Rants, Ravings, Gibberish & Jabs

AntiCurrent Audio Archives Vol. 15: Waite Hoyt- In the Rain

2017-04-18T00:40:00.000-07:00

This is the fifteenth edition of the "AntiCurrent.com Archives", a collection of rare or bootleg-albums I'm releasing through this blog. Click here to view all past AntiCurrent.com Archive Albums.

My Love of Baseball

I root for The Cincinnati Reds, but I’m not a “sports guy” by any means. I grew up in Middletown, Ohio and my uncle Bill would quite often take me out the ballpark to catch games whenever he was in town. It was there that I developed my love of baseball despite not regularly following the sport. Rather than keeping up with the latest developments in the game, I spent my youth sitting in front of my Grandmother’s TV and recorded old replays of The Big Red Machine on VHS tapes.

I value the history, the magic, and the old timey-ness of the game. As a pre-teen, I'd make my Mother drive me to Reds fan-conventions where I met every single member of The Big Red Machine (save for Pete Rose). I even have a baseball signed by the entire 1976 team. Other than shaking Johnny Bench's hand and feeling as if he was a giant, the one standout moment of these conventions was meeting The BRM's manager, Sparky Anderson. Though well into his 60's, the dirty old man's libido was seemingly unfazed as he asked my mother out to a "steak dinner" in front of me.*

*I once told this story to my baseball loving friend Andrew and now have a Sparky Anderson bobble-head to commemorate the time the white-haired old man tried to have sex with my mother. Thanks Andrew...

Love of The Cincinnati Reds was the one thing my PTSD’d Grandfather and I had in common. Thus, he gave me his copy of "The Best of Waite Hoyt: In the Rain". Several times, we actually sat down together and listened to the album on the self-amplified turntable I had gotten after my school had discarded it. Those times huddled around the record player were as close to a bonding moment I ever had with him (outside of blowing up random toys with black powder) and I’ll always prize this vinyl for that very reason. But that wasn’t my only familial connection to The Reds.

My ancestor Edd Roush played for the team from 1916 to 1926, he even coached the team during the 1931 season. Though I’d like to say he’s famous for his amazing fielding, he’s a Roush and we’re a rather anti-authoritarian family. Legend goes that on June 8^th, 1920 there was a disagreement going on between the managers and the umpires. The argument went on for so long in fact, that Edd decided to take a nap in center field. Either he was incredibly comfortable or incredibly obstinate, because the Umpires could not awake him when play resumed and he was kicked out for delaying the game.

Waite Hoyt

For 24 years, Waite Hoyt was the voice of The Cincinnati Reds. Beyond being a legendary storyteller, the man was best known for calling games in the past tense. Rather than stating “here’s the pitch” he would say “there was the pitch”. He felt this was more accurate, quite correctly explaining, "…as I speak to you, what happened a moment ago is gone." Though he was a recovered alcoholic, he had a strong loyalty to one of The Reds main sponsors, Burger Beer. The man had such a fixed moral compass that after the team replaced Burger Beer with Wiedemann, he chose to instead retire rather than promote a new beer as he thought his credibility may be tainted. In 2007, he, Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall were honored by The Reds with replica microphones hung under the radio booth at The Great American Ball Park.

Note: The documentary Waite’s World features interviews with Nick Clooney, Joe Nuxhall, and more. A copy can be purchased here and a stream of it on YouTube is available here.

This Release

As you can tell, my Grandfather didn’t keep this vinyl in immaculate shape, but it is entirely listenable audio and is likely the best this record will sound without a professional machine cleaning. I dusted off any loose debree, soaked this vinyl with cleaner, scrubbed it clean, and used a wet-dry vacuum to remove the grit and dirt from years of abuse. I ripped this on my Pro-Ject USB turntable into Audacity, capturing at 16bit and normalizing it after. Next I took a sample of the surface noise and removed it from the entire project. Afterwards, I ran a de-clicker and de-popper to remove more noise. I then exported this into 16bit FLAC files and 320mbps MP3’s.

I’ve kept this album as two full sides because though it is segregated track by track on the vinyl, there is no tracklist on the album art. This wasn’t meant to be experienced one track at a time, this was meant to be experienced as a whole.

Download the ZIP file here

AntiCurrent.com Video Archives Vol 6: Screamin' Jay Hawkins- I Put a Spell on Me

2016-11-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

Screamin' Jay Hawkins

One of the few things that Tom Waits, Alice Cooper, Gwar, The Cramps, and Rob Zombie all have in common is that they were all heavily inspired by the music and theatricality of Screamin' Jay Hawkins. The music and persona of the man can be best explained as one part refined RnB musician, one part Bela Lugosi, and one part pure guttural opera. In the course of his career, the man broke damn near every stereotype of a musician. Though you may not know his name, you undoubtedly know his song "I Put a Spell on You", made popular by bands such as Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Animals. Though the song was an enormous hit in many versions since it's initial release in 1956, bad record-deals and contracts between him and a white dominated industry meant little of the money actually went to the man himself.

However, that didn't stop him. Though he did often have to play in less than stellar venues throughout his career, he toured consistently until the age of 70 years old. His live performances were as much theatricality as they were musicality. He would emerge from a coffin and periodically fumble through his bag of toys, dolls, and bones. But the coolest prop of all was Henry. Henry was a skull on a stick that he had rigged to smoke cigarettes, and he went everywhere with him. Many black musicians from his day went out of their way to avoid racist stereotypes such as voodooism, cannibalism, or even the slight mention of a jungle. Screamin' Jay however, wholeheartedly embraced them. So much so he often performed with a bone in his nose.

I Put a Spell on Me

Jarmusch

The man only started to get the respect he deserved towards the end of his life thanks to people like Jim Jarmusch who heavily featured both the man and his music in feature movies. Thankfully, on what ended up being his last tour, filmmaker Nicholas Triandafyllidis accompanied him through part of it. Not only did this result in the capture of his last ever performance, but he was able to document some incredibly intimate moments with the man while traveling. We watch Jay regale the camera with tales of Elvis, his skirt-chasing, and eating thirty plums for Mystery Train, all the while in taxi cabs, hotel rooms, and airplanes. This is the kind of raw, genius footage that truly captures a singular moment in time.

The cast of characters interviewed for this project are astounding. We get to watch Jim Jarmusch speak about searching out Jay to personally pay him for use of his song in a movie. We witness Bo Diddley talk about Jay being one of the first to notice that Elvis was copying black musicians. Many of his friends and family retell some of his personal stories including his getting shot and stabbed when he hit on his wife's girlfriend.

Hawkins

The documentary is rough around the edges. Shot on multiple types of cameras, occasionally the footage looks completely different, even during the same interview. Throughout it, the discrepancy in quality is often jarring and unwelcome (such as the noise in the wide-shot of Jarmusch's interview). Often times the audio is of equally poor quality. However, this is true documentary cinema and has more heart than anything professionals such as Alex Gibney have ever shot. Most modern documentarians concentrate more on presenting a brilliant luster on top of their movie than showcasing the raw emotion laying beneath it. Living in a day where many major documentaries now have the budget of actual movies, this is a breath of fresh air.

Triandafyllidis

Unfortunately, director Nicholas Triandafyllidis died on June 7, 2016 in Athens, Greece. His film I Put a Spell on Me won the First Prize in the Documentary Festival of Thessaloniki and the Second National Prize Documentary Film Festival in Thessaloniki under the Film Ministry of Culture Quality Awards. The man went on to make many more movies before his untimely demise. His latest film 90 Years of PAOK: Nostalgia for the Future about Greece's multi-sports club is currently in post-production.

This Release

The original release of this seemed to be extremely limited and quickly went out of print (though you can still buy a bootleg version of this from Asia) as soon as it was made available. It is unclear why this is, but I would assume it largely to have to do with Screamin' Jay's estate not owning the rights to his music, this however, is pure speculation on my part. For years, the only way to watch this film has been either a terrible quality 360p YouTube video or a poorly encoded two part AVI file that has long been dispersed throughout the torrent community.

A few weeks ago I managed to get my hands on a ripped DVD* of the actual release. However, even it had issues such as interlacing and dancing tracking lines atop the footage. To remedy this I ripped the original 576i, 25FPS footage and up-res'd it to 720p. From there I de-interlaced it, cropped off the top to remove the dancing pixels and added a slight sharpening filter to it. I briefly attempted to "snap the blacks" as some of the footage was washed out, but noticed I was losing too much information in the shadows and left it as is.

*Note The only bonus feature included on this disc is a trailer for the movie

Final Thought:

I cleaned this up as much as possible, however there is only so much I can do without access to the original footage. Some shots are noisy and occasionally the audio is barely decipherable. However this is an amazing documentary about an amazing subject and made with that rare kind of love and reverence that is seldom reflected in cinema. If you like this release, purchase his music, purchase his live albums. My personal favorite recording is a three track single made for a Levi's commercial which features his interpretation of the Tom Waits' classic "Heart Attack & Vine" as well as his classic "I Put a Spell on You" and the amazing track "On The Job".

Open Letter to Our Electoral College

2016-11-15T12:55:00.000-08:00

The following letter was also sent privately to all members of the Electoral College that have published their contact information. A list of their emails can be found at the bottom.

Dearest Electors,

Sometimes the most important battles to fight are the ones you know you have no chance of winning. Do I believe that this letter will convince any or all of you to change your mind? No. But I’m not interested in winning. On this day, November 15th 2016, I can say that I did the only thing I was able to do in order to prevent this country's potential downfall. I can hold my head up high until the end of my days knowing that I made my voice as loud as I possibly could. I write this in desperate hopes that you too may choose this route, not to fight because we will win, but to fight because it’s what a rational, patriotic American should do.

I do not know what interests Donald Trump represents. Perhaps big business, perhaps Russian, or maybe it’s only his own, but I do know whose interests he does not represent and that is the American people. We have allowed Russia to influence our election. The America I grew up loving, the America I was taught about in history books, would never allow a dictatorship with opposing interests to have a hand in any decision made on our soil. We must not allow this. Trump was briefed that Russia was involved in this and willfully misrepresented the situation to the country. I consider this nothing short of treasonous behavior.

The American President should represent the best aspects of our country and I wake up at night in fear of this man and the irrevocable damage he is capable of doing both here and abroad. It is this type of fear that is sparking protests all around the United States. One does not need to consult any source in the “liberal media” to come to a conclusion about the dangerous character of the man, one can simply listen to his own words. I do not have the space in this letter, or the will to revisit many of his racist, sexist comments, but I never dreamed we may be looking at a president who once said the words “Grab her by the pussy”, let alone think I would have to type those words to our Electoral College representatives.

This goes far beyond party lines. John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Paul Ryan, are all decent, hardworking Americans who I do not see eye to eye with. Yet, with any of them in charge, I would not lose a moments sleep as I believe in my heart of hearts that they are good, well-intentioned people who have a deep love and respect for this country. This isn’t about being a sore loser, I personally do not identify as a Democrat. This isn’t about social issues. This isn’t about immigration. This is about a true danger to democracy and the pulling of wool over our eyes due to Russian interference.

Before winning, Donald Trump cast doubt on our great nations’ democratic system by claiming it rigged. It is truly frightening to consider that he may have been telling the truth, but not in the way we thought. We are putting a man into power that stated he may not accept the outcome of an election unless it benefited him. What is stopping this man from claiming the exact same thing if he is voted out in 2020? Only this time, he will have the power of a military behind him.

Do you have the ability to change that? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. But by either voting for another party or abstaining your electoral vote you could at least know that you didn’t contribute to it. You could look at your children, grandchildren, sons, daughters, neighbors, and strangers and know in the depths of your soul that it wasn’t because you didn’t do anything. I am standing up and fighting a battle I have no chance of winning.

Please join me.

Josh Roush

Click Read More for Contact Info for our Electoral College

Known Contact Email Addresses for our Electoral College:

perryo@palomarins.com, gradylaurat@aol.com, fburt@baldwincountyal.gov, wsellers@balch.com, wadsworth@centurytel.net, jepeters65@knology.net, info@seanparnellak.com, arwcyes@yahoo.com, bash@paulashmgt.com, sharongiese08@yahoo.com, paddywagon@cox.net, jane518@cox.net, jwo@ronnoco3.com, Jdsjonelle@aol.com, keithg@pinncom.com, swright028@yahoo.com, tommyland@sbcglobal.net, larry.ahern@myfloridahouse.gov, info@kbblawfl.com, michael.barnett1@gmail.com, benacquisto.lizbeth@flsenate.gov, John.P.Browning@sjrwmd.com, nickdiceglie@gmail.com, jthomasou@hotmail.com, joegruters@gmail.com, blais.ingoglia@myfloridahouse.gov, chairman@rpocitrus.org, smm2043@gmail.com, joenegron@joenegron.com, pateclint@yahoo.com, ray.rodrigues@myfloridahouse.org, carlos.trujillo@myfloridahouse.org, christian@christiangop.com, casiebryantgop@gmail.com, jfgrammer@comcast.net, righty1127@aol.com, 1103lhut@bellsouth.net, cfpaynejr@hotmail.com, jblakesilvers@gmail.com, sbeckley@indiana.gop, laura@hamiltoncountygop.org, jcardwell@indiana.gop, Donald.hayes@twc.com, rlkpatrick55@gmail.com, ethan_manning@yahoo.com, kelly@votekellymitchell.com, chuck@clwilliamscompanies.com, mark@kahrsforkansas.com, mark.kahrs@house.ks.gov, ron@treasurer.ks.gov, clayton@ksgop.org, kellyarnold@yahoo.com, jj.skaggs@twc.com, lasleywarrengop@gmail.com, medsingleton@gmail.com, info@trahanlaw.com, lharsch@nobts.edu, louisavallone@mac.com, info@montinotary.com, samhunt59@yahoo.com, kellym2377@yahoo.com, judyrapanos@aol.com, wdseelig@gmail.com, ensign2415@comcast.net, briansfairbrother@gmail.com, kecrider@gmail.com, hankfuhs@juno.com, wyerger@bellsouth.net, irelandwinslow@att.net, gyclerk@centurytel.net, nancyballance@aol.com, vondene@bresnan.net, tomtuckins@outlook.com, craig@trisag.com, tl862@reagan.com, cstaley@ltdkate.com, marthanjenkins@gmail.com, Lee.Green@ncgopdcca.org, olsonpc@midco.net, rcarlisle@nd.gov, olsonpc@midco.net, rcarlisle@nd.gov, mkash@suddenlink.net, cbpolitical@gmail.com, rep50@ohiohouse.gov, benjamin.keeler@mail.house.gov, judgealext@gmail.com, gwiland@tulsagop.org, pfrw@comcast.net, tchristian@dmgs.com, tpickett@pahousegop.com, areilly@swartzcampbell.com, CSIDES3@COMCAST.NET, hq@northamptoncountygop.com, lawrence.tabas@obermayer.com, sheriffbunny@comcast.net, glenn.a.mccall@gmail.com, chairman@scgop.com, cdrjr1@juno.com, atghelp@state.sd.us, jason.mumpower@cot.tn.gov, susanm@blountgop.org, c.holiway@att.net, lynnedavisrealtor@gmail.com, cedesigners@frontiernet.net, tomeallentom@netscape.net, shan827@gmail.com, gopdrewster@att.net, rex.lamb@yahoo.com, clarkken@juno.com, scottmann@verizon.net, votemarianstanko@gmail.com, tinagibsonsd17srec@gmail.com, info@alexkim.com, tomknightnow@aol.com, Marian.knowlton@gmail.com, rteter@dpisd.org, jon@jewettnevada.com, loren.byers@verizon.net, kriskimball.kk@gmail.com, ccteng@byu.edu, RSnelgrove@slco.org, rrfforputnamcounty@gmail.com, rrfforcommissioner@gmail.com, info@patrickmorrisey.com, ann@annurling.com, macwarner@warnerforsos.com, info@billcoleforwv.com, bill@billcoleforwv.com, kimtrvs@gmail.com, kimbabler@hotmail.com, brianwestrate@gmail.com, dan@feyenforsenate.com, richards.tlr@gmail.com, newsrelease@politico.com,

Build an Authentic Evil Dead Chainsaw for Under $200

2016-10-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

My Chainsaw

As a fan who's purchased three copies of The Evil Dead, five copies of Evil Dead 2, and three copies of Army of Darkness (thanks to Anchor Bay's multiple double dip releases) I'm ecstatic about the resurgence of this franchises popularity. For years I perused sites such as Deadites.net and EvilDeadNews.com looking for any nugget of information about the potential of a new movie. I purchased a PS1 just to play Hail to the King, I mainlined games such as A Fistful of Boomstick and Regeneration. Hell, I even re-edited all three movies (with game audio) into a very well received four hour edit that was covered by Yahoo Movies. Now that Ash vs Evil Dead is out, one would assume that my thirst for the franchise should be quenched. Well, I suppose it has not.

For the last few years I've been collecting screengrabs, lists of materials, and scouring the internet for any information I could find about how to build my own screen accurate chainsaw. About two weeks ago, I pulled the trigger. Building it from start to finish took me about five, eight hour days and about $200 in parts. In this article I'll take you from start to finish through the process of building your own version of one of the most iconic movie props of all time. Be sure to read through the entire article and get a feel for the process before spending the money and time as this is not the easiest of ordeals. Below is a list of materials and tools needed to complete this project.

