2001 December 27

SRL in Berkeley?

Yes its true, SRL performed its most concentrated show ever on Dec 15th 2001. Packed into the lot at 1010 Murray St., presided over by Jim Mason and known as "The Shipyard" was an infernal collection of machines ranging from the newest / loudest, (Hovercraft), to the most dangerous, (The remote controlled Pitching machine). Also included was the latest PeopleHater Ape fighting technology, as well as some old favorites like the Inchworm and 2 moldy Sneaky Soldiers, upgraded just for this event!! Sum it all up and we had one exciting 35-minute crash and burn. See Pics, Video coming soon!!

For the 500 people who made it from word of mouth information alone congrats on squeezing into one of our best events ever. For all those who did not hear about the show we regret that this event could not be made public. There was room for only 500 audience and the prospect of several thousand people milling about on a Berkeley sidestreet would have risked police intervention and another cancellation ( as occurred at Ace Junkyard earlier this year). For those of you who are of a proactive bent and are interested in viewing an SRL show in this area, I suggest writing a letter to both Tania Bauer at the San Francisco Fire Dept Fire Commission (tania_bauer@ci.sf.ca). and to Willie Brown's office (damayor@ci.sf.ca.us). Ask the SFFD to lay off the harsh and unreasonable limits imposed on SRL shows in this area.

2001 October 27

First live test of the Flame Hurricane completed on 10/23/01 next to Islais Creek in SF. All went well with wind speeds of around 60 mph. An army Chemical Warfare Smoke generator was used to check air movement characteristics. Four setups were tested. Each creating different rotating air movements. Reports indicate the sound from the 5 screaming pulsejets could be heard 5 miles away. Next test will be with the fuel pump putting 1-3 gallons a second into the hot air flow. This test will not take place in SF as the police arrived and indicated that we were not to test the unit again in SF under threat of arrest and incarceration, unless of course, we secured numerous permits. We are looking into the possibility of testing the complete Flame Hurricane at a racetrack near SF Bay Area while a demolition derbie is underway. Video of the recent test will be posted on the SRL site in the next week or so.

Video of the recent test will be posted on the SRL site in the next week or so.

Images from the Flame Hurricane test 21 Oct 2001

The SRL show scheduled for October 25th in Los Angeles at the LA Downtown Festival was cancelled due to the festival promoters concerns about public reaction to loud explosions and large fires which were to occur in connection with this event. Too bad, prior to Sept 11 all permits were in place with the city of Los Angeles for a master blaster SRL event, not a trivial achievment

Footage of various machine tests

Special Screening of SRL Thoughtfully Regards the Arbirtrary Calculation of Pathological Amusements