SRL INFORMATION UPDATE: 9/11/1995 NEXT SRL SHOWS... SRL will be staging a large scale self-produced performance in the Bay area around the end of October. To avoid regulatory difficulties, arrangements will be sneakier than usual. This will also apply to how we will be notifying the public. Expect something unusual. Stay tuned to this site for the latest information. The SRL BBC shoot which took place on the weekend of May 28th was everything hoped for and more. The shoot allowed us to salvage some of the time spent setting up props and machines for the banned show which had been scheduled for the same day (see below). Wild interactions, etc. Running machines with Rambo 3 knives on articulated arms stabbing beardy survivalist dudes, new machines by Chip Flynn of People Hater, Greg Leyh throwing oranges and rats on an 80 Kilojoule death grid creating violent electrical explosions, Pulsejet powered blades atop black street sweepers....Leslie Gladsjo, who co-directed the program with Richard Smith, has recently returned from London where she was involved in editing the project. The program, entitled ³Pandemonium² includes a generous segment on SRL and Stellarc, plus documentation of work by Chico McMurtire and David Theiren. Look for a release in the UK November 9th 1995. Showings in Europe will occur shortly thereafter. It should eventually get to the US. ....AND ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST After conflicts with the SF city Attorney and the SF Fire Dept over SRLıs last event (see below) leading to itıs ultimate cancellation, one of our long time local patrons and co-conspirators offered to assist us in presenting a surreptitious event on May 28th. This was the one year anniversary of our ³ Calculated Forecast of Ultimate Doom... ³ show. It was to take place in a lot at 8th and Brannan and was to be SRLıs ³survivalist² show. After a month of feverish preparation at SRL HQ, on May 10 an officer from the SF Fire department called the producer, who operates the City Support Services for the Arts situated in the building next to the lot. The fire dept official stated that he had heard that SRL was going to do a show there on the 28 th and that he was aware that the producer was connected with the event. The fire official stated that the Fire Dept do everything in itıs power to jeopardize the producers job position with the city, and in every way throw the book at him if he went ahead with the event. (Since the producer is involved in most of the street events in the city and must deal with the fire dept on a continuous basis, this was no idle threat.) The fire official stated that the fire department had instituted a vendetta against SRL intended to deny SRL the opportunity to present shows in the bay area. The reason that was given for this decision by the fire department was the in the CBS news documentation of SRLıs ³calculated Forecast of Ultimate Doom...² show the previous year, a fire department official was presented in a way that embarrassed the SF Fire Dept. Rather than risk his job, the producer declined to allow SRL the use of the building for setup and staging the event, resulting in the cancellation of the event. We are trying to do what we do best, unfortunately for our audience not everyone agrees that SRL has a right to exist or present its events. Offended citizens are invited to write or call the SF Fire Dept. or SF Mayor Frank Jordans office. LOCAL SRL SHOW BITES THE DUST... SRL was contracted to produce a special event on May 19th for the release of a 3-d graphics chip by NVIDIA Corp. In return for the favor NVIDIA event producers agreed to pay SRL a tidy fee and allow the presentation of an SRL public event at the same site several days later! Hunters Point Naval base brass and the SF Film Commission were all set to give SRL a great site at the Hunters Point Naval Base but when the SF city Attorney heard tell of it she (Louise Renne) stated that SRL was ³a liability to the city ³. Thus the film commission was unable to act on our behalf to secure this or any other site. Two other sites, one in the huge basement of the Mission Armory, and another at a private warehouse were nixed by the SF Fire Dept. when inquiries about acquiring permits were made. On April 8th it became apparent to both SRL and the producers that time had run out for securing a