What a Long, Strange Trip. Bringing a piece of the '60s--The Dreamachine--into the '90s
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Bringing a piece of literary arcana and '60s memorabilia tolife has unexpectedly turned into a thriving business for offbeatLos Angeles composer and builder David Woodard. The 34-year-oldBIZ Experiences builds and sells The Dreamachine, a psychedeliccontraption that first made its appearance in novels by Brion Gysinand William S. Burroughs. Like many readers, Woodard assumed thedevice was fictional-that is, until 1991, when his landlord (an oldfriend) slipped him the templates of the original design.
The Dreamachine consists of a museum board or copper cylinderwith holes in it attached to a turntable, in the middle of whichsits a 200-watt light bulb. When the machine is turned on, thecylinder spins. The resulting flashes of light result in a simplelight show, creating a dreamlike sensation.
Among devotees, who range from college students toeightysomethings, the machine is rumored to provide psychic powers,invoke dream states and cure writer's block. On a darker note,it also has been rumored to cause epileptic seizures and promptsuicides. Kurt Cobain was said to have been using The Dreamachineintensively right before he killed himself.
Woodard builds the $500 to $4,000 machines, and clients,including Iggy Pop, Beck and various museums, learn about themachines through Woodard's site (www.davidwoodard.com) orword-of-mouth.
"My clients are very brave souls," Woodard says."The Dreamachine is a literary artifact, so it has thatappeal. And there is an element of perceived danger. Universally,people are drawn to things that seem to tempt fate."
Pamela Rohland, a writer from Bernville, Pennsylvania,shudders at the idea of doing anything, especially exercising,before dawn.
