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Chuck
Palahniuk: A lot of "Fight Club," especially the second part of the book, was based on the Cacophony Society, which was a group of people based in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Los Angeles, who organized enormous pranks and spectacles — to entertain themselves and shock the world around
275:
By the mid-1990s, the
Cacophony Society had expanded to Portland, Oregon. In 1996, Portland Cacophony organized the first Santa Rampage outside of San Francisco. The arrival of the members dressed like Santa, who flew in by plane, was met by Portland police in riot gear, following a tip-off from the
279:
For several years, Portland
Cacophony was responsible for the Disgruntled Postal Workers, a group of armed individuals in postal uniforms who occasionally delivered newspapers and other forms of "mail" at the annual Burning Man festival. Eventually, the Burning Man organizers banned their guns. The
266:
In
December 1993, the Seattle Chapter held a protest event called "Uncan the Cranberries" at a shopping mall, where Cacophony members asked the public to "save the free-range cranberry". Another Cacophony member asked the "adult children of parents" to avoid "dysfunction and substance abuse" by
247:
community out of guilt over the deaths of two young members who reportedly died in a drunken post-event car accident. However, one of the men eventually turned out to be completely fictitious and the other, Peter "Mr. Outer Space" Geiberger, was discovered to be alive. In Spring 2001, Ridenour
232:. After mailing out physical monthly newsletters for several years, they switched to an online newsletter format. The events produced by the Los Angeles branch often centered on public pranking with several historical events, including "Cement Cuddles" where they filled a dozen
186:, a group of subscribers to the defunct society's email discussion list became active under the Cacophony Society aegis. This resurgence followed a mock Pigeon Roast organized by a fictitious group called "Bay Area Rotisserie Friends" in San Francisco's
276:
San
Francisco Police Department. However, the activities resulted in only two arrests, which involved a gift wrapped in a Playboy centerfold being given to a recipient without verifying that they were over 18.
280:
Black Rock City Post Office (BRCPO), which sends US postal mail from the
Burning Man festival with a unique BRCPO postmark arranged with the US Postmaster, is still managed by PDX Cacophony associates.
101:
organization that consists of individuals "united in the pursuit of experiences beyond the pale of mainstream society." In 1986, the organization was created by the surviving members of the defunct
299:
Cacophony chapters are or have been active in about two dozen
American cities and at least a half dozen other countries. Between 2003 and 2006, and in 2008, "Sant' Arctica" was held at
243:
group splintered in late 2000 when longtime leader, Al "Reverend Al" Ridenour, pranked the society itself and declared a "bold new direction" for the branch by allegedly joining an
258:
In 2008, the Los
Angeles chapter was revived by San Francisco members Heathervescent and Rev. Borfo with Michael Mikel's blessing. They have since continued to sponsor events.
283:
One of the most widely known
Cacophony members is Novelist Chuck Palahniuk, who has mentioned his experiences with the Society in his writings, particularly in the book
628:
133:
event. The move came after
Cacophony member Michael Mikel attended the event's previous iteration, the unnamed Memorial Day beach party to raise and burn the Man on
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and Jerry James, who had previously run the Baker Beach party, co-founded the Burning Man festival when they were invited to bring their
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Cacophony events, which may be sponsored by any member, often involve wearing costumes, performing pranks in public places, and
1103:
152:
along for the new Labor Day weekend art festival after they had been blocked from burning it on the beach by law enforcement.
291:. Palahniuk himself was pranked by a group of members disguised as waiters at one of his book readings in San Francisco.
614:
687:" "A Punch Line and an Exit; With its leader's departure, the prank-pulling L.A. Cacophony Society is at a crossroads"
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287:. Palahniuk used the Society as the inspiration for the fictional organization Project Mayhem in his novel
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In 2005, Reverend Al resurfaced as Dr. A.P. Ridenour, leader of a safety consciousness organization,
144:
and Michael Mikel. They publicized the event in the Society newsletter as "A Bad Day at Black Rock".
60:
629:"Internet Archive Now Home to San Francisco Cacophony Society 'Rough Draft' Newsletters (1986-2001)"
518:"Bad Day At Black Rock, Cacophony Society Zone Trip #4 Which Took Burning Man to the Desert in 1990"
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In 1990, Carrie Galbraith and Kevin Evans conceived of Zone Trip #4 and organized it with
8:
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542:"Enter the Zone — Episode 1: How a Band of Pranksters Inadvertently Created Burning Man"
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also have taken some inspiration from early Society events such as the Sewer Walks.
