This program was a goddamn miracle..pure and simple. Charmingly low-tech, NWT broadcast cutting-edge punk rock over a station that usually programmed foriegn language shows for its viewing audience…KSCI 18. Hosted by cult rock here Peter Ivers (Jello Biafra’s a BIG fan of his music).
The show was a chaotic blend of intense punk rock performance, media collage assault (great use of stock footage…bombs, buddahs, brain surgury, nasa animations…), art school earnestness and a crash and burn mentality towards pushing the envelope of entertainment.
All the great L.A. punk bands would play, with out of town bands dropping by occasionally. Ivers would open and close each show staring into the camera, dropping the shades resting on his (rather high) forhead down to cover his eyes as he began reading a stream of consciousness ramble about good, evil, art and/or baloney. At the end of each bands performance, he would run on stage and ask “What’s the meaning of life?”
Some answers I recall: Top Jimmy of the Rhythm Pigs, after stumbling over and crashing into the drum kit:”Don’t take uhp…whissskey drinnkenn.” Lee Ving of the band Fear:”The secret of of life to be gay all the way.” Paul Cutler (of 45 Grave) held up a Heino record. Keith Morris of the Circle Jerks refused to answer and instead plowed the band into another song.
Click on Peters face to visit a page at the great tvparty.com (trust me, you’re gonna spend HOURS here), where you can read and see more about this little bit of UHF heaven from the early eighties.