site and preparing for a major event. (It appears from comments made by the Fire Dept. and Louise Renne that the negative regulatory status was precipitated by the fallout from ³ Calculated Forecast of Ultimate Doom ³ show). GENERAL INFO. RECENT SHOWS ETC. SRL operated several of itıs devices and props for the finale of a machine performance by staged by PEOPLE HATER, (Chip Flynn) that included a large remote control walking machine by Christian Ritsow and Kevin Binkerts fantastic ³Spinner² machine. The event was organized by the CACAPHONY SOCIETY. The theme was a ³90ıs² version of Media Burn. It took place Sat the 22nd of October at 3rd and Marin St. in San Francisco for an audience of 1000. SRL staged a full-scale show in San Francisco on May 28, 1994. ³A CALCULATED FORECAST OF ULTIMATE DOOM:SICKENING EPISODES OF WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION ACCOMPANIED BY SENSATIONS OF PLEASURABLE EXCITEMENT² was SRLıs first major show in SF in 5 years. This was our largest performance to date, featuring 10 major remote-controlled devices and a huge assortment of props and stationary machines. Non-stop action! The fun was marred by an unscrupulous person or persons (identified in BAD STUFF below) who made and sold fake tickets, leaving approximately 250 genuine ticket holders out of the action. Video footage looks unbelievable, an 8 camera beta cam shoot! SRL video director Leslie Asako Gladsjo will be editing a version for release and a local showing this fall. At this time work is continuing on several complex new machines. The Wheelocopter is the major new device under construction, (see new machines below). Research is continuing on a series of pulse Jet or propeller powered flying platforms. NEW VIDEO RELEASES Ms. Gladsjo will also be preparing a major video release documenting SRL activities and performances in Barcelona, Spain, Aurillac, France, and Graz, Austria from 1991 to 1992. The tape will examine the issues raised by the war related themes which link these three major SRL events. In addition, Ms. Gladsjoıs exhaustive coverage of the strange occurrences surrounding these shows promises to make this tape a prized artifact of SRL history. Look for a release in late 1995. The ³DOOM² show edit, also by Ms. Gladsjo will also be released this fall WANTED: APOCALYPTIC PROPHECIES, FIRE AND BRIMSTONE PREACHING, PREDICTIONS OF THE END OF THE WORLD. Audio tapes of prophets, preachers, or evangelists specifically referring to doomsday, Armageddon, and scenarios detailing the end of the world sought for the soon-to-be-completed Survival Research Laboratories documentation of ³A CALCULATED FORECAST OF ULTIMATE DOOM.² Please send cassettes to SRL at the usual address, marked ³DOOM AUDIO, ATTN: LESLIE.² Please include information about the source, date, and other details of the recording, as well as information about yourself. If your contribution is selected, you will be credited as DOOM AUDIO CONSULTANT and receive a free DOOM tape and SRL T-shirt. PLANNED NEW DEVICES OR DEVICES UNDER CONSTRUCTION Remote controlled Flying platforms using pulse-jet engines or enclosed-propellers are in the planning and experimentation stages. Deso Molnar (the owner and pilot of the Jesus Head Jet powered GO CART in the recent SRL performance) is working on initial development. A WheeloCopter is assembled and will be ready for testing in about 6 weeks. This radical concept in wheeled vehicles applies the principles of rotor craft to a two dimensional plane. Itıs as difficult to describe as it will be for an audience to look at. See photo for more confusion. Parts have been collected for computer-controlled Hydraulic Walking Leg Sets, capable of supporting and moving objects weighing 40 or more tons, in the manner of groups of foraging ants. The power plant is a 175 hp Boeing gas turbine engine. This will be SRLıs first mobile jet engine powered device. The Hand-Oı-God is a giant spring loaded hand cocked by an air-cylinder with 8 tons of pressure. All parts are secured and construction is underway. SOME OF OUR RECENTLY CONSTRUCTED MACHINES A JET-ENGINE POWERED WHEELED VEHICLE has been constructed and was debuted in the ³Ultimate Doom² show. It uses a simple jet engine fabricated from a modified high pressure axial turbocompressor driven furnace burner with a Lear Jet combustor can . It uses a Kawasaki 750 motorcycle engine to power the turbine and associated pumps. A B-29 turbo compressor has recently been acquired and is being installed to add more thrust. A 175 hp BOEING GAS TURBINE engine was set up on a pivoting frame and operated in the May 28th performance as an audience misery enhancer. It was pointed at the nearby crowd and swung to and fro. A strong smelling chemical was added to the diesel fuel at one point, adding to the desired effect. An afterburner fuel injection system has been added, allowing it to operate as a huge blow torch. A 10 ft long Teleoperated Hydraulic Arm fitted with precision servo-valves and controlled from up to one mile away with an exoskeleton has been constructed and was used as an attachment for the screw machine in the May 28th performance. The exoskeleton controller attaches to the operators arm and precisely mimics the wearerıs motions. It can be configured with an optional stereo head mounted vision system which is controlled by the movements of the wearerıs head. A portable Foam Generating Machine has recently been constructed. It uses standard high expansion fire-fighting foam and can generate 1500 cubic feet of thick free-standing foam per minute. Primarily intended for use on audiences. A Six-Legged Running Machine (which will have a computer controlled active suspension system) was completed and featured for the first time at the SF Museum Groundbreaking performance. The leg drive system is modeled after the chain drive used on the Hughes Armaments Chain Cannon for sear bolt actuation. A High Pressure Air Launcher, originally developed by NASA for use in avalanche control, is the basis for SRLıs first teleoperated machine. It is capable of automatically loading and firing 26 beer can sized projectiles weighing 2 lbs each at 500 feet per second. The operator aims by head movement, viewing the target through a high resolution camera mounted on the gun frame. This device is CO2 gas operated, and so circumvents existing Federal Firearms Laws. A stripped down version was transported by air and used in a ritual assassination of Simon Leis, (the sheriff of Hamilton county, who busted Dennis Barrie for the Robert Mapplethorpe photo show) at the ³Mechanica² show, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. A 100 kilo Joule directable plasma discharge weapon or TASER, designed by Greg Leyh and built at SRL, was successfully tested and used in Europe in 1992. It is currently being rebuilt as an improved design without the sometimes troublesome spark gaps. We are currently looking for 50 kilojoule low impedance capacitors to increase the already formidable power of this device. Contact Greg Leyh at 641-8065 or 647-4960. BAD STUFF! NOTICE TO BURNED TICKETHOLDERS FOR THE LAST SRL SHOW At the time of ticket snafu which occurred at the ³ A CALCULATED FORECAST OF ULTIMATE DOOM...² SRL came to an agreement with Joe Matheny of Media Kaos that due to the poor quality of the tickets printed by Media Kaos for the show, Media Kaos was responsible for ticket refunds. According to Matheny, who had set up a ticket hotline after the show to receive mailings of ³bogus² tickets for refunds, there were about 250 people who had purchased tickets but had not been admitted to the performance (due to a call by the attendant fire marshall of overcrowding). We now know that Matheny perpetrated the ticket scam. (Mr. Matheny sold several hundred tickets under the table in the days before the event. He apparently believed that no one would notice a few extra in the audience. This would probably have been true except that the Fire Dept halted the line at the agreed upon 4000 attendees, leaving many ticket purchasers in the cold and angry. At first we believed his story that counterfeit tickets were the culprit. Later, we discovered through several sources that Matheny himself was responsible, as described above). Shortly thereafter, he split the scene as it were, taking with him any list of gypped ticket holders that may have been compiled . SRL asks ticketholders to notify the SRL voice mail in the appropriate mailbox (press #2 for info) of their ticket status. We will try to sort out valid requests and can make an offer of free tickets to our next local show. Call 641-8065, or if youıre in the mood to harass... (Joe Matheny has returned to SF and is being