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chapter in the late 1990s and the cessation of the chapter's monthly newsletter,
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with cement and put them on toy store shelves complete with bar-coded labels.
137:, in 1988 and publicized the 1989 event in the Cacophony Society newsletter.
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activities have been influenced by the Society, as well as groups like
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The Society was also involved in such events as the Atomic Café, the
459:"Cacophony Society Prankster Group Gets New Exhibit and Documentary"
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In 2013, Kevin Evans, Carrie Galbraith and John Law co-authored
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Formed in 1986, some members became organizers of the annual
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Many activities have been inspired by the Society, such as
255:, along with several members of the Los Angeles chapter.
907:
726:"Public Pranksters Delight in Tormenting Stuffed Shirts"
82:
806:
Garchik, Leah. "Getting the vapors over literature."
434:"Carrie Galbraith enters The Zone for the last time"
351:
406:"Public pranksters enjoy tormenting stuffed shirts"
285:Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon
228:chapter listed events in their monthly newsletter
163:, driving an earthquake-damaged car on the closed
1459:
1422:List of culture jamming organizations and people
758:
678:
190:in 2000, proposed by Drunken Consumptive Panda.
767:"Chuck Palahniuk Gives a Lesson on Prank-ology"
1170:Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping
607:"Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society"
938:
310:
267:staying home and avoiding family gatherings.
790:
788:
786:
195:Tales of the San Francisco Cacophony Society
945:
931:
783:
684:
849:
764:
248:stepped down as leader of the chapter.
124:
451:
404:Dunham, Elisabeth (December 23, 1993).
204:In 2013, a digitized collection of the
175:, Urban Iditarod, and the Sewer Walk.
1478:American artist groups and collectives
1460:
1104:Society for Indecency to Naked Animals
876:
723:
645:
403:
323:' arrest in a pornographic theater).
219:
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515:
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1473:Organizations based in San Francisco
908:The Cacophony Society's home website
601:
599:
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428:
426:
333:. The Society also has links to the
16:American counterculture organization
952:
685:MacGregor, Hilary E. (2002-02-07).
270:
13:
1483:Counterculture festivals activists
261:
14:
1504:
1488:1986 establishments in California
901:
879:"The Unkillable Arts Underground"
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423:
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159:Treasure Hunt, the picnic on the
750:
724:Dunham, Elizabeth (1993-12-23).
709:
670:
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212:newsletters was uploaded to the
178:After a lull in activity in the
1099:Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
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639:
621:
1039:Barbie Liberation Organization
877:Kamiya, Gary (February 2016).
559:
534:
479:
397:
383:"You may already be a member!"
1:
1360:Max Headroom signal hijacking
913:PDX Cacophony Stumptown Lodge
765:Gagliano, Rico (2015-05-29).
368:
362:San Francisco Bay Area portal
7:
646:Ehrman, Mark (1991-12-22).
516:Beale, Scott (2007-01-18).
169:1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
119:
10:
1509:
1044:Billboard Liberation Front
978:Broadcast signal intrusion
311:Other events, affiliations
1399:
1348:Saint Stupid's Day Parade
1334:
1311:Temporary Autonomous Zone
1290:Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy
1274:
1178:
1142:
1021:
960:
795:"Big Red's In Town Again"
566:Caen, Herb (1990-11-03).
339:Saint Stupid's Day Parade
319:Day (commemorating Actor
224:Originating in 1991, the
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67:
61:San Francisco, California
56:
42:
34:
24:
1283:The Illuminatus! Trilogy
1384:Portland Urban Iditarod
1155:Church of the SubGenius
1114:Veterans of Future Wars
993:Guerrilla communication
808:San Francisco Chronicle
572:The Honolulu Advertiser
487:"The Cacophony Society"
385:. The Cacophony Society
335:Church of the SubGenius
47:Counterculture activism
1390:Pillow fight flash mob
1256:Kerry Wendell Thornley
1226:Malaclypse the Younger
884:San Francisco Magazine
197:, a book published by
1304:Book of the SubGenius
1049:Billionaires for Bush
810:, September 12, 2003.
