Cosmic Puffin Festival
Encyclopedia
The Cosmic Puffin Music Festival is held at Easter
each year on Mersea Island
at Mersea Youth Camp, near Colchester
in Essex
.
The aim of the event is to raise money and awareness for charities. Musicians perform entirely for free, with no fee, rider
or fuel costs showing their support for the charities as well as the live music scene. The event is staffed with volunteers.
.
Despite adverse weather conditions the Cosmic Puffin managed to raise in excess of £1000 to share between the charities.
Many of the bands had to improvise their lineup as various band members were unable to reach the island due to the weather conditions.
The event was primarily promoted via MySpace and by word of mouth.
On the 27th of March 2008 a website was created to help promote the event more effectivley, to archive various media from the event and to sell tickets for future Cosmic Puffin Festivals.
The website includes links to many Photographs and contains many videos from the event.
Many of the bands donated tracks to a compilation CD dedicated to the Cosmic Puffin and the above mentioned charities.
Jamie Anderson (Yammezz) managed the Cosmic stage and Simon Deards (Sideards) from MyChoonz managed the MyChoonz stage.
This time round each charity received around £1400.
band, House Of Thandoy featuring Mike Howlett
from Gong
and Basil Brooks from Zorch Zorch
, DJ Weirditude, Peyote Guru, Spirits Of The Earth, Trev and Kev Trev Thoms
, Peyote Mothership, Bruise, Nukli, Shom, Bubbledubble, Dream Machine
, G-Delic, DJ Kozmik Ken, Electric Dub Guru, Xenon Codex, Assassins Of Silence (Hawkwind
tribute band), Xoo, Dyframix, Wind Of Change and Litmus
.
Once again many photographs and videos were added to the website
Full price tickets are £45 including camping for the weekend.
An extra £10 is being charged for campervans and caravans.
Ady Johnson, Automatic Slim, , Dilute to Taste, The Fancy Dress Party, Hobo Chang, Hokie Joint, Lizzie B, Ministry of Loud, New Town Kings, The Optic Nerves, Phil Burdett Group, The Rhizomes, Sista Suzi, Surfquake, Vardo & the boss, Wobbly Squadron, Aurora, Bruise, Bubbledubble, Deviant Amps, DJ Weirditude, Dr Hasbeen, Flutatious, The Kozmik Ken Experience, Nuadem, Nukli, Pandemonium, Paradise 9, Peyote, Peyote Guru, Shom, Spirits of the Earth, The Starfighters, Temple Hedz, Treason and Trev & Kev.
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
each year on Mersea Island
Mersea Island
Mersea Island is the most easterly inhabited island in the United Kingdom, located marginally off the coast of Essex, England, to the southeast of Colchester. It is situated in the estuary area of the Blackwater and Colne rivers and has an area of around...
at Mersea Youth Camp, near Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.
The aim of the event is to raise money and awareness for charities. Musicians perform entirely for free, with no fee, rider
Rider (theater)
In theater , a rider is a set of requests or demands that a performer will set as criteria for performance.-Hospitality Rider:The hospitality rider is a list of requests for the comfort of the artist on the day of the show...
or fuel costs showing their support for the charities as well as the live music scene. The event is staffed with volunteers.
Charities
The Cosmic Puffin founded by Yammezz (Jamie Anderson) to help raise funds for (C.O.S.M.I.C.) in London, UK and the children's ward called the PUFFIN ward at the Basildon and Thurrock HospitalBasildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides healthcare for people in the south west Essex, in the East of England. There are two hospitals in the trust and one clinical centre: Basildon Hospital and Orsett Hospital and Billericay St. Andrew's Centre...
.
Despite adverse weather conditions the Cosmic Puffin managed to raise in excess of £1000 to share between the charities.
Weather
Although there were extremely adverse weather conditions including high winds across the island and heavy snow the event still went on.Many of the bands had to improvise their lineup as various band members were unable to reach the island due to the weather conditions.
Bands
The bands that played at the first Cosmic Puffin festival included Death By Desire, The Fancy Dress Party, Picturehouse Big Band, The Rhizomes, Saltdog, Dylan James, Darkfire, Hotwired, The Optic Nerves, The AC’s, The Hokie Joint, Purple Melon, WeirdGear, CODA, Skandal, , Laura Younger and The New Town Kings.Other attractions
Due to the weather there was very little in the form of other attractions for the first Cosmic Puffin festival, however there were circus workshops and fire eating/fire breathing displaysPromotion
Most of the bands were filmed for free by a video crew from the music promotion company MyChoonz.The event was primarily promoted via MySpace and by word of mouth.
On the 27th of March 2008 a website was created to help promote the event more effectivley, to archive various media from the event and to sell tickets for future Cosmic Puffin Festivals.
The website includes links to many Photographs and contains many videos from the event.
