![[Deth Specula Home Page]](/specula/images/small-word.gif)
NOTE: Info on how the show went, as well as audio and
video clips are available in
a special section on IUMA
(note: since IUMA folded, this links to copy of this page hosted on deth.com).
August 18th, 1994
The show is taking place at The Santa Cruz Operation's annual Developer's Forum (SCO Forum94), which is held on the campus of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Underground, networked, rock non-stars Deth Specula have teamed up with UNIX software company SCO to put on a half-hour show as part of their Tuesday night party and barbecue.
The Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA) will also be lending a hand. The IUMA system will carry the audio portion of the show, as well as still video images captured live during the show. IUMA has received extensive publicity, both in music industry publications as well as in the popular press, for its pioneering efforts to provide an on-line, Internet-accessible music archive.
The audio/video broadcast illustrates not only the current state of network technology, but also a possible future for music entertainment. The band's performance will be digitally encoded and sent across the Internet in two ways:
Although this is certainly not the first audio and video broadcast across the Internet - MBONE is used daily for teleconferencing and seminars - this show is ambitious because of its simultaneous use of the World-Wide Web.
The World-Wide Web is an electronic information distribution system built on top of the underlying Internet. The Web makes available text, graphics, audio, and video across the network. Using a piece of software called a ``browser,'' Internet users can examine any of the tens of thousands of multi-media ``pages'' that are published around the world.
One popular Web browser is ``Mosaic,'' which provides a menu-driven, point-and-click interface. It is available from a variety of sources for Windows, Macintosh, Amiga, and UNIX systems. Use of ``the Web'' is increasing at an explosive rate as private citizens, companies, and even government agencies make information and services available over the Internet. (Use of the Internet is estimated by some to be in the tens of millions.)
Deth Specula is a five-man, hard rock band that plays original tunes as well as parody songs that make fun of computer-industry foibles. ``Specula,'' as they are known, feature two guitars, bass, drums and a lead singer. They are one of a growing number of musical groups making a home on the Internet and using the World-Wide Web to publicize their music - free of charge. With a browser (such as Mosaic), Internet users can read about the band, see photos of the players, watch a video of the band, and listen to some of the band's recordings.
Deth Specula's music can best be described as 70s-influenced rock, filtered through 80s punk, with a 90s spin. ``We play rock in a style that appeals to people who have brains and aren't afraid to use them'' says Malcom McCameron, the band's manager and lead guitarist. ``Our original songs comment on everything from politicians to liver transplants, and our parodies are even more brutal.''
Formed several years ago, Specula has earned a small but devoted following that learns of the band's activities through an e-mail ``fanzine.'' The band is known for T-shirts that proclaim non-existent gig dates that have been cancelled due to natural disasters, war, famines, and general mayhem. The locales and dates of the various disasters are printed on the back of the shirts, then struck out with the word ``Cancelled.''
Comments lead singer Timmy Rotarian ``Well, some people have mentioned that the `cancelled' schtick it kind of gruesome, but the shirts become a history lesson over time. Our first shirt had the date the Happy Hour Social Club was burned in New York. How many people are going to remember that tragedy without some kind of reminder?''
Band members are: