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DANCE, MURDER, MONEY, TRASH & MADNESS!!! During the years 1979 to 1983 a series of singles were released. Some legally and some not. CBS in Europe re-arranged the order of some of the master recordings they bought from me and issued them without full publishing rights. I didn't gain from these recordings monataraly but they did expand the interest in my recordings. If I had a nickel for all the un-authorized recording that were sold in Europe, I would'nt have to be the video whore I am today. The production varied from home 4-track recordings to full-blown 24 track sessions. From Analog 2 oscillator synthesizers to Digital Sampling Keyboards and Computers. All of which were performed by myself via my alter-ego JP VIDEO. Overall, it was a great learning experience and my lesson 101 of the music bizness. Art is tough in the late 20th century. |
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the seminal single
Given' it all back: recorded in 1979 was my first true departure from the realm of bands and the co-writing of music with others. For the first time it was MY vision and only my indiviual concepts that were the process and needed not to compromise. This song was mainly written on a portable rinky-dink keyboard I had glued onto my dash of my Volvo. I conjured up the melodies on Kinderkamack Road driving from Westwood NJ to Hackensack where I stopped at a McDonalds and had a hamburger. Worked on the arrangement in my head on my 15 minutes trip back to Palisades Park and by the time I got home I fired up the equipment and laid down the four basic tracks. One week later I entered "If Wall's could talk studios" in Passiac and recorded all the instruments and vocals for both sides in about 5 hours. The recording engineer Glenn Taylor was amazed.
This song was mainly inspired by my recent tour w/Jayne County and is about "selling out" and being commercial in the music bizness. I won rave reviews in many periodicals and was chosen the #1 best single of 1980 in BIG EYE magazine. Not bad for a first effort.
VIDEO VIDEO
VIDEO VIDEO: recorded in 1979 was a conceptual piece about a not-yet invented visual plasma emitter which displayed alluring subconscience effects to it's human viewers. A sort of autonomous virtual reality that's attributes could replace in the human psyche, all the gratifing effects of love,God and of course orgasm. It was usually displayed in a sort of temple, where the patrons would all congragate to experience it. The tune takes you to one of these congragations right before they turn on the machine to broadcast it's signal from end-to-end of the galaxy. Kind of like some bizarre revival meeting during which they turn the machine on and all succome to it's sublime bliss. The machine is also BIO-MECHANOID where it is neither biological nor mechanical. But in essence still organic in nature. The experience produced is a forced technological flow-of-conscienceness to the viewer.
I took alot of artistic liberties with the arragement with asymetrical time signatures and "gradual process" durations of the chords. I chopped it up into a weird kind of movie production where the center section is quite independant of the rest of the songs tonal structure. This section was influenced by the music of Philip Glass and Steve Reich with a little Ravi Shankar thrown in for go measure. VIDEO VIDEO was recorded on 1" 8 track with Prophet 5, ARP Oddessy, and 4 part vocals, with my vocals digitally processed with a DDL. The percussion was tapped out by myself with white sound on the ARP. How crude! But drum machines were still in their infancy at that time.
This tune was a huge success in Germany of all places, and sold about 25000 copies throughout Europe.
By the end of 1980 I was on a roll. This piece was also about 7.5 minutes long (almost didn't fit on one side of a 45 rpm).
SECTION 4.1 DETACH...
SATAN
SATAN released Oct.1981 was the follow up single. My first conceptual disc, filled with darker, more erotic and more complex orchestrations than the previous one. I was really feeling comfortable in the studio more now than the stage. It was at this time that I recieved a call from RCA records for a meeting. I was really psyched, but it turned out that they really didn't care about my vision as much as my "raw" talent as a songwriter. They actually wanted me to write love ballads. Screw that! It was cordial and my only brush to date with getting a real record contract. I'm no sell-out.
This little ditty included "ONE TRACK MIND" about the prodidious sexual fustrations of many young men in clubs at the time who were trying to pick up chicks and all the dementia which is associated with the syndrome. Believe me, I can relate. This piece included more comprehensive 3 part harmonies from myself, Keral Kassel(Pink Floyd) and Kathy Bailey who was the lead singer in the popular band SPECTRUM at the time. Also, greater juxapositioning of asymetrical time signatures. As with GIVEN' IT ALL BACK it came off as "cute" at times.
