The 666 Tape

[IWishIWasBlank]

OK, I searched, this forum and the SP/Billy Board. Nada on 666 for some reason.

Checked out SPLRA, SPFC, Starla.org, yadda yadda. Came up with nothing.

There's two versions, right? Both suck, pretty much, right? But which version is the one that's actually worth downloading once and then saying, "Jeez what a waste of bandwidth, what the fuck was I thinking?"

Thanks (Redbull, CAIC, DDOD, etc)

[waltermcphilp]

i think the traders den has a good copy, but you have to register and know about torrents (some people have trouble with it for some reason)

http://forums.netphoria.org/showthread.php?t=115156

[IWishIWasBlank]

Yeah I'm on TTD. I just wasn't sure which/what version to get.

[Skradgee]

JDM 666 DVD

[IWishIWasBlank]

The one on TTD is down, but I'll see if I can get it from the Zomb, Piratebay, Dime, whatever. Looks like Mininova had the same JDM rip.

[Skradgee]

http://zombtracker.the-zomb.com/details.php?id=21576

[IWishIWasBlank]

Yeah, this one's got three seeders on Zomb. I was just about to post that same link.

[Cool As Ice Cream]

Originally Posted by Skradgee

JDM 666 DVD

yes, this one is the best one out there right now.

i believe a better version exists, but i doubt we'll ever see it. (i believe it was pmack who once posted screenshots from his copy.)

[IWishIWasBlank]

Cmon Pmack, we're counting on you bro. If we all work together, this could be a great year, etc etc.

What online resource should have info about the 666 tape anyhow?

[gpub]

Thanks for putting this back up. I lost my copy a while back. Always nice to see billy in his christmas sweater.

[IWishIWasBlank]

I finished the torrent last night, but it's easier to just get it off of the Hub.

[spiderprint]

Originally Posted by IWishIWasBlank

I finished the torrent last night, but it's easier to just get it off of the Hub.

No it's not. The slots on the uploaders that have it are virtually occupied all the time.
Seriously, if someone would upload it in parts to rapidshare i will seed that mofo for a week. My connection is 100/10.

[Cool As Ice Cream]

wah wah wah

[spiderprint]

Originally Posted by Cool As Ice Cream

wah wah wah

Note to self:"Welcome to netphoria".

[Cool As Ice Cream]

"WAH WAH WAH"

[spiderprint]

Lulz.

[Cool As Ice Cream]

will you fuck off already you fucken piece of shit FUCKING HELL

[spiderprint]

Originally Posted by Cool As Ice Cream

will you fuck off already you fucken piece of shit FUCKING HELL

Note to self:"Welcome to netphoria".

[aldango]

Originally Posted by IWishIWasBlank

Cmon Pmack, we're counting on you bro. If we all work together, this could be a great year, etc etc.

What online resource should have info about the 666 tape anyhow?

http://www.spfc.org/666faq.txt

[Pmack]

Who here isn't a wanker? I don't have a VCR anymore, but I'd be willing to send my 666 tape to someone who would a) do a quality transfer of it, b) send me a DVD, and c) up that shit somewhere like the LMA or something so everyone can get it.

Just post here and the rest of you come to a consensus on who I should send it to. I remember there was some douche here who had someone's masters for 2 years. Let's try to avoid me sending it to someone like that. I'm really looking to you guys to point me in the best direction for everyone involved.

You can send me a private message, but if I don't know who you are I'm just going to post your offer here. If you accept the "challenge", I don't think it would be unreasonable to ask that it be done within a month or so.

The video details; this is all from memory, so if some of it turns out to be incorrect, have some mercy:

My copy is probably as low gen as is likely to surface. It came directly from the original source, a guy named Don, IIRC. I don't remember if he worked for MTV or if he had a friend who did. It is substantially higher quality than what I remember seeing circulating. I am assuming "JDM" referenced earlier in the thread is John D Mulhausen? Is that transfer directly from his copy? I seem to remember Don gave John a copy too, but this transfer will be one gen better on account of the fact that this is the actual videotape sent by Don, and not a dupe.

My copy is also a little different that the circulating one. I -think- the one I remember seeing online had some additional footage, maybe Sweater Billy playing Mellon Collie or something? Mine doesn't have that, but at the end of my video tape is pro-shot footage from a '95 show. My memory of it is that it's before the SNL appearance. Billy is in his Zero gear but he still has hair. It might be 3 songs, I can't remember.

If this works out, whoever does this one can transfer my other stuff if they want. 25 Songs o' Pumpkins (I think you guys call it the Psycho tape), pro shot Gish release party, some unreleased Gish-era video interviews, etc.

[redbull]

Originally Posted by Pmack

My copy is also a little different that the circulating one. I -think- the one I remember seeing online had some additional footage, maybe Sweater Billy playing Mellon Collie or something? Mine doesn't have that, but at the end of my video tape is pro-shot footage from a '95 show. My memory of it is that it's before the SNL appearance. Billy is in his Zero gear but he still has hair. It might be 3 songs, I can't remember.

Was this the Dublin show (8/22??)

[T&T]

another classy Pmack post!

[Pmack]

Originally Posted by redbull

Was this the Dublin show (8/22??)

