posted
  • place: Golden, Colorado

Review: MLT Performance Stumbles

Mines Little Theater, backstage preparation, Michelle Leonard, Golden, Colorado, November 1980

[ED: This Review appeared in the “Oredigger” student newspaper at the Colorado School of Mines, 12 November 1980.]

Mines Little Theater production: Catch Me If You Can by Gilbert and Weinstock.

Director Mike Sides; Assistant Director: Eleanor Burton; Technical Director: Daniel Rich

GOLDEN — Last week’s MLT production of the Broadway mystery/comedy, Catch Me If You Can, marks a certain celebration point for the MLT company here at the “World’s Foremost.” Ten years from its humble beginnings, MLT has become a mature, experienced organization that has delivered some stunning theater performances not only by Mines cultural measures, but by real-world standards. Among many other past and present members of the company, Mike Sides, director of Catch Me and Dan Rich, technical director, both have impressive real-world theater credits.

This final coming of age for the MLT also marks a special point for this reviewing critic. Is MLT ready to have a real-world critique? (I must note that I am an avid supporter of MLT in spirit if nothing else; my friend and long-time fellow Mines inmate, MLT’er Dan Rich asked me specifically to review last week’s performance for the Oredigger.)

Opening night seemed fairly relaxed as I prowled around shooting photos for an upcoming Mines Magazine article on the MLT. Too relaxed, it seemed to me. None of the usual opening night insanity and jitters; maybe that should have cued me in for the upcoming show. I must agree that opening night is a fair excuse for some floundering. but Thursday’s opening seemed to be replete with some serious problems that dress rehearsal should have ironed out. Past performances were seldom so rough, although I did miss the previous week’s performances and cannot compare them to Catch Me.

The technical problems were most distressing after being accustomed to smooth working stage and lighting sets in the past. However, even more awkward were the queuing bluffs — something that should be cleared up before, not during opening night.

As far as the acting, I will have to be kinder. Outstanding player praise must go to Bob Fisk as the hysterically funny Jewish deli owner, Sidney, whose purported last words were “Who’s minding the store?” As a veteran MLT actor, Bob pumped maximum energy and personality into his supporting role. Close behind was Michelle Leonard as the surrogate Mrs. Corban. She seemed to slide into the part of a coy, svelte, and scheming female with unquestionable realism. Jon Bush kept things rolling with his boffo, one-liner delivery as the supposedly simple country cop, Inspector Levine. The leading part of David Corban was not played to its fullest, however, even though B. J. Truskowski seemed to overwork the part. Catch Me admittedly, in this critic’s opinion, was not the strongest vehicle for the MLT to work with, although it did have a fair share of good one-liners, faux pas, and a real surprising twist at the end. If fell short on complete entertainment value when compared to last year’s fast-paced Feiffer’s People and Play It Again, Sam.

Overall, no kudos this time, although I will grant the MLT another mild success. Future productions will have to concentrate on the technical problems as well as actor preparedness. I am not so sure that MLT is ready for the rumored musical production scheduled for next spring, but if past performances are any indication, I hope they will at least give it a try — the Mines community at large and MLT have nothing to lose.

posted
  • place: Golden, Colorado

Op-Ed: Presidential Debates a Joke?

ED: This Op-Ed appeared in the “Oredigger” student newspaper at the Colorado School of Mines, 1 October 1980.

To the Editor:

Letters from Kameroun. –

I swallowed the first of a hoped-for series of American Presidential Debates last Sunday—actually two Sundays, by the time this makes it to the paper, maybe 37—with a liberal nightcap of ouzo and a handful of New York-manufactured Quaaludes. Couldn’t tell which affected me most.

The acerbity of the underdawg, the white-knighted JA (John Anderson) seemed almost overbearing (I was told by reliable sources that he uses coke on his hair); if only he wasn’t telling the truth about old Silk-Ties himself, the Right Reverend Reagan. The bumbling around on the issues was the only debacle that exceeded the inanity that the rag-tag questioning panel exhibited. I kept hoping that someone (Barry Commoner?) had slipped acid into the movie star’s glass of water so he would break into a tremulous soprano rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at the conclusion of his tear jerking (what else?) 3-minute wrap-up that literally shoved a Bud and an American flag into the hand of every blue collar worker over 40 while it took away the life-insulating dope from those under. Judging from the frequent driving references to the Military School for Boys in Texas, it was evident that Reagan’s 43-Anacin-a-day wife was pressuring him to tell all about his pederastical conniving with John Connally.