Tools Required:
Grinder (with cutting wheel, grinding wheel, and wire wheel), Dremmel (with cutting & sanding wheels), drill, handsaw, screwdrivers, adjustable wrench, trigger clamps, normal clamp, vice grips, a vice, toothbrush, & safety glasses.

Materials:
Homelite XL Chainsaw, 3D printed grille, 20 inch chainsaw blade and chain, 3 1/2 inch T-Bolt Clamp, 3 1/2 inch metal door kickplate, a 1 inch wide aluminum flat bar, a 1 inch diameter oak rod, two 90 degree metal brackets, three 2 inch metal brackets, Bondo, sandpaper, JB Weld, wood filler, two 1/4 inch carriage bolts one inch in length w/nuts, two 1/4 inch bolts 1/2 inch in length w/nuts, two 1/4 inch Phillips head bolts 2 inch long w/nuts, five 1/4 inch bolts 1 inch in length w/nuts, one wood screw.

Paint:
Rust-Oleum Satin Paprika Paint+Primer, flat black primer, red acrylic, silver model acrylic, and ebony stain.

The Body:

Chainsaw Before

The base object in this build is obviously the chainsaw itself, which is a Homelite XL Chainsaw*. I suggest searching on eBay. Since you only truly need the materials, feel free to purchase a dirty, non-working model. I got mine for $53 after shipping.

*If you have industrial tools, time, and wish to make a version of this that is metal instead of the screen accurate plastic version, you could purchase the Homelite Super XL 2 Chainsaw. Yes, it results in a much sturdier product, but from all accounts it is a nightmare to work on, and is so heavy you will not want to wear it.

The first thing you want to do is take it apart and clean it up as these have a tendency to be caked in oil and grease both inside and out. Remove the sawblade with an adjustable wrench, and take out all external screws holding it together. Be sure to place all of your nuts, bolts, and screws into a magnetic catch tray as this will assure you don't lose them when reconstructing it.

The Wife Hated Me for This

After, you'll notice that the engine is now floating inside the body. Take off the exhaust (one long screw) and set it aside for later. Remove the spark plug and throw it away. This will free the engine to be released. Take it aside and place it in the bucket as it is likely disgusting with years of built-up grease. Now it's time for the least fun step: cleaning. You could use some type of industrial degreaser, but many of these tend to harm the plastic body, so I heavily advise against using them, Get yourself a high-quality dish soap and prepare to wash it a dozen times with the toothbrush. If necessary, take a flat head screwdriver and scrape the grime off. Repeat this process until clean.

Cut Guide

Now it’s time to actually get to work. To the right of this are the lines of which you want to use to cut along, but if you pay attention to the natural seam of the body, it's quite self-explanatory. Use the Dremmel cutting discs to do this. Be quite careful as you do and wear safety glasses as this will produce liquid plastic as you cut (I got hit in the eye doing this, don't be like me). Cut slowly and don't rush as you have one chance at this. Once you're through, take the sandpaper (or a sanding Dremmel bit) and knock down the rough edges that you've created. Up next is attaching the kickplate, which will act as the top of the chainsaw.

Top of Chainsaw
This is one of the harder aspects of creating the chainsaw. You could just attach a metal plate and call it a day and that would indeed be a screen accurate version of the first chainsaw seen in Evil Dead 2 (as he assembles it) but I don't like the look. Furthermore, that's not the chainsaw seen in the rest of Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, or Ash vs Evil Dead, so it wasn't an option for me. Also, I wanted to construct as much of this as possible, but if you'd like, you can purchase this piece pre-built for $75 from Evil Dead Workshed, but that's not the way I wanted to go.

Kickplate Position

The kickplate ($11 at hardware store) will have two pre-drilled holes which are perfectly placed to attach it to the front of the chainsaw. If the lip of the front of the chainsaw doesn't let it sit perfectly, just grind it down with the Dremmel. Place the plate where you intend to mount it, mark your holes and drill them. Attach them with the two 1/2 inch length bolts w/nuts you've purchased. Once mounted, this is where your eyes need to take over in lieu of directions. You'll want to bend this metal by hand to resemble the arc of the original, you can see in my picture the arc I settled on. When you're content with the design, bend the end to meet the natural bend of the saw where your hand will eventually be. Cut the metal there and you can use a clamp to keep it in place for now. Make yourself a little piece of JB Weld (mixing a piece of the epoxy substance) and place it between the saw and the metal where your clamp rests, this will help temporarily hold it in place.

Now that we have the plate in place, we need to take the on/off switch we previously removed from the saw and drill a hole from it on top of the saw where you feel it should be. Throughout the course of the movies and the episodes, many chainsaws are used and the placement on this switch varies (sometimes shot to shot). Watch some of the franchise and decide where you want to place your switch, drill a hole for it and mount it because once we do the next step, it would be a pain to add it afterwards.

Pour Walls

Filling in the top is where growing up working in car bodyshops came in handy for me. It was there where I first learned to work with Bondo (fiberglass filler). You will need to create walls to pour against, and bondo will stick to nearly every surface, but, it will NOT stick to wax paper. Cut yourself two pieces of cardboard that roughly match the walls of what you want to pour and trim them to match the natural contour of the chainsaw top. Next, wrap them in wax paper and tape it to itself, these will act as the walls you pour against. You can hold the walls in place as I have in the picture with several clamps.

While Filling

Mix yourself some Bondo. If you've never worked with the substance before, I suggest you make a small amount of it and play with it. See how long it takes to dry, when it becomes too solid to use. Get comfortable with it before attempting this. Hold the saw upside down, and pour the Bondo into the makeshift mold. Some will come out the sides and the top will not look pretty. All of this is fine and we will deal with it shortly. If you're worried about making too much or it starts to harden, don't worry, throw away what you've made, make more and pour over top as it will attach to the existing Bondo as it hardens. Note: The drying chemical process will become extremely hot as it's a lot of Bondo on metal, do not burn yourself and have an area prepared to be able to sit the object safely down.

Once throughout dried, remove the false walls. It won't be pretty, don't worry, it's not supposed to be. Sand down the sides with 80 grit sandpaper until the sides are smooth. Some pores and holes will remain, simply make yourself a small amount of Bondo and use a plastic scraper to fill it in. Let it dry, sand it back down and repeat this process until you are happy with the look. Use this time to also fill in any remaining screwholes on the plate. Congrats, you've made the bulk of your saw.

Optional Step
I chose to primer my chainsaw, sand it back down and primer a few more times. This allows you to fill in tiny holes, knicks, and issues with the body and make it look a little prettier. Simply use the flat black primer, spray, sand with 220 paper, and repeat until happy.

Oil and Gas Chambers
This part is easy, simply clean them and cut the tops off of the chambers. Afterwards epoxy them back into place and you're ready to go. Just be sure to tape them off before you're ready to spray paint them.

The Wood Handle:

Top Handle

This is where the vice comes in handy, however it can be done by using the hard edge of a table. This is pretty self-explanatory, but I will go into as much detail as possible. From studying miscellaneous images of the screen used saws, it seems that most of them stand about two and a half inches above the saw itself and the top of it is 7 3/4 inch in length. Again, if you're feeling lazy, this finished part is available on Evil Dead Workshed for $30.

Top Handle Diagram

The 1 inch aluminum bar cost me $7 at a hardware store. First is the bend that attaches itself to the top of the chainsaw, which is one inch. So measure one inch from the beginning of the aluminum plate and bend it at a 90 degree angle. The next bend will be the actual handle, so two and a half inches up, bend again at 90 degrees. From that bend, measure over 7 3/4 inchs, and bend again at 90 degrees. Place this on top of the chainsaw where you will mount it and see where it naturally falls to the edge of the chainsaw where you place your hand into. Mark the metal at the lip of it, and that's where you cut it off.

Once you're happy with the shape of the metal, grind off the edge of the handle where it mounts to the chainsaw as on screen it's not a square, it's an oval edge. Drill a 1/4in hole into the center of the mount. You now have the metal section of the handle.

Sanding Handle

For the wood (the rod was $3), the length of it should be 7 1/4, but in case you haven't nailed it 100%, simply measure the handle you've made and make adjustments if need be. Cut the wood accordingly. Next, you'll need to split the wood in half. Be sure to measure and mark very precisely as the smoother this is, the better it will look in the final product. The cutting of this can be accomplished by either placing the wood in a vice or cutting it by hand, or by using the cutting disc of the Dremmel. Once cut in half, you'll want to either cut off the corners at a 45 degree angle, or this can be accomplished by sanding.

Once finished, sand with 80 grit sandpaper until smooth and then final sand with 220 paper afterwards. When you're happy with the handle, mark in on inch from the sides of each piece and drill a 1/4in hole. Place them on the metal handle and mark the whole marks with a sharpie on the metal where you will mount it. Afterwards, drill 1/4in holes into the top of the metal as well.

Carriage Bolt Diagram

To mount the wood to the metal you will use the one inch carriage bolts you've bought. This requires drilling half inch holes halfway into the top of the wood. Note, these holes DO NOT go the whole way through, they simply allow you to "sink" the head and nut of the carriage bolt into the wood. Do this process incredibly slowly and allow the drill to eat into the wood, DO NOT force it. If you force it, you could possibly make the drill catch too much hold and it will crack the wood in half. I went through two of these making mine. Next, align the wood to metal, place the bolts in and tighten. Congrats, you have the handle*.

*If you're not happy with the smoothness of the metal to wood contact, or if you have chipped the wood, simply apply wood-filler and sand back down until smooth, the wood-filler will accept stain and look fine.

Stain the handle with ebony stain by rubbing on a small amount over the entirety of the wood (and filler) and wiping it off. Repeat this process until the desired color is obtained.

The Metal Side Handle
The longer piece of the handle needs cut. What is handy about this is it is incredibly easy to measure, simply make both overhanging sections the same size. In essence, cut off the longer end to be 1/2 inch longer than the end that is inserted into the chainsaw. Now, you'll want to fill in the cut off piece to be screen accurate. Simply mix some Bondo (or JB Weld), and stick it down the neck of the metal stem to create a cork about an inch in. Allow that to dry and repeat the process, but this time form an overhanging ball on the top of it. All you need to do is sand it down afterwards and paint it with black primer.

The Motor/Exhaust Mount

Motor

This is arguably the most difficult section of the process and requires a lot of patience. First, use the brake cleaner on the engine and get most of the grime off. Next, you're going to want to slowly, carefully, and safely cut off 3/4 of the engine. What you will leave is where the blade attaches to the motor, and where the exhaust attaches as well. To accomplish this, use the grinder with both the grinding and cutting wheels. Cut accurately according to the picture I have provided and you will be fine, but be sure to not remove the hole for the bolt that mounts the motor into the body.

The center spindle which spins the motor will have to be cut which will cause the blade mount to fall off. Simply cut the rod to fit and glue it to the motor in the correct place with JB Weld. When finished, paint with black primer. Use this opportunity to primer the exhaust pieces as well.

Make Room
Since you're almost ready to paint, we need to make sure we're done sanding/cutting the body and have room for your hand. Temporarily bolt the engine in, and the body back together. Does your hand fit in? Probably not. In order to make it, we're going to take the sanding attachment for the Dremmel and slowly eat away at the exposed hole until you can easily insert your hand. Simply work in circles around the opening of the hole (while not grinding away any of the screw mounts) until you can comfortably insert your hand.

Paint:

Painted Body

Take the body back apart and spray the pieces separately. If you've never spray painted, practice on another object first. Once you feel comfortable, we'll be using the Rust-Oleum Satin Paprika Paint+Primer spray paint, which is the closest to screen accurate pre-made spray paint that exists. If you want to get 100% accurate paint, take the handle you cut off to the local automotive paint store and have them computer match it. The problem is that will require you to have both a paint-gun and an air compressor.

The best advice I can offer when painting is to get a complete coat on the entirety of both pieces. This is best accomplished by screwing the removed bolts from the chainsaw body, reattaching them while leaving half of the bolt exposed, and hanging them in suspension by the bolt. This will allow you to get total coverage on the pieces.

The Saw Blade

Once again, throughout the franchise many blades were used, but the one that resembles most all of them is the 20 inch chainsaw blade from Oregon (Got mine for $32 on Ebay). The only thing really to do here is to remove the paint. For this, I personally grinded it off, then polished it with the wire-wheel attachment. However, any way you get the paint off is fine. Other options include airline paint remover (nasty stuff, use heavy duty gloves), sanding, or perhaps you've bought a blade that doesn't have any paint. Additionally, use the grinder on each razor tooth of the chain in order to dull it to touch.

Optional step
I personally don't care for the blade to look shiny. We'll get to aging the saw towards the end of the article, but if you want to age the blade, the time is now. I tried several means of this, but I landed success after heavily priming the blade in black, and then using the wire-wheel attachment on it afterwards to make it look used.

Install Internal Handle

Internal Handle

First, bolt the motor back into place through the bottom of the body and put it in its permanent place. Next up is installing the internal handle which you will hold on to while wearing the chainsaw. To do so, simply measure inside the saw from the bottom to the Bondo top and cut a section of the oak rod to fit. Mark on the bottom of the body where that will go and run a woodscrew through the body and into the bottom of the wood. To secure it, press together a good chunk of JB Weld and form it around the top of the rod and the bottom of the body, essentially creating a base around the top and bottom of the internal handle. Allow this to dry for about 20 minutes.

Install Aluminum Handle
Next up, place the top handle where you wish to mount it and mark the hole in the bottom of the aluminum handle with where the hole will be drilled into the top of the body. Since you'll be drilling through both metal and Bondo we need to take sever precautions. We don't want the bondo and the steel on the top to separate due to the force, so use the trigger clamps to hold the piece solid while we drill. To accomplish this, you'll want to drill a series of guideholes, working up to the 1/4 inch hole you need in the end. Then, install the two inch Phillips head bolt through the top and loosely secure it with the nut on bottom.

Mount Diagram

For the loose side of the handle, you'll be using the two 90 degree brackets, one to attach the handle to the body, the other to attach both to the arm-cuff coming up soon. The bracket that attaches to the body will need to be bent in order to fit, so squeeze it with the vice grips until it's the appropriate size. Once it fits, use a marker to mark where you'll drill the hole on the body as well as where you'll drill into the aluminum handle. Once marked, take the handle back off the body.

Once removed, drill into the body the same way as you drilled the previous hole, using a series of guideholes and using clamps to assure the bondo doesn't separate from the metal. After, drill a 1/4in hole into the back of the handle so that you can place a bolt adjoining all threel. Install the bent bracket as well as the 90 degree bracket onto the handle, then reattach the entire piece to the body (you may need to mess with the order of placing in the bolts due to space). Tighten the handle onto the top of the body, if excess bolt remains inside, simply use a grinder or the Dremmel to remove it.

Add the Grille and Pull Start

From Thingiverse

First, you can either purchase the 3D grille for $20 online, from Thingiverse or download the blueprints for free and print it yourself. The grill is cake to paint, just order it in black and paint the outside with either the silver model paint, or a chrome Sharpee marker. Mix a small amount of glue epoxy and glue it on, the 3D model provided is the exact perfect size. Allow to dry for 15-25 minutes.

Pull Start

While that is drying, take the remaining oak rod and cut a three inch section from it. Drill a 1/4in hole through it, and then, much as you did the handle, drill a 1/2in hole through half of it, this is so once the cord is fed through it, you can tie and it will rest in it. Again, do this slowly as you risk the pull start cracking and chipping. When finished, stain just as you did the handle. Feed the cord through the wood, tie one end, and pull tight. Feed it through the hole in the body and glue it to the inside.

Once both are dry, bolt the entire body and black metal handle back together using the original bolts. We're in the homestretch now!

The Armcuff

Armcuff Closeup

Take your 2 inch metal brackets and grind the corners off, one of each of these will be attached to the existing screw hole of the body of the chainsaw, so make sure you take an adequate amount off. This is most easily done using the grinder while either holding the piece with the vice-grips or in the vice. Next up is a tough one, drilling the holes into the T-bolt clamp.

Your clamp should have the adjustable end placed directly upwards to the right of the back of the saw (see picture). First we will drill the hole for the 90 degree bracket, so place it in place and mark the clamp with a marker where the hole should go. It is important to remember while drilling that this is hardened metal and is not easy to drill. Therefore, hold the clamp in the vice, and drill a series of guide holes. I suggest again drilling guide-holes, starting with a 3/32 bit, a 1/8th bit, 3/16 bit and finally the 1/4in bit. Once finished, loosely bold the cuff to the 90 degree bracket with a 1/4in bolt one inch in length.

Now, unscrew the two bolts in the back of the body of the saw and install the two inch brackets. Use your vice-grips to bend them into roughly the place they line up on the T-Bolt Clamp and mark the hole with a marker. Take the cuff off, and using the previously described means, drill the holes necessary for install and bolt them using the other 1 inch long bolts.

Optional Step:
Many people make two more brackets and install them at the bottom of the chainsaw to the cuff, however I couldn't find sign of them actually existing in the movies so I did not. The three bolts in mine are far more than enough for it to be bolted securely, but to each their own.

