The Old Man Down the Road
January 24,
1986 "CMCC rocks tonight!"
With those words from the wigged out drummer, we proceeded to
deliver! We were the final "act" of the evening, and the student body was
anxious to see their beloved teachers on stage, hopefully making a mess of it all. But we had the last laugh and
rocked the joint instead!
This event was held in
winter at the CMCC
and billed as the "Gong Show",
an informal showcasing of student talent,
and a bloody good excuse to drink beer!
The hook?
Both Glenn and Jim Grilliot were faculty members at the time, and the
students were dying to see the old guys play...or embarrass themselves. We only did about 4 songs but they were good ones, and we left 'em wanting more. Which is always a good thing.
The "official" tape recording was shot by the organizers and on a
stationary camera at the rear of the auditorium on a tripod. It simply ran all night and recorded everyone. We didn't even know
it existed until some time later. I copied our total performance from that original tape with of
course the resulting degradation. The sound quality was not too good and the distance from the stage
made it difficult to see clearly.
BUT, this clip is from a second videographer who was
on and around the stage during the show. It didn't cover the entire set but at least the quality is better.
I enhanced and cleaned up the picture and sound as well
as possible, but keep in mind that the original is 25 years old and wasn't great
quality to begin with.
Here then, the opening song. I hope you enjoy!
You May Be
Right
April 18, 1986 The Homecoming Dance
The College had a
Homecoming later the same year and we were invited to play for the evening dance.
The original tape was shot by an alleged "professional" using Betamax tape format.
Unfortunately, she was used to videoing weddings and had never filmed a live
musical event before.
The result was a tape which jumped abruptly in and out of
the songs and made for jerky viewing. Extremely frustrating to follow.
Couple that with out of focus shots or aiming the
camera at the bass player when the lead guitar player was soloing, and it became
very disappointing.
The bright light from the camcorder was a bloody
nuisance too; kinda ruined the mood a bit. Because it was a Beta tape and I had no access to a
player, it sat on the shelf for 25 years. But again, thanks to digital
transfer technology, it lives!
Oh well, at least it's a memory...
On Broadway
April 18, 1986 The Homecoming Dance
Here's another excerpt from the video described in
the "You May Be right" video above.
Coincidentally, this day also happened to be our lead
guitar player's birthday!
Same place. Same time. Same band. Different guitar!
Mama Just Wants to Barrelhouse
April 18, 1986 The Homecoming Dance
As described elsewhere, the videographer jumped all
over the place and cut up most of the songs. But here's a little excerpt of what
was actually one of the better songs of the night.
Too bad we don't have the whole thing.
please note : Something happened in the conversion and
the opening few
seconds are a bit psychedelic! Hang in there, it clears up
Don't Go to Sleep On Me
April 18, 1986 The Homecoming Dance
Even in this early stage of the band's development, Glenn and I liked to
pick material that you wouldn't normally hear live. As in this somewhat
obscure song by Donnie Brooks.
That's our young fella Glenn playing the Hagstrom. He seemed to enjoy himself.
Smile buddy. You had hair then, and here's proof!
please note : Something happened in the conversion and
the opening few
seconds are a bit psychedelic!
Hang in there, it clears up
Spooky
April 18, 1986 The Homecoming Dance
Still one of my favourite songs to perform after all these years.
Nice
groove to it.
please note : Something happened in the conversion and
the opening few
seconds are a bit psychedelic! Hang in there, it clears up
Cover Me
April 18, 1986 The Homecoming Dance
We eventually refined this Bruce Springsteen song a
few years later, and in the 1989 version of the band recorded it.
It also became the title of our demo "album" which you
can also hear on this web site.
Click on the Album button in the menu above.
3rd Rate Romance
January
24, 1986 CMCC "Gong Show"
This clip features bass player Jim Ryan and his wife Sue
and is one in a series taken from a very poor quality video tape which was
mounted on a tripod at the rear of the auditorium during our performance.
Just before their number, we experienced a crazy PA feed back howl.
It sounded like a UFO landing and since the drummer was all dressed up
in a funky costume it triggered the comment about a spaceship "coming for the
drummer".
This video series is very fuzzy but the sound isn't too bad.
What you do get is a better appreciation of what the band members are doing,
and of course, the audience reaction.
Don't Go to Sleep On Me
January
24, 1986 CMCC "Gong Show"
Another clip in this "full stage view" series.
It's interesting to compare this to the "close up" recording
of the same song shown above.
Let the Good Times Roll
January
24, 1986 CMCC "Gong Show"
In this "full stage view" series clip
the crowd really seems to be enjoying themselves.
Spooky
January
24, 1986 CMCC "Gong Show"
There is another recording of this song above.
It's interesting to compare the two versions.
The crowd reaction in this
"full stage view" clip is much more enthusiastic.
Old Man Down the Road
January
24, 1986 CMCC "Gong Show"
It's
interesting to compare this version to the "close up" recording
of the same song shown above.
This clip was taken from a very poor quality video
tape which was mounted
on a tripod at the rear of the auditorium during our performance.
What you do get is a better appreciation of what the band members are doing,
and of course, the audience reaction.
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