You know, I find it a shame that prime-time TV—that nipple of half-truths that suckles the Publis Americanus—has the gall to preempt Walt Disney to provide such a spectacle. It’s incredible! Oh my God, I can’t even escape into literary S&M butchery to help myself, or the world, either. However, I still am thankful that I was able to build a satellite dish out of dead cow bones here in the Peoples Republic of Kameroun to receive such gems of American Parody. If only I could transmit. Actually, if Jimmy permanently-on-the-rag-and-sulking Carter (The present US President) had appeared, I may not have had the stomach to tune back into “10” on HBO.

Well, I’ve got to run now—I’m expecting an urgent visit from Richard Wirthlin and Pat Caddell to discuss the Polish vote—think I’ll have to set a few more places at the mirror.

Respectfully submitted, Vecomo de Legato

P.S. I really got tired of shooting up in the backwoods of Mexico — it’s such a drag to continually find boxes of Post Toasties with coupons for “The Complete Jean-Paul Sartre” hardback edition littering the veranda. Africa is the place to be…

posted

VEC Audio Exchange 07 SEP+TIC – Sides 1 & 2

batspace · nic thompson · giovanni fontana · marek krolczuk · audio players · ron crowcroft · bianchi maurizio · michael gibbs · leonhard f. duch · johan cornelissen · vittore baroni · lon spiegelman · klaus groh · the krauts · john m. bennett · magnus v. gudlaugsson · daniele ciullini · jürgen olbrich · paulo bruscky · bria burgess and janet oye · the statics (from audio arts)

Side One

(30.20, stereo audio, 72.8 mb)

Side Two

(29.40, stereo audio, 71.2 mb)

Label

NOTE: the postal address listed on the cassette label is no longer valid — for postal communications with Mr. Summers, please use:

Rod Summers/VEC / Cantecleerstraat 40 / 6217 BX Maastricht / The Netherlands

posted

VEC Audio Exchange 06 GATHERED HEAR – Sides 1 & 2

marek krolczuk · nic thompson · carel lanters · joyce cutler shaw · tom winter · diederick van kleef · idid idid · henryk gajewski · vittore baroni · philip loarie · batspace · pam minor and bob davis · david javelosa · the audio players · john m. bennett and c. mehrl · jesse glass jnr. · opal l. nations · michael gibbs · bria burgess · ron crowcroft

Side One

(29.38, stereo audio, 71.1 mb)

Side Two

(30.22, stereo audio, 72.9 mb)

Label

NOTE: the postal address listed on the cassette label is no longer valid — for postal communications with Mr. Summers, please use:

Rod Summers/VEC / Cantecleerstraat 40 / 6217 BX Maastricht / The Netherlands

posted

VEC Audio Exchange 05 EAR2EAR – Sides 1 & 2

paul carter · nicola frangione · betty danon · joyce cutler shaw · tohei horiike and lon spiegelman · vittore baroni · leonhard f. duch · klaus groh · rod summers · tony bradley · richard olson · gary jacobelly · ron crowcroft · paulo bruscky · pawel petasz · servie janssen · dave fobes · lou schoonbrood · witold popiel · michael andre · steven berkowitz · los microwaves · vec

Side One

(30.24, stereo audio, 73.0 mb)

Side Two

(30.27, stereo audio, 73.1 mb)

Label

NOTE: the postal address listed on the cassette label is no longer valid — for postal communications with Mr. Summers, please use:

Rod Summers/VEC / Cantecleerstraat 40 / 6217 BX Maastricht / The Netherlands

posted
  • place: Golden, Colorado

Obscure Alternatives: Meat On Platter Is Tasty Morsel

[ED: This regular column appeared in the “Oredigger” student newspaper at the Colorado School of Mines, 30 October 1979. neoscenes started a music review column “Obscure Alternatives” (borrowing the title of British new wave band Japan‘s second album).]

