Shaun Partridge is an American artist, writer, musician, and guru known for his painting, founding of the ‘Un Pop’ art movement, musical collaborations with Boyd Rice, and comic-book work with Josh Simmons.
In addition to these many achievements, Shaun is also one of the founders of religious group ‘The Partridge Family Temple’ aka ‘PFT!’. A religion created in 1988 under the philosophy that Fun is the Law, and devoted to spreading their message that life is a reality TV show and God is eating a TV dinner while watching us.
Sadly, like many great religious groups from the past ‘PFT!’ quickly faced considerable persecution. When in 1991 both Shaun and fellow ‘PFT!’ member Reverend Dan ‘Point-Me-in-the-Direction-of-Albuquerque’ Partridge were arrested whilst proselytising and handing out ‘PFT!’ stickers at a Danny Bonaduce and David Cassidy concert in New Haven, Connecticut.
An event which quickly saw the ‘Temple’ being mentioned in local, national, and eventually international news.
Knowing full well the power of turning lead into gold, Shaun and the ‘PFT!’ used the arrest and associated platform provided by the press to help further spread their religion and philosophy all over the globe – which they continue to do to this day.
Importantly, ‘PFT!’ are also highly active artistically – releasing musical works, propaganda, apparel, tomes and other knick-knacks so as to show their devotion to god, and spread their beliefs. As a result of this, they have attracted many creative believers and members. Such as Whale Song Partridge, Leonardo Casas, Walker Phillips, the aforementioned Boyd Rice, Gea Philes and countless others. Who all contribute in creating the hip, fun, and groovy ‘PFT!’ international scene.
So with ‘PFT!’ having just celebrated their 30th anniversary, released a new holy tome (‘The Mystery of the Sleeping Keyboardist’), and various members currently busy working on a soon-to-be-released collaborative music project – we decided to sit down with Shaun and rap with him all about life, art, the inner workings of the ‘Partridge Family Temple’, and a whole lot more.
Read it all below…
Getting Acquainted
Name + D.O.B?
The Partridge in the Pear Tree hatched September 1st, 1968, the year two of my favourite movies – Yellow Submarine and 2001: A Space Odyssey – came out.
City, State n Country you currently call home?
Albuquerque – the New and Improved Jerusalem.
City, State n Country you’re from?
I was hatched in Albany, New York.
A couple years later I went to Wisconsin and asked for Wisconsin Cheese Soup. The waitress looked at me strangely and then asked, “Do you mean cheese soup?”
Please describe some memories from key stages of your life: concerts, art, toys, romance, hunting, school, politics, crime, religion… ANYTHING really!
* Age 5 – beginnings:
(1973-77) In LaCrosse, Wisconsin, I had an amazing experience when I was 4, I believe. I was standing on the corner of my block. I wasn’t allowed to leave the block. A young woman walked up to me with long brown hair and a mini dress and asked me if I’d like to come over to her house to visit.
I was so excited that an adult wanted me to come visit. Even though I wasn’t supposed to leave the block or go with a stranger I left with her anyway. She lived about a block or two away. She was on the second floor.
I remember walking into her apartment and it was dark. We sat on the couch as I looked out the window. There was a strange smell in the house and I remember candles on the coffee table.
As we sat there I sensed that she was becoming more nervous because I had the conversational skills of a 4-year old. I remember wanting to convey to her that I was very happy. However, looking out the window I thought if only my mother knew where I was she would be so upset. And then she said, “Well, I think it’s time for you to go home.” I nodded my head and she walked me back.
When I told my mother about that she freaked out. In fact, to this day she freaks out about it.
I think about her often… I thought that she was older when I was a kid but when I got older, looking back, I think she was a hippie college student. For all I know she was stoned or on LSD. But to me she was the beginning of the Great Mystery and I love her to this day.
Also, Spoon Candy, the confusion I had when I went to the Bonanza restaurant and wondered why there was a restaurant from a TV show with the same name and if they were connected.
Underdog, Family Affair, Batman, The Land of the Giants, H.R. Pufnstuf.