Final Touches

Non-aged Chainsaw

Bolt the chainsaw blade back on and reattach your chain. Additionally, reattach your exhaust to the motor. If you need to touch up any red paint, spray it into jar and use a brush. Also, take your silver model paint and apply over any bolts that you've painted red.

CONGRATULATIONS YOU'RE DONE! KINDA!
Well, mostly. Yes, you're finished, but it doesn't look that cool if it's clean. Feel free to keep it that way if you wish, but wouldn't it look way cooler with some blood and grime?

Aging

My Chainsaw

Aging is a process that's half delicate work, and half pure slop. Arguably, the best ever done video on the subject was done by Adam Savage from Mythbusters and should be considered required viewing on the subject. The process I used was taking black enamel and dry brushing (YouTube tutorials on the subject) the corners where the saw would throw dirt, and miscellaneously around the body. I also took the silver model paint and "weathered" the corners. This is accomplished by using a small brush and aggressively using small strokes on the edges to simulate chipped paint. Repeat this process until you are happy.

Blood

After Blood Effect

I researched and tested many various forms of blood before I came upon what I used. Most of what people suggested resulted in sticky, dark substances that I did not want near my hard work. What I ended up using is an epoxy. Take your clear drying, two part epoxy and cut the handle so that they can be pushed separately. Empty one tube into a dish. Next, add red enamel paint until you reach your desired color. Then add the second tube of the epoxy and stir quickly.

This will set fast, but the thing to keep in mind is that the sooner you apply it, the more liquidy it will be. So the longer you let it dry before applying, the more coagulated it will appear. Place your chainsaw on newspaper, dip a dry stiff bristled brush in the red substance, and then fling it at the chainsaw from a few feet away. Concentrate on the blade, but don't shy away from the saw itself. Attack both sides of the chainsaw equally and if you do it in stages, the blood will build on itself in layers. This should dry to touch in 25 minutes (longer than normal due to the additional enamel).

In Conclusion

Final Product

Congratulations, you're the proud owner of a screen accurate Evil Dead chainsaw! Yes, you could purchase one online for $350, but doesn't it make your fanboy pride swell that you've accomplished the task all by yourself? There are several variations you can place on this as the chainsaw is ever evolving in the franchise (for instance, the wood handle now has electric tape on it in the show). Customize it, make it your own. If a part doesn't fit? Hack away on it and make it, just do it slowly. There are not rules in this process and this article is only a guide to the way I constructed mine. Have fun, make it your own, and long live Ashy Slashy!

Our New Animated Short, Other Fish!

2016-09-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we completed work on our newest project, Other Fish. The 4:39 movie was animated/co-directed by Josh Stifter, produced by my wife Olivia Roush, and features sounds by Mike Hallenbeck. It follows a recently divorced woman who attempts to swim a channel of shark infested water in order to prove to herself that she is now truly independent. We were incredibly fortunate to score an amazing cast for this project including Michael Parks, Harley Quinn Smith, and Jacqui Duncan. Since the movie is now stuck in film fest submission hell (the process of submitting to film festivals means that you must sit on your hands for the better part of 6-9 months before you can release it) I wanted to take a little time to talk about what the project is, who was involved, and the lengthy process of bringing an animated project into fruition.

Deleted scene in Tusk

I first heard of Josh Stifter while working on the set of Tusk. Kevin Smith is a one in a million filmmaker who is such a work-hard nutcase on set that his rough cut of a project is typically assembled before principal photography is even over. One day about 3/4 into production in North Carolina, Kevin put Mewes and I in charge of assembling a TV and sound system in order to screen the rough edit of Tusk to the cast and crew during lunch. There is something truly magical about watching a crew actually see a version of the art that they are currently working on. It was this cut that included a few select animated sequences, one of which included the backstory of Michael Parks' character Howard Howe done by Josh Stifter. I was taken aback by the visceral animated visuals on screen. I'm not sure whether he or I reached out to one-another first, but ultimately less than a year later we were looking for a project to collaborate on together.

In February 2015 my Mother-in-law was about to swim a race that actually took place in shark-infested water. This lead to my wife waking me out of sleep one night, telling me about a nightmare of her mother actually getting attacked while in the water. The next morning I wrote a 7 page script inspired by the story she told me. However, I wanted to tell something bigger, something with a moral, a very twisted moral. One about the dangers of following your dreams.

James Gunn once wrote a blog about the dangers of following your dreams in Hollywood. It is a genius and thought-provoking article that should be considered mandated reading to anyone wishing to become a master in any career. The fact of the matter is that it is extremely irresponsible for people that have "made it" to blindly regurgitate the phrase "follow your dreams" when talking to those contemplating attempting to make art for a living.

The film, TV, and music industries are extremely over-crowded by people who are attempting to break into it thinking they are special. If you are in fact one of the people truly dedicated to making it, you have to be so absorbed and obsessed with your craft that there is nothing else that matters. In many cases, this leads not only to the breaking of hearts, but the decline of relationships, finances, and even your own health. My point is that if you are so hell-bent that you are willing to sacrifice everything in pursuit of your dream, there are deep, horrible ramifications that may come along as a result. I'm only using my own experience here as an example. I'm sure if you ask a painter, sculptor, carpenter, luthier, or those that have mastered any other trade, the same applies to some degree. This film is my little fable about the dangers of following your dreams.

Parks and I

Once I had the script finalized and sent it off to Stifter, we were off and rolling. We floated around some casting ideas but I knew exactly who I wanted. Though I traveled to North Carolina for Tusk as a behind the scenes videographer, Kevin immediately assigned me to Michael Parks as his assistant. During that time I'd drive him to set, go out to lunch, and the things one typically does in the role. However, the time I'll always value is sitting on the steps of his trailer with him in the doorway as we both shared cigarettes and he regaled me of tales of his days hanging with Elvis, Lenny Bruce, Johnny Cash, Richard Pryor, Miles Davis, etc. While talking about his music career, Parks would even occasionally break into song. So of course, when it came time to approach someone to play Grandpa in Other Fish, he was my natural choice and just like the class act he is, he immediately said yes.

HQ as Sandy

After we wrapped on Tusk I went back to my humdrum life at Sony (working 20 hour days and sleeping under my desk for the other 4... but that's another story). One night, out of the blue I got a call from Jen Schwalbach who invited me to come work for her family as a driver/bodyguard of sorts. That one call saved me from my cubical bound life and I will always be indebted for it. For the next year and a half I drove around the youngest of the Smith clan. I'd drive Harley and her friends to malls, parties, the movies, all sorts of teenage girl stuff. This allowed me ample downtime while waiting on them to concentrate on my writing and allowed me the flexibility to complete my movie Rodney Redbottom, write, shoot, and edit The Mission, as well as finish my first full screenplay (an adaptation of an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story). One day while driving the family to the set of Yoga Hosers, I approached Jen about asking Harley to star in Other Fish and she was incredibly supportive. I recorded Harley Quinn the next week and she of course knocked it out of the park.

Jacqui on TV

That only leaved the role of the mother to be cast. We mulled over many options, but it was Liv who mentioned her good friend Jacqui Duncan. She had met the aspiring actress in Sydney while working for a wine dispensary and the two moved to Los Angeles at damn near the same time. I of course was offish about an Australian playing such a dominant role in an American, animated movie, but Liv was confident she could handle it. After reviewing several productions Jacqui had been involved in, I was sold as well and we recorded the following week. She is one of the most professional actresses I've ever witnessed.* While recording sounds of being attacked, she almost hyperventilated three times due to giving it all she had. Looking back there is no one that I would have rather had in the role. It saddens me that our friend has returned to Australia, but she's now on to bigger and better roles for doing so.

*Side note: She played all three witches voices in Kevin's short Hallow-Ian, his contribution to the movie Holidays.

Josh Stifter,
Self Portrait

Having the voices in the can, Stifter took the next few months nailing down the look of the animation. This was a trying time, after all, this wasn't your typical comical cartoon, this was a dark, dramatic animation. The style he eventually settled on is an amazing take on the look of the 1990's Liquid Television while adding incredibly refined texture, colors, and shading. This project is unlike any cartoon I've ever seen and I genuinely say Stifter's name in the same sentence with the greats like Bill Plympton, Don Hertzfeldt, and Mike Judge. As he started delivering me these gorgeous scenes, we began the talk about who was to do sound.

Mike Hallenbeck

As with all of the projects I've done thus far, I am a control freak. Normally I am actively involved with every single aspect of every project I do. So when Stifter suggested that Mike Hallenbeck, not I, do not only the sound-design, but the actual score to the movie, I freaked out. Being the insane asshole that I am, the concept of not having an active role in a movie after I have wrote and directed the actors is not something I'm comfortable with. However, Stifter assured me of Mike's work and I eventually relented.

I'm happy to say that Mike Hallenbeck turned in an auditory experience that I couldn't come close to approximating on my best damn day. The dude is an absolute genius with sound. Listen to the trailer. Hear the waves, the splashing, the dog, the grumbles, the little nuances in just that trailer alone are perfect. You're going to have your mind blown by what he did with the actual score, it's pure perfection.

Olivia Roush

But that's not the only people that helped make this project what it is. Much of the tension derived from the movie is largely thanks to the editing work of Jeremy Wanek. The score wouldn't be nearly the same without the lap-steel guitar of Ben Connelly and the electric guitar of Ben Glaros. Even our good friend Matt Rowbottom kicked ass as co-producer in the final stages of this project. However, as always, the biggest reason that this was made is due to the support of my amazing wife and partner Olivia Roush. If it wasn't for her, none of the projects I make from the podcast, to the shorts, to the writing, to the scripts would ever be possible.

So until film festival submission-hell ends, this is as much as I can show/tell you about our new little project. Check out the trailer below, check out Stifter's work at FlushStudios.com, hear Mike's auditory asskickery at JuniorBirdman.com, and watch AntiCurrent.com for all things me.

An Open Birthday Card to my Cousin

2016-07-25T11:42:00.000-07:00

My cousin's and I

I remember a cute, diapered little girl who would isolate herself in a room of photographs, just staring at pictures of her family. Anytime we would come in to talk to you, your fiendish little hands would grab ours, and escort us back out the door. Sharlene, Granny, and I would hide around the corner and marvel at the weird little psychopath who was enamored with the pictures of all of her family, yet wouldn’t walk into the next room to see them. It was pretty obvious from an early age you were either destined for great things, or would end up atop a watchtower with a rifle, wailing about the numerous sins of man. Although the winds are currently blowing the direction of the former, I still keep a wary eye for signs of mental degradation. After all, we can sense our own.

Christmas

My Mother and I were so smitten by what a strange creature you were that we flew down to Florida just to hang with you. We didn’t go to Disney, Universal, or Sea World, we sat in front of your TV with you and watched Arthur for hours at a time. When we packed up to drive to Key West, we stopped after two hours and decided we didn’t want to continue unless your mother and you came with, so we parked at a strange attraction called Monkey Jungle as we waited for your Father to drop you off. We sat there for four hours in the dark, listening to the horrific sounds of monkeys either mating or killing one another until 2am just to spend an extra few days with you. When the vacation was over, we would still watch Arthur and talk about returning.

Angry from a
young age

As the years went by you slowly became more fun. You and I first smoked weed when people your age were playing with Barbie dolls. At thirteen years old, you and I were attending theatrical screenings of literary documentaries while your friends were likely watching (lame) cartoons. I vividly remember you choking on my Jack and Coke at your parents’ house in Florida when they went out on a date and if I’m not mistaken, I believe we even snuck you into your first bar at 17 years old. I won’t even go into your exploits atop the trailers in Hicksville as you ran wild with the local lesbian population while I was forced to tune out the shrieks and get some writing done. It’s been a wild, weird road we’ve shared.

Simpsons!

Thanks to your parents I’ve had the opportunity to travel the US with you. We’ve spent time in Ohio, Florida, Washington, California, and more. Hell, after spending two weeks with each other in Hawaii, we decided that wasn’t enough and you came back to Los Angeles with me for two more. As if at that point it still wasn’t enough, I then boarded a plane with you and hung out at your house in Florida for another week. Even when you were a child I was in awe of your mind. You’ve always demonstrated an uncanny ability to cut through adult’s bullshit and have since maintained a precise radar for avoiding the idiots of this world.

Hicksville 2015

We come from hearty stock. We’ve got Ireland coursing through our hearts and brains. We’re fighters, and the only enemy that can come between us and any task in the goddamn world is ourselves. I won’t be around to see the great mark you leave upon the Earth by the time your body gives out, but I’m sure the path to it will be decorated with the mutilated corpses of your enemies. You’re destined for greatness, and if anyone speaks to the contrary, send them directly to me for a violent and speedy indoctrination.

My sister.

It’s good that you live so far away, I truly worry that if we were to live in the same city we may attempt a Coup d'état and institute a sympathy-free marshal law. You’re my family. You’re my cousin, but I feel like that isn’t a precious enough word for it. You’re my sister. I’ll always be here to bail you out. I’ll always be here to hurt boys. I’ll always be here to dig holes in the desert if hurting boys isn’t enough. You’re an old-soul who takes no prisoners. You’re a badass and even though you get really fucking annoying on occasion, I’m lucky to have you around.

Thank god I can finally stop making you fake ID's. Happy 21st birthday.
-Josh

AntiCurrent.com Archives Vol 14: Piss N' Blood- Treason EP

2016-05-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

This is the fourteenth edition of the "AntiCurrent.com Archives", a collection of rare or bootleg-albums I'm releasing through this blog. Click here to view all past AntiCurrent.com Archive Albums.

Live at the Anarchy Library

I moved to California in 2005 under the guise of attending college, while in reality, all my ambitions were pointed towards starting a Punk band. Throughout the next few years, I auditioned or even briefly joined bands such as Terezodu, The Clampdown, and too many others to count. Sometimes we didn't jive, sometimes I hated their manager, and sometimes they were apeshit crazy, but ultimately, it never worked out. Around mid-2008 I responded to a Craigslist ad from two guys named Cam Mosavian and Ron Anger. They seemed to know their stuff and had just recently acquired a drummer, Brad Hicks. I auditioned on bass for Piss N' Blood* and they loved me, so I joined. What I didn't know at that moment was that by doing so, Brad and Cam's group of friends would ultimately become my family.

*The name came from Cam and Ron watching a war documentary. A soldier said something to the tune of, "We were laying there, covered only in piss and blood."

We practiced about 2-3 times a week for months before we played our first gig at The Anarchy Library on February 21st, 2009 in Downey, CA. We must have not fucked it up too badly because we were immediately asked to play a nine show residency there from April to December. We didn't just keep to Downey though, during that time we also played places such as Chain Reaction, The Palmer Room, and Alex's Bar in Long Beach. We even played the local Hot Topic for our record release show. We were having such a good time at these shows that when we were asked to play The Double Down Saloon in Las Vegas, we said yes immediately.

Flyer Collection

If you've never been to The Double Down, it is a perfect shit-hole. No barricade, no stage, and a house drink made up of the last night's leavings entitled "Assjuice". When we arrived, drunk of course, we were greeted by the bouncer who, at 7pm was already smashing bottles against the door and screaming about something of which we eventually deemed to be racially derogatory.

We opened up for a a buddy of mine's band, Wake The Dead. When we went on and the place erupted. Not only were our friends raising hell in the pit, but for the first time so was everyone else in the venue. Brad and I, being complete deviants, were having a blast while the more professional duo of Ron and Cam were upset about getting elbowed by dozens of people during our performance. The night culminated with my jumping into the pit with my bass, still connected to my dual 4x12 cabinets, and having drinks poured down my throat. It was a moment of pure beauty I will likely never experience again.

Front cover art by Ray

About the time that we got back from Vegas was just about the time everything started to fall apart. As with every band that has ever existed, factions began to form and friendships broke down. Out of respect for my friends and former bandmates I'm not going to publicly give a play by play as to what happened. Eventually I was told the band was disbanded and about a month later I was told they got back together without inviting Brad and I. Cam and Ron continued the band for another few years, eventually releasing a full album on a label and even playing Punk Rock Bowling. One hell of an accomplishment. Cam even went on to write/record the entire score for our film The Mission (which is available as a free download here).

My time in the band was everything Punk Rock was meant to be: Fast, angry, and really fucking loud. Even at it's worst, it was one of the best experiences I've had.

About The Recording:

Back Cover

In January 2009, we entered Tru-One Studios in Anaheim, CA on a Friday and by Sunday we left not only having recorded the Treason EP, but mastered it as well. That's the charm of this recording, it was recorded fast and dirty with no time for polish. We recorded it in one take as a band and then each had about 3-4 takes to get our overdub correct for the final version. Listen to the second bass note on the song Treason. It's about a 1/4 second late. That one note is totally indicative of how fast paced this entire process was. This EP consists of two songs that Ron had written previous to the band's inception, one that he had written with Cam, and one that we came up with at practice.

