Fritz Catlin looks back & forward, Part 1: Skintologists "On That Number"

Fritz Catlin, a founding member of 23 Skidoo, and current Skintologist, has turned in a couple of fine remembrances of the Skidoo days back in the 80's. His film & text here are accompanied by Skintologists music. This is part one of two...come back tomorrow for more, and be sure to visit the links for more info!

LINKS
Skintologists
Skintologists on iTunes
Skintologists on Amazon
23 Skidoo
Richard Heslop
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Berlin super 8 (music: Skintologists "On that Number") by Fritz Catlin

How analogue distortions resonate, the vibrant  glow of super 8mm film makes the shoddiest of camera work seem purposeful now.

Compared to Richard Heslop's efforts I was always disappointed with my own inexperienced celluloid snatches  but after all these years and with massive memory loss of most of this era what a Proustian boost it is to see a youthful 23 Skidoo along with sound man Stan Bingo smashing away in Remko Scha's percussion room full of random found metal. Remko (whose show of guitars being strummed by ropes attached to power tools 23 Skidoo brought to the ICA in London a few years later) would often put up bands playing at the Effanaar club in Eindhoven which curator Ton Van Gool's eclectic tastes had made into a must play venue for indie bands touring Europe.

We were on our way to play in Berlin where one afternoon Sam, Alex and I took some LSD and went to wander around the Olympic Stadium - the lingering Nazi ambiance of the place didn't add up to the most fun trip ever...

Watching now it always seem that I never held the camera long enough on the people around me, there's only a fraction of a second glimpse of Fetish Records boss Rod Pearce at 3:05. He was tragically macheted-to-death in a field in Mexico by a gangster who wanted to impress the girl Rod had just split up with. 

Somehow my scatter brain approach seemed to fit well with the Skintologists track I've dubbed on for sound so even though I've matured and mellowed hopefully I haven't absolutely  lost touch with the energies flowing through us in those days.