“When I was a little kid, my parents brought me to see the Otter Man whose life work was of course, otters. He had also worked with Walt Disney on a Disney film about otters. When I met him, I honestly felt like I was having a personal meeting with the Pope. It was truly a religious experience. Just knowing this man had worked for Walt Disney was overwhelming.” – Shaun
“Photograph of me crying taken by my father who would document my punishments.” – Shaun
* Age 10 – continuations:
(1978-82) Mork and Mindy.
“Photograph of me being punished for being beaten up after school and crying taken by my father.” – Shaun
* Age 15 – getting serious:
(1983-87) When I was seventeen, I started listening to psychedelic music and everything started to make sense. This is around when I became a Jesus Freak and that was fantastic.
My friends and I stopped doing LSD and were high on the Holy Spirit.
* Age 20 – young adult:
(1988-92) The Summer of ’88 is when Adam Sleek switched Dan and I onto the true meaning of The Partridge Family.
* Age 25 – adult mode:
(1993-97) Beverly Hills 90210, Baywatch, The Real World, Seinfeld.
* Age 30 – fully formed:
(1998-2002) Shirley Partridge taught me the alchemical secret of the Two Christophers and how to use that in my artwork shop.
* Age 35 – meanderings:
(2003-2007) Did some stuff.
Curb Your Enthusiasm on HBO.
* Age 40 – middle age creeping:
(2008-2012) I started listening to the Beatles obsessively when I was 14. When I turned 40, I started listening to them again obsessively and reading a bunch of Beatles books.
One of the best parts of the Beatles mythology is when they visited the Maharishi. So I picked up a book about him to see what his trip was.
I was confused by his follower’s ideas that world peace could be achieved. But it’s still a neat story. This made me start meditating and practicing Yoga.
Thank you Fab Four!
Mad Men, The Shield, The Sopranos, Deadwood, Gossip Girl.
* Age 45 – adult meanderings:
(2013-2017) Founded the Anne Frank Yoga Studio.
* Age 50 – middle age freaking:
(2018 onwards) The Partridge Family Temple All is Flowing Family of God keeps on trucking and spreading its message that life is a Reality TV show and God is eating a TV dinner while watching us.
Biographic Follow Up Questions
You have divulged something we did not know sir! Namely that The Partridge Family Temple Scene is a branch of the All is Flowing Family of God – so…
* What is the All is Flowing Family of God?
The All is Flowing Family of God is a branch of The Partridge Family Temple. Not everyone who is a Pft! freak necessarily makes that scene.
For me, I feel that sometimes people think The Partridge Family Temple is some sort of ironic joke. The Partridge Family slowly over the years has brought me closer and closer to the Divine. God is a word that is upsetting to people; it has so many different associations.
Even when I was an Atheist for many years, I still loved the word God and would use it. For me, God is my main interest.
I believe that God has created everything but the thing is, I don’t know what God is. To me God is Walt Disney and Disneyland.
To me personally, when people say they believe in Nature as opposed to God, I always think, what’s the difference? Is there anything normal or logical about Nature?
But to me, God and Mother Nature are the same session. So the All is Flowing Family of God is a branch with a few leaves that are made of the most beautiful yellow, brown and orange leaves that grow in the backyard of 698 Sycamore Road in San Pueblo, California.
* How did PFT come to develop under the All is Flowing Family of God, and why is it a separate entity?
A few years ago, I contemplated not being involved in The Partridge Family Temple and starting the All is Flowing Family of God and the whole point was if I was the only member I’d be perfectly happy with that.
One thing about groups is you have to be cautious. People are always looking for things and you don’t know what unclean spirits they bring to the All You Can Eat Buffet of God.
Like I’ve said before, The Partridge Family Temple is a very loose organization and the goal is for people to do their own thing.
And along the way we all realized we love The Partridge Family.
* How can current PFT members get involved with the All is Flowing Family of God?
All you have to do is put your thumb out and become a Morning Rider on the Road.
Can you elaborate further on the change and religious conversion you took in your late teens / early 20s from a drug addled hippie, to a self-described “Jesus Freak high on the Holy Spirit” – it all just sounds so far out and transformative man!?