Right-click, download here:
Treason-MP3 ZIP File
Treason FLAC ZIP File

The Tracklist is:
01: 24 Hour Machine
02: Rebel Radio
03: Treason
04: Old Boring Rebel
05: Piss N' Blood (Demo)

Rodney Redbottom

2016-04-21T03:28:00.002-07:00

Rodney Redbottom is the first in a series of short movies I'm writing/directing titled the Benefits of a Small Town series. Believe it or not, this first chapter is based off of a very true story: Back in the day my good friend Brando inherited his Grandpa's car when he passed away. One day while driving said car he had a flat tire and as you do, he went into the trunk to pull out the spare. What he instead discovered wasn't a wheel, but tons of BDSM paraphernalia addressed to what turned out to be his Grandpa's pseudonym, Rodney Redbottom. After he begrudgingly confronted his Grandmother about the subject of Rodney, she enlightened him as to his Grandpa's more *ahem* interesting side.

It was Brando's constant drunken regaling of this story to me that struck a chord. What a wholly original and weird tale it is to discover such a thing about a patriarchal figure. Sometimes truth is indeed stranger than fiction. So with his permission I wrote up a treatment of the project and we both sat down and wrote the script. After a few months of planning I enlisted my wife Olivia Roush to produce it, my buddy J.C. Reifenberg to shoot it, and we got to work on preproduction. We shot the movie in May 2014 over the course of a few weeks on a Canon 5Dm3 DSLR shooting RAW. My uncle William S. Abramson financed the project with the majority of the money buying me the laptop that I've used to make all of my content for the past three years.

Dylan and I at the Premiere

To star in the project we recruited a friend of mine who was collaborating with John Roecker on their debut album (which just got released) to play the young version of Charlie Thomas*. We grabbed Joe Karam to play the older version of Charlie, the ever-amazing Elaine Rinehart to play Grandma, and William Gary Penn to play Grandpa. To fill out the cast of the "play parties" we recruited all of my friends to dress in bondage and smack each other around for an afternoon. I am truly lucky to have such stupidly loyal friends. My personal favorite cast decision though is my buddy Brandon playing the younger version of his own Grandpa.

*Charlie Thomas will be the name of my first son (if I have one) due to me promising a man on his death bed I would name my first son after him at thirteen years old.

Never one to shy away from researching the actual topic that we
were committing to screen, we talked to several individuals in the BDSM community and my wife and I even visited a "play party" in an industrial section of Los Angeles. Eventually we found an amazing lady named Trea Wallis-Taylor who amazingly came out and helped us add an air of realism to the portrayal of bondage in the film. During the timelapse section of said BDSM scene we even had a buddy of mine who works at NASA come out and design a motor to move the camera in a way in which we could create a seamless shot over four decades. Yes, you read that correctly, we had a NASA engineer design a bondage shot in our short movie.

I love and am proud of this weird, strange little flick we made and I look forward to continuing this universe in other shorts, the next of which you'll see is The Mission which we're currently screening in festivals. At the end of this year we'll also be shooting the third chapter of the Benefits of a Small Town series titled Dick Burrito followed by several more in 2017.

Thank you to all my friends that helped make this happen.
Hope you enjoy.

AntiCurrent.com Archives Vol 13: Joe Strummer- The Permanent Record Outtakes

2016-04-13T14:18:00.001-07:00

This is the thirteenth edition of the "AntiCurrent.com Archives", a collection of rare bootleg-albums I'm releasing through this blog. Click here to view all past AntiCurrent.com Archive Albums. If you'd like to hear more about this album, we cover it in the Slippin' Through The Tracks segment on Episode 12 of my podcast, The Soapbox Office.

Joe Strummer was many things: Rockstar. Punk Rock Warlord. Composer. Of the few films he wrote the music for, the one that has fallen through the cracks is to a movie titled Permanent Record. The reason for this is although he wrote thirteen tracks for the album, the powers that be largely hated his work and only released five of them on the official soundtrack.

When Paramount approached Joe to write the music to the movie, they screened the film privately for him at their lot. During the middle of the screening he reportedly broke down crying and immediately agreed to do it on the spot. They booked him time at The Baby O Recorders Studio and he went to work right away. Early on in the process, the studio expressed their displeasure with Strummer's work and started looking for other tracks to fill out the album. Strummer, though knocked back, continued on with the process and finished the whole of the thirteen songs intended for the movie (the film's star Keanu Reeves even guests as the rhythm guitarist for the theme song).

This being his first undertaking with a group of musicians since he left The Clash, he assembled a band to help him execute the undertaking and named them The Latino Rockabilly War. This group consisted of Zander Schloss, Joey Artuda, Willie MacNeil, and Jack Irons. This lineup changed slightly through the few years it existed, but these are the same musicians responsible for bringing about Joe's first solo album, Earthquake Weather.

The album is raw and feels as if most tracks were captured live in the studio during one solid take. Though the album as a whole does lull at times, one has to keep in mind that much of it was designed to be an accompanying score to a film. The one track that is the absolute stand-out from the rest of this undeniably has to be the super-catchy Trash City. The lyrical style of this song was a foreshadowing of what to come with his future band The Mescaleros while the backbeat of the song is reminiscent of his past work in The Clash.

If you dig this album, buy the soundtrack as it is a much higher audio quality than these outtakes. If you are looking for more rare Joe Strummer that is actually purchasable, I would suggest looking into his first Pub-Rock band The 101'ers as it's one of the biggest unheralded masterpieces of his career.

Download Zip File Here

The tracklist is:
1: Trash City
2: Louisiana Turnpike
3: Search Party
4: Baby The Trans
5: Plymouth Roadrunner
6: Nefertiti Rock
7: Outta Space
8: Theme From 'Permanent Record'
9: Nothin' 'bout Nothin'
10: Detour
11: Japanese Cars
12: Nameless
13: Cholo Vest

Bring Back Penn & Teller: Bullshit!

2016-02-28T14:18:00.001-08:00

Modern Culture:
We live in a world where we refuse to let our youth die. Every week there's another news story about Netflix resuscitating another fondly remembered product from our past. Sometimes it works, as I'm told is the case with Dr. Who, sometimes it's a mixed bag of both genius and low-budgeted missteps like Arrested Development, but more often than not it's Fuller House. I have no idea why the world demanded in unison that they desired more of the cheesy 90's show, but they did, they got it, and they seem to have immediately regretted it. Hell, I read even the new X-Files sucked. Next up? Returns to the universe of Coach, Twin Peaks, and Gilmore Girls. Who's to say if they will be as good as the bar our nostalgia has set for them, but I suppose we have no choice other than finding out.

However, there are some shows that seem to be in need of being brought back. The limited run of the Carl Sagan remake of Cosmos is an excellent example. It was ripe to be updated with new information and graphics and although I cannot stand the spotlight whore that is Neil Degrasse Tyson, good on him for helping make it happen. Intellectual fodder fares better with this new found phenomenon of bringing shows back from the crypt because knowledge is never passé, knowledge is only ever power. The one show that personifies that core concept better than all else is Penn & Teller's show Bullshit and it's high time it got brought back.

Bullshit:
Bullshit tore away at popular fads and misconceptions with a blend of scientific prowess backed by cut-throat comedy that is likely to never be matched. To this day, anytime there is an argument made against vaccination, people inevitably start posting their bit demonstrating the importance of the subject by throwing balls at bowling pins. They didn't tackle subjects leaning to the left or the right, they tackled anything they viewed as a potential danger to humanity. Through their eight seasons they tore into the inaccuracies of the bible, the hypocrisy of PETA, and even the Criminal Justice System. Nothing was too precious to avoid their crosshairs and they tackled every episode with an equal amount of veracity and disdain.

The show is best summed up by a quote from Hunter S. Thompson: "Some people will say that words like scum and rotten are wrong for Objective Journalism — which is true, but they miss the point." Penn and Teller were biased, but they owned their bias and never attempted to cloud you with false information. Through this technique they accomplished things that modern "liberal" journalism never could. When someone is lying on camera and wholly ignoring the facts, that person is an asshole and should be labeled as such. They weren't concerned with offending people, nor did they make it their mission, they simply were fearless enough to mercilessly call out the people that were full of shit. Their cause was righteous and just and if more people practiced it, perhaps we wouldn't be looking at the possibility of a Donald Trump presidency.

A Personal Note:

My Hometown

This show was and still is important. As a kid who grew up in Ohio and had a science textbook with a sticker in the inside cover stating that evolution was only one of many theories, this show changed my life. I spent most of my impressionable years being brought up in such a sheltered environment with the internet only beginning to dawn. As many children, I was heavily subject to the beliefs and viewpoints of those around me due to very little external influence. I was seventeen when this series came out (though I likely started watching it around nineteen) and was long suspect that most everyone around me was full of shit, though I had little hard evidence of such. When you are raised with family members that are religious, believe in psychics, reiki healing, and alien abduction, it is hard for a young mind with limited resources to gather enough external information to have a well-rounded understanding of the world.

When I first caught a broadcast of Bullshit, I immediately set out to find a DVD copy and eventually did at a DVD store in Dayton. I got home, popped in the disc, and my life changed. Not only did it show me the tactics behind "clairvoyants" such as Sylvia Brown, episodes dealing with subjects such as Environmental Hysteria proved to me that regardless of a right or left viewpoint, everything in life inherently needs to be questioned and Penn and Teller aren't beyond being questioned either.

Question Everything:
As is the nature with science, our understanding of it is always changing. A few of the arguments they made along the way (such as the dangers of second hand smoke) have fallen apart with further research. Other viewpoints I just flatly disagree with (such as their constant disregard for the potential horror of global warming just for the fact that the data is not fully in). But it's amazing to watch a show that invites questioning and doesn't insist that you fully prescribe to their logic in order to enjoy it. They've long stated that if this show was brought back, they would do an episode titled "The Bullshit of Bullshit" in which they tackle their own show from a critical perspective and illustrate the times that they got it wrong. C'mon, we need that.

(Science + Stats) (Comedy + Magic) + Naked People = Gold

This show was built around a simple equation that holds up to this day. Watch episodes from Seasons 1-7 and the only argument you could make for them feeling dated is that they weren't shot in HD. Bullshit wasn't just informative, nor was it only a soapbox for the duo to bitch about the wrongdoers of the world, it was downright fucking hilarious. Penn & Teller incorporated aspects of comedy and magic simultaneously with science and statistics in order to entertain and inform. Plus, they constantly showed naked people on TV, and in all reality, who the hell doesn't want to look at naked people while gaining a greater understanding of the world around us? This show reached all demographics that were willing to question. It's the perfect recipe to enlighten intellects and entertain the populace, all while stimulating the more primitive recesses of our brain as well.

Bring Back Bullshit:

Bullshit was just released in its entirety on Amazon Prime. If you haven't watched it, do yourself a favor and view what is the most important show of all time. If you already have, do us all a favor and rewatch them on the service because Teller hinted that Amazon may be interested in commissioning a new series of episodes. If fans of fucking Full House and Beverly Hills 90210 get to have their mindless entertainment back, then let's fight to see something of significant importance back on television.

This show has been responsible for so many people in the world pulling their head out of their own ass and applying critical thinking to every aspect of their life. I should know, I'm one of them. Do us all a favor and watch the series again.

Voting for Sanders Isn't Enough. We Need Trump.

2016-02-17T16:42:00.000-08:00

I know what you're thinking, and yes, we all hate him. Hell, I suspect even his constituency hates him. But for just a few moments I want you to entertain the notion with an open mind. As a country we've tried to abolish poverty, racism, and sexism through legislation, education, and dialogue. While we have indeed made some meager strides toward these goals, they've been largely ineffective. It's been an estimated one-thousand, nine-hundred and eighty three years since the death of a man who espoused such radical notions as feeding those who cannot feed themselves, loving one another, and forgiving each other’s transgressions. That's an estimated 66 generations that have handed down this man's teachings to a world that is populated by 32% of his followers and yet, this country has only recently given homosexuals the same rights as straight people.

The people who are voting for Bernie Sanders are well-intentioned, but it's not enough. It's time to choose the nuclear option. In order to inspire the amount of disdain, anger, and violence that it takes to produce a true revolution, we need to elect Donald Trump.

Failed Revolutions

Before you overreact, think back to the 1960's. Revolution was inevitable. The Black Panthers and the Hippies and The Weather Underground were on a course to change the planet. Whether or not that was for the better is of course debatable, but all of those failed for the same reason: Tiny Victories. A tiny victory is allowing Blacks to have equal rights while over 60% of the population incarcerated are Black. A tiny victory is allowing women the right to vote while keeping their wages 21% lower than males. A tiny victory is giving Americans the promise of free health care, while instituting a complex system that financially penalizes them for not purchasing it. These tiny victories have been just enough to appease the populace and keep revolution at bay.

The world has always had an undercurrent of racism and sexism in our populace that inevitably re-emerges when a leader such as this rears its ugly head from the cesspool of human-indecency. Our only chance at cleansing this mark against humanity is to clearly identify the enemy by putting them into absolute power so that they may be violently overthrown. It's time that we stop thinking about our own well-being and resign ourselves to losing a battle in an effort to win the war. We need to subject our children to absolute hell. Like a spur to a horse, let us provoke a new generation with a leader and a constituency that is openly sexist, racist, and homophobic. Let us finally do away with gently teaching the upcoming class of young men and women to be good to one another through gentleness and love. Let us reintroduce the rod to show our children the horrors of this world so that they will be forced to fix it themselves.

Exceptional art comes from
exceptional times

If one needs proof that having a tyrant in charge of the country inspires the best that humanity is capable of, simply look to the arts. While the vile creature that was President Nixon was in power we were gifted with songs such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's Ohio. As a response to the overlord that was Margret Thatcher, we received the gift that was The Clash. But it's not just music, Italy's world-war torn economy led to the birth of the Italian Neorealism Movement which focused on the glum, meaninglessness of life in such beautiful films as Umberto D. Hell, even before modern media the Dadaism Movement sprang forth in the early twentieth century as a response to the First World War. Give humans tiny victories and they remain complacent. Give them a tyrannical force of oppression and hurt them during hard times and that's when you see the true mettle of man, the product of which will inspire generations to come.

From Far Wreck Chords

Like many of us, I had the horrendous honor of growing up under the power that was the George W. Bush Regime. As he invaded a country under false-pretenses while using fabricated evidence, I got to watch the biggest powers of Rock N' Roll and Punk Rock come together in the unified spirit of waking up the youth. Unfortunately, as is their habit, the youth chose to remain dormant. The reason for this is that George W. was passively evil, not actively. The poor sap was little more than a marionette controlled by Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Chaney, and Karl Rove and thus, not truly repugnant enough to inspire change. This is where Trump oozily outshines his competition, he represents the worst of the bottom of the barrel, and as Mark Twain once said. "If we would learn what the human race really is at bottom, we need only observe it in election times."

Trump will inspire the change this country yearns for while triggering the type of change this country needs. They will get the chance to spit their rhetoric about keeping Muslim's out of the country while we read books to our children about how our land was once a home offered to refugees. They will eliminate half of their army by kicking out gay's and women as we recruit from their castaways. They will bask in their entitled white-heterosexual-male excess like the Roman Orgies of old while we teach our children the guerilla tactics of Che Guevara. Hitler came to power under the popular misconception that the Jewish people were to blame for their problems. If our country wishes to be ruled by a man who blanketly blames Muslims for the threat of terrorism and Mexican's for a lack of jobs, then by god let America grow fat on a third helping of desert while we gruelingly train for battle.

Trump in 2016

If a large population in our country is prepared to run Donald Trump for President of the United States, then we need him to become the President of the United States. If the Republican Party no longer represents small-government and fiscal conservatism, then let it stand for blinding hatred and let us wholly embrace them for it. If this is indeed the way that the nation is swaying, then let us do away with tiny victories and let them have this one for once. Let us all stand back and watch the country fall so that we might one day actually reclaim it from the people that seek to destroy it.

Voting in Bernie Sanders would be just another Tiny Victory that we don't need.

We need a hard loss.
Vote for Donald Trump.

The SoapBox Office Podcast

2016-01-27T02:42:00.001-08:00

Tusk One Sheet

I first met my buddy Mitch Cleaver on the set of Kevin Smith's film Tusk. We were the two assholes that volunteered to fly ourselves to North Carolina in order to work on the film for free because we just wanted to be part of something cool. Almost immediately we both forged a friendship over a mutually extensive knowledge of films, music and comics. That worked out well because as it turned out, we were to be roomates with each other for the entire eight week shoot. During that time we'd wake up at 6am, visit Waffle House, go to set, work until the last person broke, steal boxes of cereal from crafty for dinner, go to bed watching Jim Jarmusch flicks, then wake up to do it all over again. Spend that much time alone with a man and you will either grow to love him or fucking despise him. Lucky for the bastard, it was the former.

Mitch is one of the good ones. One of the dependable ones, and there ain't many out there, trust me. He does things for the same reason I do: Because why the hell not. Life is stupid and life is shitty and as long as you're ok with that concept, then why not suffer to make some cool shit? We're like-minded in that sense, and it doesn't matter what the project is, if one of our friends is involved, we'll break our backs to help, even as a PA.

The Mission

Last year I was all set to shoot my short The Mission and the DP had to back out. I was fucked. At that time Mitch was based out of New Jersey so calling him with a weeks notice was beyond a long-shot. I phoned him from the office of my old bosses house and told him how incredibly and royally screwed I was. His response? "Yeah, I'll be out in two days". He came out, we studied and worked with the Ronin Stabilizer for four days leading up to the shoot, and we shot it. The entire time he stayed on a futon bed in the same small 10x12 room that my wife and I both inhabited.

