Sapien Fire Man

Oui Oui Music Newsletter

October 17, 2024

Greetings Slim People,

I've created a kinder, gentler superhero.

Aluminum Man.

Kinda like Iron Man, but instead of killing the bad guys, he just...foils their plans.

Slim Guys and Dolls!

Before we jump into the Sapien Fire, let me tell you what's cooking at the Slim Shack...

There are only about 20 copies of the Slim Man Cooks Volume 2 cookbook left. So if you want to order one, now would be a good time.

It's full of funny stories, ravishing recipes, and hundreds of photos. Every recipe has a video of me showing you how to cook each dish.

That's right, just scan the QR code and watch Mr. Man elucidate and demonstrate how to whip up some savory vittles. It's magical!

And every cookbook comes with a free CD. And I'll even sign both!

Get it HERE!

THIS JUST IN:

If you're looking for a new place to hide out, why not check out Frank's Hideout?

It's got a speakeasy vibe and a Frank Sinatra flavor. It's swingin'!

The Slim Man Guy is doing a solo show there on Thursday, October 24th. I'll be singing some Rat Pack songs as well as crooning some Slim Tunes.

Get tickets now!

All details on all shows are down below and on the Slim Site.

And pick up a cookbook while you're there!

AND NOW THE REAL NEW REAL NEWS FROM SLIM'S SHADY TRAILER PARK

Last Saturday I decided to get out of town. I was getting cabin fever from sitting inside every day because of the heat. This summer and fall has been the hottest ever.

135 days of 100 degrees and above. 83 days of 110 degrees and above. It's been so hot the goats at Slim's Shady Trailer Park have been giving evaporated milk.

As soon as it dipped into the 90s, I gassed up the Slimousine and headed down the highway to Joshua Tree. It's about 30 miles from Palm Springs.

Destination? Sapien Fire, which was supposed to be a Burning Man-type festival.

I drove through Morongo Valley, then Yucca Valley and took a left on a small two-lane road. There were hardly any other cars around. After a few miles, I understood why...

The asphalt suddenly ended and the road became an incredibly bumpy, dusty unpaved trail.

It was so rough I thought my dentures were gonna shake loose. It was like driving a Conestoga wagon across a dry riverbed! No wonder nobody was on the road.

It was slow-going, but I kept driving.

In the distance I saw some strange objects rising out of the desert floor. I drove up, pulled over, and walked up a sandy path to check them out.

The sculptures were about 30-feet tall; four hands with holes in the palms and what looked like an alien head in the middle.

Sculptor Daniel Popper created the works of art. He calls them "Transmission."

Maybe Danny calls them "Transmission" because of all the cars that lost their transmissions on the treacherous trek to the exhibit!

If I were a sculptor, I'm not sure I'd display my creations in the middle of nowhere. I mean, there was nothing around for miles and miles.

I continued my herky-jerky journey across the deserted desert.

The dirt road got even more rutty and rugged. It was like driving over thousands of rolling pins. There were potholes so large they could have swallowed up an 18-wheeler.

Every couple miles handmade cardboard signs appeared, stapled to wooden stakes stuck in the sand. This Way to Sapien Fire.

I made turn after turn after turn, dust pluming behind me like Mel Gibson crossing the dusty tundra in The Road Warrior.

The last sign led me to an old surfboard stuck upright in the sand with letters carved into the deck...

"Straight Arrow Ranch."

This must be the place. Finally!

I pulled in and parked by an iron sculpture of a giant spider.

The organizers were still setting up. There was an old school bus called The Boogie Bus with guitar amps and an upright piano inside. Two guys were playing reggae songs. We be jammin'!

Next to it was a trailer with a loud generator out back. They were making hand-tossed pizza. The dough-roller told me the pizza was New York-style. Start spreading the news!

A stage was set up in front of what looked like a metal storage container converted into living quarters. There was a makeshift balcony on top.

But what about the Sapien Fire Man? Where was the huge wooden sculpture they were gonna incinerate after the festivities?

I looked around. About 50 yards from the stage was a stick figure surrounded by a mound of wood pallets. This must be Sapien Fire Man!

The Burning Man statue is about 100-feet tall. Give or take a few feet.

As I got closer, I realized Sapien Fire Man was only about 10-feet tall. Not nearly as tall as Burning Man. More like Burning Boy.

Shorty the Sapien was crowned with a head that had a long red tongue, two small pointy ears and a horn sticking out of its forehead.

Wood pallets were stacked high behind it and to the side. There was a red can of gasoline in a bush nearby.

As the sun went down, the band--a quartet with a really good female singer--started playing. There were about 40 people hanging out.

The adults were sitting under umbrellas in a strange assortment of thrift store chairs and scruffy couches. A dozen college kids were standing in front of the band, swaying and swigging beer.

To the right of the stage a guy was grilling hamburgers over an open fire. Two kegs of draft beer sat on a table to his right.

The beer was free. The burgers were free. The pizza was free. Admission was free.

It was a free-for-all!

With all that free beer, at least there were bathrooms. Although they didn't call them bathrooms.

There was a message by the door handle...

The band sounded good, but the real star of the show was a puppy with a fluorescent collar that was wandering around during the concert.

After the band took a break, some of the college dudes lit long sparklers and stuck them in their mouths like cigarettes and started dancing, beers in hand.

Those crazy kids!

I had a psychic feeling that some of them had eaten mushrooms, and I ain't talking portobellos or shiitake. The smell of weed was everywhere. There was a psychedelic hippy-dippy lovey-dovey vibe in the air.

I gotta say this...everybody was really friendly. People were very nice and gracious.

However, I decided to leave before they lit Shorty the Sapien on fire. Why?

Beer-soaked pot-smoking folks, tripping on mushrooms, pouring gasoline on a wood sculpture and then setting it ablaze seemed a bit dangerous to me.

Plus...how were they gonna light it? Toss matches on the gasoline-soaked pallets from afar? Use a flamethrower? Throw lit joints at Shorty the Sapien?

I thought it best to skedaddle.

But before I left the festival I stopped by the donation bucket and put in a couple $20 dollar bills.

Hope it didn't catch on fire when they set Shorty the Sapien ablaze!

When I got back to the Slim Shack it was in the 80s. A cold spell!

Keep smiling Slim People. And keep cool!

It's all about love.

Who loves ya?

Uncle Slimmy

PS: Today is National Pasta Day! Here's my recipe for shrimp pasta salad--perfect when it's 120 degrees outside!

Here's the recipe!

Visit our website

Visit the Slim Store

Slim Man Concerts

WEDNESDAYS IN OCTOBER!

The Slim Man Chase Huna Rat Pack Duo

Larkspur Grill at Hotel Paseo

45400 Larkspur

Palm Desert, CA 92204

760.340.6069

SHOWTIME 6 PM

Come see the Slim Man Chase Huna Rat Pack Duo!

We have a cool video screen behind us that shows hundreds of vintage photos of the Rat Pack, Vegas, Palm Springs, old album covers, travel posters and postcards from the 1960s. Come check it out!

It's fun. Ain't that a kick in the head!

See you there!

https://www.larkspurgrill.com