I was raised a Catholic and then I moved in with friends in Boulder, Colorado when I was seventeen. They were Christians but they were freaks and so we smoked grass, did LSD and listened to psychedelic music…
One night a friend of ours explained that he was the Archangel Michael and we realized that he was having some personal problems and things were getting really heavy.
Every time the band played out of tune when they were practicing, he would wince and say they were sinning. So one of the singers decided to stop selling LSD and one day we woke up and were sober and that’s when the Holy Spirit took over.
Even when I was a hardcore Atheist I always remembered that time. We were as one. There was this great collective of love and to this day it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced.
And then a few years later we all went our separate ways.
For me, I started to fall into a vacuum of depression.
Around that time, the Risen Keith started hanging out. When he would pop in, it would rekindle this fun aspect of my personality. We started hanging out more and more and the next thing you know we were listening to The Partridge Family and God wasn’t hanging on a cross anymore but was now a TV show with hit records and all was good.
What is the “Secret of the Two Christophers” of which you mention? And what impact has it had on your art and personal life?
The Lead into Gold Session.
You mention a gentleman by the name of Adam Sleek as a pivotal spiritual influence on both you and the PFT.
So in an effort to get to know more about the man…
* Who was Adam Sleek?
Adam Sleek never fully embraced the Partridge Family Temple, but he would always say how thankful he was that we turned people on to the music because that was the most important thing to him.
When people made fun of The Partridge Family or said they were a horrible band, he would always say very seriously, “Have you heard them lately?”
* What impact did Adam have on your life spiritually, artistically, and personally?
When I was a Jesus Freak, Adam Sleek moved in with us. He had Partridge Family records among his other records. This disturbed me greatly.
A couple of years later, I was staying at his house in Denver and he started playing The Partridge Family for me, particularly Shopping Bag and Notebook. I drew a huge drawing of Shopping Bag on his wall.
One day, the Risen Keith came over and I said “You’ve got to listen to this band.” He instantly understood that the music and the band were much more than what people thought. They were in fact, gods in a different guise but they had always been there. And Shirley Ma slowly sang us awake.
* How did Adam come to depart this mortal coil anyhow?
Sadly, Adam went to Albuquerque I believe around 2004.
I could be wrong.
He was living in Hawaii which I realized was his way of reinforcing the idea that Albuquerque was paradise.
Art Questions
When and why did you first start making art of any type!?
When I was a little kid, I loved art and then at a certain point I started to hate art. It was the late 70’s/early 80’s and everything was hideous.
Any pivotal artistic moment(s) / influence(s)?
When I moved in with my girlfriend, I was reading the Andy Warhol Diaries and noticed that on the caller ID, the name Rauschenberg showed up.
The name was mentioned in the diaries and I wondered if he was related. Turned out our landlord’s father was Robert Rauschenberg. I took this as a sign from God to start doing art again.
Before I started doing art again, I’d go to art shows and I was starting to collect racial literature.
One day I was looking at a newspaper and saw some obnoxious, racist cartoon and thought, “This would be amazing to blow up really big like a silkscreen to hang at a gallery.” It seemed like the logical next step with art. What interested me was the fact that these people were technically really good artists and yet they drew these racist cartoons that hardly anyone would see.
The reason this seemed interesting to me was again, I felt the art scene was really boring. I thought this would be exciting and strange and would open what the kids like to says nowadays “a dialogue”.
Of course there is no such thing as a dialogue. There is just shrill Brown Goblin book burning logic.
That latter turned into the brief UNPOP Art Movement session which was a neat idea. But at the end of the day, my main influence with art is God.
I started looking at my paintings thinking they’re just advertisements for the God Scene or least my personal perception of God.
So What was / is the “UnPop Art Movement” you mention man?
UNPOP was an art movement taking the idea of unpleasant subject matter and putting it in a fun, pop happening.
It was a groovy idea but at a certain point, for me personally, I felt that my art sessions were like advertisements for God and not everyone involved in UNPOP were into the God Bag.
Favourite other artist(s)?
Bridget Riley, Walt Disney, Andy Warhol, Jules Olitski, Whale Song Partridge, Bunny Boy, Tamara de Lempicka, Pauline Baynes, Mary Blair, John Alcorn, Peter Max, Victor Vasarely, Carl Jung, Guy Peellaert, Rexwerk, Ralph Bakshi.
