Jon Bastian and Henry S. Rosenthal collaborated in editing 16mm film shot by alt auteur Larry Larson, cans that were finally cracked opened and unearthed from storage purgatory after 40+ years to show what Rosenthal’s seminal San Francisco punk band Crime was like at its peak. They used 21st century restoration technology to master a DVD with a 5.1 soundtrack and recently premiered the vintage punk footage as “San Francisco’s First and Only Rock ‘n’ Roll Movie: Crime 1978” before a sold out crowd at San Francisco’s hundred and ten year old Victoria Theater. The visceral verite’ concert film embeds the viewer into the seedy 70’s porno theater and strip club littered streets of North Beach, and then through the doors of the dimly lit Mabuhay Gardens, replete with sneering cajoling from the club’s infamous master of ceremonies Dirk Dirksen.
As part of the festivities for the long awaited DVD release party, the show also showcased an unexpected surprise, a Crime tribute band from Los Angeles called CrimeWave.
Comprised of pedigreed criminally minded punkers of the 21st Century, including vets of such acts as Richmond Sluts, Egrets on Ergot, Cheap Tissue, and even the revamped Dils , they did a helluva job recreating the caustic attitude laden approach of Crime for hundreds of lazy cinephiles sitting on their lazy asses in theater seats. Not bad for guys that weren’t even born when this badly bent band they arduously ape still strutted the earth.
According to Jon Bastian who edited the Crime 1978 documentary and booked the event, these are the 3 tunes I edited from their set that come from deep within the scattershot back catalog of San Francisco’s seminal ’77 era punk act Crime.
1:00 ) Feel The Beat
2:20) Frustration
4:30) Crimewave
Members of the refurbished corpse of CrimeWave include Frank “G” Fix, Matt Rank, Charlie Strike, John the Ripper aka mad man Johnny T Tyree. Guerilla video shot at the sold out “Cops Vs. Aliens: Evening of Rock ’n’ Roll Film ” held November 14, 2019 in San Francisco before hundreds of underground music fans
To order a copy of the Crime 1978 DVD with 5.1 soundtrack mix on a ltd edition DBL 7″ you can visit the Superior Viaduct website
