Three weeks ago I bought what I assume is one of the few remaining presskits for one of my top-five favorite films: TAPEHEADS (1988).
Swanky Modes Presskit
The outside was relatively nondescript (it came in a cheap, black, elementary-school-style folder with a yellow TAPEHEADS sticker plastered on the outside), but it contained 50 or 60 pages of press prepared by the now defunct Clein + Feldman Inc. public relations firm. The lobby card at the top of this post is one of four absolutely mint double-image cards that came in the presskit with their own transparent protective baggie.
But as great as the images and the other promotional material are, the clear gem from the presskit is a two-page “Swanky Modes Chronology,” which outlines a fascinating (but all too brief) backstory for the Swanky Modes, the fictional soul duo – featuring real life soul legends Sam Moore and Junior Walker – that Bill Fishman built TAPEHEADS around.
I recently ran a google search for “best fictional bands,” and – at least according to the top six results (here, here, here, here, here, and here) – not everyone appreciates the greatness of the Modes as much as I do.
In fact, the Swanky Modes don’t appear on any of those “best of” lists (or even get mentioned in the comments), while lesser acts like The Beets (from the Doug cartoon) and The Wonders (from THAT THING YOU DO!) get mentioned over and over. I hope that the publication of what the Swanky Modes were up to before Josh and Ivan began idolizing them will – to some degree – begin to correct this massive oversight.
As far as I can tell, this information has never been published online, and I’m excited to share what is – in my mind at least – a massive addition to the online world’s collective TAPEHEADS/Swanky Modes knowledge.
Swanky Modes Chronology 1
Swanky Modes Chronology 2
1964 – Swanky Modes end record 72 week run at the Apollo Theater.
1965 – Signed to a major label and begin work on their debut album “Thumbs Up“.
1966 – “Thumbs Up“ is released to critical acclaim. Modes sign a multi-record deal and travel to Hollywood to star in their first feature film, “High Noon Wake-Up“.
1967 – The “Brown Album” is released and goes instant gold. The Modes have their first of many re-occuring management disputes.
1968 – The Modes go on the Christmas USO tour with Bob Hope.
1970 – The Modes appear on the Ed Sullivan Show.
1971 – The Queen summons the Modes to perform at a Royal performance extravaganza.
1972 – “That’s Enough of This War Stuff” is released. Modes begin extended European tour.
1973 – Lester marries Olga Von Steistein in Oslo, Norway. Billy travels to India to study with Ravi Shankar.
1974 – “Black and White” album is unreleased due to the oil shortage.
1975 – Modes have their first reunion tour of the Midwest. Bus breaks down in Battle Creek, Michigan where Lester buys a farm and starts raising rhubarb.
1976 – Lester marries Sheena Brawn, a young farming neighbor.
1978 – Modes first album in six years is released, “Modes Fever,” the day after “Saturday Night Fever” hits the stores.
1979 – Billy moves to the Northwest and starts real estate brokering learned by Don Drussel’s Home Extension course.
1980 – Swanky Modes “Get Nasty” is banned from all radio play. Becomes instant collector’s item.
1981 – Billy’s yacht hits land mine in Persia. No one is hurt but he spends one year in an Iranian prison.
1982 – Lester is indicted for bigamy and is extradited to Norway.
1983 – The second Modes reunion tour kicks off in Yonkers, New York, but is cut short when Lester’s sax is stolen.
1984 – Billy and Lester move to California after landing a two year contract on Princess Cruises Oldies But Goodies nights. They anull contract when they find out they are also expected to bartend.
1985 – “New Wheels New Deals” album is released. Modes tour in Japan, sponsored by Tayota.
1986 – Modes third reunion tour of the Southwest is cut short when expected revenue does not meet continued expenses.
1987 – Swanky Modes are seen performing at the Manhattan Club in Santa Monica Mall by Billy Fishman, the soon to be director of “Tapeheads”.
1988 – Swanky Modes star in “Tapeheads”.
I don’t know about you, but I’ll enjoy TAPEHEADS even more knowing that Lester was married twice (at the same time), that Billy spent a year in an Iranian prison, that the Modes put out at least seven albums (Thumbs Up, Brown Album, That’s Enough of This War Stuff, Black and White, Modes Fever, Get Nasty, andNew Wheels New Deals), and that they starred in another film: HIGH NOON WAKE-UP (1966).
Man… I’d love to hear Modes Fever.
And while we’re on the subject of the Swanky Modes, here’s what I believe is the duo’s only late-night appearance, a performance of Ordinary Man (and follow-up interview) on Letterman.
If you want to discuss your favorite Swanky Modes revelation from the chronology, or the greatness of the Modes in general, feel free to do so in the comments.
Whoa! I woke up this morning and checked out /Film’s Cool Stuff section and our TROLL 2 shirt was up for review. We got a 9.5 out of 10 and even beat out a Funko Sleestak bank! Now that’s a real honor because Sleestak’s rule. I guess it’s official, Nilbog Goblins are in this year.
You can purchase your TROLL 2 shirt HERE (black) and HERE (green)!
Alright, if you haven’t seen INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS yet; 1. Stop reading now. There are mild spoilers ahead and 2. Why haven’t you?! It’s incredible!