Please describe the process of producing your art? – Dot point all o.k!
* Your paintings?
When I decided to start painting again, I wanted to do big, psychedelic, colorful pop art.
I’d find an image I liked and altered it on the computer and then simply projected it onto the canvas which I know is considered cheating. Then I liked to add things to it to make it more mine; eyes protruding, wooden disc cheeks…
The first big painting I did was of an N-Head. I drew it from a small image and then one day my friend came over and said you do realize you let me borrow your overhead projector awhile ago. You do know you could save yourself some time and project your image on the canvas…
I like to use acrylic Liquitex and Day-Glo Liquitex.
However in all honesty house paint semi-gloss is a gas.
* Your writing?
I started writing when I was a little kid and then stopped.
When I was living in New Orleans, I was reading William Burroughs and hadn’t found work so I was starving and eating at soup kitchens. One day I was waiting for a friend to pick me up and I imagined a dog ripping her throat out and then her looking up at me laughing and not helping. And it didn’t seem funny enough to write down…
In the beginning I felt like I was writing modern horror stories; basically newer versions of Stephen King and Edgar Allen Poe. Just updated to be horrible, common things that happened to people.
Then I stopped writing for years and one day Jim Goad had me join the Netjerk Lounge. That made me start writing again.
But I really think I started writing when I turned forty; something clicked.
* Your music?
I don’t do music but I work with my wonderful musician God-nik friend, Seven Up Partridge.
What is the status of your semi-completed collaboration with comic artist Josh Simmons – The White Rhinoceros?
Unfortunately I have no idea…
This is one of the best things I’ve ever written and I think this is some of the best art that Josh Simmons has ever done. It’s up there with The Chronicles of Narnia, Wizard of Oz and all the fun underground comics.
But Josh can’t do it because his body is blown out from doing too many comics. He clocked the comic in at about 800 pages.
We also live in a world full of cry baby monsters who despise anything groovy. The day Trump became president I thought, “Well there goes The White Rhinoceros.”
So many people think that everyone is a Nazi or racist nowadays and you have two white cats doing a comic that deals with racial slurs. Doesn’t matter that the story is a beautiful allegory for alchemy and transformation; basically a beautiful fairy tale really.
At the end of the day, Might Makes Right and the Brown Goblin’s Kingdom rules with a shit fist.
“This is one of my favorite characters from the aborted The White Rhinoceros comic. When I think of beans, I think of the English consuming them in a very disgusting way. The idea of The White Rhino was taking racial slurs and transforming them.” – Shaun
What impact has Boyd Rice had on your life both artistically, and personally – we ask as you have collaborated, and he is an active member of ‘PFT’?
Boyd is one of my favourite artists and friends.
People don’t generally think of Boyd as a comedian but to me he’s up there with Larry David, Ricky Gervais, Mel Brooks, Little Britain. I’ve known Boyd for years now, and every time I talk to him or see him he has a new story I’ve never heard. Boyd has spent his life practising the old saying, “Laughter is the best medicine”.
Also Boyd is one of the most helpful people I’ve ever known. When he likes someone’s art, he goes out of his way to get it out into the world so others know about it.
He’s a tireless champion of the far-out.
Whilst we know you through your art and work with ‘PFT’ – care to share with those at home the details of your other creative endeavours… if any?!
We just recorded a Partridge Family Temple record at the Fog City Ashram of Shirley Ma.
The Partridge Family Temple’ Questions
For those reading at home who may be unaware – please explain the who, what, and why of the ‘PFT’?
The Partridge Family Temple Scene is a branch of the All is Flowing Family of God that believes that the fruit in the Garden of Eden that Eve gave Adam wasn’t an apple but a television.
What is your current role within the ‘PFT’?
I am a Morning Rider on the Road like all members of the Partridge Family Temple.
We were hoping you could further explain some aspects of the ‘PFT’ for our readers and possible converts…
* Who is in the ‘PFT’ pantheon and what role(s) do they fulfil?
Shirley is in the kitchen cooking you Hamburger Helper. She is also the Cow, the Pan and the Fire. Rejoice!
