There was a time in my life when I would have given my left nut to see a concert like this weekend's Harmony Fest with Bad Brains and Dead Kennedys on the bill. Bad Brains have mellowed but are still worth seeing. Dead Kennedys are sans Jello Biafra and, so, not really Dead Kennedys, but still: Good to see some old school punkers still at it.

Also on the bill at Harmony Fest: The Eco Cup, some kind of scaled down "Mini Mega Ramp" contest, featuring Bob Burnquist, Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Andy Macdonald, Jake Brown, Omar Hassan, Lincoln Ueda, and Adam Taylor, with $40,000 on the line and judging by Steve Caballero and Christian Hosoi. The event is sponsored by SLAP, Fuel.TV, Peta2, Guardian, Comcast, and Verizon Wireless.

The "Mini Mega" has a 30 foot roll in, 25 foot gap, and 18 foot quarter pipe – much smaller than the X Games' beast – and should be interesting. Looking forward to seeing some footage!

June 12-14, Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa CA.

Here's some press release hilarity on why this event has been folded in to the 31 year-old Harmony Festival:

Programming Director Sean Ahearn explains, “The common connection is a shared enthusiasm and respect for the environ- ment, great music, and social activism. Producing the Eco Cup skate zone is our way to reach out to youth and action sports fans and show them that there is indeed a common path to a conscious alternative that is hip, cool, and based on mutual respect, which is what Harmony is all about.”

Shanti Davidson and Michellee Senn of Rude Boyz Present agree, “Skaters have a very organic awareness of their place in the natural environment. They repurpose and utilize traditional spaces like abandoned ditches and freeways for their personal expression. Skaters generally are not overly materialistic or part of the consumer culture; they use recycled blocks, wood and other found materials as props for jumps. Their skateboards get passed down, reused, recycled. But what’s cool is that they don’t know how eco-aware they really are, they don’t typically evaluate their lives like that.”

Darryl Franklin from MegaRamp Productions adds, "Danny Way and Bob Burnquist, the founders of MegaRamp, are also founding and board members of the Action Sports Environmental Coalition (ASEC), a team of action sports athletes and industry professionals all dedicated to raising conscious and environmental awareness among young people. Bob is also well known as an organic farmer. The Harmony Festival is the perfect place to debut the first mini-MegaRamp contest in America."

Harmony Festival CEO Howard Sapper and Founder Debra Giusti chime in, “The Eco Cup is our opportunity to break down the stereotypes of traditional Harmony folks and the new generation, represented by skaters who will lead the alternative lifestyle into the future. We see the Harmony and skater communities as two conscious and spirited groups of like-minded people. And in their own distinct ways, both groups clear their minds before ‘dropping in’.”