Many of the bands donated tracks to a compilation CD dedicated to the Cosmic Puffin and the above mentioned charities.
Cosmic Puffin 2
This time the Cosmic Puffin had 2 music stages (one called COSMIC stage, the other called MYCHOONZ stage)with around twice as many bands than the first year.Jamie Anderson (Yammezz) managed the Cosmic stage and Simon Deards (Sideards) from MyChoonz managed the MyChoonz stage.
Charities
The charities chosen this time round were BLISS (for babies born too soon) and NAS (National Autistic Society).This time round each charity received around £1400.
Weather
The weather was vastly better than the previous year with sunshine for the most part of the weekend.Bands
The bands that played the Cosmic Puffin II included: The Fancy Dress Party, Ady Johnson, The Picturehouse Big Band, The Rhizomes, Lizzie B, Sista Suzi, Liz Williams, Kundalini Drive, Wobbly Squadron, Pro-rata (formerly CODA), , Automatic Slim, Hokie Joint, Skandal, The Iceni, Alunah, WeirdGear, Surfquake, Zubzub, The Optic Nerves, Cling, The Nanobots, The Starfighters Bob Calvert'sRobert Calvert
Robert Calvert was a writer, poet, and musician.-Biography:Born Robert Newton Calvert in Pretoria, South Africa, Calvert's parents moved to England when he was two years of age and later attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street...
band, House Of Thandoy featuring Mike Howlett
Mike Howlett
Mike Howlett is a Fijian-born musician, Grammy Award winning producer and teacher based in the United Kingdom and Australia....
from Gong
Gong (band)
Gong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
and Basil Brooks from Zorch Zorch
Zorch
Zorch, who formed in 1973, were England's first totally electronic band, pioneering integrated performances of synthesizers and lightshow. Originally a four piece, by 1975 Zorch were performing as a duo: Basil Brooks and Gwyo Zepix played three monophonic EMS analogue synthesizers, but were...
, DJ Weirditude, Peyote Guru, Spirits Of The Earth, Trev and Kev Trev Thoms
Trev Thoms
Trev Thoms also known as Judge Trev Thoms and Judge Trev was a British guitarist.In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he played in a blues-rock group with hints of progressive rock and heavy rock called Iron Maiden - not the famous group of the same name - along with Barry Skeels, who later played...
, Peyote Mothership, Bruise, Nukli, Shom, Bubbledubble, Dream Machine
Dream Machine (band)
Dream Machine are a space rock supergroup, based in London, UK. Dream Machine play music that can be described as psychedelic and ambient rock music, incorporating guitar, synthesizers and woodwind instruments...
, G-Delic, DJ Kozmik Ken, Electric Dub Guru, Xenon Codex, Assassins Of Silence (Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
tribute band), Xoo, Dyframix, Wind Of Change and Litmus
Litmus (band)
-History:Litmus are a London-based space rock band formed in 2000 by Martin , Simon and Ben , joined the following year by Andy Thompson and Anton . Matt Thompson joined on synth , while Marek replaced Ben in 2003. Oli Mayne joined in 2008, then left in 2010, along with Anton...
.
Other attractions
As well as circus workshops and fire eating/fire breathing displays the second Cosmic Puffin festival had John Row storyteller and poet entertaining both children and adults alike. Also there was a hand made willow labyrinth and a solar stage which invited people to perform improvised music sets.Promotion
After the second Cosmic Puffin festival, on 14 April 2009, an internet forum was set up for people to discuss their experiences and opinions of the event as well as making suggestions for future events.Once again many photographs and videos were added to the website
Cosmic Puffin 3
There are to be four official music areas: three stages and a dance room featuring DJ'sDates
The 3rd Cosmic Puffin festival is due to take place from the 2nd to the 4th of April 2010Charities
The charities will once again be BLISS (for babies born too soon) and NAS (National Autistic Society).Ticket Price
Early bird tickets were on sale for £35 including camping for the weekend until the 15th of February 2010Full price tickets are £45 including camping for the weekend.
An extra £10 is being charged for campervans and caravans.
Bands
Bands for the 3rd Cosmic Puffin so far announced includeAdy Johnson, Automatic Slim, , Dilute to Taste, The Fancy Dress Party, Hobo Chang, Hokie Joint, Lizzie B, Ministry of Loud, New Town Kings, The Optic Nerves, Phil Burdett Group, The Rhizomes, Sista Suzi, Surfquake, Vardo & the boss, Wobbly Squadron, Aurora, Bruise, Bubbledubble, Deviant Amps, DJ Weirditude, Dr Hasbeen, Flutatious, The Kozmik Ken Experience, Nuadem, Nukli, Pandemonium, Paradise 9, Peyote, Peyote Guru, Shom, Spirits of the Earth, The Starfighters, Temple Hedz, Treason and Trev & Kev.