Keith Partridge is the can of 7-UP. Can means “knowledge”. When you drink from Keith’s can of 7-UP, the veil parts and all its carbonation.
Laurie rides naked on the back of Snake’s chopper in the morning waking up the Un-Crowd.
Danny belches smoke and freckles, his cloven hooves on his bed, just like his mom has told him not to do many times over. Danny smiles as he rubs his filthy hooves deeper into the bed.
Christopher takes every little creature who’s ever existed, skins them and then stretches them over the body of a drum. He then begins to play and the galaxies slowly awaken in time for breakfast.
Tracy invented flowers, mountains and whistling. Her tambourine fell from the crown of Lucifer, otherwise known as her brother Danny.
Reuben Kincaid orders a brunette secretary with a side of cottage cheese and a Manhattan, all the while being on the phone setting up the next gig.
Allen Funt smiles candidly when reflecting on the word FUN being in his last name.
Marcia Brady combs her long golden sunlight with a brush made of pink sapphire and everything grows and blooms.
Anne Frank writes in her diary: “If found please don’t burn.”
Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine sit in Monks and order enthusiastically from the menu.
Mary Hartman invites you into her kitchen and offers you a cup of coffee. Do you want to drink it?
Brendan and Brenda are so excited on their first day at Beverly Hills 90210. The twins were excited to introduce their parents who wogged in the opening credits, to their new classmates Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune and Pluto.
* What are the ‘PFT’ sins?
Not watching black and white TV in colour.
* What about the ‘PFT’ commandments?
Fun is the law.
* What are the sacred texts?
TV Guide, Grinding it Out: The Making of McDonalds, Walt Disney’s Disneyland by Chris Nichols, all The Partridge Family mystery novels.
* What are the sacraments?
7-Up, honey, cheese enchiladas from Casa Bonita, McDonald’s.
How can someone become an inducted member of ‘PFT’?
Everyone on this planet is a member of the Partridge Family Temple. Some understand this, some do not.
Who are some members of the ‘PFT’ that have most impacted your personal life? – Please tell us who they were, how they impacted you, and what has become of them today (if known).
There are many Children of the Fun, all switched-on and rejoicing that they’ve found the way to the Cautious Mother Driving.
And of course the greatest stone that fell from Heaven, Adam Sleek – our Founder who climbed the holy steps to Albuquerque many years ago.
Shirley, Keith, Laurie, Danny, Christopher and Tracy, Bobby Sherman and of course Rueben Kincaid.
Any general ‘PFT’ lore you would like to note down here for posterity man?
Danny Bonaduce digs the Partridge Family Temple because he thinks it’s groovy to be worshipped as a god.
And the first time I met Danny was at a bar here called Dante’s Inferno. Nothing better than meeting the devil in his house.
And what about any ‘PFT’ related tales, gossip, or drama to share with our readers?
The only gossip the Partridge Family Temple digs is Gossip Girl, one of the best TV shows since Beverly Hills 90210.
When and why did you first start experiencing divine thoughts?
When I stood up and turned Barney Miller off the TV.
Have you ever been in trouble with the law and / or authorities as a result of your holy work with the ‘PFT’? And if so – please share with us the tales!
I was arrested at the Danny Bonaduce / David Cassidy concert in New Haven, Connecticut because they decided Dan and I were a radical element that needed to be eradicated because we were passing out stickers. They actually said that.
Some of the most uptight squares I’ve ever encountered at a concert.
And this all blows back on David Cassidy. He was the little snitch whining. But his whine basically was the sound of a nail pounded into his holy feet on the cross of Calvary.
He understood that The Temple needed to understand persecution because persecution gets good press and makes people separate the wheat from the chaff.
Back in his appearance on the ‘John Stewart Show’ in 1994 ‘PFT’ member Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque aka The Reverend Keith (amongst other names) talks of how the ‘PFT’ isn’t a “hierarchical religion”, and is in fact “egalitarian” – Is this still the case today? Or have things changed?
Yes, that’s true because we’re all equal at being better at different things than others.
What role does music play in the ‘PFT’? – We ask as you are a very prolific religion musically.