For years, a multitude of friends have asked me to start a Podcast. For one reason or another, things just never worked out. Sometimes people would get lazy (mostly me), sometimes things were on too grand of a scale, but mostly, there was just never a fully-formed concept. Well after months of badgering I finally convinced Mitch to move out to Los Angeles and I used the concept of the podcast to lure him. Is it the reason he came? Not at all, but I knew it would sweeten the pot. However, now that he is out here, I'm stuck in the unfortunate predicament of actually having to follow through with this promise. Even worse, I have to listen to myself talk on recordings.

Logo

Back in those days in the hotel he had mentioned the podcast he was working on, it was titled "The Soapbox Office", a pretty genius title I do have to admit. He had already secured all of the major social media handles with the name, but didn't have a concept yet. Lucky for me, he never found one until he moved to Hollywood, makes my life a little bit easier.

So here we are, having just recorded/edited the first episode. The root of the concept we've came up with is deconstructing movies we feel have been too built up over the years (not movies we hate, just ones we feel are overrated). But you can't do a podcast based only on beating up on something, that's just cruel. So in the place of the movie we deconstruct, we offer up a little known gem that we feel is overlooked and deserves a bit of the attention. Also we're treading into the hotly debated notion of Torrents and the positive benefit that they also serve beyond simply taking money away from artists.

Episode 1

So here goes folks. Give it a listen, or don't actually. That's kind of the beauty of this little project. We talk like this every time we hang out, we just happened to put a little production effort into it as well. We hope you like it, sincerely we do, but it's just one of those things that we're gonna do regardless.

The Soapbox Office
SoapboxOffice.com
iTunes
Stitcher
RSS

AntiCurrent Video Archives Vol 5: William S. Burroughs- The Junky's Christmas

2015-12-16T12:38:00.002-08:00

Old Bull Lee

William S. Burroughs:
There are only a few select writers on the planet that I would rather listen to than read, and William S. Burroughs is among that group. Even though you unmistakably hear his voice when you're reading, there's something magical about the old man's flat tone and creaking, crotchety voice that adds a layer of ambiance that augments his written word so perfectly. Though his voice did age like a fine whiskey, he was born an old soul who Kerouac described as "...a gray, nondescript-looking fellow you wouldn't notice on the street unless you looked closer and saw his mad, bony skull..." Burroughs was only 43 years old when that description of him was published in 1957's On The Road.

Spare Ass Annie

The best capture (or at least my favorite) of his unmistakable voice was on the 1993 album, Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales. On it, he recorded many of his short stories from miscellaneous books through the years put to a backing tracks by The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. One of the most notable of these tracks was "The Junky's Christmas", a short story from his 1989 book Interzone. The story is all about a junky named Danny who is released from jail on Christmas day and is attempting to find his fix. After searching the entire city, he dupes a doctor and gets a small dose via a pill. As he returns to a hotel to shoot up, he instead discovers a kid going through kidney stones in agony and shoots him up instead. It's a beautifully twisted little story about choosing humanity over your own addictions.

Junky's Christmas Short Film:

Cover

The story combined with music and Burroughs' amazing narration was so brilliant in fact that Zoetrope Pictures (Francis Ford Coppola's company) and VH1 teamed up to turn it into a narrative, short film. The film was done as claymation with live action bookends where Burroughs pulls Interzone off the shelf and effectively reads you the tale on Christmas day with his friends and family. It was aired on VH1 (presumably as part of a Christmas lineup) and was eventually released via Koch Vision in 2006 on a long out-of-print DVD.

The problem with the DVD release is that it sucks. The claymation footage is presented as interlaced and in the wrong aspect ratio. This is unfortunately a normal result of mixed media presentations on DVD. It's hard to say exactly who's fault this is, but generally it results when the disc image is being designed immediately before being delivered to the factory. Additionally there are sections where Danny's collar has a moire effect going on due to the crosshatching on his coat. This is more than likely accentuated due to the project being edited on tape rather than on film.

This Release:

So in order to fix this, I downloaded an ISO, disc-image capture of the film from the ever-amazing Uncle Jerk (who's post about this movie is the reason I'm writing this blog, thanks Jerk!). I popped it into Premiere CC, upscaled it and cut the movie apart from it's live action bits. I deinterlaced the claymation, stretched it out from its wrong aspect ratio into the correct 4:3 dimension. To remove the moire effect I desaturated all sections of the movie that didn't have color, and I snapped the blacks to a reasonable number in order to remove some of the DVD's digital artifacts. This is likely the best version that will ever be made available unless the original authors return to the original tape captures of the material.

*If you have a keen eye, you may notice that the claymation footage still has ghosting (blended frames) but after experimenting with several different frame rates to attempt to solve the problem, I consulted my friend Ian about it. After reviewing the credits at the end (which will show you if the image is skipping, repeating, or blending frames), it is undeniable that this project was created with them as either purposeful, or that they are baked in and cannot be removed without very tedious work.

Final Thought:

Amazing Claymation Work

If you dig this little gem, go and buy the album "Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales" because it's pure gold. Also, if you dug this (I don't know how widely available it is for purchase), grab Burroughs' audio-book of "Junky", you won't regret it. The point is, this isn't meant to compete with being able to purchase an artist's work, merely to make available things that are rare or out-of-print that should be experienced by anyone that loves his work. Either stream it from YouTube, or download it at the link provided below in h265 (be sure to be running the latest version of a decent player like VLC).

So here you go, one of the best holiday specials ever made for those of us a little off that beaten path. Enjoy!

h265 link (Right Click, Save As)

EDIT

The cinematographer of this project, Simon Higgins, was kind enough to write in (see below in the comments) and add to the available information about this wonderful project! Thanks!

I was the cinematographer on the claymation component of this project. You've done a pretty decent job of restoring it. Great to see it looking like the original after so many years.

It was shot on Bolex cameras colour standard 16mm Kodak film stock, aka (7298) 100ASA, in the late spring/summer of Sydney,Australia 1993. The production design was almost entirely monochrome and the remaining colour was removed in the film to tape (telecine).

It was mastered on PAL video, that's just 576 pixels tall at a 1.33:1 aspect ratio and I guess that's what probably got transferred to VHS and eventually to DVD. A 16mm film print was also struck from the PAL video master and it toured the world film festival circuit for quite a few years and was lucky enough to attract some critical acclaim.

Free Download of To No End's Music Video "Twisted Knives" in 4k

2015-11-29T19:41:00.000-08:00

Playing Under Projection

My buddy Nick Dellaposta and I go back, way back. Matter of fact we were in our first band together, *Adorn. Before the dawn of the internet, you either had to sink money into a proper 4-track recording system, or you had to get inventive... we chose the latter. Desperate to record, I discovered that if I cut apart my guitar cable and twisted the ends together with an RCA cable that I was able to record the instrument with my mothers Aiwa cassette deck. Moreover, if I did this while "dubbing" a previously recorded cassette, I could effectively create a makeshift multi-track recording. About three times a week Nick would make the three mile walk to my house and we would record demos together into the homemade system. I cannot overly-express the genuine happiness that arises in me by bragging that despite two thousand, one hundred and eighty miles between us and fifteen years having passed, we're still collaborating on art with one another.

*I use the term band loosely as we never played a single show... or even had a drummer.

Nick and I

About a year ago I got a drunken text message from Nick as I was watching a movie. I ignored it and several thereafter, but upon my phone beeping for the 6th time I read it. He had just written a new song and wanted me to listen to it. Fine. I walked into the kitchen and listened to the song he had just recorded directly into his phone. There is no other way to put it, I cried. My longtime friend had written a song about my life and the craziness I have been through and it moved me to no end. Flash forward to a year later and Nick again hit me up. This time it was to direct the music video for the song based on my life. At first I laughed, after all, the idea of someone directing a song about themselves is pretty far up it's own ass, but after some thought, I agreed on one condition: We had to kill the main character in the music video. We all die, but how many of us have had the chance to direct our own death? When Nick asked who we could get to play such a role, I immediately thought of my good friend, Michael Parks.

Nick, Parks, and I.

I first met Michael Parks (from Kill Bill, Dusk Till Dawn, Then Came Bronson, etc) during the shooting of Kevin Smith's film Tusk. After a few days on set, it became evident that Parks needed an assistant to help him on set with mundane tasks and Kevin assigned me to be that person. Believe it or not, the first few interactions between the green-haired punk-rocker and the grumpy old man were a bit awkward. However, over the course of a few days we discovered a mutual admiration of cinema and music and formed a kinship that continues to this day.

Matt's account of the music
video is great.

So with the concept and the talent taken care of, I needed a crew. I'm lucky enough in this life to have a group of insanely talented folks in the same industry who all share common interests, thus I hit up my friends Andrew Heaberlin and Matt Rowbottom. Andrew is a badass cinematographer from Kentucky who has done everything from his own short-film Let It Be War to being an Executive-Producer on Yoga Hosers. Matt on the other hand is the behind-the-scenes producing talent who just finished his new project Going Dark: A Sith Story, starring Darren Hayes and Tim Stanton (from the He Said, He Said Podcast) . My wife agreed to assistant-direct (shes a saint for dealing with me on set) and with the essential building blocks in place, the rest was just a matter of "getting the band back together" as the kids say. I called up my friends J.C, Erik, Mitch, Joey, Shaun, and Cam and we were off to the races.

I cannot thank all of my amazing friends enough for all they have done for me and my stupid projects. I would fight and die for each of them.

Andrew Shooting Babies

We shot and edited the project in 4k, but the problem with the newly budding format is that there is next to no downloadable content for it. The long term solution to this seems to be highly effective encoding codecs like h265,which gives you ample quality with very small format size. The only issue with these is that it takes an incredible amount of processing power and a very good video card to reap the benefits of it, otherwise you're just staring at moving macro-blocks.

So here's our little contribution to the world of 4k, on the provided link below you can either download the highly efficient 4k, h265 video via my website (I suggest playing it in VLC), or if you follow the Vimeo link and click download, it will provide you with the 4k, h264 (easier on your computer to process, but larger filesize) download for free. It also provides you with 1080p, 2k, and other formats as well.

H265 (Right-Click, Save As)

Twisted Knives (Official Music Video) - TO NO END - 4k Resolution

Serving Divorce Papers to a Cheating Lesbian from New York

2015-11-04T19:56:00.000-08:00

Some days I feel like I'm less living a life than I am completing a video game with countless side missions and as a result, I probably possess the most diversified resume of anyone I know. I grew up working construction where I did everything from dig holes to operate cranes. I spent years in high school as a mechanic/body-man. I've owned my own custom guitar shop and clerk'd everywhere from gas-stations to record-stores. I've assistant-edited multiple seasons of a television show and even spent more than a year as a driver/bodyguard. Quite a few of these gigs are the result of being the guy to call when my friends experience issues in their normal lives that they need resolved by someone incredibly loyal.

That's me. Someone's sister is getting kicked out of her house by an aggressive landlord? Call Josh. Need a music video shot and you have no budget, no cast, and no equipment? Call Josh. Someone about to get the shit beat out of them at a bar? Call Josh. You get the point. So when my buddy back in New York called and told me he had a friend who needed something taken care of in Los Angeles, I was the one that got the call to serve divorce papers to a cheating lesbian in North Hollywood.

I was in Olympia, WA hanging out with my family at a goth bar at the time I got the call. "Josh, I have a friend in New York who's wife ran away with another woman. She needs someone dependable in Los Angeles to do a favor." He sent me her details and I got in contact with the woman the next day. Her name was Dianne and she was absolutely heartbroken that not only had she been cheated on (with a woman she described as a Yeti), but her Ex, Sabrina was using her social security number to create an ever growing mountain of credit card debt. As if that wasn't enough, the woman was actively avoiding being served papers and had dodged two Process Servers thus far. The first of which gave up for unknown reasons while the second lost the element of surprise by presenting the papers to her girlfriend and not her. He shortly gave up as well.

I looked into it, and as luck would have it, she seemed relatively easy to track and only lived a few miles away from me. She still had New York plates and worked at Saphire's, a chain of local make up stores. But that was the end of the good news. Dianne described Sabrina's girlfriend quite vividly as "a violently angry guerrilla" who apparently dwarfed me in every way. After a week I received the paperwork and the affidavit in the mail. Under California law, anyone may act as a process server assuming they over 18 and not actively involved in the case. My job was to approach her, get her to acknowledge her name, and if she didn't willingly accept the paperwork, drop it at her feet. Seems easy enough on paper, but the fact that two people who did this as a professional-vocation had failed was a somewhat frightening notion.

So I set out at 7:30am to go and stake her house out. I knew they lived in a very suburban area so I dressed myself in a long-sleeve, black shirt to cover my tattoo's. I immediately found the SUV with New York plates and the girlfriends accompanying white SUV in the driveway. I parked around the corner with their house barely in sight and sat there for the first hour as the neighbors walked their dogs and gave suspicious looks. The only way to not stick out while unavoidably sticking out is to completely own it. So I smiled and waved at the local inhabitants. When one finally approached me I gave my already well coached line that my little sister had sent me to this cross-street to pick her up, but the little bugger must've drained her cell-phones battery and wasn't answering my calls. Having mastered this line many times before, she bought it hook line and sinker.

Eventually the white SUV turned out and left. I struggled with whether to follow it or not, but ultimately it wasn't listed to me as her car, so I let it go and played it safe. I sat there and followed up my lead that she worked at a local cosmetic supply store. I was amazed and bewildered to see that there were 15 of these damn stores within a 6 mile radius. Women, truly love their damn makeup. Realizing that I in no way wanted this woman to have my contact info, I downloaded a "Pranking" App for my phone and made it seem as if I was calling from the local pharmacy. At 9:25AM, the first ten local Saphire's received a call from "Jake the Pharm-Tech" representing the local CVS pharmacy. Each time he asked to speak with Sabrina about a "personal matter".

One lady I spoke with told me she wasn't sure of the Sabrina from her store's last name, but that she should be in around 11am. I thanked her and hung-up. Another I called hesitated in speaking to me me, but ultimately laid on me that she USED to work there. This made me suspicious, so I put this location at the top of my list. Just then the Black SUV pulled out of their driveway in a fury. I started my car and waited until she turned the corner and gunned it to catch up. From the time I first played Grand Theft Auto 3, I had been preparing for this moment. I stayed behind, leaving her just in view so I could track her every movement, but not close enough for her to notice me.

After a few moments she turned into a gas station and my pulse pounded. It's not often I get nervous, I go years at a time without feeling the kind of nerves so many speak of, but I damn-well did at that moment. I took off my seat belt and prepared to pull in behind her car in order to block it in so that she couldn't escape without dealing with me. Just as I was about to make my turn she got out and it was her mammoth-mountain of a girlfriend, not her. Bust. I took the next corner without being noticed and downtroddenly continued on to the first store.

I parked in Hollywood and walked up to the local Starbucks, after all, I wanted to look natural. I ordered my coffee and mosy'd over to the first Saphire's. Though I could make out several employees... there was no Sabrina. I walked away and called my wife who was delighted at my inquiry of what makeup I could buy her to establish my front. She texted me the name of some unholy expensive nail-polish and I walked in looking like a confused husband (something I excel at as I've done so many times before). I snooped around playing stupid and eventually was approached by a worker. I asked for the shade of ultra-rare polish and she walked me over to the area and picked it out for me. On the way to the counter I asked about my wife's old friend Sabrina and whether she worked here anymore. It's then that I was informed that she had quit and moved to a new area. Damn. Bust 2.

I pulled out of the parking garage when I suddenly noticed a Chevy Suburban speeding away from a hotel and toward my window. I screamed at the man as he looked down at his phone. Just as he was about to hit my door I sped out of the way and he creamed the back of my car. My head hit the side of the car and the world went all spiny for a few moments. I grumbled and growled nonsensically at the man as I stumbled out of my car toward him. As I watched him climb out of his ridiculously monstrous automobile, I noticed that he looked dazed as well. So, like a damn fool, I asked if he was ok, a question to which he did not reply. After somewhat-less politely asking him exactly what the hell was going through his head, we pulled over to the side of the hotel and exchanged information. I suppose it was in a failed attempt to diffuse the situation that he brought attention to his name being Mellick and my middle name being Milton and what a funny little world it was. At that point, I turned to him and deadpanned, "Yeah, we're practically fucking brothers."

I drove away still in a bit of shock and messaged Diane that today was not to be the day and that I had gotten in an accident. As I drove home I figured what the hell and routed myself past Sabrina's house. No one home. I sat there for a moment and realized that if she was gone this long, she HAD to be at work. I continued down my list and called the other five Saphire's and the last one was the winner. CVS (heh) called the Saphire store in Glenview and the lady put me on hold for Sabrina.
Fuckin' Bingo, Mother Fucker.

I took off, pissed off due to my car's new wounds for the Glenview Mall. After all, zombie-like consumers walking in hordes was what I was in the mood to deal with. I arrived, walked in the mall and found the map directing me to the center of a huge department store. I no longer possessed the patience to deal with the "needing to buy nail-polish for my wife" front and darted around the store analyzing all of the workers. Once I was sufficiently convinced that the target was not in the showroom, I asked a lady if Sabrina still worked there. She told me that she knew her, but that she worked at the other Saphire store about three blocks away.