Last week the Ramones, New York's most prestigious punk band, taught the Rainbow attendees a lesson on high-energy, high-decibel punk rock. Here lead singer, Joey Ramone, gives the high sign as the band runs through
Last week the Ramones, New York’s most prestigious punk band, taught the Rainbow attendees a lesson on high-energy, high-decibel punk rock. Here lead singer, Joey Ramone, gives the high sign as the band runs through “Rock and Roll High School,” the title song from their latest movie/album. Denver, Colorado, October ©1979 hopkins/neoscenes.
GOLDEN — Talking Heads Fear Of Music (Sire Records); Robert Palmer Secrets (Island/Warner Bros.)

Fortunately for Obscure Alternatives, being a lazy columnist, the Talking Heads new album, Fear of Music, and Robert Palmer’s release, Secrets, cover the complete spectrum of today’s New Wave crazed world: and so it goes. Claiming to be beyond the CBGB’s-Mudd-Club-hype syndrome, the Heads have embarked on another vapid meander into the noumenal world. Songs with titles such as “Air,” “Heaven,” and “Drugs” deceive one into thinking this is just another Heads wave at society through a frosted window pane.

Light as this album may seem upon casual tracking, there is meat on the musical platter for those willing to look and listen. Recorded under the auspices of electronic wizard Brian Eno, with a Record Plant Remote Truck at Heads’ Chris and Tina’s loft in Long Island City, N.Y., the album is without a doubt, a tasty morsel. There is the feeling of stopping, looking, and absorbing lyrically a most detailed photograph of the dirty side of every life around. In a fascinating song, “Life During Wartime,” the Heads cry out that “This ain’t no party. This ain’t no disco. This ain’t no fooling around.”, recognizing the less observed side of music production — the slogging, the grit and the grind. On one cut. “I Zimbawa,” Robert Fripp cameos with some interesting guitar work. With lyrics that echo and laugh at the void of New York’s chic society, there is a terminal aura of world-weariness that pervades both the vocals and the instrumentals. All considered, the album is a modern version of “The Wasteland.” by T.S. Eliot; both musically and lyrically a vivid, detailed personal glimpse of the world-that-is.

Displaying the recently developed New York/Los Angeles music schism, the step from the Heads to Palmer is unsettling. Coming from an optimized transformation of thought to music, and going to a minimized transmutation of feeling to commerciality can leave one, yes, feeling heady and nauseous. Palmer’s work is merely a warmup for the coming generation of pop-rock debutantes. Despite a tight, hard-working backup band, Palmer never comes up with anything better than the average 3.2 bar band. Musically the most attractive song on the album is the aptly chosen single. “Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor).” Replete with Top-40 love hooks, the release, Palmer’s first with Island, has one interesting song, “Jealous,” a very simple, but catchy tune wrapped around equally simple lyrics. Obscure Alternatives hopes that this album does not reflect the minds of the music consumer—fun to be around, but no substance—else the Rock of the 80s could be a real letdown. Albums courtesy Independent Records, Washington Avenue in downtown Golden.

posted

VEC Audio Exchange 04 GLISTEN – Sides 1 & 2

vec · limmy scheres · klaus groh · nic thompson · audio players · betty danon · philip loarie · marianne heske · diederick van kleef · nicola frangione · david zackat l.f.p. · geoffrey cook · richard olson · rod summers · marek krolczuk · bob davis · peter below · steve hitchcock · tony bradley · ron crowcroft · julien blaine · john duncan · tommy mew

Side One

(30.28, stereo audio, 73.1 mb)

Side Two

(29.37, stereo audio, 71.1 mb)

Label

NOTE: the postal address listed on the cassette label is no longer valid — for postal communications with Mr. Summers, please use:

Rod Summers/VEC / Cantecleerstraat 40 / 6217 BX Maastricht / The Netherlands

posted

VEC Audio Exchange 03 CLEAR – Sides 1 & 2

ruedi schill · leonhard f. duch · jenne van eeghen · marek krolczuk · adam scott · fahnmühle family · robin crozier · vittore baroni · steve hitchcock · paulo bruscky · jockel heenes · tony bradley · ron crowcroft · abdada leclair · geoffrey cook · los microwaves · dave fobes · pawel petasz · larry wendt · john m. bennett · paul carter · denis zanoni and herman herdick · rod summers · jesse glass jnr. · bria burgess · johan cornelissen · nicola frangione · tommy mew

Side One

(45:25, stereo audio, 109 mb)

Side Two

(43:17, stereo audio, 103 mb)

Label

NOTE: the postal address listed on the cassette label is no longer valid — for postal communications with Mr. Summers, please use:

Rod Summers/VEC / Cantecleerstraat 40 / 6217 BX Maastricht / The Netherlands

posted

VEC Audio Exchange 02 LISTEN – Sides 1 & 2

paul carter · vec · klaus groh · rod summers · tony bradley · carl loeffler and bill gaglione · betty danon · bob davis · eldon garnet · aaron flores · john m. bennett · mani leitner and harald issing · ruedi schill · pawel petasz

Collected, copied, edited, mixed January to March 1979

Side One

(28:01, stereo audio, 67.3 mb)

Side Two

(29:59, stereo audio, 72.0 mb)

Label

NOTE: the postal address listed on the cassette label is no longer valid — for postal communications with Mr. Summers, please use:

Rod Summers/VEC / Cantecleerstraat 40 / 6217 BX Maastricht / The Netherlands

posted

VEC Audio Exchange 01 HERE – Sides 1 & 2

rod summers · paul carter · leonhard f. duch · john m. bennett · anna banana and bill gaglione

vec audio experience warsaw 1978

Side One

(28:45, stereo audio, 69 mb)

Side Two

(31:25, stereo audio, 75.4 mb)

Label

NOTE: the postal address listed on the cassette label is no longer valid — for postal communications with Mr. Summers, please use:

Rod Summers/VEC / Cantecleerstraat 40 / 6217 BX Maastricht / The Netherlands

posted
  • place: Golden - Pueblo, Colorado

Vernon Holloway 1958 – 1977

Vern was my friend and next-door neighbor in Thomas Hall, 2nd floor, at the Colorado School of Mines during our freshman year. This portrait is from the day the semester was done and Vern was leaving for home in Pueblo, Colorado.

portrait, Vern, Golden, Colorado, May 1977

A day later he was diagnosed with terminal leukemia. I saw him next in a casket in Pueblo, a shadow. [ed: the following from the journal 30 September 1977]:

Well, it seems for the time being I have lost my somewhat atrophied ability to recollect the rest of August, so I’ll turn my mind to more recent events. The most tragic thing recently that happened to me, or, more correctly, that involved me, was Vern’s death. When I got back to school, Mike told me that Vern had gotten leukemia — he found out the day he got home from school in May. Spent the whole summer in the hospital, undergoing chemotherapy and all that kind of stuff. The weekend of 20 September, I think, Mike had gone down to visit him — reported back that he was doing very well — that he might even be able to go home for awhile. They had a good time listening to tunes and so on. Mike talked about him a lot. Well, it seems that on 27 September, Vern died. He was really doped up and that with the chemo was too much for his system to handle. more “Vernon Holloway 1958 – 1977”

posted
  • place: en route Anderson, South Carolina - Clarksburg, Maryland

road-trip

Well, got back from SC early this afternoon after a great drive. We stopped at 6:30 AM to see Cathy Barbano in Chapel Hill. She was surprised, though now quite awake. She has a really nice dorm — on the 7th floor, private bath, etc. Only stayed 1/2-hour & continued on home. Really had an excellent time at the Thomson’s — they’re a great family.

Yesterday (19 August) we (Karen, me, Richard & Randy (& John & Brian – a couple guys from UNC who we ran into)) canoed Section 3 of the Chattooga River. We left Anderson around 7:00 AM after forgetting our food, etc., & headed for the SC/GA border. After an enjoyable 1-1/2 hour drive (we took 2 cars — Richard’s VW & mine with the canoe), with Randy & Richard shooting bottle rockets at Karen & I). We made it to the outfitters. We met Brian & John there by chance & they teamed up with us, fortunately, since single canoes are not allowed to attempt Section 3. John had been down two times previously.