Before we get going, let me explain about the title of this blog post a little. I’m not great at history, but I’ve heard stories of WW2 vets cutting off Nazi ears and keeping them as souvenirs, so I suppose that it might be possible that what the Basterds were doing wasn’t that much of a stretch. Whether or not the ear trophy thing is true, I’m pretty sure we didn’t kill Hitler. Someone correct me if I’m wrong. Some things in the movie were definitely fictionalized, but burning down a theater with 350 Nitrate film? TOTALLY legit! Many theaters got torched because of projectors malfunctioning and igniting the film. One of the most notable was the Charity Bazaar fire in Paris in 1897 where over 120 people were killed, mostly women, by a combination of burns and people trampling each other trying to get out!
About 5 years ago, I started to collect 35mm films. While other people my age were dating and socializing, I was digging through copies of TEEN WOLF 2 in grocery store basements. There are several different things you learn immediately when you catch the collecting bug. Some of the basics include the difference between flat and scope, the sad reality that every time a movie 20 years ago was printed in Eastman color that it would inevitably turn red and last but not least… DON’T FUCK WITH NITRATE FILM! One of my first large collections of prints contained LOTS of nitrate film prints (which we actually sold on eBay and mailed to the buyers in regular old cardboard boxes. OOOPS!) After clearing out what we thought was all of the nitrate film, we chose a few films to watch. One was BLOODSUCKING FREAKS, which was on safety film and the other was a Flash Gordon film from 1936 called ROCKETSHIP. We researched online and found that it had been re-released in the 50′s and because of the immaculate condition it was in, we decided that it couldn’t possibly be a nitrate print and had to be the print from the 50′s. We threaded it up and as we were projecting it, realized that it was the most stunning black and white film I had ever seen. Everything was so crisp. Then, after it was over, on the tail end of the last reel it said NITRATE in big bold letters. We were so lucky that the house didn’t burn to the ground as we were projecting out of a small room on a portable 35mm projector in my friends basement. TO YOUTH!
If you remember in BASTERDS, there is the little history lesson on how nitrate films burn 3 times faster than paper. This is totally true and here’s a real video to prove it:
Not only does it burn super fast, it also does so under water. This stuff doesn’t need oxygen to burn!
Remember the Universal Studios fire last year and how it messed up a ton of 35mm prints, particularly 50′s movies that will never be restruck due to lack of interest in the repertory market? Well, imagine how terrible that would be if home video hadn’t been invented yet and the only known copies were stored in studio film vaults such as the Fox Film vault in Little Ferry, NJ:
Silent film actress Theda Bara has another claim to fame besides being in 44 films of the silent era; she has one of the lowest film survival rates as only about 6 of the 44 films exist today. The rest were lost in fires like the one in New Jersey. Nitrate films were common place until about 1951 when they started printing on acetate. If you want to read more about film stocks and the scientific explanation on why Nitrate film can burn under water, click HERE.
Mondo is super happy to announce that Tyler Stout has once again teamed up with Quentin Tarantino and produced this amazing poster for QT’s INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS!
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS by Tyler Stout
24″x36″ 4 color screenprint, hand numbered with an edition size of 450. We only have super limited numbers of these for sale as we gave Cinemapocalypse attendees first crack. LIMIT 2 PER PERSON.
Also available is this gorgeous variant edition.
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (VARIANT) by Tyler Stout
The edition on this particular poster is only 80. LIMIT 1 PER PERSON. Both were printed at D and L Screenprinting.
Print Mafia also got to take a shot at Hitler and as you can see…mission accomplished!
Hitler Target (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS) by Print Mafia
4 color screenprint. 17.5″x23″. Hand Numbered.
Last but not least, the movie that started the “men on a mission” genre…THE DIRTY DOZEN!
THE DIRTY DOZEN by The Silent Giants
Edition of 90. 18″x24″ Signed, numbered and hand screened by the artist.
Cinemapocalypse was IN-SANE! My first show ever at the Alamo Drafthouse was the Best of QT Fest so Saturday night brought back a whole lotta memories for me. One of my favorite moments of the night was getting to sit next to one of my favorite living actors, ROBERT FORSTER!
In between movies we chatted about Wings Hauser, his hair loss and how he was pals with almost everyone in THE LOSERS. Truly nerdy stuff. Both of his Q&As were oustanding as well! If you ever meet him, ask him to do his Jon Huston impersonation. GOLDEN!
He came out as a special guest as we were showing VIGILANTE as part of the show.
Everything about VIGILANTE is PERFECT…especially the score which I found HERE. Vulcan and I Luv Video have this for rent in the Austin area. You can buy it on Amazon and it’s for rent on Netflix. However you swing it, SEE THIS MOVIE!
-Justin
P.S. In case you were wondering, the full line up of CINEMAPOCALYPSE was:
I’m super excited to announce that we have two new posters for all of you! They are on sale NOW!
Alien by Ken Taylor
Australia’s Ken Taylor comes through once again with a mind-blowing poster for Alien. 24″ x 36″ screenprint. $30
We are also offering a VARIANT where we made all of the green inks glow in the dark! This thing will be like a nerdy nightlight. 24″ x 36″ screenprint. Extremely limited. $60
This Is Spinal Tap by The Small Stakes
A massive metallic silver homage to Spinal Tap. In case you’re wondering, these dials go up to 11. 24″ x 36″ screenprint. $30
Brooklyn got first chance at them last week at the Rooftop Films Screening and now this shirt can be yours! Coming in both black and NILBOG Green, this shirt is available exclusively through Mondo.
