V I D E O S—1 9 8 6

Did I hear someone say, "Rock and Roll!"?

This early version of the band included
a terrific, if slightly nutty drummer, Jim Grilliot.

It also featured a husband and
wife team, Jim & Sue Ryan.

As always, the rest of the Band consisted of
Glenn Engel
and me.

 

All videos are also available on the
Barryeamez Channel on YouTube

At the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College

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.