Good thing, as we probably would not have survived some of the Class IV rapids and a couple water falls that we had to portage around. The take-out had a cool chute where the whole river went through a place only a few feet wide. Richard was the first to seat-drop into it and then over a small waterfall into a huge pool. Everyone else followed, wild!

posted
  • place: Anderson, South Carolina

road-trip

Well, just visited Clemson—Richard’s alma mater (in January). It ended up that Randy and I decided to leave on Tuesday evening and drive all night. Needless to say, we’re having a really wild trip. Took the Bug—and the canoe. I again had the passenger’s seat out and replaced it with a bean-bag chair, extremely comfortable. The trip (drive) itself was not outstanding, but as we hit SC, we decided to stop at the Welcome Center to get a picture. They sure know how to welcome people. The hostess was beautiful and not over 20. She was really nice—her accent was truly alluring. We conversed or a short time—loved every minute of it.

Today, Richard is at transfer student orientation at Anderson College, Karen is at work, Mrs. T. is at the library with Scot, and Randy is outside playing b-ball with Loren.

posted

VEC Audio CD 0004 The Fallowfield Dilemma

VEC Audio CD 0004 The Fallowfield Dilemma
VEC Audio CD 0004 The Fallowfield Dilemma

1. FALLOWFIELD Written & read by Rod Summers 1977.

2. FALLOWFIELD ALSO Written & read by Rod Summers 1978.

3. FALLOWFIELD IN SPACE Written by Rod Summers 1979. Sonorization by Tom Winter 1993.

posted

VEC Audio CD 0005 Scratch Symphony 1976

VEC Audio CD 0005 Scratch Symphony 1976
VEC Audio CD 0005 Scratch Symphony 1976

A Live Audio Event in Five Movements

this is the original scratch symphony
from vec audio’s first best room
to uher Royal live
no poking around at that def wave
in more ram than herr zuse ever dreamed of
scratch is about
getting together and making a noise
no pointing and clicking
til your eyeballs plop into your cold empty cup
and there’s no more feeling in the digits
scratch is about
booting from a fun partition
so remain happy
and spin the scratch
which is about just doing it
— t.w.

no sampler no midi no dolby no dub no remix no baseball cap on backwards

Featuring Seven Performers
coen eckhardt * jenne van eeghen * det huijbers * john miesen * rod summers * tom winter * lisette wissen

Twenty-Three Sound Sources
steel ruler*nanciphone*sheep-bell*chinese flute*musical box*soprano recorder*chromatic harmonica c*blues harps e and f crockery*hohner orkester bravo*cardboard box*doorbell*phillips and saba cassette recorders*grundig wireless*teleton tranny*framus e-guitar*glass rod*honeywell heater*martell miniature*plastic tubes*voices

recorded autumn 1976 in maastricht — a vec production

1. First Movement.

2. Second Movement.

3. Third Movement.

4. Fourth Movement.

5. Fifth Movement.

posted
  • place: en route Estes Park, Colorado - The Great Salt Lake, Utah - Wendover - Death, Nevada

First roadtrip – day three

portrait, Gary, Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, June 1975

We started off at 06:00 and went directly into the mountains. We went up to ≈12,000′ – it was quite cold & there was snow & a strong wind. We did some climbing on snow for awhile. Steamboat Springs was our next stop — we mailed some letters and got some ‘provisions’. We played some Frisbee in the park for awhile and then returned to driving. We got into Salt Lake City at 6:00 pm and after driving through the city, we stopped, because of the spectacular (understatement) sunset over the Great Salt Lake. Now I know why they call it ‘Great’. We went to the beach along the lake and parked the car on the sand. The water was incredibly warm even though there was a 40 knot wind blowing — the sun was somewhat obscured by haze and high clouds. It was a stirring & psycho-impressive scene. My senses overloaded. We stayed for awhile to soak in the unbelievable sights, sounds, stimulus,