Well, it was the music that turned us on to the Nervous Mother Driving.
After all, we’re all wandering in the desert eating sand with Boyce and Hart.
Who makes all the ‘PFT’ propaganda? – It’s all so damn groovy!
His first name is Whale, his surname is Song.
He’s hidden in the mountains, far from the maddening eye.
Why is “Un” replacing “Om”?
Because God is new-and-improved!
The Partridge Family Temple believes that we should climb Seven Up Mountain – Seven Up had an advertising campaign in the early 70’s that used “Un”.
Odds n Ends
Personal motto?
All is Flowing.
What role did toys play in your childhood?
One of the first extremely painful moments in my life was walking down the street and seeing an Underdog doll in the window. A few days later my mom gave it to me as a surprise.
I still play with toys. I collect them.
I love old board games from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.
One of my favourite toys is the Strange Change Machine. These little plastic squares that heat up in the oven and become monsters and then you can put them back into this metal crushing machine and they become squares again until you want to reheat them and start playing with them again – It’s a Mattel toy so you know it’s good.
Who was your 1st crush and why?
The women in the opening credits to Petticoat Junction…
They’re standing in a gigantic water barrel and you can see their naked legs and feet and their naked shoulders. And when the water hit their skin it flipped my lid.
Does sex change everything?
If you have a sex change.
Please describe what you think the American psyche / zeitgeist is today?
I believe that the world has been a wind-up mechanical toy forever and ever and this won’t change anytime soon.
What are the top 3 items you own?
[Please include photos or art of them!]
The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost – First song, side 1 on Meditations by John Coltrane.
Drugs – waste of time or gateway to the universe?
Unfortunately the Universe is a gateway drug.
Please describe your latest dream in detail…
I don’t think the last dream was very interesting but dreams have had a major impact on my life…
I’ve noticed on Facebook people will share their dreams. Sometimes they are very interesting but a lot of times they’re more interesting for the people who have had them.
However, I’m always interested to see what the dream is about because people sometimes have very interesting symbolic dreams. So I’ll describe a dream that I was discussing this morning with my old lady, K is for Kaleidoscope.
The reason I choose this dream is because it’s a perfect example of how dreams have such specific details that you may not understand at the time and the dream will unravel after many years…
I had a dream that I was in a tunnel with a powerful warrior priestess and she had two handmaidens next to her taking her armour off. I could tell from the back of her long tan body and long black hair that it was Cher.
She jumped into this underground rock grotto and went under the water and when she popped up she was a serpent making a figure 8 biting it’s tail.
However, there was no skin on the snake, only on it’s head and I started to laugh thinking it was bad special effects.
Then the snake went back under the water and the water started to boil.
A gigantic serpent in a spiral shape burst from the water and started to rise up a rock tunnel.
It was terrifying and at the last second, a great warrior with a bow and arrow came out on a rock ledge and the only way you could pierce this serpent was right between it’s eyes.
He shot the serpent with his bow and then I woke up.
It was obviously about Kundalini which I’d heard about but wasn’t particularly interested in.
When I woke up I instinctually grabbed for a book next to me and picked up Carl Jung’s “The Gnostic Jung: Seven Sermons to the Dead” and turned to page 163. He was talking about Kundalini and one thing that stood out was “Kundalini is envisioned as a divine being that has entered the dark moist recesses of the Earth from whence it is destined to rise from the summit of existence there to meet its divine twin from whom the goddess has been separated for eons unnumbered…”
Of course the thing that stood out was the “moist recesses of the Earth”.
The one thing that stood out was why was it Cher? Just simple dream logic?
One thing I like is how people will pick names for things because names have symbolic meanings; certain characters of books, movies and things like that. Mad Men on AMC is a perfect example…
So one day I decided to look up what the name Cher means. One of the meanings is “beloved”. I thought, oh well and then decided to type in “beloved” with “Kundalini” and the quote from Yogi Bhajan popped up: “Kundalini means “the curl of the hair of the beloved”.
And that’s a perfect example of why dreams are so wonderful!
I’ve had a couple of dreams like that that keep unfolding and it’s absolutely fantastic.
