How can I submit a QUESTION?
Please write faq@highmayhem.org or use the message service on our contact page to get a question to us right here.

Who's responding to these questions?
It depends on the question. We all do a little of everything, so the person with the greatest association to the query generally answers. I, Max, answered this one because it is a question about questions.

Why is your organization called High Mayhem?
Oh, that's easy. I thought these questions were going to be hard. Back in 1999, I was messing around with an ontological experiment wherein I had invented some self-referenced personas. A name for the experiment and related improvizations, came about when Rocque and I were throwing names around for it. A couple years later, as I got back into music with Yozo, Mike, Shawn, Gaspar and ultimately Carlos, the idea of throwing a festival here at the space came up and as High Mayhem was already a quasi-entity the name was absorbed. The original experiment went by the wayside and so High Mayhem Emerging Arts usurped it. I renamed the experiment control-alt-delete. Neglected, but not abandoned, it's here.

What's with the logo? The logo, right. Well, the logo was another thing absorbed from the thought experiment - one of the personas from the experiment was a temporal engineeer called Dr. Moniker, who will have invented a "happenstance generator - a many worlds navigation device" He coded information and sets of instructions or "keys" with mathematically complex and encrypted pictograms. The image at right is one of those pictograms. To Doc Moniker, the pictogram on the right is a set of instructions that provide heavily encoded clues to space-time coordinates and how they relate to his own navigation of shared realites. If you are a cryptographer and feel like taking a crack at it, lemme know what you can extract. The image, if you know how to read it, contains at least five sets of coordinates and specific events/locations. The two dimensional image actually contains four-dimensional (and maybe more) information. High Mayhem adopted it, that's all. So it means NOTHING, forget about it, forget you ever read this - it never happened.

Can I rent High Mayhem for a party?
UH, maybe. That’s tough - High Mayhem has come to be more than a cool building. High Mayhem programming has infused this place, so it has a history and therefore a reputation (for better or worse), so we don’t just book ANYTHING here. Plus it wouldn’t be a High Mayhem Event, and I’d hesitate having a renter even saying their event is at High Mayhem because that implies they got our stamp or endorsement and it’s an instant identification. It would kind of be like renting an identity. Plus a lot of people would have to move a lot of stuff around, especially me ‘cause I live here. Soooo, uh, no. I changed my mind - the answer is no. Another space, another time, maybe.
We are interested in hearing about appropriate programming ideas, though.

What happens to the money I gave at the door, seriously?
We burn it...money is dirty and bad. No really, OK, it’s kind of a complicated issue and is different from show to show. The basic answer is that no one pockets any money, if ya were wondering. No member of High Mayhem has ever made any money by doing this... yet; in fact, it’s quite the opposite (meaning we don’t make any money). Generally, with door money the first thing that happens is we pay off expenses for the show -to rent the necessary gear, make food, feed and nourish the artists and ourselves. Hopefully the door generates enough money for that, but it is not always the case. Often times we end a show in the red. If the band is an out of town band we try and help them out as much as we can. Generally local bands donate their performances in exchange for the documentation and recordings of their performance. Any left over money goes into the High Mayhem general account that allows us to occasionally buy more gear to make us less dependent on borrowing, schmoozing, swindling, and renting equipment. General monies are also saved up to help in producing the High Mayhem Festival. So far, every year with what we bring in at the door from shows, the fundraiser, and the festival we have been able to keep this operation running without any net loss or gain (sort of…). It’s kinda like the zero balance of the universe, the yin and the yang, the oppressor and the oppressed; you know, equilibrium. However, we do have high ambitions for our organization and any donations and volunteerisms are greatly welcomed and appreciated, maybe someday we’ll be able to do this to make a “living,” but either way I guess it feeds us in one way or another or else we wouldn’t be doing it.

Does High Mayhem sell drugs?
What? Are you SERIOUS?
Uh, this is a FAQ, I thought I got to ask the questions.
Sorry. It's just that it's a real dumb question. The answer is no. Why, do you?
What, sell drugs?
Yeah.
Well, if I did I wouldn't plaster it all all over a web site.
So now you see what a dumb question it is?

Is High Mayhem a cult?
Yes. Absolutely...if you are a vulnerable, weak-willed, brainwashing candidate in search of some kind of fulfillment via a dominant belief system that holds no promise other than to confuse your mind, blacken you soul and drain your wallet, like, oh… what does that remind me of? Sorry, no, we prefer that you think for yourself.

How can I get a TLSW 8x10 glossy?
There’s a link to their site on the High Mayhem Artists page, here.
I don’t know if they have those yet. Sure would be one ugly picture; are you sure you want that?
Yes , yes I do...those guys move me.

Why should I donate to High Mayhem?
We’re broke and we will use your donation wisely.

Who makes decisions on packaging and artwork for the releases?
As an art collective it can become tricky in terms of how we present our music and productions to the world. The only real consideration is that the artists themselves must have the leeway to choose how it is that they want their project presented; we help facilitate that, but it's their thing.

How and why do you make much of your packaging by hand?
We have used a variety of mediums to hand make our packaging; silk screening, lino-cut blocks, brayer art, and...more to come. The process is often tedious, often energizing, and involves numerous transformations and generations of an individual concept. The selected art serves as the basic idea, however the entire process makes many new translations; the transfer to acetates, the cutting of a block, the burning of a screen, etc., all of which alter the art in their own way. The application of the ink and the happenstance involved results in every individual package having its own personality and character. Sometimes I look at them after they’ve been printed and say “Whoa,” which could be good, or it could be bad, but yet I can use the same word…Whoa. I know. The variances between prints are often subtle, sometimes not, they represent a state in time where inks were varied to a particular color; pressure was applied in a certain way, the humidity and temperature of the air allowed the ink to dry in a particular way. But most importantly it gives a static recording a personality. It symbolizes and unifies the artistic process throughout; the performance, the mixdown, the mastering, the art, the packaging are united as a single artistic entity in an attempt to represent the unique artistic vision of each of the High Mayhem artists. And besides that, it’s cheaper and we’re broke....care to donate?

What does it take to be an artist programmed by High Mayhem?
As you have already learned, we are a cult, so start with a haircut. No, seriously, I guess if we came up with guidelines, we would lose our fluxus nature. But I’ll try and answer…If artists are being true to themselves in what they craft, if they have removed societally imposed obstacles to fashion an expression of their own, we embrace them. High Mayhem is not about genre, style, or aesthetic. High Mayhem is about essence, integrity, and individuality. If you think this is you then drop us an email, submit an idea, we are always open to collaborating and meeting like-minded artists.

What’s the deal with High Mayhem releases?
Generally, we’re just trying to expose the greater universe to the incredible talent that is High Mayhem. Once again, this is not something we have made any money off of, generally the artists themselves finance their own release and we help with the administration, the development of art, the production of CDs, the fabrication of packaging, and the subsequent promotion for reviews and radio-play. Putting out a release is a difficult thing, we feel that High Mayhem is really here to help facilitate getting artists their just exposure. We help in the game, and for our efforts receive 20% of the production run ourselves for sales and promotion. That doesn’t mean that we will put out anyone’s releases; you have to rule, and we have to agree that you rule.

Is there any question you can’t answer?
Yes.