self-portrait at the Great Salt Lake, Utah, June 1975

and atmosphere, and then we drove on. The road at this point was perfectly flat, straight, with nothing on either side. It was quite eerie. We played with the spot-light for awhile until some cops arrived and passed us a few times. We reached Bonneville Salt Flat at 11:30 pm & stopped for some refreshment at a gas-station-casino-store. After a tremendous meal consisting of a can of sardines, a can of vienna sausage, and a box of bacon thins, we continued. After reaching the point of total exhaustion, we pulled off the road behind a bill-board & stopped to sleep. I put the cooler outside so I could recline the seat. About an hour later we both woke bolt upright, and with an unexplained 6th sense of fear, I reached out, threw the cooler in the back seat and we quickly pulled out and drove off. We wondered & still wonder what entity was there in that desolate salt flat. I drove for another half-hour to Deeth, Nevada — just a dilapidated motel — and parked in the front dirt lot and slept. There were numerous noises around, but the next morning, I found them to be the product of an Irish Setter puppy wandering around, trying to get into our cooler. We slept (or I did) until Gary pulled the sleeping bag off & I froze. I started driving again. Then later in the night while Gary was driving, my nose started running, so I used the beach towel to blow it, it kept running, and I kept blowing, until finally I was trying to figure out what was going on, I turned on the Light and the towel was covered with blood from a bloody nose. Argh!

posted
  • place: MS Massalia, offshore, Mauritania

30 June 1973, Total Solar Eclipse

Total Solar eclipse 1973-06-30 10:38 UTC, frame scan, 16mm Kodachrome shot with a 150mm lens on the Bolex model SBM. ©1973 hopkins/neoscenes.
Total Solar eclipse 1973-06-30 10:38 UTC, frame scan, 16mm Kodachrome shot with a 150mm lens on the Bolex model SBM. ©1973 hopkins/neoscenes.

We experienced the eclipse from onboard the MS Massalia, approximately 100 km NNW of Nouakchott, Mauritania, [LAT – 19˚54’34” North (19.909444) / LONG 17˚15’42” West (17.261667), duration of totality was 05m46s]. The passengers on the ship were from a number of countries, mostly scientists, and the voyage was specifically an eclipse expedition (from Marseille, with stops in Palma de Mallorca, Málaga and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canarias, Spain; Funchal, Medeiras, Portugal; [the eclipse centerline off Mauritania], and finally to Casablanca, Morocco. The ship lost a gyro-stabilizer the day before the eclipse which caused problems with longer photographic exposures. I was shooting the eclipse with a manual Bolex 16mm film camera on a tripod. Although the sea was amazingly calm, the ship rolled slowly while stationary during the three hours of the event. Right when totality started, in the relative darkness, I ‘lost’ the sun in the Bolex’s viewfinder and couldn’t re-align it. I was actually swearing out loud as I panicked with the pent-up and deeply irrational excitement of totality until my father finally said, “Don’t worry about filming, just LOOK!” I did manage to film about a minute of footage up to the closing ‘Diamond Ring’ and Third Contact at the end of totality.

The lost gyro did end up causing big issues the next few days when a major Atlantic storm hit us broadside, from the west, as we were steaming north to Casablanca. The huge waves were breaking over the bow of the ship, absolutely terrifying, and almost no one showed up for the final ‘Captain’s Dinner’ for all the rocking-and-rolling of the ship: seasick, ugh. Glad to get off the boat, though the descent into Casablanca was intense: stand-out memory, sitting in a café having a warm Coke from a tiny bottle and looking around in cultural confusion.

posted
  • place: Ukiah, California

portrait, Lucien and Howard

A century ago, this image was made in the midst of The War to End War. The cover of the July 1916 Woman’s Home Companion features a young boy in military dress and hat. The baseball glove, a book-marked volume and the hilt of their grandfather’s Civil War sabre showing on the table, the flag and flag bunting, the shouldered toy rifle—two young brothers on the porch of the family home in Ukiah, California—all speak of different and the same other times.

portrait, Lucien and Howard, The White House, Ukiah, California, July 1916 [CBH?]
portrait, Lucien and Howard, The White House, Ukiah, California, July 1916 [CBH?]