"Private eyes, pointed nose, full-of-lies, Don't know where she goes, She's got hungry thighs in make believe, so your heart, she will decieve, a plastic bag, a pointed spoon, go right now, she'll cum real soon, Paint your face, and then you'll trace, Your empty life, Think your living in Azure"!
Rather cynical, wouldn't you say? Recorded 16 track with the EMu Emulator (Digital sampling keyboard), ARP Odyssey synthesizer, Prophet 5, Linn Drums and Clap-Trap. I think this piece still stands good even today.
The flip side was a heavy duty Jazz/Rock fusion entitled "DEADSTICK LANDING ON THE MUSHROOM PLANET". It was instrumental and a predicesor(in spirit) to "HOT AND FUNKY". Violinist L.Shankar (FrankZappa /Talking Heads) was going to perform a 24 bar solo on this track but had to go to England to reherse with PETER GABRIEL's group for an up-coming tour.Too bad! He would have added alot to this track. Well so it goes...Over-all, I was quite pleased with the production. Especially, with the great cover photography by MAN RAY. Although, all European distribution got taken over by CBS, I did make quite a hunk of change on this one. Believe it or not, I do not have a copy of this single anymore. Only the masters and cover art. CBS EATS!
MONALISA OVERDRIVE
MONALISA OVERDRIVE: Recorded March-May 1983 was the last release for the CBS/DUMM-DUMM distributor in Europe. This 4 song EP was recorded 24 track with Prophet 5/600,ESQM,Ensoniq Mirage,Alesis HR-16 and Atari 1040ST computer.
The title tune was a rip-rouring miasma of sound with non-stop intensity. Even the vocals were just screeming completely atonally. What I usually refer to as "vocal acrobatics". The mixing was rather complicated as I turned on and off faders throughout the piece. I wanted an electronic sound out-of-control with the vigor of punk rock. Cascading riffs paved there way into stacatto computerized ambient breaks into forever cresendoing glissandi. After MONALISA you have to wipe the sweat off your brow. This piece was inspired by the William Gibson's "Cyberpunk" novel of the same name. My most vivid memory of the session was when I was recording the vocals I kept screeming "I don't wanna die"! OVER and OVER again. Way before "ELECTRONICA" there was MONALISA OVERDRIVE. I'm sweating already thinking about it.
IN DESPERATION was my bizarre attempt at a BIG BAND sound. Using brass section samples from the Ensoniq Mirage Digital sampling keyboard I created clusters of tones melding into one an other over a hard rock beat. The tune is about how some kids who are lonely and isolated in the world turn to satanism to reinforce there own morbid visions. So, basically the tune is about worshiping the devil. This would have been a big hit on the 700 club. The tune ends with my voice digitally locked into a delay unit repeating "MAGNETIC EYES" over and over, while I whisper stuff underneath.
WITCH OF TIME is a 7/4 construction with a very warm Hammond organ, bass and drums. The tune is all my meloncolia about getting old. It's kind of like my own personal Dorian Gray in sound. Many people thought it was very commercial, but when you tryed to dance to it, you lost your step because of the synchopation of the rhythm. I curse the WITCH OF TIME.
SHE LOVES ME JUST AS MUCH AS YOU was pure rave out from start to finish. It was inspired by a corporate excutive (female) who tryed to seduce me away from my then fiancee with "rough sex". It didn't take me long to figure out that she was using me as a part of one of her "Santaria" rituals. "She's into trouble, a body double for which there's only one you can see, She's into Voo-Doo, mystical Hoo-Doo, do you really believe". When I broke off the affair with her she told me that she loved me. And I responded refering to my fiancee "SHE LOVES ME JUST AS MUCH AS YOU"!
Sold very well and all parties including myself were happy but, I did not have control over the sleeve design which was shotty. The took one of my headshots and posterized it on a close-up of my eyes. Well, I guess they wanted to get it out on the streets as soon as possible. So, here end's the legacy of the JP VIDEO singles.
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