My mother has prophetic dreams. She had a dream that we had to move out of my house quickly and my father was walking across the front yard with some boxes shaking his head sadly saying, “It’s a mistake, it’s a mistake.”
Two years later he had moved out and was helping us move into an apartment and as he was walking across the yard he was singing, “It’s a mistake, it’s a mistake”. My mom said, “What are you singing?” And he said it’s a New Wave song by Men At Work called, ‘It’s a Mistake’.”
A few months ago I had a dream that I was in Boulder, Colorado. I dream about Boulder a lot because I lived there for many years. I dream about certain places in Boulder that I used to hang out at of course.
In this dream, I went and visited a new John Coltrane museum. It was a house that I’d been to before.
When I walked in I expected to see a lot of jazz memorabilia. There were a few pictures of John Coltrane and I think a saxophone on the wall. But the main thing I noticed when I walked in was a gigantic, rectangular painting of Vishnu done in a kind of a finger paint version of LeRoy Neiman. Just a gigantic blue body standing on a bunch of thick squiggly blue lines behind him; basically blue on blue but you could make out Vishnu.
I walked up to the painting and noticed that the frame was strange, stained dark wood, thin but jutting out taller than a frame should. I remember thinking that this must be homemade.
I then noticed a painting hanging next to it that had an ornate gold frame and the canvas was black. The upper part had a spine that you would see in a doctor’s office and was copper wired to the canvas. At the top of the spine was an outline of a triangle painted in bright gold and inside the triangle was another blue god’s face but I didn’t know who.
I looked around the museum and felt this amazing sense of joy.
I thought, “Everything really is one.”
All these things I never had any interest in, in one place.
When I woke up, the first thing I flashed on was the fact that the house in Boulder was the Lord Krishna house where we all used to eat free food. I laughed because how perfect; Krishna was an avatar of Vishnu.
A month later, I realized that the reason the frame on the Vishnu painting seemed familiar was because it was like a waterbed frame. That’s why Vishnu was on a background of blue, sleeping on the milk ocean.
That’s the thing I like about dreams, certain ones have all that detail.
Hopefully these dreams weren’t tedious or boring. That’s the problem with dreams.
Which cartoon character, would you most like to see in a tribute sex toy, and why?
Marion from the Partridge Family 2200 A.D. animated series.
“When I was a little kid and I just moved to Golden, Colorado I’d watch this cartoon. I had this strange attraction to this creature and her voice made me feel very excited.” – Shaun
Who would win in a fight and why: Father Yod (‘The Source Family’) Vs. Jim Jones (‘The Peoples Temple’)?
To be honest with you, that doesn’t mean anything to me.
They’re all fun folk.
Of everything you have done what would you most like to be remembered for and why?
That God is real.
If people wanted to collaborate, work with you, formally convert, or just buy some art – how should they get in touch?
By email at funisthelaw@hotmail.com and also my PO Box: Shaun Partridge, PO Box 15094, Portland, OR 97293.
The Future
Any collaborations on the horizon?
Whale Song and I started working on a helpful introduction to the Anne Frank Yoga Studio. We’ll see what happens with that session.
Also – Last April we all went down to the Fog City Ashram of Shirley Ma and recorded a Partridge Family Temple long-player with Seven Up Partridge, Wind Chimes Partridge, Whale Song Partridge, Chocolate Bar Partridge, K is for Kaleidoscope Partridge, me and some other Pft! Freaks.
Any major projects you want to hype?
God Freaks can score the first Partridge Family Temple mystery novel, ‘The Mystery of the Sleeping Keyboardist‘. Gospel by me and artwork by Whale Song Partridge.
And our debut Pft! collection from awhile back – ‘To Know God is to Love God‘ by Whale Song Partridge and The Partridge in the Pear Tree.
Links
- Partridge Family Temple – Website
- Partridge Family Temple – Online Shop (Main)
- Partridge Family Temple – Etsy
- Shaun Partridge – Instagram
- Shaun Partridge – Twitter
- Shaun Partridge – Shaun TV YouTube
- White Rhinoceros – long 3 part interview with Shaun and Josh Simmons from 2011 via The Comics Journal
