(PART 3)
My fears were laid to rest when I discovered two very important video stores
DISCOUNT VIDEO- They had the most obscure selection but their prices were a bit high
NICOLLET VILLAGE VIDEO- It was just down the street from my apartment and had a pretty decent selection
However, the thing that really did it for me was their "4 for 4 days for $5"
This meant that you could rent a couple of cool vids that you knew you would like and take a chance on one or two that you were not sure about
My video collection exploded
Very soon, It would grow to the monstrosity it has now become
Meanwhile, I was also using mixes from Ground Zero as stage video for the AUTONOMY shows
I would have 3 or 4 TVs set up on the stage running all of the GZ footage
The great thing about that footage is that is was already edited so it was really erratic and quick
Club owners and soundmen did not really share my enthusiasm for video on stage
In fact, I got a lot of shit from them for it
This led to my general distaste for the club environment which would drive me to seek out alternate venues later on when I came back to Dallas
I decided that AUTONOMY was not going in the direction I wanted with the lack of any commitment to touring so I headed back to Dallas
I spent a year or so trying to figure out what my next move was going to be
Then one morning I was woken up (30 minutes before my alarm was set to go off!)
"Hey, thers a sale going on down in the parking lot"
"So what?"
"They are selling what looks like a video projector"
"I'LL BE RIGHT DOWN"
Sure enough, there it was
An NEC LT80 video projector with nary a scratch on it and all of the accessories in a great padded case
I couldn't believe it when the guy told me $10
My dream of owning a video projector had come true
Unfortunately, a month or so later, the bulb blew out (and when I say blew out, I mean POW!...fizzzzz.......)
I was pretty bummed out because replacement lamps cost about $500
A decent windfall at Christmas netted me enough cash to buy a new bulb ($300) and a P.A. system
I plan on using it to freelance video projection/mixing as well as Movie night where a band opens up for a movie that reflects the personality of the band
Eventually, I will have multi-media events that encompass a large space with many different section to accomodate many different tastes