Jim Conaboy was the drummer of Super Potent Death Baby from 2006 to 2008. They were a female fronted straight ahead rock n' roll band – think Joan Jett.
Here's a live video...
Super Potent Death Baby live at Rehab 7/27/08
And here's a studio song…
Super Potent Death Baby - "Bad Influence"
Check out their myspace page (here) or their bandcamp page (here).
SUPER POTENT DEATH BABY
Suzy the Fox - bass/vocals
Pete the Meeeeet - guitars
Jimmy the Weed - drums
Even though it was a cold and snowy Tuesday night, we still managed to have a decent turnout at the CB's Gallery screening of Bellmore: The Unscene. Directly after the screening we had performances by Eggplant Queens (of course), and The Crusher.
Here's some photos from the night…
Here's a couple of songs from Eggplant Queens...
"Kill, Kill, Kill"
"Drugs"
Then The Crusher took the stage. The Crusher (a.k.a. Jones Crusher) had ties with the Bellmore "unscene". Gerry from Not Saved played bass with them for a while and Jim Conaboy played drums on their "Deliver Us From Emo" album. And here's Jim tonight behind the kit…
Jim Collette and Jim Conaboy offer some more reasons why the bands don't leave Bellmore. The conversation then devolves into Ron Bianco, Mike Bianco and Bobby S. reflecting on Conaboy. (Clip from Bellmore: The Unscene)
A couple of months had past since Jim and I decided to make the Bellmore documentary and with Ground Zero closing – the last music venue in Bellmore – it was time to stop procrastinating and start filming.
Besides my VHS camera, we wanted to get lots of coverage so Jim called in some favors – borrowing a camera from someone and getting Matt Rubinowitz to also film. Pat Fitzpatrick came along with Matt so he helped out with production and took some still photos of the event, too. Scott Jacobs was on board from the beginning so he also shot footage that night. We had ourselves a Hi-Tide Pictures crew.
This event was pretty monumental when it comes to Bellmore's "unscene". Like I said above, Ground Zero was the last music venue in Bellmore and it was closing it's doors for good. (We were under the impression that this was going to be the last show, but actually the very last show was the following Tuesday...with the younger kids.)
It was also quite possible that this event represented the end of the Bellmore scene as we knew it – as Jim Burns warned that night (here). This was sort of true. Earlier that night Kevin Purcell declared he was leaving Not Saved (which you can also see here), so the last band standing was Eggplant Queens. The Queens continued to forge ahead strong...but not in Bellmore.
In the below clip from Bellmore: The Unscene – Bobby S., Mike Stamberg, Steve Johnson, Dave Jemmott and Matt Bianco talk about Ground Zero and it's closing...
When I pieced together Bellmore: The Unscene I used the Ground Zero event as sort of a home base...like a recurring theme. Everyone was there so I could keep going back to it and use it as a springboard to talk about the next band.
Below is a bunch of Ground Zero footage (and a few interviews) that wound up on the cutting room floor. Lots of cool stuff I just couldn't use. There's also short clips from the other bands that played that night: The Clap, Dead End Cruisers, Hidden Agenda, and Jones Crusher. (Jones Crusher – a.k.a. The Crusher – had ties with the Bellmore "unscene". Gerry from Not Saved went on to play bass with them, and Jim Conaboy played drums for a while and recorded Deliver Us From Emo with them. The Crusher also played at the Bellmore: The Unscene screening at CB's Gallery.)
Here's a few Not Saved songs that weren't in the movie (cameras missed the first two songs). And even though their set was plagued with mic problems, it was a great performance...
"Iron Fist" (Motörhead cover)
"Insomnia"
"Tormented"
"The Line No Man Wants To Cross"
***SPOILER ALERT*** By now you should all know how the Ground Zero event ends. But just in case you don't, I won't go and blow it for you in words...but it's the kind of thing documentary film makers live for. Unfortunately, it was at the expense of a friend. Instead, watch the below clip from Bellmore: The Unscene. In it: Eggplant Queens take the stage...Jim Burns talks about EQ...Mike Stamberg, Steve Johnson and Bobby S. talk about the show's progression...then the "bottle incident"...and Bobby, Matt Bianco, Mike Walch, Daveman, Steve, Ron Bianco and Joe Kollar talk about the aftermath and the future...
***SPOILER ALERT*** How apropos is it that the "bottle incident" happened just after Eqqplant Queens played the song "Bottle"? You just can't plan that sort of awesomeness.
Here's a few Eggplant Queens songs that weren't in the movie...
"Mud Muscle"
"Ass Rape Song"
"Disco Queen"
Okay, I know this next one was in the movie but I uploaded it to YouTube back in 2006 and it's uncut – lots of cool stuff happens during it...
"Rock Out"
Here's audio of Not Saved and Eggplant Queens (courtesy of Brian Gressler)...
Not Saved
01- 1,000 Thorns
02- Flat Earth
03- Ruby
04- Iron Fist
05- Insomnia
06- Tormented
07- Abacus
08- The Line No Man Wants To Cross
Eggplant Queens
09- Mud Muscle
10- Ass Rape Song
11- Disco Queen
12- Rock Out
13- Bottle
And here's some more photos from the night...
*Blogger only lets you tag (or Label) up to 200 characters so I had to leave a few names out. They are: Tammie Cohen Bianco, Dave Deluca, Earl Pickens, Jimbo, myself and Hi-Tide Pictures.
Meet Ron...the unofficial Mayor of Bellmore and tattoo artist at Lone Wolf Tattoo (and singer for Zombula 451˚ – but we've already covered that). Lone Wolf was established in 1995 in Bellmore by Albert Sgambati & Andrea Anderson, with the help of Ron. Over the years Ron's tattooed many of the people involved in Bellmore's "unscene". (Check out the video below.)
In this clip: Mike Stamberg introduces Ron as the Mayor, Tammie Cohen (now Bianco) talks about Ron's Bellmore status, Ron tattoos a Bellmore punk, Ron speaks about his trade, then Daveman, Jim Collette, Bobby S, Mike Walch, Dave Deluca, Mike Bianco, Jim Conaboy, Tammie, and Matt Bianco show off their Ron Bianco originals...
But Ron didn't always have the skills...check out his first attempt at tattooing...at age 15...
Today's post is a special one. If you're part of the "unscene" then you're aware that Scott has rarely been seen without a video camera since 1999. Ever wonder what he's video taped? Well, I've had the honor/nightmare of peeking into the crazy world of Scott Jacobs. When we decided to make Bellmore: The Unscene we knew Scott's footage would be invaluable. I had a lot of band footage from the early years but I was lacking in the later Rat Bastard/Not Saved/Zombula years – which just so happened to be the years Scott was at large.
I'm not sure if Scott ever had plans to do anything with his footage but he was more than happy to help us out with our project. So Scott handed me about 200 tapes...all unmarked...not one of them was labeled. Being the obsessive-compulsive person I am I scanned through all his tapes looking for footage of Bellmore bands and people. What I quickly learned was that Scott has absolutely no filter. On any given tape there would be clips of a Rat Bastard show, hanging at Marv Studios, the Juke Joint, Scott at work, Scott's niece, Scott puking, stuff maybe Scott shouldn't be taping, long stretches of Scott's shoes (not realizing the camera was recording), etc, etc, etc. Basically, I just fast forwarded through the tapes and stopped when something looked useful for the movie.
Another thing I learned is that Scott loves the special effects built in to his camera – especially the night vision setting. Scott's been rockin' the night vision way before Paris Hilton made it chic. He's also fond of the snapshot button. Unfortunately, he often uses it mid-song (when you use the the snapshot button it cuts off the action after a few seconds...cutting off the song). But Scott's the first to admit, when it comes to technique..."Scotty has no style".
After going through all the tapes I wound up with about 10 hours of music and random this and that pertaining to Bellmore. Without Scott's footage there would've been many many holes in Bellmore: The Unscene. And you'll be seeing a lot more shows that Scott recorded, here on the blog.
But today's video is a little different...and special. I put together a 10 minute montage of Scott'snon-music related Bellmore footage (though music is always there in the background). Just friends hanging out, cracking jokes, and lots of Walch. That's another thing I learned... Mike Walch is Scott's muse.
THROUGH GLASSY EYES: The Life and Times of Scott Jacobs
Speaking of Splinterface (last post)... Though most of the members of Splinterface were from Bellmore, there was no mention of them in Bellmore: The Unscene. Probably because they were rooted in metal rather than punk like the rest of the bands profiled – but that doesn't make them any less of a Bellmore band. In fact, the original – very short-lived – line-up had Jim Conaboy on drums and Dave Deluca on keyboards, no less!
After Situated Chaos broke up, Lenny Lampel and Andy Glasser (Andy Flav) teamed up with Mike Wiltshire and formed Splinterface. I sort of knew Mike from art class at Mepham. (He was the metal head who wore a bone around his neck in my sculpture class.) They put out a few songs on some comps and released a 7" called SEVERED FROM THE WORLD. After Lenny left the band he was replaced by Gerry Giacalone on guitar. Andy and Gerry would later go on to team up with Jim Burns and Kevin Purcell and form Not Saved (which I'll get to some day).
I personally only saw Splinterface perform once...and it wasn't even their show. It was during a Sugarbush set at Wayne's Place when an impromptu Splinterface reunion broke out. It was the Lenny Lampel lineup of Splinterface and I remember liking it a lot...very heavy.
Here's a few Splinterface songs. The first three are Lenny and the last one is Gerry...
