Hunt for the West Chester Guerilla Drive-In's secret AM broadcast
John Young says:
Back in 2007, you posted a link to the West Chester Guerilla Drive-In, where we project 16MM movies at secret locations from the sidecar of my 1977 BMW motorcycle:The kit-built AM transmitter in the photo you posted is the MacGuffin, a secret AM transmitter in a waterproof case hidden somewhere in the area, and broadcasting around the clock. In order to find out where movies are going to be shown, you have to find the broadcast, tune in, and discover the secret access code.
This year, the audio for the AM broadcast includes a freshly-recorded cover of "Brazil", which you will probably remember as the soundtrack for the Ministry of Information in Terry Gilliam's awesome 1985 movie.
You can see the MacGuffin and hear the first bit of the secret message on the Guerilla Drive-In website.
the latest
latest episodes
It's such an insult to see a great revolutionary guerilla like Che, to have his face plastered on boxes for stupid trivial crap like this.
Give this man a MacArthur genius grant, stat.
West Chester, PA is a pretty cool little town. I liked it there.
Awesomeness Redux Extended ^2
Give this man a license from the FCC, pronto.
This is like Pump Up the Volume multiplied by Red Dawn. I want to start this in my own hometown. Where do I even start!?
Maybe the Moondog Memorial Award.
("Brazil" is also the finest samba tune ever written. A DVD cut by Pink Martini is my personal unicorn chaser; works every time.)
Buddy (long time no see),
You're absolutely right, Brazil is the finest samba ever! My fav version is the Maichael Kamen version used as the end credits to the film Brazil. It's massive!
@noahrodenbeek "This is like Pump Up the Volume multiplied by Red Dawn."
Wow, that may be the awesomest compliment that anyone has ever given me, ever. Thank you!
Doing it yourself is not hard, and the best thing about it is that everyone does it their own way. I just do the 16MM projector and the motorcycle to be as different as possible from my pixel-pushing day job.
Rico Thunder, along with others, does a big, awesome Guerilla Drive-In on the West coast, which is more about reclaiming public space than my "goofy scavenger hunt" version. He has lots of great instructions; you can find it at guerilladrivein dot org.
Buddy, here ya go, my favourite version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzJpmxzoQjI
..makes me so happy :D
Tikaro, welcome, and great work!
I spent a long weekend many years ago climbing over the roofs of West Chester, PA, getting lost in the big tree, and enjoying music on an outdoor stage. I remember it rosily. The Guerilla Drive In Maguffin scavenger hunt makes me think I should have stayed.
the song in question, called "aquarela do brasil" in brazil (and meaning watercolor of brazil), is by all accounts the unofficial national anthem of brazil. the composer of the song, ary barroso, has become my favorite in the past month or so. it has been recorded _countless_ times - check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_(song) for a short list of some of the more popular recordings of it. i'm partial to joão gilberto's "live in montreux" version, myself.
mmm. peli-case in orange. *sigh*
It's a shame to see that murdering bastard Che on something nifty like this.
Great version, Arkie! That's some heavy chops indeed.
Yeah!
At least it WAS hidden ... until I DF'd it with the whip antenna on my 1963 transistor radio!
HAH! Lucky for you, it was cool, so I left it. CHE! CHE!
Here's a cool utoob for ya too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mQHr8bAojU
It's such an insult to see a great revolutionary guerilla like Che, to have his face plastered on boxes for stupid trivial crap like this.
Hey, at least his likeness isn't used to promote name brand discounts on President's Day like Washington and Lincoln.
Actually if he is not using more than 100mW and a small antenna he does not need a license (and kits generally don't exceed the limit). But any more than that he'll have the FCC field office in Philadelphia hunt him down But I suppose that's why everything is mounted on a motorcycle sidecar- so he can have a quick get away! Then there is that whole licensing to show movies to a crowd bit. We all know how creeped-out the MPAA could get with that...
@eclectro
You know, it was visions of "the government troops coming through the ceiling" scenes in Brazil that prompted me to get in touch with the FCC office in Langhorne, PA. As long as I keep the antenna short, I'm legit (just as you said.)
We're even MORE disgustingly aboveboard when it comes to licensing. I rent my 16MM movies from Swank Motion Pictures in St. Louis, Missouri. 16MM films are a funny tidewater -- just about any movie you can think of, even first-run movies still in theaters, are available for 16MM rental. That's because there are plenty of schools, hospitals, and prisons that show them. Many times, the last place a movie has been before we show it was in stir (or so I like to imagine.)
The movies arrive in an extremely awesome green plastic case, covered with stickers. The whole thing probably weighs as much as ten thousand Netflix envelopes.
We pass the hat to cover the cost of the rental; the fee we pay does go to the studio. So when it comes to rebellion, I'm afraid we're a total bust :)
This earns about a million hit points for awesomeness.
And my fave Brazil version will always be Nelson Riddle's arrangement for Sinatra, though Sugar Plant's industrio/Japanese/noisepop version is a close second.
One of the best uses of a motorcycle sidecar ever!
Re: Versions of "Brazil"
Santo & Johnny anyone?
Frank's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uESWm702bu8
Sugar Plant (short Amazon snippet)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001V3TP3I/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk12
The only question I have is when the movie is running, does your dog wearing the old timey leather flying cap and scarf run the projector?
Here's a snippet from the Santo and Johnny version.
Oh! the slide guitar in the Santo & Johnny version is perfect!
Santo & Johnny, full version:
http://www.filedropper.com/santojohnny-brazil
Ark, thanks for the link to the full version. The clip just didn't do it justice!
I just listened to the whole Santo & Johnny album (Hits & More) and it's sweet. I didn't realize they also did the fabulous Sleepwalk too, as featured in the film 12 Monkeys..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bFp-DlVNtk
Yeah, "Sleepwalk" is definitely their most famous, but their whole catalog is worth a browse. :)