This Mistress - Live at SASHS

Being a member of Student Council had its advantages during my senior year at Shippensburg Area Senior High School (SASHS) in 1988. One of the perks was when it came time to offer suggestions for entertainment at Winter Carnival (a school event/dance), I was able to recommend the band I was in, This Mistress.

In the end, it came down to a Student Council vote between This Mistress and a DJ. After the ballots were cast and counted, This Mistress was chosen to perform at Winter Carnival on 03/12/88.

In retrospect, the $120 budget that Student Council had for entertainment would have better served the student body if they had chosen the DJ. Though we performed a good set of modern and classic rock songs, most of the student body would have probably preferred the DJ. So, to the students of SASHS in 1988, please accept my apology for suggesting that This Mistress play at Winter Carnival.

The original six member line up of This Mistress which played this show included Brad Shaeffer - Vocals, Matt "Scrap Pap" Skirpan - Guitar, Kevin "Bart the Fart" Wilson - Guitar, Scott McConnell - Synthesizer, Matt Norcross - Bass, and Tim Harrell - Drums. We also had extra tech support which included Ken Chandler - Main House Mix, Chris Terry - Lights, Kurt Smith - Videography, and Tony Townsend - Guitar Tech.

Some of the songs from our set included Guns 'n' Roses - Welcome to the Jungle, The Cult - Wildflower, INXS - Need You Tonight, Led Zeppelin - Misty Mountain Hop, Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train, and Red Rider - Lunatic Fringe. As you can see, our set was musically all over the place.

Though video of this performance does exist. The quality of the tape is very poor so I'm not going to share it at this time. Unfortunately, at the end of filming this performance, Kurt Smith dropped and broke his VTR machine (Sorry Kurt!) that he was carrying in his back pack to record the show. Maybe I'll be able to resurrect some of the footage for a future post but, for now, you only get to enjoy a picture from the show.

Their thoughts can kill! ... Any Questions?

MC2P4 and Ttam Troll from Any Questions? share a Scanners inspired improv moment at FFS II on 01/21/10.

Jesus Christ Superstar (IUP 1989)

The production of Jesus Christ Superstar and my participation in it remains one of the high points of my musical career. This took place during my first year of college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in February 1989.

Though I had been playing double bass or electric bass for almost every ensemble in the IUP Music Department, it was a honor to be chosen as the bass player for this "rock opera". I was the only freshman in the orchestra and the part I was to play was very high-profile and demanding.

I can still remember the first smaller "rock band" rehearsal with Chris Tackett (keyboards), Dave Foley (electric guitar), Tim Lutte (drums), and John DeStafano (percussion). They were all seniors and very accomplished musicians and there I was, the freshman new kid on the block. I was well aware that the rehearsal was really my "try out" and that I needed to prove my playing skills to them and to Gary Bird, the conductor.

From the first note of the opening Overture during that rehearsal, it became quickly apparent that I had "come to play". I could see their skeptic faces fade and, by the end of the rehearsal, I had allayed any fears they might have had. From that point on, the rehearsals went smoothly and all of our performances went well and were well-received by the public.

Some of my favorite memories of that production include all the jam sessions that the "rock band" would have before and after rehearsals. When we weren't doing free form improvisations, we would play covers of Frank Zappa songs or The Fish by Yes. In fact, it was Dave Foley that convinced us to do The Fish after he came into rehearsal one day with his typical glassy stare. He proceeded to hold up his keychain, which held a large (6"+) purple rubber fish, and declared, "We are going to play this!" How could we refuse??!!

However, my favorite memory is also the most esoteric and really has nothing to do with the production. It took place during one of the dress rehearsals in which IUP students were allowed to attend. It was during one of these rehearsals in Fisher Auditorium that Gary Bird (the conductor) took a moment between songs and asked the audience how everything sounded. Unbeknownst to me, my friend (and Associate) Everett (Rhett) Hammacher was in the balcony and took that opportunity to scream, "Turn up the bass!!!". Of course my bass didn't need to be turned up. It's one of those "you had to be there" or you had to know Rhett to know "why" that moment is so memorable and funny. I dedicate that little "flashback" to my fellow Associates - Ed Hartford, Rhett Hammacher, and James Hazen. Without them, my days at IUP would not have been so enlightened.

Enough of my ramblings. Here is the first 12 minutes of the 1989 IUP production of Jesus Christ Superstar. This recording was taped during a closed dress rehearsal and contains the following songs...

Synopsis

Overture

Act One

Prologue

Aria: Heaven On Their Minds

Friday .. Bethany

Scene: What's The Buzz?

Scene: Strange Thing Mystifying

First Photo Session

These pictures were taken at our very first photo session in Fall 1987 at the infamous "F*** Up Plot" on the outskirts of Shippensburg, PA. At this time, we were known as The Secret Society. It wasn't until Fall 1989 that we formed the electro-terrorist unit, Any Questions?.

Pictured are Matt Norcross (top) and M Scott McConnell (bottom).

Down In Da Hood

We spent some time the last two days down with our friend, Curve, at Platinum Recording Studios. He had just purchased a new Apple iMac, Apple Logic Studio, and a Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 audio interface and my job was to install and configure the system.

The picture above was taken by MC2P4 while I was waiting for Logic Studio to finish installing and we were having our olfactory organs assaulted with some very old (and moldy) vinyl records that Curve was pulling out of his collection. I mean, come on, who has heard of The Voltage Brothers.

Gil James and his Sounds of the Decades Part 3

Here's a behind-the-scenes picture of me warming up before a gig with Gil James and his Sounds of the Decades in April 1988.

P.S. I must admit, I'm looking rather dapper with my bow tie on.

Any Questions? - Evolution (Live)

This bootleg video of Any Questions? - Evolution is taken from our live performance at the Music Invasion Festival (07/10/04).

We were in rare form on that day. The 9' x 12' video screen was indoctrinating the masses with our visual hallucinations. The strobe lights were pulsing at epileptic levels. The PA system was pushed to the edge of overload. MC2P4 hammered synths and video effects. LTJTHC (Tim Harrell) was thrashing away on electronic percussion and I discarded all vestiges of Matt Norcross and became Ttam Troll.

How was that for hype? Seriously, it was a great show. During this song, after MC2P4 escapes his synthesizer rig, I follow after him and drag him back out by the tendrils of his wire costume. Not satisfied, I begin to feast upon a severed head full of bloody brains and Creepy Crawlers while LTJTHC continues to propel the song forward with a pulsing beat.

P.S. Special thanks to Beth Ballein and Kelly Hoffman for shooting the bootleg Neo-Nazi Cam video footage. You can also see our live version of Lousy Human from this same show by clicking here.