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Just discovered in 2013 -
Photoscan song clip done with slide-tape dissolve projectors
transferred to 3/4" video 30 years ago - circa 1982

 

Also the first demo of Pop Song with a slide-tape demo clip.


 
Moonbase-One was written in 1980, only 8 years after the final Apollo mission to the moon and as the Space Shuttle missions were getting ready to launch - everyone believed we were going to set up a base on the Moon in the next couple of decades. In the move '2001: A Space Odyssey' they were living on the Moon in Clavius Base which was established around 1999 (in the 1968 book). What would that be like, with regular trips to the Moon, staying at the Lunar Hilton, breathing purified air and traveling on to Mars instead of the pollution and unrest of Earth?


This is circa 1984-85. It shows some great stuff... like... as Edith walks down the hallway at the start you can see the padded door to her left made from a mattress Dyna-bolted to the outside of door. And in the control room you get close-up working shots of the two mixers and the deck. I vowed when I started out pursuing a professional pop career that I would never ever lip sync for a clip... and there I am... first TV performance... lip syncing for TV! Notice the beautiful old Sennheiser 421 microphone, my lovely DMX drum machine, the SH-101 and Samantha's Buddha.


 
 
I was working for an audio-visual company in the early 80's and ran their audio department and hire dept and did client presentations and video transfers plus produced a few programs. The Video House that produced their corporate videos used one of my earliest demo instrumental tracks as the soundtrack to this Austnet video.

It was designed to show shopkeepers - EFTPOS in action - that's how alien a concept it was back then. Note the antiquated machine (obviously pre-production and thrown together just for this demo video). The date on the receipt is 11th June 1984 with a card expiry 10 years in the future. The music track 'Motorway Music' is a unique crossover track from 1982-83.

I think the spirit of that track was feeling the future opening up in the mid 80's and seeing where digital was taking us... and suddenly realising we were there... it was 1984... and this was the future... now. In many ways the Motorway was the burgeoning digital superhighway.

 

  
 
This is one song from a live rehearsal session of Paul, Ken and Jay at 'And Now For Something Completely Different' vegetarian restaurant in Chatswood, Sydney, Australia circa 1978. It IS ostesibly The Crazoids... doing Paul's songs.

'Patio Suicide' (pron Pashio) was one of Paul's big numbers (9 minutes) and very popular with the restaurant clientele because of the soaring guitar and amazing effects pedals. The song also featured Paul's unique guitar work in the middle where he moves further up the guitar neck and lightly beats the strings with his thumb pick.

The audio comes from a very rough rare recording done with one microphone on Ken's cassette player and was created as a demo for Dave - Paul's new Drummer at that time. Dave was delayed coming up from Melbourne and Jay filled in, performing on 6 consecutive Saturday nights at the restaurant, because he was already familiar with the songs.

This rehearsal session was sent to Dave so he could familiarise himself with the songs, and Jay's drums were deliberately muffled so Dave could practice to it. The original cassette was digitised and then processed to maximise the quality.

The crashing sound in the middle is Paul lifting his 'spring reverb unit' with his toes and then dropping it a few inches to the floor which basically explodes the heck out of the springs. Paul also had a special guitar strap with one anchor point that allowed him to spin the guitar 360º in a circle... while playing!

The video was created using a very limited number of photos available from that era and is primarily designed to give the listener something relevant to watch while enjoying the song. It was aimed at capturing some of the magic of those heady 'restaurant' years and to allow those who were there to briefly revisit in their minds and hearts. The video is to celebrate and honour both Paul and the restaurant, of which he was so much a feature.

Paul Dengate - Electric guitar and effects
Ken Handley - Blonde fretless bass
Jay Moxham - Maxwin drum kit

Images include photos by Sally Collins, Samantha Trenoweth, Vivienne Kish and probably Vicki Larnach plus the iconic beachscape cane blind painted by Phil Clarke.

More on the restaurant
More of Paul's work
More of Jay's work
Unfortunately, Ken's whereabouts is still unknown at this stage.
Stay up to date on The Crazoids Facebook Page

Video conceived and created by Jay Moxham for the Japetus Project 2013. Music copyright © Paul Dengate.

  
     
 
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