extremely uncooperative regarding the situations described above, even though rumor has it that bad things have happened to him, such a shame. For those who lost money to the ticket scam or just want to share, he can now be reached at home at 861-5511 or 864-3017. E-Mail is mediak@well.com.sf.us. You may also leave lovely messages on his new voice mail # at 435-8741. He is staying at 409 Laguna St. in SF 94102. Officially, SRL does not encourage or discourage attempts to contact, communicate , or irritate, Mr. Matheny.) LAWSUITS! (All our legal troubles are resolved but here is a summary of recent legal weirdness). SRL Vs ARTPARK ADDENDUM: 7/14/94 SRLıs suit in federal court against ARTPARK was settled for a sum of money from NY state. Better than grant money! SRL was until recently, engaged in a Federal Court lawsuit against the state of NY and David Midland, the Director of ARTPARK, over the cancellation of our performance there in 1990 at the behest of Fundamentalist Christians. Our attorney in the case, Lanny Walters, had to sue the Federal Court Judge, Richard Arcara, to force him to hear the case. Judge Arcara, stretched the letter of law for over 2 years in his efforts to avoid hearing the case. He eventually dismissed the suit. Lanny appealed this judgement, and the NY Attorney General, fearing an upset in front of a less conservative district court judge, (Judge Arcara is a Reagan appointee), offered a cash settlement, which SRL accepted. SRL Vs EDWARD MAXWELL A lawsuit was filed by Edward Maxwell following SRLıs performance at the SF Museum of Modern Art Groundbreaking Ceremony was recently settled. Mr. Maxwell, a wealthy resident of San Franciscoıs exclusive Marina District, did not actually attend the performance, but was, according to his own medical report, ³passing by the performance area in an automobile, seated in the passenger seat with the windows rolled up². Mr. Maxwell claims that he has a pain in his right ear as a result of effects from the performance that the 2500 other persons who attended were not able to perceive. His medical claims were not supported by any of the doctors he has reported seeing in connection with the case. Nevertheless, he engaged the City of San Francisco, The Museum of Modern Art, and SRL in a Superior Court lawsuit. The Museum and the SF City Attorney threatened to sue my insurance carrier, TransAmerica Corp. TransAmerica had reneged on the SRL policy as soon as the case was filed, arbitrarily claiming that the V-1 engine used in the show was a ³firework² and its use (which they previously had agreed upon covering) voided all coverage. Their efforts succeeded and Transamerica sent SRL a letter actually ³apologizing² for the ³mistake² they had made in refusing to honor the policy. They indicated that they would settle the matter immediately. They ended up paying Mr. Maxwell an undisclosed fee. Subsequently, SRL has experienced no problems in obtaining liability insurance. PUBLICATIONS & TELEVISION AK PRESS, based in San Francisco, has offered to publish an SRL monograph this coming year, as well as an SRL CD-ROM. AK is the US publisher for Stewart Home, considered by SRL to be required reading for the discriminating pervert. Stay tuned for a release announcement. The SOUTH ATLANTIC QUARTERLY, published by Duke University Press has released ³THE SPECIAL ISSUE ON CYBERCULTURE². It contains a 7 page article designed and written by M. Pauline and illustrated by computer manipulated SRL imagery. The article details the unusual events surrounding SRLıs performance in Graz, Austria, Nov. 1992, ³ The Deliberate Evolution of a War Zone...² SRL appeared live on the Fox FX network show ³Breakfast Time² on Oct. 24 1994. Phil Keoghan, who was reporting the story for Fox braved the SRL yard for several 3 minute segments with numerous machines roaring away. As this was live on the East Coast we were filmed at 4 to 6am ! This time, only one of our neighbors called to complain. SRL was filmed by the BBC in May for a feature documentary on artists who use machines. Various artists, philosophers, and scientists will be featured including , Stellarc, Davis Therein, Arthur Kroker, Chico McMurtrie, and Mark Dery. Leslie Gladsjo will be co-directing this program. It is being produced by Illuminations in London. The program will air in the UK in the Fall of 1995.