Emergency Broadcast Network
Encyclopedia
Emergency Broadcast Network is the name of a multimedia performance group formed in 1991 that took its name from the Emergency Broadcast System
Emergency Broadcast System
The Emergency Broadcast System was an emergency warning system in the United States, used from 1963 to 1997, when it was replaced by the Emergency Alert System.-Purpose:...

. The founders were Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...

 graduates Joshua Pearson, Gardner Post and Brian Kane (author of the Vujak
Vujak
VuJak was the world's first video sampler, a VJ remix and mashup tool created in 1992 by Brian Kane, Lisa Eisenpresser, and Jay Haynes. The original name of the project was Mideo, but it was later changed to VuJak....

 VJ software). Kane left EBN in 1992. The EBN Live Team included DJ Ron O'Donnell, video artist/technologist Greg Deocampo (founder of Company of Science and Art (CoSA), and founding CTO of IFILM.com
IFilm
ifilm.com was an online archive of short films, movie trailers, and other video clips of interest. Ifilm.com was originally founded by independent filmmaker Raphael Raphael in 1997 as an independent film and media collective...

), artist/designer Tracy Brown, and programmer/technologist Mark Marinello.

The album Telecommunication Breakdown
Telecommunication Breakdown
Telecommunication Breakdown is an album by Emergency Broadcast Network, released in 1995 by TVT Records. The CD release included three video tracks in addition to the audio as well as a floppy disc that included AV editing software. The music for the album was produced by Jack Dangers, as a side...

, released in 1995, was one of the first Enhanced CDs ever produced, and contained contributions from Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....

, Institute Of Technology
Institute of technology
Institute of technology is a designation employed in a wide range of learning institutions awarding different types of degrees and operating often at variable levels of the educational system...

, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...

, and Jack Dangers
Jack Dangers
Jack Dangers is an electronic musician, DJ, producer, and remixer best known for his work as the primary member of Meat Beat Manifesto. He lives in San Francisco.-Career:...

.

Josh Pearson, EBN's charismatic front man and principal performance artist, was also EBN's music composer and main video editor. The music and video editing techniques he personally developed and refined have been hugely influential on a generation of advertising and music video editors.

The first EBN video project was a musical remix of the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

, created in 1991 as the war was still ongoing. The VHS tape of the remix project, which contained the George H.W. Bush "We Will Rock You" cover, became a viral underground hit, and was distributed widely by fans as bootleg copies. In the summer of 1991, EBN traveled with the first Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...

 tour, distributing tapes and showing their videos on a modified station wagon with TVs on the roof. The group also became well known for their media sculptures and stage props which were created by Gardner Post.

The EBN modus operandi was to take cable television broadcasts and remix them with a funky beat, often having the lyrics "sung" not by a singer but by half-second sound clips from TV, spliced together. For example, the lyric "electronic behavior control system" would be created with a clip of Ross Perot
Ross Perot
Henry Ross Perot is a U.S. businessman best known for running for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996. Perot founded Electronic Data Systems in 1962, sold the company to General Motors in 1984, and founded Perot Systems in 1988...

 saying "electronic", followed by a clip of George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

 saying "behavior", then Ted Koppel
Ted Koppel
Edward James "Ted" Koppel is an English-born American broadcast journalist, best known as the anchor for Nightline from the program's inception in 1980 until his retirement in late 2005. After leaving Nightline, Koppel worked as managing editor for the Discovery Channel before resigning in 2008...

 saying "control", and finally a clip of Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 saying "system". This technique has been named video scratching
Video scratching
Video scratching is a video editing technique used within the music industry. It is a variation of the audio editing technique scratching.It is typically used in either music videos or live performances, with one or more individuals manipulating a video sample to make it follow the rhythm of...

.

Among their videos are "Get Down and Electronic Behavior Control System" from their 1995 album Telecommunication Breakdown
Telecommunication Breakdown
Telecommunication Breakdown is an album by Emergency Broadcast Network, released in 1995 by TVT Records. The CD release included three video tracks in addition to the audio as well as a floppy disc that included AV editing software. The music for the album was produced by Jack Dangers, as a side...

, which mocks the way television controls our lives. Another was a cover of "We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. Rolling Stone ranked it #330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century...

" by Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

, with a vocal track made up of remixed clips of George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

 making announcements about the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

.
Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...

 of U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

 took notice of their work and hired them to provide visuals for their Zoo TV Tour
Zoo TV Tour
The Zoo TV Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of their 1991 album Achtung Baby, the tour visited arenas and stadiums from 1992 through 1993...

. EBN's video work featured prominently into the show, and their "We Will Rock You" cover was played at the beginning of each show. EBN also produced visuals for The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...

's performance of "Numb
Numb (U2 song)
"Numb" is a song by rock band U2. It is the third track from their 1993 album Zooropa and was released in June 1993 as the album's first single. The song features a monotonous mantra of "don't" commands spoken by guitarist The Edge amidst a backdrop of various sound effects and samples...

" on the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...

. In addition to the visuals, audio from those clips were featured in the live performance to create rhythmic effects. 5 years later, EBN returned to the MTV Video Music Awards
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...

 fold by designing the respective montage videos for the 1998 nominees announced in their signature "video scratching" style.

In 1996, the group contributed to the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

 benefit album Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip
Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip
Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip is a compilation album from the Red Hot AIDS Benefit Series produced by Paul Heck. It combines elements of ambient, spoken word, and trip hop to expand the ideas of artistic collage and spiritual transcendence of "the Beats"...

 produced by the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...

.

Brian Kane has since worked a number of times with British AV artists Addictive TV
Addictive TV
Addictive TV was formed in 1992. The UK DJ/producers and audiovisual artists are the team who ran Optronica - the visual music and VJ event held at the NFT and British Film Institute IMAX in London, UK....

 on many of their projects, both live and recorded - including Mixmasters
Mixmasters
Mixmasters was a late-night music show, and later a DVD series, of audio-visual and DJ:VJ mixes produced by AV artists Addictive TV . The series ran from 2000 to 2005 and aired in the UK on ITV. It has since been screened in a number of countries worldwide...

 and at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts
Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...

.

Greg Deocampo continues his video remixes independently today, using footage from the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

 (which he refers to as Gulf War II). In 2006, Deocampo started working with a trio of London video turntablists, Eclectic-method
Eclectic-method
Eclectic Method is the name of an audio-visual remix act, originally formed in London 2002 by Geoff Gamlen, Ian Edgar , Jonny Wilson ....

: Jonny Wilson, Ian Edgar, and Geoff Gamlen.

External links


Interviews

  • Deocampo Interview - Interview with Greg Deocampo, featuring The EJ MIDI Turntable.
  • Radio Feature The Some Assembly Required Interview with Emergency Broadcast Network's Gardner Post.
  • Kane Interview - Interview with Brian Kane.
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