Incensed that there would be two such stores in such a small proximity, I again stormed off, this time on foot. However, once I got a foot outside the door, paranoia creeped in. She said she knew Sabrina. What if she would warn her about my impending arrival? There was no way I had came all the way to the Glenview goddamn Mall just to be evaded at the last second, so I sprinted across the street, paying no mind to the oncoming cars. Once I arrived at the destination and had sight of the front door, I took a moment to regain my breath before my approach. After all, the building didn't appear to have any exits out of the back and I had the front more than covered.

I stalked around the area for a few moments before I walked towards it and paused. I caught the reflection of blond hair with black roots that matched hers. I peered around until I could get a full sight of her face... it was her. She was stationed to the left of the main door so I walked in with confidence and spoke to the door greeter. "Hello! I'm looking for a friend of mine." Her eyes perked and I swung my head around to her. "Oh my god! Sabrina?!?" I exclaimed. Her eyes went wide and she dawned a flirtatious smile. "Yes?" she said. I then spun around, grabbed the papers out of my back pocket and released fake the smile from my own face and hers followed suit immediately. "I've been served haven't I?" she groaned. I handed her the papers "Yes ma'am, you have, enjoy your day." and I walked the fuck out.

Looking back at the entire ordeal, I gotta say that it was fun. I always wanted to be a detective when I was growing up and this was probably about as close as I'll get. I'm just extremely glad that I was able to confront her in public rather than at her house with the gigantic apelike girlfriend that could have torn me limb from limb. And I don't feel bad for the girl at all. She cheated on the friend of a friend and ran away. Sure she looked sad when I served her, but fuck her. This wasn't Karma coming back to bite her in the ass, this wasn't even justice, this was just the mathematic-like result of repeatedly doing horrible things to someone who loves you and I'm glad I got to help that out.

A Personal Look at John Roecker & His Upcoming Green Day Documentary

2015-10-08T12:01:00.000-07:00

John Roecker is a fucking rarity. He somehow skirts the line of being one of the best humans I've ever met on the planet and yet, one of the more depraved. A sweet man who's been incredibly supportive of my career, but also the man that insisted I touch his original painting by John Wayne Gacy. He has an active Facebook presence, yet is extremely proud to have never sent a single text message to anyone. When we once spent an hour trying to gently guide a humingbird out of his house, we had to move his actual human skeleton out of the way to do so. I suppose it's through these types of clashing duality that his art and films are able to perfectly capture the low-fi, punk rock aesthetic that so many people constantly fail at.

How I met John: Live Freaky, Die Freaky
In 2004 I was still living in Middletown, Ohio and paying extra attention to anything cool taking place in Southern California as I was plotting my inevitable move there. Around this time the name John Roecker and his film Live Freaky Die Freaky began to pop onto my radar. As soon as I read the cast list and description of this incredibly fucked up premise, not only was I sold, but I immediately purchased a LFDF shirt for myself via the Machete Mfg website.

Flash forward a few years and I was living in Fullerton, CA while attending CSUF. Though I should have been studying, I spent most of my time working and hanging around Black Hole Records. It was then that I began to hear rumblings of LFDF actually coming out. In early January the store received some publicity material announcing the release date of January 17th, 2006 and I immediately took to the internet to see if there was to be a premiere. Because if so? There was no way in hell I was going to miss it.

LFDF Flyers

On January 5th 2006 I was calling everyone involved and finding out any info I could. Once I discovered where it was to be held and who the production company was that was putting it on, I immediately went to work. I called Epitaph (the label) and begged for tickets, I called Wellspring Media (the distributor) and offered to work the show. I even called the venue pretending to be an invited guest's assistant so that I could find out the exact time and location in case I was to attempt to sneak in the back.

Finally, I hit the jackpot. I got hold of the social media manager of the show and told him that I represented Black Hole Records and that we were interested in promoting the hell out of the DVD sales. He bought it and invited my then-girlfriend and I to the premiere.

The night started when John Doe (from X) and Rancid came out to do some acoustic songs. They played everything from classics from their back catalog to Ramones, Clash, and Green Day covers. It was pretty epic to see the biggest band in punk rock on such a small stage with the who's who of Punk royalty watching them. Then they played Live Freaky, Die Freaky. A gross, drug-addled, account of the Manson murders drenched in stop-motion puppet-sex and musical numbers. It was fucking genius. I sat there and watched these people bask in crude, John Waters' style humor and love it. Standing there was legitimately the first time it occurred to me that I could make my own movie.

When the night died down, I cornered John and drunkenly told him how inspired I was. A few days after the premiere I drunkenly sent the LFDF website an email asking them to tell John if there was any project he ever needed help on, to please look me up.

Rodney Redbottom:

Rodney Poster

A few years went by and MySpace fell by the wayside being replaced by Facebook. Eventually John popped up on my feed and I sent him a request. Not long after, we began messaging back and forth, updating one another on our various projects. It was then that he told me all about the new band he was working on with Dylan Melody, appropriately titled, Roecker/Melody and that they were about to have their first show at the Redwood. I told him I'd love to come and he asked me to shoot it for him, to which I instantly agreed. A few nights later my buddy Joey Harris and I shot their amazing first show.

Rodney Redbottom Premiere

About the same time, I was in the beginnings of pre-production for my upcoming flick Rodney Redbottom and needed a star. Moreover, I needed a star that was willing to work with fucked up material and do it for free. After holding a few casting sessions, it dawned on me that Dylan's baby-face would work perfect for the role. I got hold of John and got Dylan's info from him. Fortunately for me, Dylan agreed and knocked the role out of the fucking park. After we had wrapped and I finished the final edit and was working on the poster, I was unable to come up with a clever tagline. It was John that came up with "Whips, Paddles, Bondage, Grandparents."

Heart Like a Hand Grenade:

My Green Day CD Collection

I've always dug Green Day, though admittedly, the last few albums haven't really moved me. That being said, few records that I own mean more to me than Nimrod. I remember the day I borrowed that album from the only other person in school that listened to Punk. I played it for days straight and bought my own copy the following week. From there I eventually worked backwards to Insomniac, Dookie, and so on (though someone stole my copy of 1,039/Slappy). Their self-deprecating sense of humor and I don't give a fuck style defined the poppier side of Punk for me.

Now, I do remember talk of John shooting a Green Day documentary while the band was recording their album American Idiot, but when I didn't hear anything about it for a few years I assumed it had fizzled out. I couldn't have been more wrong. Evidently not only was the doc done, but it had actually screened in a (to my understanding) four hour cut at The Egyptian on March 25th, 2009. How that slipped under my radar I still haven't figured out. A few people have reported that night that John mentioned that it may be released on the album's 10th anniversary. That ended up not being too far from the truth.

Green Day Wall

On June 18th this year John hit me up and explained to me that he didn't like the old intro to the film and asked me to come over and see if we couldn't figure out another way to tackle it. A few days later I headed over to his place to see if we couldn't crack an idea. We met up and discussed several options on the table, but ultimately chose a more low-fi approach to the idea. The following week I contacted my buddy Andrew Heaberlin and we went over to John's house with a truck full of equipment. Andrew lit, I operated, and John directed, and although I won't spoil it for you, I was pretty happy with the way the raw footage turned out.

Everywhere Oct 15th

So there you have it. On October 15th, 2015 this documentary, more than 10 years in the making will finally see the light of day, on one of the biggest and most famous screens in the world, The Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, CA. I know this article is basically a Roecker-suck-fest, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm incredibly grateful to be part of a film of one of the bands that helped so many people in the world get into Punk Rock. Be sure to come and check out a legit piece of music history through the distorted lens of one of the most creative, solid, and just plain weird motherfuckers I've ever had the pleasure to call an inspiration and a friend.

Trailer:

Click Here To See Showtimes in your area!

An Introduction to "Open Matte" Films

2015-09-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

Recently I've joined a private torrent site specializing in rare and out of print films and TV shows. This has led to my stumbling down an entirely new rabbit hole of movie-nerd collecting: The "Open Matte Version".

What is an "Open Matte" film?

Open Matte Example
(Augmented from Wikipedia)

Shooting in an "Open Matte" is the process of achieving a different aspect ratio than the one you are shooting in by masking part of the full frame image with black bars.

One of the main reasons people collect "Open Matte" films is that they contain extra image information (generally at the top and bottom of screen) giving the viewer a bigger glimpse into the world. However, since the cinematographers job was to frame for Widescreen first and the Open Matte second (or sometimes not at all), this is generally NOT what they intended the viewers experience to be.

For the most part, viewing the Open Matte version does not make for a more aesthetically pleasing image on screen (at least not in the traditional sense). In fact, this added information sometimes disrupts the movie watching experience for the typical movie-goer. For example, where black bars were intended to be, the viewer may occasionally see a ladder on screen, a rope pulling a prop, or just an oddly composed frame with too much headroom for the actors.

So why would you collect something that effectively makes the movie harder to watch? Because if you are like me and have viewed your most-coveted films several hundred times, these are new, rare glimpses into some of your favorite on-screen moments. Due to both changes in cameras and distribution, I'm organizing these "Open Matte" films into two categories: The Pre-Digital and Post-Digital Revolution.

Pre-Digital Revolution

4x3 Matte Example

By the 1980's many movies were shot in widescreen on 35mm film despite the format's native size being a 4:3 square image. To accomplish this without the employ of expensive image-bending Anamorphic lenses, cinematographers would have guide-lines on their viewfinders and monitors showing them where the intended aspect ratio was in relation to what was fully being captured. Then in post-production (or sometimes exhibition), they would throw black boxes over-top of the image, blocking out the information that wasn't meant to be seen.

This was largely brought about by the rise of consumers watching movies via VHS and Cable TV. During this time, home viewers weren't open to having letterboxing "cover up part of their TV" and unfortunately, home distribution was exclusively catering to the 4:3 square format*. This effectively rendered widescreen obsolete after the movies initial run in the theatrical market (at least until the rise of Laser Discs). In order to force many films of the day into this TV friendly aspect ratio, production companies employed the use of "Pan and Scan" (a technique in which you crop the widescreen image and artificially move the camera's viewpoint).

Pan & Scan Example

Thankfully, for some movies, pan-and-scanning was avoided as it looked cheap and suffered image quality loss. To avoid their art being butchered, many cinematographers shot their films in widescreen while "protecting" for a 4:3 frame as well. By extracting the square image from the original 35mm frame, it contained additional information at the top and bottom of the screen. Most Open Matte 4:3 versions of pre-digitally shot movies often come from either broadcast, Laser Discs, early DVD's, or accidental release.

*Explaining to the general public that widescreen is how the filmmakers intended the film to be viewed was generally lost on them while explaining the concept of "pan-and-scan" has yet to be accomplished.

Post-Digital Revolution

16x9 Matte Example**

These days, most movies are made with digital cameras and are thus shot in the 16:9 widescreen format. However, to accomplish a more extreme widescreen image (without Anamorphic lenses), the same technique as mentioned before is performed. The monitors and viewfinders have aspect ratio guide-lines on them (or in the case of indie film, gaff tape is often put over the monitor) indicating where the intended image is located. This extra information comes in very useful in post production where the frame can be moved up or down in order to fix a potentially wrongly-framed shot.

These "Open Matte 16x9's" are more rare and are generally released on accident or in some cases, broadcast because the home viewer still can't handle having boxes on their screen. Additionally, many of the films that fall under this category have been exported from the studio because the engineer who is outputting the film has forgotten to turn the black bars back on overtop of the image.

**Yes, Seven was shot on film, however it's an excellent example of a 16x9 Open Matte and this version was more than likely accidentally released on Blu Ray in Canada. .

Some Great Open Matte Examples:

Pee Wee's Big Adventure

Pee Wee's Big Adventure: Legend has it that the guy who output the 4:3 VHS version of this film still gets shit for a few shots that blatantly showcase the special-effects in this movie. The best example can be seen HERE. In this shot, Pee Wee is pulling an endless chain and it's source was designed to be masked out. In this version, we clearly see where the chain is coming from.

Evil Dead: For years, only a select few, original VHS copies contained the original, unmatted 4:3 aspect ratio. The reason that so many die-hard fans clamored for this version is because this film was NOT shot with the idea of a widescreen presentation. Furthermore, when they did put the "black bars" over top of the image, they gave zero thought about re-framing the shots and blindly pasted them over the entire movie. Thankfully, the last few editions of the film have in fact contained the original, unmatted version.

Evil Dead 2

Evil Dead 2: I was only recently alerted to this. The 2001 "Tin Box" release of this film contained not just the original 16:9 version, but also contained the unmatted 4:3 version of this movie as it was shot. There's no goofs in this version that I've found yet, but this is a great, rare copy of the film and is totally worth giving a watch.

Terminator 2: In the open matte version of this you can plainly see Arnold's pants when he's supposed to be naked.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer- Season 1: This is rare because it is the pillar box mattes that have been removed. The show was obviously framed for 4:3, but Fox wanted to re-release it in 16:9 anyway. That means throughout the season there are errors abound. On the sides of the screens you can see ladders, lights, boom poles, and even the occasional person. Pretty damn hilarious.

One film I have seen with my own eyes that had an Open Matte but I have yet to find commercially is the 2011 film Drive. While I worked at S*** we received a copy of it for Australia and I personally failed it myself for having the wrong delivery specs.

Other great examples of "Open Matte Versions" include: The Matrix, Seven (shown above), Back to The Future 2, The Shining (and almost every Kubrick movie), Planet Terror, and Stephen Kings IT. There are a TON more, but I don't want to get carried away. Feel free to add your own favorites in the comments below.

In Conclusion:

He didn't actually say this...
but it was implied.

If I was a professional cinematographer and I saw an unauthorized version of a film I'd shot, I'll admit, I'd be pretty pissed off. And in the 80's and 90's I'm sure a lot of them were. Imagine being Victor J. Kemper (who shot Pee Wee's Big Adventure) and seeing that bike gag ruined on screen because of some post-production idiot. I'd personally be fucking furious.

Strange versions of classic films aren't necessary for the public at large, and for the most part, they probably offer a negative experience for filmmakers and most viewers... but for die-hard collectors, they give a whole new way to appreciate our favorite movies. Whether you collect them for an inside view into the process, to laugh at, to get that extra bit of screen information or just to have them on your hard drive so you can brag to your collector friends (who are also likely NOT getting laid), it's a great excuse to re-watch your favorite flicks one more time.

AntiCurrent Video Archives Vol 4: Hunter S. Thompson- The Crazy Never Die

2015-08-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

Hunter S. Thompson in the 80's:

Hunter's San-Francisco
Examiner Commercial

From 1985-1989 Hunter S. Thompson spent many of his days in San Francisco writing as a media critic for The Examiner (100 of these articles were pulled together to form his book "Generation of Swine"). During this time he also took on an assignment at the behest of Rob Fleder to write an article for Playboy about the rise of "couples pornography" and how the more feminist genre of porn was poised to be "the next big thing" in the industry. He agreed to it and as research, began spending many nights at the famed Mitchell Brothers' "O'Farrell Theater".

Hunter became enthralled with this new found adult playground and through his time there formed a close friendship with both Jim and Artie Mitchel. He became such a regular that he at times took tickets at the front door and dubbed himself "the night manager" even going as far as to make business cards for himself. Eventually this laid the groundwork for Hunter to re-purpose the Playboy article as a novel and he sold the rights to Random House Publishing.

Hunter S. Thompson:
Night Manager

This book "The Night Manager" was to chronicle Hunter's time working at the notorious theater. It's not publicly known how much of the book was actually written or whether or not it was completed. However, interestingly enough, another of Thompson's unreleased works* (also through Random House) titled "Polo Is My Life" appears to be a sequel in which the protagonist is forced to leave the sex club and flee into the mountains. Would he actually sequelize the book if the first one was incomplete? Normally I'd say that's too weird to be true, but seeing as how this is Hunter S. Thompson, weird is just the norm.

*I once asked Johnny Depp (who is custodian to Thompson's archive of unreleased papers) how much unreleased material existed and he just laughed and said "a lot".

His Lectures:

Front Cover

Other than the Chronicle gig and the occasional book deal such as these, Thompson's main source of income was from performing speaking engagements at colleges around the United States. These performances were best characterized by Thompson showing up late (if at all), strangers offering him excessive amounts of drugs, and an adoring audience watching him lambaste anyone in his cross-hairs in the most hilarious and vicious way possible**. In 1988 he was about to embark on one of these tours and struck up a bargain with The Mitchell brothers to send along a camera crew to document the event. The film that resulted is the hard to find "The Crazy Never Die".

** For an idea of what his full lectures were like,, I previously released his entire performace at Boulder University in 1977 as Vol. 9 of the AntiCurrent.com Audio Archives available HERE.

The Feature:

Back Cover

"The Crazy Never Die" is a 30 minute shot-on-video documentary that looks into the wild and perfomative side of Hunter's personality. The live footage consists of highlights of his engagements at both The University of Kansas and The 1st Congregational Church in Portland, Oregon. Most of the supplemental footage is from the previously mentioned O'Farrell Theater, his office at The Examiner, Survival Research Labs, and Tommy's Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco.