Yeah, I just dug out my videotapes to see exactly what I had, and it's labeled 08.23.95 The Point, Dublin, IE 15m PRO.

I also have:
- 28 Songs o' Pumpkins & Billy on the Geraldo show (this was Billy's name for the tape; the girl I got it from photocopied the labels from her tape, which she recieved directly from Billy, and pasted them onto my copy)

- 3 Days In June (rough cut) - I'm pretty sure this is already circulating. I think my copy came directly from 34, if that's a lower gen than what's out there. I'll dig through my email archives and see if I can find out the exact details of where it came from.

- tape labelled "Smashing Pumpkins Pro Shot and 1-28-92 Germany". This has about 30m pro-shot footage from the Gish record release party at the Metro, as well as other raw interview footage. My recollection is that there are interviews from backstage at that show, backstage at New Years Eve '91, and another interview from around April 91 in Boston. I don't remember much about the Germany video except that I love that fuckin' show.

- I also have somewhere a 90m cassette with a fairly loose interview with Billy about the band and what they're all about, etc. I think it dates from 92. The coolest thing about it is that it confirms a Starchildren show we never even knew about. Billy's riffing about how every Starchildren show was completely different, and he mentions three different shows that had already taken place. It's a raw interview tape that someone made for some long forgotten article, so in places it's rambling and way, way off-topic. It's interesting to hear Billy before the rest of the world gave a shit about him.

[Day dreaming Of Darcy]

Dave... definitely send your tape to Fogelsong.

[redbull]

here is the info on the JDM transfer of 666 (per The Traders' Den)

This version of the 666 video should be considered "definitive" as it is sourced from the tape provided by Don Dowdy, the friend of the former MTV employee who distributed the tapes. This DVD features two audio tracks -- one with a remastered track that is louder, EQ'd, and missing most of the tape hiss, and one with the "original" sound on the tape, completely untouched [for the nerds].

Also, I'm pretty sure that none of the previous video releases had the opening segment with Billy playing "MCIS" on the piano in his house.

Any information on the true lineage is purely speculative. All that's really known is that somehow, an MTV employee got a tape of it to Don Dowdy. Don Dowdy gave a tape to me so I could create the audio bootleg of "666" back in 1997. Unless someone gets Don Dowdy's copy of 666 from him, or somehow gets in touch with the MTV employee (who has remained anonymous), there's not going to be a better version. It's unknown how many gens passed between the master and Don.

That said, my estimate on the lineage is: Master [Camera Reel] > VHS [employee] > VHS [Don] > VHS [me].

"Setlist":

Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness (Billy on Piano)
The Viper
Disco Jam
Tribute To Johnny
Porcelina of the Vast Oceans
XYU (early version)
Zero (Bass & Drum tests)
Thru The Eyes of Ruby (early version)
V-8
XYU (early version)
The Black Rider
Unknown ("Rachel"?)
Zero
Chatting

Here are some comparison pics so you can see the improvement over the last release.

Best,

-JDM

[ciGarski]

lets see the goddamn comparison pics

[New Art Rioter]

Kudos to pmack. Quality post. Although I haven't had any personal dealings with him, starlightvideoproductions has transferred a shitload of stuff over the years for the community, and the DVD's I've downloaded that are authored by him are always top notch.

pmack, would you care to go into what the 'Machina Rehearsals' are/were? I recall you mentioning it in a post a few years ago when you were listing off tapes that had surfaced, but never elaborated on the details. I've always been curious as to what it was.

[redbull]

Originally Posted by Pmack

- I also have somewhere a 90m cassette with a fairly loose interview with Billy about the band and what they're all about, etc. I think it dates from 92. The coolest thing about it is that it confirms a Starchildren show we never even knew about. Billy's riffing about how every Starchildren show was completely different, and he mentions three different shows that had already taken place. It's a raw interview tape that someone made for some long forgotten article, so in places it's rambling and way, way off-topic. It's interesting to hear Billy before the rest of the world gave a shit about him.

I can transfer this. I have a mid-80s sony three-head tape deck and can adjust the azimuth. If I can find some way to get an S/PDIF out I could go directly into my laptop that way, otherwise it would go into an R-09.

[Day dreaming Of Darcy]

Originally Posted by redbull

If I can find some way to get an S/PDIF out I could go directly into my laptop that way, otherwise it would go into an R-09.

Just use the R-09... it's got a fantastic A/D converter and all you'll need is a good cable. Set the R-09 to 24/44.1 and the recording level 18/30 (unity gain). You can be (somewhat) conservative on the output levels of the analog deck, shooting for peaks anywhere between -12 and -4 dB. A quick normalize in post to -.5 dB and you'll be golden.

The A/D on the R-09 has received extremely high praise. A ts.com member conducted an unscientific blind A-B test vs. the Lunatec V3. The R-09 didn't just hold it's own... it was actually preferred! Unless you have easy access to high priced studio equipment, you're gonna be hard pressed to find anything better.

[1100ww]

Originally Posted by Pmack

If this works out, whoever does this one can transfer my other stuff if they want. 25 Songs o' Pumpkins (I think you guys call it the Psycho tape), pro shot Gish release party, some unreleased Gish-era video interviews, etc.

sounds amazing! nice.