NASHVILLE |POWERMAN 5000 TAKES FANS “BACKSTAGE AND BEYOND THE INFINITE”;
VHS/DVD BOASTS VIDEOS FROM PM5K AND FANS, LIVE AND RARE FOOTAGE
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31, 2001 * “Sometimes it all feels like it was only yesterday,” laughs Powerman 5000 frontman Spider One, pondering the history of the band. He sees the arrival of PM5K’s retrospective home video and DVD, “Backstage And Beyond The Infinite” (released Feb. 27, 2001, on DreamWorks Records), as an opportunity for reflection.
“It’s pretty cool,” he says. “It’s a real show of our humble beginnings. Putting all this footage together made me think of when we were playing for four people in small clubs back in 1990, playing stadiums on last year’s [Summer Sanitarium] tour with Metallica and all the stops in between.” Powerman 5000’s 1999 album, Tonight The Stars Revolt!, was certified platinum months after its release, partly on the success of Rock/Modern Rock hit “When Worlds Collide.” This seeming overnight success for singer-songwriter Spider, bassist Dorian 27, guitarist M.33, guitarist Adam 12 and drummer Al 3 was actually the culmination of a road-warrior journey 10 years in the making.
“Backstage And Beyond The Infinite” charts the entire saga through five music videos, never-before-seen backstage and behind-the-scenes footage, live performances around the world and television appearances. It presents fans with all of PM5K’s major-label videos (“When Worlds Collide,” “Nobody’s Real” and “Supernova Goes Pop,” from Tonight The Stars Revolt!, and “Tokyo Vigilante #1” and “Organizized,” from 1997’s Mega!! Kung Fu Radio). The approximate running time is 60 minutes, with the DVD version offering such special features as a photo gallery, biography, discography, web links, interactive menus and sound rendered in digitally mastered 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround.
“Backstage And Beyond The Infinite” also showcases sometimes amusing, sometimes disturbing videos submitted by diehard fans per the band’s website request. These visual vignettes are collected under the heading “Tonight The Fans Revolt!” “They were sort of frightening and really touching at the same time,” recalls Spider, who says the fan videos can be divided into three categories: The lip-synch opus, the loner-talking-to-the-camera endeavor and the let’s-put-on-a-show-with-Barbie-dolls extravaganza. “We’ve got some very creative fans,” he confirms.
As these devotees well know, PM5K themselves have never been short on inspiration. Mixing relentless metallic-industrial hard-rock thunder with lyrics and imagery conjuring the wow-cool aspects of science fiction -’30s pulp novels, Japanese monster movies, cliffhanger radio dramas, Saturday matinee serials of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers – the group has made it their primary goal to save the world from bland rock. Thus their “Rockets & Robots Tour 2000” circled Planet Earth bearing men on a mission.
Spider is renowned for his attention to detail when it comes to the band’s shows. He admits that overseeing costumes, sets and other production elements perhaps make his job harder than it needs to be. “Sure, it turns the band from being a full-time job into two jobs,” he reasons. “But for me, the work isn’t over when you’ve written the songs – it’s only just begun.” He says he’s simply trying to create the kind of band he worshipped as a kid, outfits like KISS and Funkadelic, whose members apparently came from another world.
Currently in the studio recording album number three (set for release later in this landmark science-fiction year of 2001), Spider One is likewise preparing for the official launch of Megatronic Records, his own imprint (in conjunction with DreamWorks Records). That event will be marked by the major-label debut of hard rockers Halfcocked. “2001 is a pivotal year for everyone, for all of us,” he notes. “It’s certainly critical for us as a band. It’s the year we decide where to take ourselves next, and that’s a really exciting place to be at this moment.”
DreamWorks Records is a division of DreamWorks SKG, which was formed in October 1994 by its three principal partners – Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen – to produce live-action motion pictures; animated feature films; network, syndicated and cable television programming; home video entertainment; records; books; toys; consumer products; and interactive entertainment.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
DreamWorks Records
Bryn Bridenthal: (310) 288-7403
bryn@dreamworksrecords.com
Amy Welch: (310) 288-7493
awelch@dreamworksrecords.com
Curt Burich: (310) 288-7451
cburich@dreamworksrecords.com
FAX: (310) 288-7450
The Mitch Schneider Organization
Kristine Ashton: (818) 380-0400, ext. 233
kashton@msopr.com
Maggie Wang: (818) 380-0400, ext. 231
mwang@msopr.com
FAX: (818) 380-0430
POWERMAN 5000 HOME PAGE: www.powerman5000.com DREAMWORKS RECORDS HOME PAGE: www.dreamworksrecords.com
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