Intercut between these are both intimate moments of Thompson traveling and staged moments of Thompson creating havoc while occasionally hanging out with naked strippers. It's far from an exploration on the man he was, but it is very indicative of the wild Rock and Roll side of Thompson that he wished to publicly display during this time of his life.

This Release:

Previous version VS AntiCurrent.com
Archives version

This flick was released via VHS in the late 80's, thus there is only so much I could do to salvage the quality without the original footage. For this release I purchased an original, un-viewed copy and ran it through video out (thanks for the help J.C. Reifenberg), capturing it at 720p while processing the footage through an HVX.

Once I had captured it, I brought it into Adobe Premiere, color corrected it, slightly sharpened it, de-interlaced it, brought the blacks to a reasonable level, and cropped the video on both the bottom and left side by 1% as it was only tape noise and not actual footage. I then output the audio into Adobe Audition and removed the tape hiss plaguing the video. The final output is a 720p version of the movie looking as good as it ever will unless the original footage is reprocessed.

Tell me this doesn't make you want
to purchase the sweatshirt

Final Thought:
This isn't a must see documentary for most people, but if you're a fan of The Good Doctor, it is a great little piece of history to behold. I hope one day that this flick gets rereleased and if it does, I'll break down the damn door to purchase one, until then, this will have to do.

However, even though you can't pay The Mitchell Brothers for a copy of this fine film, you can purchase shirts and sweatshirts from them with Ralph Steadman's original artwork for it HERE.

Download the compressed h264 version here.
Right click and choose "save as"
AntiCurrent.com/VideoArchive/TheCrazyNeverDie-h264.mp4

Download the Score for Our Upcoming Short "The Mission"

2015-08-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

"The Mission" is about a day in
the life of two Mormon brothers
experiencing the opposite
ends of their faith.

Apologies for my two month hiatus from the blog, it's been an insane time finishing post on our new short, dark-comedy, "The Mission". Wearing many hats in post-production doesn't exactly lend itself to an abundance of time to write. But to hell with all that, the flick is done and has already been submitted to the first of many film-festivals. As always, I'm unable to just sit idly by and watch the fruits of our labor, thus Liv and I are already prepping our next short "Dick Burrito" (co-written by Omid Ghaffarian and myself) for production.

The only bummer of this ever-repeating cycle of making our short movies is that these flicks cannot even see the light of day until well after their film-festival run... so that got me thinking. Since I can't publicly share the movie for fear of ruining it's festival life (and the top-secret plan for afterwards), I began to think of things from the movie that I could share. Hence, the newest edition of the AntiCurrent.com Archives!

Cam and I at band practice

Though I haven't been an active participant in the Southern California Punk Rock Scene in a few years, for a good long while I was the bass player for the band Piss N' Blood. It was through that experience that I met some of the best friends I've had in my life. One of them being the guitar player for the band in question, a brilliant songwriter named Cameron Mosavian. During my time "in the trenches" with him both in the studio and in rehearsal, I noticed the dudes uncanny ability to perfectly capture the mood of any given moment and (often hilariously) put it to music.

Front Cover

About halfway through editing I began to get concerned with music for the project. I had temp music put in to maintain momentum, but it wasn't a good fit. I experimented with using existing scores and even Creative Commons domain music off of Free Audio Archive like we did for Rodney Redbottom, but nothing was working so I turned to my good friend. He watched the flick and described right away the audio-fueled emotions I was struggling to convey and had great ideas about the genres to use when emphasizing each beat.

Cam immediately set my mind at ease and I was able to worry about the whole of the project knowing that the score was in good hands. The files he would send back to me as I was editing put emphasis on the perfect moments, punch-lined the jokes, and created the exact atmosphere I was looking for. The score he turned in is so damn good, he makes me look like a better editor due to the choices his music helped inspire. I'll never not use him again.

Back Cover

But enough about that asshole, let's get back to the point shall we? Since I can't show you a trailer, here is what I can do at the moment. I'm proud to introduce to you Cam's entire score for "The Mission". I've taken his original files, done some minor tweaking to make them flow better as an album and output them as both MP3's and FLAC's for free download via my website.

I'm so proud of this little flick and I cannot wait to share it with you the second I can do so. Until then, here is the full, free download of the score to our new flick, "The Mission".

Right click and choose "save link as".

FLAC Version:

MP3 Version:

Tracklist:

1: Theme to The Mission

2: Mormons on the Run

3: Clothes Make the Man

4: Proselytization

5: To Come of Age

6: Confectionery Canaan

Follow Cameron on Twitter here:

Remake or Reboot, Do Not Reset: Why Jurassic World is Dangerous

2015-06-17T01:54:00.000-07:00

A Sequel to the Original

The film industry has been obsessed with producing remakes since it opened it's doors. In 1904 Siegmund Lubin remade the 1903 film The Great Train Robbery setting the precedent of rehashing old material for new movies*. A lot of people forget this fact and insist that Hollywood has no good ideas left when in reality, bad films always outnumber the good films on any given year. I personally embrace remakes and reboots, but what I'm not willing to accept is the notion of sequelizing an original, beloved film in a franchise while ignoring the missteps that came after, and that's exactly what Jurassic World does.

*In reality he was just cheap and didn't want to pay royalties, but the point still applies.

Before, if you were to make a new movie that drew on the love for a prior film, you were forced to make a sequel or start anew. Good or bad, at least it was a clear continuation or a fresh start. Now it seems we are allowing film studios to make bad sequels that they themselves are allowed to ignore. How did this change come about? We kinda have J.J. Abrams to thank for it.

A Case for Rebooting:

Well Executed Reboot

J.J. knew he was playing with fire by rebooting Star Trek as nerd's toes are delicate and easily stepped upon. However, he had no desire to work within the confines of it's previously established universe, thus, his team cracked the code. They cleverly inserted a time travel storyline from within the original universe and forged themselves an alternative timeline to play within.

This "soft-reboot" as it is known allowed the original property to exist without constraining the new one. You have to give it up, it's a pretty genius concept. However, its success appears to have given Hollywood the idea that they can just "reset" continuity anywhere without utilizing clever storytelling devices.

A Case for Remaking:

Well Executed Remake

Take Ocean's 11. Soderbergh took a film largely celebrated only out of nostalgia and forged it into a masterpiece of a modern heist movie starring the A-list talent of the day. As often happens, with it's success came Hollywood's other obsession, the sequel.

Despite showing moments of genius, Ocean's 12 was a flawed movie and gave birth the worst fucking plot device in the history of cinema (Julia Roberts playing Tess playing Julia Roberts? Barf). Thus, for 13 they reverted back to the original formula that worked so well. However, even though they retrograded to what made the original movie so special, they had enough respect to embrace the events of 12.

What is Resetting and Why is it Dangerous:
Resetting simply picks and chooses the events in a timeline that it wishes to use and throws out anything that doesn't suit it's best interest. It resurrects your positive memories while lying to your face by pretending that negatively-reviewed, past films in it's franchise don't exist. If we as an audience are willing to look the other way when a franchise puts out a bad product, then the studios lose all incentive to make a good product in the first place.

Jurassic World is guilty of this. Though no one has directly said that the events of the second two films aren't canon, you really would imagine they would have been referenced if they were. No matter how amazing the film may be and how many times it references the original movie, it purposefully avoids dealing with the fact that the second two unpopular films in the franchise were made. Are the fans of the "Jurassic Park Trilogy" supposed to forgive and forget that they were fed a series of godaweful films that did little more than cash in on the franchises name? Just remake the damn movie, it's way less insulting to the fans that have supported your product.

Down the Rabbit Hole We Go:

Alien 3-2? Alien 3B? Alien 3: What If?
Who knows.

Love Alien and Aliens but hate the other films in the franchise? Don't worry, Hollywood will have you covered with the new "Alien 3" by Neill Blomkamp. "Wait? Didn't Alien 3 come out and suck-ass?" you ask. Well the new one will reset the timeline and ignore the events of the other films entirely. That's right, he is pretending that Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection didn't happen. This is plain lazy ass storytelling. I'm truly sorry, as we all are, that Alien 3 turned out to be a horrible pile of shit, but that is the movie the studio chose to interfere with and distribute. They have made their bed and we as an audience should hold them accountable to lie in it and I think that David Fincher would agree with me.

In Conclusion:

"The Godfather 3B"
hitting theaters in 2017.

I'm not a person that believes that every franchise needs touched, but I understand that is the way the system is, forever cashing in on your fondest-memories. But at least, if you're going to fuck with the movies that we so love, give respect to the audience that came to the theater for the shitty follow ups by not attempting to "sweep them under the rug". Don't just ignore several films in a series because you don't like the events of them, it's lazy and disrespectful. Jurassic World may be a fine film that both stands on it's own and lovingly pays tribute to the original, but don't let the studios off the hook for producing bad movies just because they finally made a good one.

AntiCurrent Archives Vol 12- William Elliott Whitmore: Radium Live in Los Angeles

2015-05-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is the twelfth edition of the "AntiCurrent.com Archives", a collection of rare bootleg-albums I'm releasing through this blog. Click here to view all past AntiCurrent.com Archive Albums.

William Elliott Whitmore at
The Mint

Not enough musicians in the world treat their fans as well as William Elliott Whitmore. There's something special to the rarity of a person willing to hang out with their fans before and after shows. Matter of fact, I've only witnessed with four performers... Jello Biafra, Penn & Teller, and Whitmore. Got a question for him? Want to purchase an album off him? Want to just shake his damn hand? Hang around a while and he'll pop up and be more than willing to spend some time with you. Pretty goddamn admirable I gotta say.

Thursday's show at The Mint was the same. I got in line as the doors opened and there he was, talking

to a fan and just hanging in line. I generally avoid talking to performers I admire, there's something frightening to me about demystifying a talent you truly dig. Plus there's something really weird about seeing how fans interact with someone they really, really look up to. People act differently, they stare at you through the corner of their eye and then approach you with overly-prepared words and most of the time it's a horribly awkward fuck of an experience.

Horribly framed
cell-phone pic

With all that said, I've had a few encounters with WEW just from the fact he's always around and so damn ingratiating. Mistakes, all of them. In Orange County I drunkenly told him I loved him, at the Knitting Factory in LA (RIP) the girl I was with almost puked on him (and did puke next to him), in Sydney the girl I went with cried through his entire set and I had to reassure him that she was OK, and at a bar my best friend in the world also balled his eyes out through the entire show (weirdly reoccurring theme huh?).

See? Take it from me people, don't meet your idols. More than often you do dumb shit.

To get back on track, The Mint is a great little bar with great sound and is incredibly intimate. Also they lack asshole security guards so I decided to bring a Zoom H6 recorder in and bootleg the performance. Recording performances you go to I feel is a lost art. In old bluegrass bands most people in the crowd did it. Bands like The Grateful Dead encouraged it and today Hank Williams III allows you to record any show you'd like and even has a "Respect to the bootleggers" speech. Is Whitmore cool with it? He seems like a pretty cool guy and I was going to ask him, but he seemed busy so I didn't wanna bother him. I'm just going to assume he's cool with it until I hear otherwise. As a wise man once said, its smarter to beg for forgiveness than to ask permission.

Front Cover

The set was amazing as always. Staples such as "Diggin' My Grave" and "On the Chin" were played and even more exciting for me, I got to see him play electric for the first time. Hearing him strum that Bilt Zaftig semi-hollowbody and scream with a death-rattle yell on "Healin' To Do" was other-fucking-worldly. Plus his acoustic broke a string towards the end so he played the electric on "Old Devils" and it was sick as shit.

It's always cool seeing his new set and I've heard damn-near every song I've ever wanted from him... except for the one I've always truly wanted to: "Trespassers Will Be Eaten" (off the bootleg "Legalize Freedom", available here). My buddy requested it at a gig once and Will said he forgot that he even recorded the song, let alone how to play it. Fair enough, a strange song off of an old demo is a bit more than a "deep cut" as they say.

Back Cover

For not having a board feed (I nearly tried to bribe the soundtech but opted against it) and just leaving the H6 in my pocket, I'm pretty damn pleased with the results. I recorded it at 24bit/96khz, de-noised/EQ'd/normalized it with Adobe Audition and output it as 16bit FLAC files and 320kbps MP3's. I edited a little bit of the downtime out of the performance just to keep the album at under 80 minutes (max CD length). Past that, this is the show how it happened, and it's pretty goddamn great considering the recorder was just nested in my pocket with the XY mic pointed toward the speaker next to me.

Before you listen to this, I should apologize to both you and Whitmore, I'm the asshole guy yelling in grunts and the one that says "don't be a pussy" when it came do doing shots. What can I say, you can take the boy out of Ohio, but you can't take the Ohio out of the boy.

There used to be an inherent evil in bootlegs that seemed unavoidable, someone selling someone else's hard work for profit. Thanks to the internet, that can now be avoided. As always, I'm releasing this for free and without any ad-revenue generated from my blog or website (take note lawyers, I'm do this for the love of it and when my AntiCurrent server is factored in I'm making a sizable loss). If you dig this, please go and buy an album or even a beer-coozy off of Whitmore, he's more than deserving.

Without further ado, here is William Elliott Whitmore, "Radium Live in Los Angeles" on 5/28/15.

Download The Entire Album and Cover Art Here:
FLAC Version:
MP3 Version:

The tracklist is:
1: Lift My Jug
2: Civilizations
3: Old Bill Jones
4: Hell or High Water
5: Johnny Law
6: Can't go back
7: Healin' To Do
8: Don't Need It
9: Hard Times
10: Don't Pray On Me
11: Diggin' My Grave
12: Do Something Impossible
13: South Lee County Brew
14: Sally Bangs
15: Ain't Gone Yet
16: On The Chin
17: Does Me No Good
18: Old Devils
19: Mutiny

AntiCurrent Video Archives Vol 3: Social Distortion- 1983 Practice Session

2015-05-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

This is the third edition of the "AntiCurrent.com Video Archives" a collection of rare, out of print, or unreleased videos that I've chose to release through my blog. Click here to view a list of all past releases.

Orange County: Early 80's

Classic OC Bands Playing
in Los Angeles

The Orange County music-scene in the early 1980's is without a doubt, my favorite era of punk rock. To be young and witness bands like The Adolescents, TSOL, and The Vandals playing in backyards, living rooms, and small shitty clubs is something I will eternally be jealous of not experiencing. It would have been amazing to have actually been a kid of The Black Hole and witness all of this, but at least we have documentation of these days. The scene eventually moved on. Some of the bands broke up and some became enormous successes, but the scene eventually morphed into something different and left behind only memories and precious little visual documentation.

This video is one of those precious documents.

Social Distortion:

Mommy's Little Monster

At this time this was shot, the band consisted of Mike Ness, Dennis Danell, Derek O'Brien (also played with D.I. & Adolescents), and Brent Liles (also played with Agent Orange and unfortunately was struck dead by a car in '07).

This is the Social Distortion lineup that recorded the classic album "Mommy's Little Monster" for 13th Floor Records. The group changed members only months after this at the New Years Eve show when O'Brien and Liles left the band after Ness reportedly accepted Heroin as payment from the concert promoter.

Bootleg History:

Flipside Vol 1

The legend behind this video is that it was shot by Peter Landswick, Al Kowalewski, and Holly Duval Cornell of Flipside Video Fanzine at Pulsar Sound Studio in Fullerton, CA in March of 1983. It opens with their manager Monk (who can be seen throughout the classic documentary "Another State of Mind") as he introduces the band. The video was shot for "Flipside Video Fanzine Vol 1" but only a few of the songs were released on it. This is the complete video that I got off of Ebay in the mid-2000's from Monk himself (or at least someone on it claiming to be him).

*EDIT 7/9/16: According to a YouTube user, it was Dave Brooks of Charged Video that shot this.

This Release:

Cover that came W/Original
Bootleg DVD

Pieces of this performance has surfaced on YouTube throughout the years, however this is the first to showcase the entire performance. The person that sold this to me via Ebay claimed to have captured it directly from the original VHS tape itself and due to its extremely high quality (in regards to early 1980's VHS video) I have no reason to doubt that.

I brought the original DVD rip into Premiere, upconverted it to 1080p, corrected the color, slightly sharpened it, removed many of the unwanted VHS tracking effects seen on the sides of the screen, and deinterlaced the footage. The result is pretty damn spectacular considering the age of the tape.

Final Word:

VHS quality deteriorates quickly in comparison to film and digital media, but in the 80's film was expensive and digital wasn't even a word thought to be associated with video. It's quite remarkable that we have VHS bootlegs in such amazing quality as this and we should be making every effort to capture them to digital before they deteriorate further. This bootleg series is my little contribution to that. I hope you enjoy this truly unique performance.

My Love of Hockey

2015-04-30T15:32:00.001-07:00

The NHL has long been an important shaping factor of my life. People often ask me how I got into hockey and in particular why an Ohio boy roots for the Anaheim Ducks.