[DOWNLOAD] Splinterface
01 My Ugly Self -- Independent Music Fest - NYU Program Board (1995)
02 Amends -- 516 - A Long Island Hardcore Compilation (1996)
03 Mindslave -- 516 - A Long Island Hardcore Compilation (1996)
04 No Roots -- An Under The Volcano Comp (1996)
SPLINTERFACE
Mike Wiltshire - bass, vocals
Lenny Lampel - guitar, vocals
Andy Flav - drums
Gerry Giacalone - guitar, vocals
Back in 2003 I finished a documentary on the music scene from my hometown of Bellmore, Long Island. But Bellmore: The Unscene only scratched the surface of the Bellmore scene. My intentions with this blog is to dive deeper into the music and people of Bellmore. I also don't expect people outside of Bellmore to care about this blog but just in case they're interested, they're welcome to browse and learn. This will largely be the place for the people of Bellmore to replace the copy of Colonel Bastard's Horny Left Nut Band they lost or to relive an old Intellectuals show at La Serayña... amongst other things Bellmore.
A couple of months had past since Jim and I decided to make the Bellmore documentary and with Ground Zero closing – the last music venue in Bellmore – it was time to stop procrastinating and start filming. 
Besides my VHS camera, we wanted to get lots of coverage so Jim called in some favors – borrowing a camera from someone and getting Matt Rubinowitz to also film. Pat Fitzpatrick came along with Matt so he helped out with production and took some still photos of the event, too. Scott Jacobs was on board from the beginning so he also shot footage that night. We had ourselves a Hi-Tide Pictures crew. 
The Clap, Dead End Cruisers, Hidden Agenda, and Jones Crusher. (Jones Crusher – a.k.a. The Crusher – had ties with the Bellmore "unscene". Gerry from Not Saved went on to play bass with them, and Jim Conaboy played drums for a while and recorded Deliver Us From Emo with them. The Crusher also played at the Bellmore: The Unscene screening at CB's Gallery.)
Meet Ron...the unofficial Mayor of Bellmore and tattoo artist at Lone Wolf Tattoo (and singer for Zombula 451˚ – but we've already covered that). Lone Wolf was established in 1995 in Bellmore by Albert Sgambati & Andrea Anderson, with the help of Ron. Over the years Ron's tattooed many of the people involved in Bellmore's "unscene". (Check out the video below.)
Today's post is a special one. If you're part of the "unscene" then you're aware that Scott has rarely been seen without a video camera since 1999. Ever wonder what he's video taped? Well, I've had the honor/nightmare of peeking into the crazy world of Scott Jacobs. When we decided to make Bellmore: The Unscene we knew Scott's footage would be invaluable. I had a lot of band footage from the early years but I was lacking in the later Rat Bastard/Not Saved/Zombula years – which just so happened to be the years Scott was at large. 
I'm not sure if Scott ever had plans to do anything with his footage but he was more than happy to help us out with our project. So Scott handed me about 200 tapes...all unmarked...not one of them was labeled. Being the obsessive-compulsive person I am I scanned through all his tapes looking for footage of Bellmore bands and people. What I quickly learned was that Scott has absolutely no filter. On any given tape there would be clips of a Rat Bastard show, hanging at Marv Studios, the Juke Joint, Scott at work, Scott's niece, Scott puking, stuff maybe Scott shouldn't be taping, long stretches of Scott's shoes (not realizing the camera was recording), etc, etc, etc. Basically, I just fast forwarded through the tapes and stopped when something looked useful for the movie. 
Another thing I learned is that Scott loves the special effects built in to his camera – especially the night vision setting. Scott's been rockin' the night vision way before Paris Hilton made it chic. He's also fond of the snapshot button. Unfortunately, he often uses it mid-song (when you use the the snapshot button it cuts off the action after a few seconds...cutting off the song). But Scott's the first to admit, when it comes to technique..."Scotty has no style". 
After going through all the tapes I wound up with about 10 hours of music and random this and that pertaining to Bellmore. Without Scott's footage there would've been many many holes in Bellmore: The Unscene. And you'll be seeing a lot more shows that Scott recorded, here on the blog. 
Speaking of Splinterface (last post)... Though most of the members of Splinterface were from Bellmore, there was no mention of them in Bellmore: The Unscene. Probably because they were rooted in metal rather than punk like the rest of the bands profiled – but that doesn't make them any less of a Bellmore band. In fact, the original – very short-lived – line-up had Jim Conaboy on drums and Dave Deluca on keyboards, no less! 
After Situated Chaos broke up, Lenny Lampel and Andy Glasser (Andy Flav) teamed up with Mike Wiltshire and formed Splinterface. I sort of knew Mike from art class at Mepham. (He was the metal head who wore a bone around his neck in my sculpture class.) They put out a few songs on some comps and released a 7" called SEVERED FROM THE WORLD. After Lenny left the band he was replaced by Gerry Giacalone on guitar. Andy and Gerry would later go on to team up with Jim Burns and Kevin Purcell and form Not Saved (which I'll get to some day). 
I personally only saw Splinterface perform once...and it wasn't even their show. It was during a Sugarbush set at Wayne's Place when an impromptu Splinterface reunion broke out. It was the Lenny Lampel lineup of Splinterface and I remember liking it a lot...very heavy. 