341:held on April 1st in
125:San Francisco Chapter
410:McCook Daily Gazette
1297:Principia Discordia
1266:Robert Anton Wilson
730:Ukiah Daily Journal
546:Burning Man Journal
253:The Art of Bleeding
230:Tales from the Zone
220:Los Angeles Chapter
167:to commemorate the
165:Embarcadero Freeway
21:
1447:Operation Mindfuck
1054:The Bubble Project
1013:Tactical frivolity
852:"santarctica 2006"
822:"Santarctica 2006"
695:. p. E.1, E.3
467:. February 2, 2012
245:Orthodox Christian
161:Golden Gate Bridge
69:Official language
19:
1468:Cacophony Society
1455:
1454:
1342:Notre-Dame Affair
1069:Improv Everywhere
1059:Cacophony Society
973:Billboard hacking
692:Los Angeles Times
653:Los Angeles Times
331:Improv Everywhere
95:Cacophony Society
91:
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20:Cacophony Society
1500:
1417:Critique of work
1407:Anti-consumerism
1201:Captain Midnight
1079:Merry Pranksters
968:Art intervention
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1064:Guerrilla Girls
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635:. May 16, 2013.
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173:Brides of March
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633:Laughing Squid
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617:on 2013-05-08.
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832:on 2018-10-13
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1350:(late 1970s)
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1008:Subvertising
983:DĂ©tournement
918:Zone Trip #4
888:. Retrieved
882:
872:
861:. Retrieved
855:
845:
834:. Retrieved
830:the original
825:
816:
807:
801:
776:
770:. Retrieved
760:
743:– via
738:. Retrieved
736:. p. 12
729:
719:
702:– via
697:. Retrieved
690:
680:
663:– via
658:. Retrieved
656:. p. 14
651:
641:
632:
623:
615:the original
610:
581:– via
576:. Retrieved
574:. p. 26
571:
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550:. Retrieved
548:. 2021-08-23
545:
536:
525:. Retrieved
521:
495:. Retrieved
493:. 2019-06-04
490:
481:
469:. Retrieved
462:
453:
442:. Retrieved
440:. 2018-01-26
437:
413:. Retrieved
409:
399:
387:. Retrieved
377:
325:
321:Paul Reubens
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188:Union Square
183:
177:
154:
146:Larry Harvey
139:
128:
111:
103:Suicide Club
94:
92:
57:Headquarters
29:Suicide Club
1493:Burning Man
1354:Burning Man
1246:Joey Skaggs
1241:Jerry Rubin
1211:Ron English
1129:The Yes Men
1089:Negativland
1003:Media prank
857:LiveJournal
568:"Herb Caen"
241:Los Angeles
234:teddy bears
226:Los Angeles
210:Rough Draft
184:Rough Draft
135:Baker Beach
131:Burning Man
25:Predecessor
1462:Categories
1437:Subculture
1432:Street art
1261:Bill Wasik
1251:Ivan Stang
1119:Whirl-Mart
998:Hacktivism
890:2018-10-25
863:2018-10-12
836:2018-10-12
772:2018-10-12
740:2018-10-18
699:2018-10-13
660:2018-10-13
578:2018-10-23
552:2024-05-08
527:2024-07-16
497:2024-05-08
491:Trippingly
444:2024-07-16
415:August 22,
369:References
305:Antarctica
289:Fight Club
208:chapter's
1231:Ben Masel
1186:Alan Abel
1143:Movements
1084:monochrom
1034:Anonymous
1029:Adbusters
988:Flash mob
648:"CLIQUES"
611:Last Gasp
464:LA Weekly
327:Flash mob
199:Last Gasp
83:cacophony
35:Formation
1412:Artivist
1378:SantaCon
1221:John Law
471:April 4,
438:John Law
389:April 4,
142:John Law
120:Chapters
99:US-based
1400:Related
1318:No Logo
1134:Yippies
1124:Wu Ming
78:Website
73:English
43:Purpose
1392:(2008)
1386:(2001)
1380:(1994)
1374:(1993)
1368:(1992)
1362:(1987)
1356:(1986)
1344:(1950)
1335:Events
1191:Banksy
1179:People
1094:RTMark
1022:Groups
171:, the
150:effigy
1275:Works
1160:Provo
961:Forms
778:them.
97:is a
473:2015
417:2010
391:2015
239:The
116:.
93:The
85:.org
38:1986
105:of
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