribute to 1970s funk/disco. Team Solid Gold featured a disco ball and one very large speaker that could be heard blasting the likes of Rick James and “Play that funky music” — The Wild Cherry version, too. Not the K.C. and the Sunshine Band version.
Team Solid Gold also happened to win the award for Best in Show.
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen [the Idiotarod],” says spectator Cory Slawson. “I love the freedom of it all. You just do what you feel.”
Speech and Hearing graduate student Ashley Zener was a member of the Team Zissou. She and her teammates/ friends flew the Zissou flag with pride.
“The flag will catch the wind and lead us to victory,” she says. “We have only a couple of keys to victory: stay together and drink hard.”
“Lots of pelvic thrusting, too,” says fellow Team Zissou member Matt Anderson. “We’re sponsored by Target!” They weren’t really sponsored by Target, but they did excel at the challenges, and had plenty of booze on board for the ride. It showed.
Even though it’s a race and competition, the winner isn’t really who came in first. “I consider everybody who participated as a winner,” says the lead organizer, who is cryptically referred to as Chromatest J. Pantsmaker. “I don't mean that in any first grade gym class sort of way either. It takes real moxie to get out there and actually do something. With that in mind, we did give out several awards. Many of them were custom award certificates, while others included a cash prize.”
Pantsmaker, whose real name is Ben, and his partner in crime, Dr. Doctor (another nickname), brought the event to Phoenix in 2006.
“Dr. Doctor has many ties to Seattle, and the Seattle Cacophony Society was organizing their first Idiotarod that year,” says Pantsmaker. “We decided we needed to do the same thing here. We haven't looked back since.”
Participation in the event has increased with each passing year. In 2006, 10 teams participated. “We agreed that if 5 teams showed up, that would be a success,” says Pantsmaker. “10 teams showed up on race day and we were fully unprepared, but after much last-minute hustling the race went off without a hitch.”
2007 saw 18 teams partake in the event, last year over 30 and this year was the biggest yet, with 34 teams.
Although the drinking adds a certain dynamic of fun to the event, it’s not entirely founded upon drinking and debauchery.
“I always lead with the statement that it's all about the community,” says Pantsmaker. “We throw our events to bring people together in a creative way. Shopping carts and beer is just one of the many ways that we do it. The fact that people spend days and weeks working on their themes, their carts, their costumes really does become apparent when you see how much creativity is out there on race day.”
Brides of March
March 14 of this year featured the launching of the newest addition to the AZ Cacophony Society’s list of events: the Brides of March.
Starting at Tempe Beach Park, this wasn’t so much a race (like the Idiotarod) as much as it was a good old fashioned pub crawl. From bar to bar this assortment of characters ambled, drank, laughed and turned heads.
Oh yeah. And everyone must dress up as a bride. Man or female, that is the only requirement. Wedding gowns, of which the majority were purchased the day before at Goodwill, Savers and Salvation Armies all across the Phoenix Metro area, may in fact be the only requirement to participate, but a good attitude and a fun spirit are essential.
“This event is great,” says Michael Lundquist, who participated. “But this damn dress is surprisingly hot.”
The event isn’t about raising awareness of some cancer. It’s not about raising money for a charity. It’s just for fun. And it’s not like those issues aren’t important to the participants, but they way they see it, “it’s all the fun of a wedding, without all the commitment,” at least according to participant Denise Meyers who added, “We don’t give a rip what others think. This is too fun for that.”
The consortium of brides made their way through parts of Mill Avenue, with stops at Rula Bula, Gordon Biersch and the Tavern on Mill. From there it was onto the Metro light rail for a trip to downtown Phoenix and more bars.
The trip on the light rail featured a little prank. The group of brides split into two parts. The first would board a train headed west, and the second would board the next train headed west. Then, at a certain point, the brides on train one would all call brides on train two using cell phones.
It was intended to be a very well planned and synchronized event, with obnoxious discussions about anything and everything. But there were a few male brides who were so heavily in conversation with the person seated next to them about why they were dressed in a wedding gown that they missed the cue and failed to call.
Alcohol may have played a factor.
One light rail passenger was overheard saying about their unusual riding partners, “I don’t know what the fuck is going on here, but I think I’m getting off at the next stop.”
Michael Taylor, who participated with his girlfriend Denise Meyers, felt the event was so much more than just drinking. “We’re just having good, clean fun,” he says. “There’s no violence or anything bad. We’d still be doing this even if we weren’t drunk.”
“The booze is just a lubricant for the event,” added Meyers.
Senior recreation management and tourism major Zach Kent was one of the men in a bride’s dress and sees the event in his own, particular way.
“This is not the first time I’ve worn a dress,” he says. “I’d prefer to be naked, but it’s cool.”
The event is about community. It’s about people. It’s never too big or too discerning to say no to someone.
“I love having the chance to meet new people and to be active in the community,” says participant Inger Dickson. “These events are tremendous.”
Burning Man
Many of the people who participated in both the Idiotarod and the Brides of March are friends because of the AZ Cacophony Society, but not solely because of it.
“I’ve met some people here [at Brides of March], but I know quite a few of them because of Burning Man,” says Lundquist. “These events are like miniature versions.”
Burning Man is a yearly event which takes place at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. It’s an interactive art festival and a week long camping trip wrapped up into one massive event. In 2008, participants totaled nearly 48,000 — and there are no rules. Each participant can decide how they will partake in the festivities. It’s such a big event that Black Rock Desert is often referred to as Black Rock City because there are so many people.
It’s about art and free expression. Everything is shared. Everything is brought by the participants. No traces of the event are left behind. It’s all very forthright and experimental.
“I love Burning Man,” says Lundquist. “That’s where I got my nickname — Naked Mike.”
For the love of the game
Although staging these events can become a bit of a chore, Pantsmaker and Dr. Doctor see them lasting a while longer.
“We'll organize these events as long as it’s still fun for us to do it,” says Pantsmaker. “They still have a few years of awesome left in them.”
“I think these events are great,” says Heath Dessel, who graduated from ASU in December of 2008 and is an active participant in AZ Cacophony Society events. “There were a lot of teams last month [at the Idiotarod] and this [Brides of March] is awesome because it’s fun to dress up.”
And although many of these folks may seem odd in some ways, they are good people who just enjoy a good time.
“People who look at us like that [oddly] can think whatever they’d like,” says Pantsmaker. “If a team of them actually got enough energy to peel themselves away from their TV sets and participate, they'd show up with street clothes and a stock shopping cart. Then they'd realize how out-of-place they were, and they'd probably just turn around and go home.”
Dickson agrees with that sentiment, but put it in her own, more succinct voice.
“I feel very lucky to be involved with this group,” she says.
Upcoming event(s
Looking for a way to participate, but don’t feel like waiting until next February for the 2010 installment of the Idiotarod? That’s OK.
On April 11, the AZ Cacophony Society is organizing the Flagstaff Bunny Rampage. They are meeting in the “Rendezvous Lounge” of the Hotel Monte Vista in downtown Flagstaff. A complete bunny suit would be preferred, but it’s suggested that wearing white with bunny ears and any noise making accessories will be perfectly acceptable.
September 3, the AZ Cacophony Society is headed to Black Rock City, the same place as Burning Man, for an early edition of Santarchy. It’s just like Brides of March except everyone dresses like Santa. It’s encouraged that all the Santas bring a megaphone, some sort of instrument and gifts.
Reach the reporter at mel.flores@asu.edu.
