a newspaper man adjusts his pen

Monday, June 11, 2007

Bang along

Jaggerbush Junction
This is what happens when a bunch of creative types paint an old Dodge Ram pickup truck comic book white and turn the beast into a musical instrument.

Its members go by the name of Unicorn Mountain and they showed up last weekend at the Pittsburgh Arts Festival, parked at the city’s slightly hip Market Square district.

Two guys made noise in the truck bed, while another moved about playing an electric guitar on its roof, turning a radiator hose into a kazoo or honking the horn to drive an oddly enjoyable hypnotic beat.

Children took turns clanging on a detached muffler while logo dads got their groove things going with whatever else they could rattle. It was cool. Everyone was smiling to one of the most creative installations I have seen at this festival in decades.

The artists are striving to keep young adults like them in Pittsburgh as the region still struggles to move beyond the death of its steel industry. Their engines appear to be working. USA Today's’ trendy blogger, Whitney Matheson, is among those who have taken notice of their art.

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