TARKUS VIDEO

In the 1970s I used to read ad's in comic books and magazines selling 16mm (millimeter) "best of" reels and concert films (that were in many cases silent which always puzzled me) and wether or not it was eight minutes of "The Creature From The Black Lagoon" movie or six minutes of Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden (probably shot by a fan) these were still "rare" films and things you could playback at your leisure on a projector back in those Pre-VCR days of 1977 whenever you liked, Imagine That.

During my teenage years I pretty much became the hopeless case vindicated in The Kinks song "Rock and Roll Fantasy" and Ray Davies subsequent short story and was aware of the underground, bootleg, pirating network out there but had no access to it (and it was illegal) so I began my own collection by taping (onto cassette) Rock Documentaries, interview shows like Rockline T.V. appearances like KISS on 20/20, Queen on Saturday Night Live and Concert programs like The King Biscuit Flower Hour to cherish these recordings whenever I liked time and again, Imagine That.

A few years passed on and I was in my own band but also spending years devoted to Music and poring over record sleeves, magazine articles, reference books (at the library and bookstore) and promo copies of anything Rock & Pop Music related that my dad would bring home from work I started to become knowledgeable on the topic and like most knowledge it craves More Knowledge.

Well, there were plenty of CDs, Books and Videotapes to keep me occupied or were there ?

Leaving a Peter Gabriel concert ('SO' Tour) in 1986 I noticed a single sheet flyer peppering the windshield of the cars in the parking lot so I picked one up and read that Sandy Cannon of Vauxhall New Jersey had some "rare" footage for sale or trade and aside from Peter Gabriel there was some ELP on the list and they were my favorite band at the time. It was $20 for a custom made 2 hour tape so I took the ad home with me and after probably just a week or two pondering wether or not this was a rip off I took the plunge, purchased a money order and requested Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Live on French TV 1970 along with "Brain Salad Days" and some other footage that I do not recall, 2 VHS tapes and 4 hours material in all.

A week or so passed and the package arrived along with a Full Catalog. I waited until my parents had gone to sleep and watched the videotape, at first I couldnt believe how bad the picture quality was but it was indeed watchable and then after a bit getting used to it became totally watchable, turns out ELP Live on French TV 1970 was not so bad compared to other "archival" footage out there but I was indeed a newbie. 

A month or so later I meet Matt (Pewster Video) selling audio cassettes of The Grateful Dead and a few videotapes on 42nd street & 5th avenue and we work out an even trade, of course it snowballed from herein even back in the pre-internet daze there were ads in the back of Rolling Stone magazine and various Fanzines, like YES Magazine, Fanfare for the Common Fan, The Amazing Pudding and many others that fans were rolling out off the local copy machine and printing press, I would get these pamphlets at Its Only Rock and Roll and Revolver Records on 8th street in the village get in touch with a trader or two who would help me get in touch with other traders and if you had something that was not widely circulated you might be trading five to ten copies of one show for five to ten 2 hour video cassettes, you do the math. This was the case with the Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman & Howe Tour rehearsal video I had traded with someone.

Now taste interests were coming into play and it became quite easy to trade amongst like minded fans, a trader from North Carolina sent me a huge package of 12 Prog Rock videocassettes just so I could copy them so there was lots of trust involved as well. I asked an ELO trader to tag on whatever he liked as the videotape was 30 minutes shy of being a full 120 minutes which started my lifelong Marc Bolan obsession (after seeing T. Rexmas Christmas special 2), I handed out black and white flyers with the YES logo on them in record time at an Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe concert and got a few interested replies via 'Letter" in my mail box, after chatting on the phone a YES fan drove over from Staten Island after running off a bunch of clips I had never seen including "The Making of LEAVE IT" featuring directors Kevin Godley & Lol Creme who were a new interest to me at the time.

Looking back this was a vibrant happy time discovering video clips that I would never have gotten to see on Television and in those pre-Youtube days it was that much greater of a reward to have tracked down some footage, trade or purchase it and in most cases wait for the package to arrive in the mail and of course the excitement when sitting down to view something you had never till that moment seen and that was now added to the collection, Imagine That.

White Wedding - Thai Rock 7/27/12 Rockaway Beach, New York

Just when you think you know what to expect you get the unexpected at least from my seat in the back.

Tonight we got to play outside on the deck at Thai Rock which is what we hoped to be doing last year but the doppler was chancy that night, tonight we got our wish and for me it was a muggy, sweaty, fixing my glasses all night to the detriment of my playing accuracy experience AND to top that off the lighting was so in my eyes I could see only shadows, the floor was so unlit that I almost tripped over the monitors a half a dozen times, I could literally not see my cowbell (well, yes it is black in hue) two feet in front of my face so forget about any hand gestures from Rob that allow us to end songs on a dime and with conviction, either way no train wrecks tonight and everything went smoothly as I truly did play on auto-pilot. We got a return engagement at the Roxbury Mardi Gras in Breezy Point that we played last year after someone in attendance remembered us, Small World isnt it.

Premiered tonight was "Everybodys Working For The Weekend" by Loverboy.