Growing up, I unfortunately had to spend a lot of time at my Father's house. I say unfortunately not because of my Father's presence during that time, but rather the lack of it. From the ages of 8-12, I would go to his house every other weekend for visitation. However, owning his own business meant that he was off most of the time working on construction sites. This resulted in my being forced to spend most of this time with his second wife, Teresa.

The Barn

Teresa was mean and cruel in the truest of sense. She would tell me I was unwanted, she would call me fat, make fun of my acne, and she would directly tell me that I was what stood in-between my father and his new families happiness. She even gutted my bedroom, painted it with trashy-country stencils and redecorated it with creepy-as-fuck homemade dolls and pictures of her family (the bitch even owned a stuffed cat, only in Ohio right?). My point of explaining all of this is not for dramatic effect, but rather to explain that when I was forced to visit, I wasn't able to take refuge in my own room or even elsewhere in the house. I was forced to retreat to the barn and spend my days with my dog, Bullet.

I'm one of the few who enjoyed FoxTrax

The barn was a steel-building with a few rooms covered in saw-dust and a cramped little office area where I would hang out. In it was a TV that got 5 channels, a small refrigerator, some long-abandoned file cabinets, and an office-chair who's best days were 10 years prior. Sometime in the winter of '96 my dog and I were in there huddled around a space-heater when I came across hockey for the first time. It was a Pittsburgh Penguins game on channel 19 and FOX had just began using their glowing puck (FoxTrax). Having nothing better to do, I sat there mildly amused while attempting to decipher the rules of this game when something amazing happened... a fight broke out.

The two guys had enough of whatever their issue was and went toe to toe, wailing on each others face. I couldn't believe it, I had never been a sports-guy, but I had no idea this was possible. The fight eventually settled down and no one really paid it much mind. My brain raced. How did they not make a bigger deal of this? Two men just fist-fought during a game and the announcers immediately moved past it like it was nothing? Is this what hockey is? It was at that moment that I fell in love with the idea of the game and it became my refuge. No longer was it painfully boring to sit in the office with just me and the dog... it was now enjoyable. Hockey gave me something to look forward to whenever I was stuck trying to avoid the pains of life.

One weekend not long after, I was hanging out with my aunt Teena* and we eventually got onto the subject of hockey. She wasn't entirely familiar with it either, so we both decided we should take a trip north to see what it was all about. Two weekends later we took the trip up to Cincinnati to see the Cyclones. We walked into the massive arena and I was immediately spell-bound. These people zipped around fast on my little TV, sure, but actually seeing the size, strength and speed of these guys in person was spellbinding.

Towards the end of the second period, we sat there in our seats about 10 rows up and a puck came flying into our area. The puck zoomed about four feet above my head, and as I turned to see who's face it would inevitably impact, a mammoth of a man reached up with his bare-hand, caught it like it was tossed to him, handed it to his girlfriend and continued watching the game like nothing had happened. At that moment, both on and off the ice, hockey came to symbolize to me a place where men are men.

*Bonus Story: One day my Aunt Teena had enough, showed up on Teresa's front door and beat the shit out of her!

For the next few years, I would continue to watch hockey whenever I could catch it on TV, but without cable and having no source of a TV Guide, that was harder said than done. However, when I turned 16 one of my friend's mothers started working at the local radio station 105.9 The Rebel. The channel had four season tickets to the newly franchised Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and would regularly give them away as promotions. The cool part was, whenever a listener didn't pick them up or they happened to not be gave away, my friends and I got them.

My leg

The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, for those of you that aren't familiar, were an AHL team that acted as the farm-team to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (and strangely enough the Detroit Red Wings as well). During the following two years, we regularly attended games at the Cincinnati Gardens and I fell deeper in love with hockey. If you think that NHL games can be brutal, the minor leagues are twice as fun. Tempers flare a bit more easily when the rules of fighting are relaxed. Hits were harder, punches were tougher, and the team was more ambitious. There for the first time I saw young and hungry players such as Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere fighting for their right to be moved up in the ranks. These were amazing games and to this day I proudly wear a Cincinnati Mighty Ducks tattoo on my leg.

Around 2003, on top of having just graduated, I was also running a quickly-failing custom-guitar shop, working full time as a clerk, and prepping for my inevitable move to Fullerton, California. Thus, I once again fell out touch with hockey.

However, by 2005 I had my roots firmly planted in Fullerton, was attending school, and being a broke college-kid, had stolen basic-cable. It was there that I truly discovered (the team now known as) The Anaheim Ducks. Having ample free-time and nothing to do, I popped on a game. Low and behold what did I discover? The players I had watched in my High School years, Perry, Getzlaf, and Giguere were all playing on the same fucking team. In what was basically my backyard, no less. From that moment on, I was a die-hard Anaheim Ducks fan for life. I'd sit in front of the TV for every game I could catch and watch the amazing lineup of Selanne, The Niedermayer's, Getzy, Perry and more conduct clinics on how to play hockey. The next year I even watched them win the Cup.

Me and Brando

About this same time I helped form the original lineup of the band Piss N' Blood (in which I played bass). I didn't have a lot of friends in the area yet so I began to hang around with my band-members. At one of their parties, I met an arrogant, smart-mouthed guy in a Ducks jersey who just happened to have extra tickets to the next night's game. Of course I went with him, but the tickets weren't in the same seating area so thankfully I didn't have to see him the entire game. When we met back up at the end, for the life of me I still couldn't recall his name, but we went out drinking anyway. Somehow, this piece of shit hung around me long enough until he weaseled his way in and became my best-friend. We still go to games together and the bastard is like a brother to me (though to be fair, probably not one he wanted).

Hockey has done a lot for me. It provided an upset little kid some form of sanity, it provided a rebellious high-schooler with something to do that wasn't self-destruction, it provided a college-kid with a free way to pass the extra time, and it helped me connect with my best-friend. Even today, my wife and I watch every game together.

The wife and I

These days I live in North Hollywood and reside among Kings fans. This makes it really fun at bars when I wear my Ducks jersey and get to shit talk with the locals. We don't have cable at my place and thanks to local black out restrictions I'm forced to pay for NHL Gamecenter and forward my signal to another country to watch games happening an hour south of me (seriously in a world where even the government deregulates blackouts and knows it's a dated concept? Catch up NHL!). But all in all, it's a small price to pay to view my beloved team, especially when The Ducks swept the first round in four games! It's amazing to have your team on such an amazing swing, but, win or lose, I'll be here again next year and every year after that.
Go Ducks!!!

AntiCurrent Archives Vol 11: Social Distortion: Lost & Found (the WLWHWT Demos)

2015-04-19T14:52:00.001-07:00

This is the eleventh edition of the "AntiCurrent.com Archives", a collection of rare bootleg-albums I'm releasing through this blog. Click here to view all past AntiCurrent.com Archive Albums.

By the time I was 16 years old I was completely taken by Punk Rock. Every weekend I was driving to nearby cities and searching record stores, pawn shops, thrift stores, and anywhere else that may have any type of old Punk CD's or LP's. My best find? A sealed copy of Social Distortion's "Live At The Roxy", complete with the original price sticker from CD Connection where I can only assume it was stolen from. "LaTR" was a live album where the lead singer curses at the audience and talks of excess. Plus, it was recorded in fabled Los Angeles... needless to say for the next two months, that album was on endless repeat.

Now Defunct Social Distortion
Fansite

Also about this time I had just got the internet, so when I wasn't furiously masturbating, I was discovering anything I could about the band. Right away, I joined a fan message-board that centered around them (the now defunct SxDx.com). It was there that I was able to talk to a close-knit community of Punks, Psychobillies, and others about the scene that Social Distortion came from, Orange County. The people on that board were warm, insightful, and actually had intellectual things to say on the topic of music. I was fucking spellbound. The OC scene quickly became all that I researched. This all led directly to my moving to Fullerton, CA in 2005 and never looking back.

To rewind a bit, I first heard about this album (also known as Lost Tracks Vol 2) on said message-board from the Webmaster. He told me about a deleted album that he had got from one of the band's web-developers (as my memory serves). This was a demo version for what almost became the album "White Light, White Heat, White Trash". But most importantly, many of these songs had never seen the light of day. He didn't feel comfortable sending it via the internet, so he agreed to give me a physical CDR of it after a show in Columbus Ohio. I was more excited about getting the album than I was the damn show I was attending.

Front Cover

We met up and he was just as cool of a guy in person as he was on the internet. I took the album home, and it was even more amazing than I could have hoped. Flash forward to many years later, the album had still not been widely circulated... until I let Bill at Blackhole Records have a copy. Two years later, you could find different atrocious quality bootlegs of the album in any independent punk store in California. All of those copies had came from the one I traded... however, not knowing about sound-degradation at the time, I had made a lossy copy of the version I was given. This makes the version I'm releasing here a 1st generation encode, and is thus, much higher quality (CD-FLAC-320Kbps MP3).

Now, some of these songs did end up on other releases. "Crown of Thorns" and "Don't Drag Me Down" in particular did end up on the eventual release of "WLWHWT". Other songs like " I'm in Love With My Car" and "Dope Fiend Blues" would also go on to be released on Ness' solo album "Cheating at Solitaire". I'm personally a nut for demo albums because it sheds light on the recording/songwriting process of the artist, and this version of "Dope Fiend Blues" is an excellent example of that. This version is acoustic and laid back, you can tell Ness was concentrated more on structure and composing than he was getting the emotion out. Listen to this version, then go hear the final version of the song and listen to the anger in that voice... night and day difference.

Back Cover

What's crazy about this album is that there is so much unreleased gold on this. Songs like "Don't Keep Me Hangin' On" foretell the direction the band would later go on to during the "Sex, Love, Rock, and Roll" years. But the highlight of this has to be "Got Nothin' Coming" where Ness leans towards an almost beatnik/rap-vibe in the song. Even though this is experimental territory for the band, you can hear the beginning of Ness working with female backup singers, something that would become a staple of the "Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes" era. Although this song doesn't totally work, it's fucking ballsy. Plus, it's just a demo and can only be listened to as an incomplete work. I would have loved to hear what a final version of this song would have sounded like.

1st Tattoo: Done W/Homemade Gun
& Cigarette Ash at 16yrs old

Social Distortion is a strange topic for me. Music means a lot, but only a few select bands hold such a strong influence on the person I've become. This was a band that meant so much to me that I tattoo'd their name on my body at 16 (see left). To you this may just be a rarities album, to the band this may just be a handful of demo's, but to me? This was an essential part of my life as I developed. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do. Go see these guys, with Johnny 2 Bags in the lineup they've never sounded bigger and every album continues to plow new ground, something pretty fucking impressive for a band from '79.

Download The Entire Album and Cover Art Here:
MP3 Zip Archive

The tracklist is:
1: Love Me Tonight
2: Crown of Thorns
3: Like You’ve Never Done Before
4: Lost & Found
5: Got Nothin’ Coming
6: Do It Again
7: Dope Fiend Blues
8: I’m In Love With My Car
9: Can’t Hide
10: Don’t Drag Me Down
11: Don’t Keep Me Hangin’ On

AntiCurrent Video Archives Vol 2- Urban Struggle: The Battle for the Cuckoos Nest

2015-03-15T03:26:00.000-07:00

This is the second edition of the "AntiCurrent.com Video Archives" a collection of rare, out of print, or unreleased videos that I've chose to release through my blog. Click here to view a list of all past releases.

Urban Struggle:

Article On Cuckoo's Nest

Believe it or not, once upon a time, Punk Rock was as dangerous as it was interesting.

This release covers one of the best Punk Rock documentaries ever released: "Urban Struggle: The Battle for the Cuckoos Nest". This 1981 film is an unabashed look into the dawn of West Coast American Hardcore Punk-Rock and how the "powers-that-be" fought so hard against it. It chronicles the Costa-Mesa based club "The Cuckoos Nest" and it's owner Jerry Roach during his long-going fight with local authorities trying to shut his club down. Unfortunately, he fought the law, and the law won.

Featured throughout this are performances and interviews from quintessential punk bands such as Black Flag (in my personal favorite era with Henry Rollins), The Vandals (Stevo years), T.S.O.L., The Circle Jerks, and more.

Bootleg History:

Bootleg VHS cover

Legend has it that this documentary was aired on a local cable access channel at the time, and someone recorded it from TV. This sole recording is what birthed the generations and generations of bootlegs that came from it. Despite a lack of official release, "Urban Struggle" has long been traded in West-Coast based record stores, and that's where I had my first interaction with it. I found my VHS copy while working at Black Hole Records in Fullerton CA, and immediately fell in love with it. Not only is it an amazing document of music history, it also serves as an amazingly executed "us versus them" tale of authority meeting counter-culture. Coming in at only 38 minutes, this flick has as much heart, soul, and fight as anything Alex Gibney is putting out today, and that's saying a hell of a lot. My extreme compliments to director Paul Young.

Why It Hasn't Been Released:

The reason for the film never being professionally released is due to a long-ongoing conflict between Jerry Roach (who insists it's his product because he paid for and produced the movie) and Paul Young (a then local-area film student who insists it is his body of work and that Roach didn't actually contribute anything other than time and access). Which of these two is correct? Well, I sure as hell wasn't there so I won't begin to speculate* other than to say that they both are very passionate about the other being full of shit. For what incredibly little it's worth on the subject, Roach was nothing but extremely kind to me on Facebook and Young didn't accept my friend-request :-( or email (though I likely had the wrong email address). If you care to read more on the subject of Roach Vs. Young, OCWeekly did a great write-up of it HERE.

* What I will speculate on is the fact that the release could potentially be held up due to Black Flag's Greg Ginn having the reputation of being an enormously greedy dick. I'm told that's a big reason that the amazing "Decline of Western Civilization Vol 1" has never been released. Never met the guy personally, but that film needs a professional re-release and fuck him IF that is true.

Docs that pull from Urban Struggle

Unfortunately for us, this battle has led to the documentary never getting a full, professional release. Even so, extensive segments of it have been used for other punk-rock documentaries such as:

Clockwork Orange County: an insightful documentary that is extremely hard to watch due to the incredibly poor production-value that went into it.
&
American Hardcore: a documentary that I cannot recommend highly enough. Amazing interviews, amazing production value, done with much love and knowledge of the genre.

This Release:

Newspaper Clipping

As I stated, I recently I got in touch with Jerry Roach (who was incredibly kind to me in response to my long-winded questions) to attempt to get the best quality version of this possible. He was willing to give me access to an original print, so I immediately got to work about researching the prices to telecine the documentary into HD. I was extremely excited and was just about to pull the trigger when the local scanning companies got back to me with a $1200 figure to scan the 16mm film. As much as I would LOVE to spend the money on this, at the moment I cannot justify spending that kind of loot to post something for free on my blog. Perhaps one day.

After trading and re-trading various digital, DVD, and video versions of this, I finally found the cleanest copy I've seen off of a documentary torrent-based trading forum. However, this still had VHS color artifacts, tracking lines, was interlaced, and the black and white levels were all over the place. So I ingested the flick into After Effects, up-res'd it to 720p, de-interlaced the footage, desaturated it, added a slight sharpening filter, fixed the wrong aspect ratio native to the DVD, and adjusted the black and white levels to where to where I felt the footage shined. Every version I've ever seen of this (other than the trailer) is in stark, high-contrast black and white, so I made the blacks deep, and popped the whites out just as much as I could.

Final Word:
I wish this film would be professionally cleaned up and re-released. The second it does I'll happily delete the video (and if it's monetized that's because of a copyright claim by Black Flag, not me) and purchase a proper copy. But at the moment? This flick needs to be seen by anyone with interest, so please, enjoy.

Rants, Ravings, Gibberish & Jabs

AntiCurrent Audio Archives Vol. 15: Waite Hoyt- In the Rain

AntiCurrent.com Video Archives Vol 6: Screamin' Jay Hawkins- I Put a Spell on Me

Open Letter to Our Electoral College

Build an Authentic Evil Dead Chainsaw for Under $200

Our New Animated Short, Other Fish!

An Open Birthday Card to my Cousin

AntiCurrent.com Archives Vol 14: Piss N' Blood- Treason EP

Rodney Redbottom

AntiCurrent.com Archives Vol 13: Joe Strummer- The Permanent Record Outtakes

Bring Back Penn & Teller: Bullshit!

Voting for Sanders Isn't Enough. We Need Trump.

The SoapBox Office Podcast

AntiCurrent Video Archives Vol 5: William S. Burroughs- The Junky's Christmas

*EDIT*

Free Download of To No End's Music Video "Twisted Knives" in 4k

Serving Divorce Papers to a Cheating Lesbian from New York

A Personal Look at John Roecker & His Upcoming Green Day Documentary

An Introduction to "Open Matte" Films

AntiCurrent Video Archives Vol 4: Hunter S. Thompson- The Crazy Never Die

Download the Score for Our Upcoming Short "The Mission"

Remake or Reboot, Do Not Reset: Why Jurassic World is Dangerous

AntiCurrent Archives Vol 12- William Elliott Whitmore: Radium Live in Los Angeles

AntiCurrent Video Archives Vol 3: Social Distortion- 1983 Practice Session

My Love of Hockey

AntiCurrent Archives Vol 11: Social Distortion: Lost & Found (the WLWHWT Demos)

AntiCurrent Video Archives Vol 2- Urban Struggle: The Battle for the Cuckoos Nest

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