E.P.’s 100th YouTube clip

Anyone that knows me knows I’ve been shooting video for many years. I’ve shot a lot of footage of a lot of different entertainers – musicians, poets, comedians, and friends.

Certainly not everything is related to my big LOUIE project.

While video production is my livelihood that provides me an occasional paycheck, I do create a lot of video for various musicians, simply because I love what they’re doing, and want to preserve certain special moments for posterity. I’ve got an extensive archive of footage that goes back for over twenty years.

I do love YouTube. It’s a great chance to get the immediate gratification of sharing this material with others, and I love the idea of having friends all over the world appreciate what I’m doing.

Today, I posted my 100th YouTube clip. It’s some previously-unseen video of one of favorite local San Jose bands from early 1990s- the Guttersluts, doing a medley of Spinal Tap songs, including a personal favorite, “Gimme Some Money.”

My 99th clip was of the Spit Muffins, another one of my favorite local bands from San Jose. The occasion was the semi-recent Marsugi’s reunion that took place at the Blank Club. Like the Guttersluts, who were also at this event, they hadn’t played in something like 15 years. This video showcases the first two songs of their very first reunion.

My 98th clip was of KerPlunk, another great band from San Jose, featuring members of Ribzy, Rogue Apostles, Diesel Queens, Kingpins, and a handful of other groups I can’t keep track of. A couple of these guys are also in the Pimpsticks, very cool lounge band I also enjoy. Biff’s singing reminds me of Jim Morrison, and I love the lyrics ….

My 97th & 96th clips featured Ribzy, a fun punk band that’s still rockin’ all these years later. I will never forget the generosity of Greg and the band, who did a fundraiser for one my little publishing ventures ages ago. These are quick little clips, and I’m using some artsy effects with the video.

My 95th clip was of the Toiling Midgets, playing on the same bill with Ribzy in Oakland this past December. They have a very ethereal style of music that’s a fascinating alternative to the usual rock bands I’ve seen, and I thank my friend Victor for talking me into videotaping this show.

My 94th video was a tribute to Sigmond Raoul, a jazz musician that passed away not long after I shot this footage in 1989. I have some great memories of hanging out with Sig at Bob Sidebottom’s comic book shop in San Jose, drinking beer and talking about music all night. Both Sig and Bob are no longer with us, and I miss them both. Perhaps someday, I’ll write up something about those guys, but until then, I’m sharing this little video for the world to see.

As you can see in these clips, the production values vary with different projects. Some of the early clips were shot with cameras that weren’t as forgiving under low-light situation, and quite often, the audio was captured by the on-camera microphone, which sometimes turned out to be distorted over-modulated noise-crap, as I often wasn’t able to properly monitor the levels as one-man production team.

It’s certainly a world of difference with the video gear I use nowadays. If I’m not using a professional camera package from one of my video partners, I tend to use a very small Canon HDV camera that seems microscopic compared to the old 3/4” u-matic rig that I used during the 1980’s. Back then, pretty much everything was shot using 20 minute tapes the size of a standard hardback novel. It was a big bulky camera, and it was a serious work-out to drag this thing all over the place, especially in the little rock clubs where I barely had room to move, much less shoot any video.

With the addition of the new Canon HDV camera, and a little professional Zoom H2 audio recorder that’s about the size of a bar of soap, I can capture some amazing new material that puts the old footage to shame.

That being said, I’m still in the process of digging up old video that folks have been asking about for ages. I’ll continue to post both new and old video to my YouTube channel for the world to enjoy.

I’m not against donations to support my efforts to preserve and share this archival footage of mine. If anyone feels generous, here’s a button to share the love….

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