Fritz Catlin looks back & forward, Part 2: Skintologists "Crowtime"

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 two of two (see part 1 here)...Be sure to visit the links for more info!

LINKS
Skintologists
Skintologists on iTunes
Skintologists on Amazon
23 Skidoo
Richard Heslop
Related posts on Stupefaction


Academy super 8 (music: Skintologists "Crowtime") by Fritz Catlin

This film, from the William Burroughs-centered event "The Final Academy" in Brixton, London, 1982, mostly features little known band Last Few Days who were the missing link between 23 Skidoo and Throbbing Gristle. Some shots are the sound check, some the actual performance. I wish I could find the cassette of us recording the doorbell chimes selection in a local store. 

As well as Burroughs and Brion Gysin onstage with the strange disembodied binaural recording head in front of them, there are fleeting glimpses of Rod Pearce, David Tibet, Genesis P. Orridge and  Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson at 1:38. My favourite moment is TG soundman and Last Few Days clarinetist Stan Bingo walking past the shopfront with "Prize Bingo" above it. 

This event was especially memorable for me because members of Laibach came over from Yugoslavia to attend, and as a result, eventually LFD joined them on the "Occupied Europe" tour giving me the chance to experience life behind the Iron Curtain.

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
Related posts on Stupefaction


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.

Skintologists: Ex-23 Skidoo laying it down on Dubble Trubble

As a fan of 23 Skidoo, I was delighted the other day when none other than Skidoo member, Fritz Catlin, hit me up about his latest band, Skintologists, and their new album, Dubble Trubble. As you might expect, its a wonderful mixture of dub, funk, dance, and more...as long as the riddim is right. The video below, "On the Off Chance," will give you something of an idea - unfortunately its not on the album, but you can check out the album at one of the links below. Do it!

Check them out on iTunes here.
Check them out on Spotify here.
Check them out on Amazon here.
Visit their label, Melodica Recordings, here.