What did you do in the 90’s, Daddy?
As promised, I have finally uploaded some archival VHS footage from this summer’s basement purge. Back in 1997, my band Fluid Drive appeared on a local cable access show, ‘Tim’s Sundog’ – a Grateful Dead-themed music show that ran for several years in Madison, WI. I had never watched the tape until this year, and, as expected, I cringed a little. But I was also proud – and pleasantly surprised – to see how well we played.
As exciting as it was to play on the tee-vee, my band was not a good fit for this show. Our songs were mostly terse and angular – nothing like the trippy noodling of the Dead. When we played covers, they were by Devo and Killdozer – a far cry from ‘Sugar Magnolia’ or ‘Uncle John’s Band.’ My rapport with addled host Tim Corcoran (as you’ll see in part 2) was less than complete and rife with misunderstanding. In short, I was a dork.
All dorkiness aside, Fluid Drive rocked this show. Dave Reinke (bass) and Todd Schroeder (drums) were the best rhythm section I have ever worked with, and they made my junky songs shine. I miss those guys.
This video (and the next 2 to come) shows Fluid Drive at our best. It might not have been the right venue, but we sung true.
Bonus Trivia
This video was from Fluid Drive’s second live performance on WYOU. Our first show – a bizarre, semi-unscheduled visit on Biff Blumfumgagnge and Blunt Rapture’s “Hey, What’s the Big Idea?” – has thankfully not survived on video. 4 or 5 years later, when I returned to Tim’s Sundog with Ingenious Whittler, I found the tie-dye-draped set to be still intact – and the experience just as bizarre.