I spied this tasty little dish (of food) on the way in and while setting up the drums on the deck I placed these next to Diana and Rob at the bar since Diana is always eating and picking away at snacks, By the time I wanted some more a bunch of patrons were ordering drinks and hovering around my bird seed and it was not worth the effort.

note to self: next time bring the trail mix behind the drums.



Almost as important as the performance itself was the "Yellow Curry", Dave has been speaking of this for about a year and its legend grows long, and rightly so. This was Truly Delicious, the Chicken, Potatoes & Peppers are done to perfection but there is something really special about the Curry Sauce, I am sure there are a million ingredients but OH MY, 5 Stars right up there.




From here it looks like a photo shot from the audience at a concert but this is what I was actually looking at as the performer.



So I looked behind me eighty percent of the time into the calming waters of Jamaica bay instead.



FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK WE SALUTE YOU!!!



The facade of Thai Rock.

This Is Show # 182

White Wedding - Wedding/Russo's On The Bay 7/20/12 Queens, New York

At the most elegant and impressive Russo's on the Bay I arrived via hired taxi and asking the valet where to take the Drums/I Am In The Band was personally escorted to the Load-In doors but the valet got his signals crossed and pointed me to the wrong reception room. Two narrow and dark stairwells Up with Drum Set & Cymbals later I was then directed from Banquet room 1, About 300 feet Across the Kitchen/into banquet Room 2.

Dave and myself made the sojourn through the fully staffed and running kitchen with the Keyboards, Drum Kit and P.A. in hand which was kind of a surreal meal, Talk about piquing ones appetite!!! I have never seen that much Tomato Sauce, sliced Bell Peppers or Meatballs in my life at one time mind you.

Of course I Wanted to take photos but "How Unprofessional" would that be.



After the wedding ceremony was over the party moved into cocktail hour as Russo's staff opened up the room divider wall allowing us and the D.J. in to set up the equipment, all considered everything went very smoothly with three teams working, Team White Wedding even helped the staff move chairs so we could get to our set up a little quicker as there was only a rigidly timed sixty minute changeover window. We played the 45 minute set requested and the rest of the nights music was provided by Funktion 67 DJs allowing us some down time to have some drinks, play the Kurzweil digital grand piano and have some band bonding over mixed drinks and Rice Krispies Treats since Load-Out was after the weddings finale.

Premiered tonight was Bon Jovi's "Living On A Prayer"

The WORD of the night is "Menagerie"

"Are You F*@King Kidding Me"



Riunite On Ice,..... That's Nice. *



".....and a toy train set...and"



The wedding specialty drink was a "Coconut Bliss Martini" so I just had to have one. This is a concoction of Vanilla Vodka, Coconut Rum and Coco Lopez served in a Coconut Flake rimmed Martini glass (in this case the Flaked Coconut was garnished). Delicious and Cocoa Nutty.



Just as we were going on we were served some Al Dente Pasta that was shaped like round Agnolotti (but didn't appear to have any filling) and Delicious Risotto along with a Salad that I had with Romano Cheese (comes with an Orange Slice).



This is going to be the longest paragraph because I am including the ingredients for all 5 Martinis seen above, I had the center Martini first (The Blue One) followed from left to right by the next four. Number One (The Blue One) is an "Italian Ice" - Raspberry Vodka, Blue Curacao, Sour Mix & a splash of 7-Up. Number Two is a "Green Apple" - Raspberry Vodka, Triple Sec, Green Apple Schnapps & a splash of Lime Juice. Three is a "Cherry Blossom" concocting Raspberry Vodka, Champagne with a splash of Grenadine & Cranberry Juice. Glass number four is the "Summer Air" that is Gin, Triple Sec, Pineapple Juice & Cranberry Juice garnished with a Pineapple. we conclude with number five which is a "Fruit Fusion" pairing Bacardi Limon, Rum, Amaretto, Sour Mix & Orange Juice. Every One Most Delicious and "shaken not stirred" by Stephanie.





TO BE READ IN A THICK BRITISH ACCENT.

At the behest of the groom did we learn "Living On A Prayer" the Bon Jovi song in the eleventh hour as separate/individual parts to perform together on the fly at the reception, I hastened to collect a recording of the premiere performance but due to the reflective Granite/Marble floor all you can hear is the Snare Drum and of course Dave with his triple speaker stackable,........ pish posh showoff that he is.



* - Riunite On Ice for those who are thinking WTF!!!.

Definition of Pish Posh

Funktion 67 DJs site

This Is Show # 181

White Wedding - Private Party 7/14/12 Malvern, Pennsylvania

Tonight we were truly a Party band because the party joined us on our makeshift stage. Once again not too many pictures since this is a private event but this was indeed in Dave's words "one for the books". We drove over two hours to Malvern, Pennsylvania and set up our equipment on the sun deck at (for argument's sake we will call him) Grant's house and were asked to make ourselves at home as we all banked on a rainless day which is what we got.

First set went without a hitch after which we had a bite to eat and some Beer, Water & Soda (depending on who you ask) and Grant brought us up some Beer and Wine to the deck. Second set was going smoothly but we had to vamp with a few Diana songs since we did not want the crowd (who were at the Piñata and Frozen Yogurt truck) to miss the Michael Jackson segment. Michael arrived but during his performance Grant decided to give us some liquid fun and proceeded mid - song to each band member feeding us Ketel One Vodka from the magnum to our mouths which was hysterical, decadent and just plain fun (we are so professional), afterwards Michael Jackson exclaimed "Well, its made out of potatoes so its healthy" then proceeded to ask for more "special juices" from the podium of which of course Grant obliged, the band was starting to feel a bit wobbly.

Third set was the "All Request" set and we started showcasing with Madonna and Billy Idol which led into the request portion interspersed with regulars from our show, we were asked to extend our third set and the band played on. Someone requested Led Zeppelin so we made up our version of "Rock and Roll" that I caught audio of with my trusty camera and we also did a version of "L.A. Woman" giving Rob a chance to get his inner Jim Morrison out.

Unique to tonight's show is "Call Me, Maybe & "Roller" by April Wine.

Premiered tonight was  Foreigner's "Juke Box Hero".

 

Dave's new 80s shorts and the extra 2X10 cabinet for outdoor shows boosting levels from a paltry 300 watts to a devastating 500 watts.



Another Pepsi accident waiting to happen *



Is it the Ketel One Vodka or did Spike just become a thousand times more attractive ?



Half of the band cooled in the pool directly after our performance.



Grilled Chicken, White American Cheeseburger, Homeade Mac & Cheese (obscured by Burger) & Corn Avocado Salad.



A bunch of the ladies accompanied us on this.



Off The Cuff and flying by the seat of our pants and dresses.

* - I have to give Jamie credit for this caption as I could not think of anything at all except "Eat It"



This Is Show # 180

White Wedding - Brooklyn Bowl 7/13/12 Brooklyn, New York

I arrived fourth at the Brooklyn Bowl and a close second to Diana who had pulled up just 30 seconds before me (Dave and J.C. precluded us) once we got inside it was not the usual procedure for soundcheck as the other band were finishing theirs but we got a quick mic check and ran through "Heaven is a place on earth" for house vocal levels and band monitor preferences (I requested more vocals but I always request more vocals) and then retired to the green room above stage for dinner and costume changes. Tonight we were filmed by Monika for our next Promo Video and the Brooklyn Bowl for a nominal fee provided us with a WAV (Waveform Audio file format) file so we can sync up some tasty close mic'ed audio with the pictures. 

Confident and well rehearsed but also itching to do our best we hit the stage at precisely 8 p.m. for our 75 minute packed and paced set. I was sitting behind the kit listening to the full band mic'ed through the monitor wedge and as always I love to hear the kick drum thumping a bit in my chest, this "monitor mix" thingy helps the band as well because we can hear everything. J.C.s keyboard monitor was unplugged by accident but the audience P..A. heard him clearly. 

Amplification Rules The World.

Premiered tonight was "Beat It", Do I really have to tell you who's song that is ?

"What You Talkin' Bout Willis ?"



D To The Iana,



Madonna & Michael.



Purple Reign indeed. Thanks to the sympathetic lighting crew at the Brooklyn Bowl.

It was a joy to see original members of The Airwaves and founding members of White Wedding Nancy (Blue Jean/Billie Jean),Tawni (Darling Nikki) and Mike (Doc Brown) come support us and the show they helped create whom I almost thought didn't make it down, I nearly kissed Mike (and told him so). We retired to the green room and actually just chatted about things, not just old band stories (some of course) which was a delight and after touting Tawni for two years to Jamie she finally got to meet Tawni. Say That ten times fast.

Jamie and myself had Dinner after the show sent up to the green room, Brooklyn Brisket with Mashed Potatoes & Corn on the Cob is what Jamie had along with a Chocolate Malted that she rated 5 stars. I was so busy loving my Fish (see below) that I didn't even ask for a taste.



I have had this before and had to have it again!!!

Cajun Catfish over Mashed Potatoes with Collared Greens and Bacon. Compact Placing but BIG Flavor.

FLICKR

This Is Show # 179

White Wedding - Heritage Bar 7/7/12 Yonkers, New York

 This time at the Heritage we played the opposite side of the room or "better" put we usually play in the the dining area but tonight as requested by management we played by the bar at the entrance to draw people in. This also made it a unique experience as the "show" we provide could not be fulfilled in any "costume/tribute" fashion as there was NO Changing Room so we played it straight. Jamie finally got to see the place since we took car service down to the show and I finally found out from the bartender that the Loveliness of the Guinness is in the "Irish" pour and also due to the precise temperature and unique filtration system. Premiered tonight was the Rolling Stones "Start Me Up".

 

In Full Swing,



Dave Multitasks on Bass Guitar and Cranberry with Club Soda.



Just a cute pic (especially the drummer back there)



the drummer back there.



Just a Junkfood Junkie with an 80s setlist by his head.



Playing the Heritage IRISH Pub for over a year and never ordering the Shepard's Pie, Sacrilege I tell you !!!



Eric found some food late in the evening and took a doggie bag home to Brooklyn.

FLICKR

This Is Show # 178