Eric's Trip Video 1990-96

December 16, 2012 5:30 PM

Eric's Trip, first Canadian band to be signed to Subpop. (video is halfway down the page: I was unable to extract a workable link to include here) I've collected a lot of stuff from friends over the years and luckily, i personally bothered to lug 4 tracks machines, mics and old video cameras to the shows at the time. Talking friends into holding the camera or keeping an eye on the input levels. I'm really glad i kept all those VHS tapes and reels of super8 films safe. The boxes of cassettes stored at my folks house still play great after 20 years. In 2007 i started transferring all these tapes into digital form to put this movie together, dubbing old VHS tapes was the scariest thing as some of them would barely play but i eventually got them all. I was excited that with use of modern editing stuff, i could finally sync up old video with better sounding tapes recorded at the same show, or editing together footage i had with someone else’s camera angle of the same show that i got from them years later. I worked on this movie for four years with much love until i finally had what i thought was a good document of what Eric's Trip really was.

0:00 - Super8 film footage of downtown Moncton shot by Rick, early 90's. *ED VAUGHAN is our drummer in all pics, music and video until 8:33 of movie.

0:30 - VHS dub, live footage of "I Exist" from Kacho, Moncton - May 18th 1991. Live camera audio.

2:21 - 1st cassette release from Dec 1990, band photo summer 1990, audio excerpt "Beauty was all froze" from cassette.

2:36 - 2nd cassette release from Apr 1991, Thompson basement rehearsal pics spring 1991, audio excerpt "Beatings" from cassette.

2:50 - 3rd cassette release from July 1991, VHS dub of footage in fields shot August 1991, audio excerpt "Fall" from cassette.

3:50 - VHS dub, live footage of set up and excerpt of "Sunlight" from the Warehouse pub, Moncton - July 13th 1991. Shot by Ken Leblanc. Live camera audio.

5:07 - Audio clips of CKUM radio interview with Robert Gauvin, summer 1991. Photos: 1st show City Hall lobby April 21 1991, posed shots spring 91, live at Warehouse pub July 13th 1991, live at Kacho Sept 30th 1991.

6:41 - VHS footage from last show with Ed on drums shot by Claude Leger at Kacho, Moncton Sept 30th 1991. Tape was in rough shape and footage has been edited to cover the holes, and synced up with a board mix cassette of the show. Song is "Lost Inside".

8:22 - Picture of Ed Vaughan, summer 1991.

8:33 - "Naked in the Marsh" 10 inch Moncton compilation recorded autumn 1991 as three piece band. Audio is excerpt of "Sickness" from the session, live photo from 3 piece gig in Fredericton November 1991.

…

1:43:08 - Last show footage from McNaughton Highschool on June 16th 1996. This dark, back of the room camera is the only one we have of the whole show, the song is "Follow" and the audio is live from camera. Some pics by Catherine Stockhausen and Tara White.

1:45:47 - End of show footage, end of movie.

posted by whyareyouatriangle (16 comments total)

Fuck I love/miss these guys. Both Rick White and Julie Doiron have put out some great solo albums since at least (still waiting on that Chad Van Gaalen collab, Julie).

Favorite ET song: Red Haired Girl
posted by mannequito at 5:47 PM on December 16, 2012

Wow, I had a cassette of theirs very long ago and know nothing else about them. I remember that they reminded me of Swirlies-meets-Sebadoh/Dinosaur. I liked that some bands back then were making it in spite of the 4-track quality of their productions.
posted by not_on_display at 5:49 PM on December 16, 2012

I won a prize in a phone-in competition on a small community radio station, many years ago - the prize was to go in and pick a CD of my choice from a box they had sitting there. So I went in, and saw a CD by some band called Eric's Trip. "Hey, that's a Sonic Youth song!" I thought to myself, and I took it home, and was amazed. Good stuff.
posted by Jimbob at 6:13 PM on December 16, 2012

Oh wow, neat stuff. I have always liked Rick, he seems so fragile to me; I don't think American-style fame would have done him any favours. Tara was always a badass, but genuine, and genuinely talented. am looking forward to watching the movie. Thanks for the post.
posted by saucysault at 6:30 PM on December 16, 2012

I played Love Tara by Eric's Trip the day that you were born
-Put It On by The Tragically Hip
posted by glaucon at 6:42 PM on December 16, 2012 [2 favorites]

Huh. New Brunswick. I always put them together with Sloan in Hallifax (also Flashing Lights).

Great, fun band.
posted by klangklangston at 7:06 PM on December 16, 2012 [1 favorite]

I can not wait to watch this! I was in such love with Rick&Julie when I was in college. And even more in love with the (sweet crazy) boy who introduced me to them. An though, he's made it impossible for me to listen to Eric's Trip without thinking of him and the insanity of that time, I consider that a feature not a bug. I still try to foist them on people, but they only tend to hear noise or something else they find unpleasant.

My five (okay 6) favorite Eric's Trip songs:

My Chest is Empty
Stove
Eyes Shut
Allergic to Love
Behind the Garage
Blinded

Bonus- favorite video!:
View Master
posted by eunoia at 7:08 PM on December 16, 2012 [5 favorites]

I produced a gig they played at (multi-band music fest thing 1991 or 92). Good people. None of them drank which made paying them a challenge (ie: couldn't just shove a pile of cheap beer at them). The music was great ... like Sonic Youth filtered through something a little less avant. I remember thinking, this is soul music for (at least slightly) sophisticated modern young people.
posted by philip-random at 8:04 PM on December 16, 2012

The web design reminds me a bit of jodi.org. A swell band.
posted by ovvl at 8:24 PM on December 16, 2012

I didn't know that this was online. This is awesome. Thanks.
posted by beau jackson at 9:09 PM on December 16, 2012

love
posted by roboton666 at 11:11 PM on December 16, 2012

One of the best concerts I've been to was a Wavelength festival on the Toronto islands. Rick White was there doing his solo thing while the sun was setting. He'd set up one of those rotating lightbulb diaramas in front of a light house, and sounded like a awkward, burnt out ghost for the first 20 minutes. Then his voice warmed up and the sun set, joints were smoked and it was pretty damn epic.

This movie is an exciting development.
posted by Alex404 at 12:34 AM on December 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

Now that I think about it, one of my other best concerts was seeing Julie Doiron with Phil Elverum play through 'Lost Wisdom' at the Church of the Redeemer. Joints were not smoked, but the atmosphere was similar.

Julie Doiron is overwhelmingly endearing.
posted by Alex404 at 12:41 AM on December 17, 2012

AWESOME! This + the fact that Rick White has put a lot of early Eric's Trip cassettes (as well as some great Elevator To Hell stuff) on Bandcamp = union with the Brahman. What an amazing, amazing band! So many wonderful songs, such great guys.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:13 AM on December 17, 2012

Good memories! Thanks.
posted by sety at 3:57 AM on December 17, 2012

Thanks so much for posting this. I loved these guys and haven't listened to them in years.
posted by joannemerriam at 5:32 PM on December 17, 2012