1982 & 1984
1982
Here's an old Polaroid self-portrait I snapped in a mall photo booth circa 1982. There was a brief "nerd chic" movement, so my top-most button is done up!
My apologies to any of my female blog-readers who have suddenly gone numb from the waist on down. This is the effect looking at this person used to have on that segment of the population. Maybe the expiration date has passed by now? Even so, the person pictured no longer exists...
1984
My band, Mystic Eyes, played a couple of live sets on WBNY's "Down At Lulu's" radio show. The whole shebang was videotaped by BCMK Studio's head honcho, Tommy Calandra, but was never really used for anything. Band leader Bernie Kugel asked me to pull out my 23 year-old VHS tape of it and transfer it to DVD, for inclusion in an upcoming 25th anniversary WBNY program. Here are some screen captures from the video, sports fans!
Here is the ultra-amazing video-feedback BCMK credit. (Notice the arm reaching in to adjust the monitor!)
Here is my Buddy, Bernie Kugel, being interviewed by host, Cal Zone.
That's (left-to-right) Me, Bernie and David Meinzer vocalizing on our version of The Kinks' "Where Have All The Good Times Gone?"
And, lastly here is me and drummer Stu Shappiro. Notice the wholly inappropriate synth drums! At least he used a real snare and real cymbals! Just out of frame is my Vox "Super Beatle" amplifier.
David and Stu dropped out of the band some time after this and were replaced by my brother, Scott, on real drums and Eric Lubstorf on 6 & 12 string guitar.
Where, indeed, have all the good times gone?
Here's an old Polaroid self-portrait I snapped in a mall photo booth circa 1982. There was a brief "nerd chic" movement, so my top-most button is done up!My apologies to any of my female blog-readers who have suddenly gone numb from the waist on down. This is the effect looking at this person used to have on that segment of the population. Maybe the expiration date has passed by now? Even so, the person pictured no longer exists...
1984
My band, Mystic Eyes, played a couple of live sets on WBNY's "Down At Lulu's" radio show. The whole shebang was videotaped by BCMK Studio's head honcho, Tommy Calandra, but was never really used for anything. Band leader Bernie Kugel asked me to pull out my 23 year-old VHS tape of it and transfer it to DVD, for inclusion in an upcoming 25th anniversary WBNY program. Here are some screen captures from the video, sports fans!
Here is the ultra-amazing video-feedback BCMK credit. (Notice the arm reaching in to adjust the monitor!)
Here is my Buddy, Bernie Kugel, being interviewed by host, Cal Zone.
That's (left-to-right) Me, Bernie and David Meinzer vocalizing on our version of The Kinks' "Where Have All The Good Times Gone?"
And, lastly here is me and drummer Stu Shappiro. Notice the wholly inappropriate synth drums! At least he used a real snare and real cymbals! Just out of frame is my Vox "Super Beatle" amplifier.David and Stu dropped out of the band some time after this and were replaced by my brother, Scott, on real drums and Eric Lubstorf on 6 & 12 string guitar.
Where, indeed, have all the good times gone?
posted by Craig D at 6:19 AM
17 Comments:
Great pics! Looks like you have a little David Byrne thing going on in the first pic. Talk about your cool nerd/musicians!
Ahhh Simmons drums. I feel the spirit of Phil Collins overtaking...wait, oh he isn't dead?
i dunno egg, thought you had 'em (good times, that is). Please tell me having a wife and baby girl is more satisfying than toting 2nd hand band stuff to stink hole dives for no money, etc...
(it was pretty fun, though)
scott: Didn't mean to sound all depressed about those "good times!" The wife & kid are better than that "stink hole stuff!" Remember the night we boosted that case of beer from the student union only to find out it was NON-ALCOHOLIC!?!?!?
furiousball: Was he ever alive?
whim: I guess the chicks just didn't dig a David-Byrne-wannabe.
Aw... You were really cute! (And lucky, too, since by 1982 I think all my good times had already gone!) Let me guess: that photo was the inspiration for the name of the band?!? Right?
That is so sweet. And there were no good times.
Wiz: "Mystic Eyes" was the name of a song recorded by the Irish group Them, back in the 60's. Bernie's friend, "Mad Louie" suggested it as a name for our band. Any mysticism reflected in my peepers is a combination of near-sightedness and hay fever!
gale: I suspected as much. Still, it is fun to make music with a like-minded group of people...
EGG- FACE IT...YOU ARE JUST A BAD-ASS MOFO
First, I'm sorry I didn't comment on your epic, but I did get to read it (thankfully!) and since it's in the "cornfield" for now I won't make any references to it here (lest you turn me into a jack-in-the-box). I've been swamped and reading blogs is about all I've had time to do.
Love the pictures, especially the first one. It looks like the cover art for some early 80's New Age album.
jeff: A NEW AGE ALBUM?!?!? Ouch! Just because you were cheated out of reading my "professionalism" thread is no reason to get nasty! I see by your blog you've been busy with 10 year old girls who like to SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEM! You've suffered enough.
scott: Yes, my ass is bad, but how'd you find out about that MOFO stuff?
You should post the actual video for us.
cs: I haven't the slightest clue as to how I would go about doing that. It MUST be easy, though, given the level of some of the content I've seen posted to youtube, et al.
David Byrne? Nah, he stole that look from Robert Fripp. Old School!
Thanks for converting this for the BNY shindig! I still have my VHS copy and I wondering how I was going to rip it....you saved me the trouble.
I haven't watched this in awhile but I do remember my look of my disappointment when I discovered the Bernie had preceded me by several years in the playing of Garage Rock on BNY. Ah, precious youth....
I recently found my cassette copy of the whole mystic eyes show..including Bernie sitting in with me while we spun some wax. The nice thing about my copy is that it is right off the studio board (not a broadcast copy) and it's is in Stereo (BNY was broadcasting in MONO at the time) and it sounds great....Mystic Eyes kicked ass. I have to find the time to dub it digital before the tape decomposes....
Cal Zone!
Cal - you found my humble blog!
I'd sure like a copy of that sound board tape. I taped our live radio appearance by routing my receiver's audio output into my super Lo-Fi VHS deck with the timer set.
My wife (then girl-friend) taped the show on a broken cassette deck that tended to not erase whatever was recorded previously.
An decent copy of this has eluded me, oh these many years. (It's been 10 years since our last gig at FuzzFest '97!)
Thanks for dropping by!
Yep, once I get to it...I will certainly fwd you a copy!
Dig yer blog, btw!
Power to the people,
Cal
hey, I think the pic is pretty good for teh 80s -- at least you didn't have a popped collar. Or feathered hair a la Aqua Net. Or FlashDance clothing. Or leg warmers.
Well, I guess you could've been sporting some leg warmers.
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